Fatima pov

Fatima it seemed had no choice in the matter as she was carried out of the trail. Why isn't she fighting back, why not scream and thrash and see if anyone would come. Except no one would come, people would rather avoid conflict and pretend it doesn't exist right in front of their faces rather than intervene. Plus four to one was certainly not a fair ratio and seeing where this goes actually caught her curiosity. The woman acts like the obvious leader, this consensus based on the lack of attempt to defy her and ultimately doing as she asked. However, there was an unnecessary amount of bickering between three of them. Jake, it seemed rather observe or ignore his current surroundings, or perhaps both. She hasn't quite figured out yet. 

She didn't seem too fond of Jacob either, not that she was fond of any of them since the situation currently falls under a technical kidnapping. Unless they were serious in just driving her home but who even does that nowadays? But she kept quiet and waited for a real opportunity to evade them. 

Solid ground was beneath her feet once again as Tommy had placed her before probably one of her dream cars, barely catching a glance before being ushered into the back seat. "Oh no, you two are sitting in the back," Dia snapped at Tommy and Jacob as they both had reached for the passenger door. She slid into the driver's seat and thumbed the wheel waiting.

Fatima made herself as small as she could as both guys were on either side of her, they weren't exactly big but she felt like not impeding on their space. They both faced away merely glaring out the windows, but she was unsure if it was due to her being there despite not wanting her to be or they simply hated each other that much. Her chest felt tight under all the tension, she had to catch her breath before it becomes too unbearable. 

"Well?" She broke out of her focus to see all four of them were staring at her hard.

Awkwardly fidgeting, "Um, well what?" she replied realizing they haven't driven off yet.

Jacob groaned, fully irritated, "Where do you live moron." 

"Oh," she kept her voice small, she didn't want to lose her head nor put herself in a deeper hole. Yet she also didn't want to give them her address. She could tell their patience was wearing thin, and they seemed determined enough that they would follow her home regardless of what she did. Her mind started drawing up blanks, she could walk home just fine using her visual clues she memorized on the way, but the street name was evasive while under stress.

"Someone grab her phone, I don't want to be here all night." Dia whisked her head forward as both the guys in the back seat pinned Fatima before she could do anything. "Back pocket is my guess, the rest of her clothing is too tight for one to fit." 

"Wait! I can do it myself!" But it was too late. "No, no don't-" Her face flushed over as her heart pounded against her chest. She didn't know which one took it first, but they both wordlessly looked at the lock screen. 

"This girl's a serial killer," Tommy blankly stated.

"Oh my god." Fatima covered her face in embarrassment. Flinching as Jacob's response cut into her, "She's into BDSM you idiot."

Another moment of silence and she peeked from behind her fingers to meet the judging eyes of everyone in the car and the brothers in unison, "I can see it."

"Just kill me," she muttered.

"You'd enjoy it too much." they laughed as she imploded in on herself. Great, judgmental strangers, it was always better when she was overlooked or ignored. Wait, why did she care about what these people thought, this chance encounter will be over before long and can be shoved into the recesses of her mind to draw upon late at night as another dreaded embarrassment to think about when sleep is impossible. Maybe she was drunk, she thought to herself with a defeated sigh.

"Hey, you okay there?" Tommy jested tapping on her lowered head, she shot him a wordless glare. He held up her phone screen in one swift motion to her face. "If looks could kill."

"It's unlocked," Jacob stated, snatching it before Fatima could and handed into Dia's outstretched palm.

"Thank you," she sang peering into the rearview mirror snickering. "Google, take me home."

"Your destination is 20 minutes away," the overtly cheerful automated voice rang out. 

"Walking my ass." They drove off.

"I would have been fine." Fatima's voice was thick and heavy now.

"I don't want to hear it, walking that distance at this time is stupid." So is getting in a car with a group of strangers. She bit her tongue, confrontation was the worst thing to do at this time. This didn't spare her from feeling conflicted, this couldn't just be because this lady wanted to be kind, there's always another motive. The silence that ensued was uncomfortable, but she was thankful for it anyway as she was stressed out enough.

The rest of the ride passed fairly quickly as the city hushed into a ghost town. Fatima wordlessly watched as they passed each neighborhood going from the pristine and neat high scale apartments to the not quite so nice but not too shabby townhouses to building that had been abandoned for years. The windows shot out, roofs collapsed, some even still have the blackened walls from fires long ago. Finally, arriving in the small forgotten corner of the world, the low scale apartments of the outer city. The hollow cheery voice rang out once again, "You have arrived."

Fatima was quick to get out not looking whomever in the eye as they let her out without a word either. She walked around the car that now seemed so out of place from its surroundings, hoping that no one was around to see. Dia rolled down the window, handing back the phone.

