Warning: 

This episode does contain forced physical contact and gun violence

Luckily, the second half of school passed by without incident.  Since Ramiro and David were seniors, I did not have to see them again for the rest of the day.  Unfortunately, Ramiro found me at the end of the day as I was making my way to the bus.  Summer was supposed to meet me at my locker, but I forgot my books in one of our classes.  Running to get it I told her, I would meet her on the bus.  She laughed at me usual forgetfulness and left me. My dad said it was a family trait.  The Lees always forgot at least one thing at every place they went.  After I found my books, I dashed into the hallway only to meet Ramiro.  He smiled coldly at me and I thought, “What the hell now?”

I tried to dodge around him, but he stepped in front of me.   Frowning, I tried again and again, but he continued to block me.  Buses blew their horn and I froze.  Damn it, I was going to miss my bus.

“Move, Ramiro,” I ordered, frustrated.

Eyes narrowing, Ramiro raised his eyebrow at me.

“Excuse me?” he said, his voice dangerous. 

“I’m going to miss my bus!  What is your problem?”

Narrowing his eyes, Ramiro shoved me.  Stumbling backwards, I got my balance quickly. 

“What is your problem today?” I asked, hearing the last set of bus horns. “Why do you keep messing with me?”

Smirking, Ramiro turned and left me again.  Confused and angry, I ran after him.

“Hey!  I asked you a question!” I shouted, trying to catch up with him. “What is your problem with me?”

Ramiro ignored me.  Once I caught him, I repeated my question.  Still he acted as if I wasn’t there.  I shoved him and, quick as a snake, he grabbed my wrist.  His eyes flashed angrily. Opening his mouth, Ramiro was about to talk when David appeared.

“There you are, Ramiro,” he smiled, jogging up to us. “Been looking for you.  Are you ready to go?”

“Yes,” Ramiro said,

He threw my hand away from him as if I was something slimy.

“Eri, did you miss your bus?” David asked, turning to look at me.

“Apparently,” I said flatly, glaring at Ramiro.

“Why don’t we give you a ride then?” David offered.

Sighing, I didn’t see much of a choice.  It was a twenty plus minute walk home from school and I had to do my breakfast dishes before my mother got home.  She hated dirty dishes left lying around.  Nodding my head, I agreed and followed David.  He talked the whole way to the car and to my house.  I sat in the front passenger seat with David driving and Ramiro in the back.  I could feel Ramiro glaring at me as if I had some nerve to actually accept the ride home.  David was oblivious to everything. Always in his own world, David talked nonstop, mostly about himself.

Finally, and to my relief, we reached my house.  I thanked David for the ride and jumped out of the car.  Barely making it a few feet, I heard David’s car door open and close as he followed me.  Turning, I looked at him with a questioning look.

“I just thought I should walk you to your door,” he said, smiling politely.

“I am fine.  Thanks, David,” I said, trying to give him the brush off.

“I don’t mind.”

“Seriously, David, I am fine.”

“Hey, Eri…”

He lightly grabbed my wrist, forcing me to stop and look at him.  David wore his best puppy face, trying to seem cute and pathetic.  Irritated, I gave him my best “what” look, my eyes flicking back to Ramiro, who watched us from the car.

“I just was hoping that you might want to thank me again for the gift I gave you,” David said coyly.

“Thank you?” I said, confused.

“I was thinking of a more personal thank you.”

“Like what?”

“Maybe a kiss?”

“David…”

“Come on, Eri, I’m not asking for much.”

“I don’t feel that way about you, David.  I’m sorry, but I just don’t.”

David stroked my cheek with his free hand.  Stiffening, I didn’t like his mocking smile.

“Eri, I know how this playing hard to get game goes.  I just thought you would have tired of it by now.”

“Hard to get game?”

“I know girls don’t want to seem so easy, but it’s just us now. You don’t need to keep up the game.”

My eyes snapped to Ramiro.  Seeing the direction of my gaze, David laughed.

“Don’t worry about Ramiro.  He won’t say anything.”

Swallowing, I shook my head.  David placed his hand under my chin and turned my face so I looked back at him.

“It’s okay,” he whispered soothingly like I was a scared animal.

Stiffening, I tried to draw away, but, before I could move more than an inch, David wrapped his arms around me and kissed me.  I reacted impulsively.  My knee slammed into his crotch, hard.  A feminine squeal slipped from David’s lip as he clutched himself.  Backing away, I apologized.

“I am sorry, David, but I told you I didn’t feel that way about you and you shouldn’t have forced a kiss on me,” I blushed, eyes darting between David and Ramiro.

“Eri,” he groaned, face contorting in anger.

“I am sorry…”

“You will be sorry…just wait…you’ll be begging for me!”

David appeared to be between anger and sickness as he gasped for air and tried to fight through the pain.  Shaking my head, I ran to my house.  My mind was blank as I slammed the kitchen door closed.  Closing my eyes, I took several calming breaths.  Although it had only been a stolen kiss, I felt anxious and scared.  I had always known David was a creep, but to think I would owe him a kiss for a gaudy necklace. With my eyes closed, I ripped the necklace off and threw it away from me. It clattered on the kitchen floor. 

“Summer!” I called, waiting for my heart rate to slow down.

I knew she had to have gotten home before since David had taken an extremely long route to my house.  I probably would have been better walking.

“Summer!  I missed the bus, so I had to get ride home from David and Ramiro!  I need to talk you!” I called.

“Eri…” Summer’s voice whispered near me.

Startled, my eyes flew open and my fast beating heart forgot to beat. Summer stood in front of me, tears streaming down her cheeks, her arms tied behind her back and a large group of men standing behind her. Gulping, I blinked and then rubbed my eyes, sure they were playing a trick on me.  The men were still there, smiling at me.  Searching the men’s faces, I tried to determine what they wanted.  Was this a robbery?  A kidnapping?  Then my eyes settled on four men that I recognized.  Bryan and Arkon stood directly behind Summer, Bryan radiating a sense of control and leadership.  The rest of the men fanned around Bryan.  The two men who had been there to clear our gas lines were there as well.

“Welcome home, Eri,” Bryan smiled kindly at me. “We have been waiting for you.”

Swallowing hard, I couldn’t make my voice work for a few minutes.  This seemed to amuse the men in the kitchen.  Licking my lips, I tried again.

“What is going on?” I asked, focusing my attention on Bryan.

“Nothing much.  We were just becoming acquainted with your sister, Summer.  We didn’t have a chance to meet her this morning.  She was with her biological mother, if I remember correctly,” Bryan said calmly.

Ignoring the fact that he knew Summer’s name and where she had been this morning, I pressed on.

“Why is Summer tied up like that?” I asked.

“We thought it best until we were sure she wouldn’t give us a hard time.  Are you going to give us a hard time, Eri?” Bryan replied.

His repeated use of my name annoyed me but I was distracted as I felt someone stepped up behind me and reach for my arms.  I yanked them away quickly. The person remained behind me but didn’t touch me again.

“What do you all want?  Money?  Go to my parents’ room.  We don’t keep cash in the house, but I’m sure there is expensive jewelry or something.”

“We don’t want your money.”

“Drugs? We don’t have any drugs.”

“We don’t use drugs or permit drugs within our group.”

“Are you going to kidnap us?”

“We have no intention of removing you from your house.”

“Then what is going on? Please, release Summer.”

“We will once things are more settled.  Why don’t you take a deep breath and calm down.  You seem upset.  Probably from that boy who drove you home.  What was his name, Summer?”

Bryan use the barrel of a gun to tilt Summer’s face up towards him.  My skin crawled and I felt my whole body stiffen.  Silently crying, Summer spoke.

“D..David…” she said shakily.

“Ah, yes, David.  That boy David seems to have made you very upset,” Bryan told me coolly.

“I am upset because I come home to find a group of men in my kitchen, four of which are supposed to have been fix-it people working on my home, my sister tied up, and several guns,” I said almost hysterically.

“Please, we all heard you when you came through that door.  You were already very upset.  Why not just tell us what happened?”

Raising an eyebrow, I gave Bryan a look that he had to be kidding.  His expression never changed. Waving his gun at me, Bryan encouraged me to continue.

“It was nothing…he just kissed me when I told him I didn’t like him like that,” I answered grudgingly.

“Oh!  He forced a kiss on you?  That is not very gentlemen like.  Personally, I detest men who force themselves on women, but it happens. How did you respond to David’s poor behavior?”

“I kneed him in the junk.”

Collectively the men winced.  Some even covered their own privates.

“I am sure he got your point.  Now let’s see if you get mine.”

Bryan pointed the gun straight at me, sighting it.  Blood running cold, I couldn’t move. “We are here to talk to your parents.”

“They won’t be home for hours.”

“We know.  We figured that this would be a good time for you two to get to know us and relax before your parents come home.  We would hate for them to get the wrong idea because you and your sister were being hysterical.”

“I think we have the right to be upset.”

“I guess you do, but it will only make things worse, so let’s move forward.  I am Bryan as you already know. Why don’t you introduce yourself?”

“Why?  I’m sure you all already know all you need to know.”

Bryan’s smile became tight and he appeared to be making a great effort to keep it in place.

“Fine.  You are Eri Sophia Lee.  Your sister is Summer Holm.  You both live with Sandra and Henry Lee.  Sandra is a socialite and Henry is a specialist surgeon.  You have a younger brother, Peter, who is currently at Peewee baseball right now.  He will be home in another hour, driven by his friend Hunter and Hunter’s mom.  Summer is a varsity soccer player and honor student.  You do not participate in school activities, but you are also an honor student. Your favorite subject is history, but you struggle in math. You both are close friends with Maria Ruiz and Kristy Jones. Your birthday was this past Saturday, but you haven’t celebrated it yet.”

Saying all of that very fast, Bryan held my gaze.  My stomach tightened as I felt intimidated by how much they knew about us.  It must not have been acquired quickly.  They had to have been watching us for a while. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile.

“See?  I was right.  You know plenty,” I smiled, my heart pounding in my ears.

Bryan laughed.  Several men joined him.

“Knew you had balls, but I never realized how big of ones,” Bryan said, shaking with laughter. “You are right.  We know plenty and soon you will too.”

“Uh…thanks…and what do you mean?”

“I mean you should get used to seeing these faces.”

“Why?”

“It will be explained when your parents get home.  I hate repeating myself.”

“Can you at least tell us who you are?”

“Fair enough.  As I said I am Bryan.  You have met Arkon.”

Bryan pointed to Arkon, who nodded politely.  His blue eyes twinkled, and I couldn’t help but think how beautiful he was. 

“Tiger and Sly, you also met this morning.”

Bryan pointed out Tiger, the Hispanic man, and Sly, the dark-skinned man, from the gas company.  Both men nodded and smiled.  I memorized their faces and names in case I need to identify them to police later. Carefully I smiled and nodded back.  I didn’t want to seem rude.

“And the rest of your men?” I pushed.

“Eager to meet them?” Bryan teased.