"Thanks for the ride, I guess," Fatima shrugged pocketing the phone. 

"Yeah, it was no problem," Dia replied giving her a small smile. "Is this where you live?" She gestured toward the closest building. 

"Well, yeah." She shot a quick glance at one of the higher floor window. "Well, I gotta go now." This is needlessly awkward. 

"Yeah, come on Dia, before someone tries to rob us," Jacob complained from the backseat. Dia turned to say something to him, Fatima used this moment to leave since, well, she was in fact home, and a lot earlier then she wanted to be. There was bickering behind her, but she paid no mind to it as it wasn't any of her business anyways and soon it was muffled even further as she quietly shut the apartment's main door behind her.

"I'm not ready for this," she murmured forcing her feet to drag her up the steps. Soon she was facing a plain oak door, her breath caught in her chest, the all too familiar tightness in her ribs forced her to take a moment to steady herself with a long exhale. Taking her time fishing out the key from her pocket, she listened for anything on the other side. Met with silence, she unlocked the door and gently pushed it open. To keep the creaking to a minimum, it was opened just enough to slip through before pushing it closed, her hand holding the knob as to not click when shut either.

"New friends, Fatima?" The chilled words gutted her as a female voice continued, no need to turn to see the slight smirk and the jeered statement, "did someone take pity on you again?"

Fatima silently glared at the door, maybe it wasn't too late to just leave. "You reek, did you try to get yourself blackout drunk? Our little fight earlier bothered you that much?" Fatima ignored the condescending tone but with all that had happened between then and now she couldn't remember what minor inconvenience caused this. She gripped the knob tightly, "I never seen you try to run away before, did our little prior conversation bother you that much?"  Baited faux concern, another ploy to twist things around in her head.

"I'm not doing this now, Kate." Fatima turned to meet her, keep your head straight Fatima while eyeing her roommate from the small distance away. She had been stress eating again, all of the hard work at the gym gone and back to square one, it seems. She still dressed as though she had an extravagant date in five minutes, makeup only a little smudged and her dull brown hair still in the perfect little ballerina bun it was always in.

"Why not? You think you can just come and go as you please? You have no issue acting like you are better than us!" Her face didn't match her words save her flaring nostrils, but dared not closed the distance between them. Fatima could easily leave, Kate wasn't going to raise a finger to stop her. However, she loosened her grip, letting her hand fall limp to her side. Her heart stilled and her eyes burned as she bore them into the girl before her.

"This again?" Fatima's anger finally boiled over. "News flash, my world doesn't revolve around you. I pay my share of the rent, I do my share of the chores. I'm not covering your ass anymore because you want to chase married men your whole life! You have the audacity to then come back here and put Chloe and I down for menial bullshit to make your worthless and pathetic ass feel better."

"Guys, you shouldn't be fighting," Chloe gently cooed as she was on the sofa behind Kate, who scoffed at the remark. Fatima peered around and saw the smaller figure hunched over, pale green eyes completely bloodshot and heavy black mascara streaked her cheeks. Kate must have been chewing her out the whole time Fatima was gone. 

Her breath caught again, the spasms dissipating her anger as she had to focus on breathing yet again. "I'm going to bed now." She needed to rest before the stress made her snap again and provoke her to do worse than throw shade at someone who was supposed to be her friend.

"No, you're not-"

"Oh, yes I am Katelynn. I don't owe you shit, and frankly, you just need to sleep off your bitchy mood and we'll talk in the morning. I'm tired, I had a rough day no thanks to you. I need my sleep. Night."

They both murmured a response but she didn't bother to make out either one and disappeared down the hallway, briskly getting to her room and locking the door behind her. She slid down onto the floor, staring into the empty space before her. "I may as well be back in hell, at least demons respectfully ignored my presence," her broken mumbles a note higher than a hoarse whisper, as she repeated to herself things that were supposed to be uplifting.

*

A downcast gaze from pitch-black eyes and tilted smile jested at the table. One hand flushed against the polished ebony supporting a dangerous leer over the other unsuspecting men currently seated, the other poised just out of sight. They hadn't realised he was standing, or their arrogance blotted out rational thought something was amiss. Not even the glint of silver clued them in for what happened next.

Shame the table was ruined as pools of red saturated into the grain and dribbled onto the floor, but it wasn't his so it mattered not. A moment later, he had his phone in hand one message away for the cleaners to be sent. The man waltzed out the door into the chilled night, not even glancing back at the large estate behind him. Buying the land and reselling it for profit would be quite easy if he wished to do so, but stepping into his pristine white Zl1 Camaro he had no intention of returning.