Amy started over from the beginning, informing Gary how the strange man had come to their school the other day, looking for his brother Hawk. Amy also revealed what Stacy had told her the day after, about how her best friend had known that they were meeting up with a gang member, one claiming to be part of the Grey Elephants.

Amy was talking a lot, explaining every little detail, even adding her own opinion as to how Raven might have gotten this information. The teenage girl felt incredibly guilty and wanted Gary to know that every step of the way. His sister had never wanted to reveal anything to the gangsters about who he was, nor the fact that he had been there that day.

When talking about the kidnapping, she noticed that Gary was gritting his teeth and clenching his fists. Of course, Amy had expected this kind of reaction, her brother had been very protective of her ever since the day their mother had been hospitalised. However, Gary stayed quiet and waited for Amy to finish her story.

Eventually, his sister reached the point where she had cried for help in the coffee shop, only for Raven to reveal that everyone inside was a member of the Grey Elephants gang.

“I didn’t see a way out, I really, really didn’t want to tell them anything, hoping to be able to stall for more time so that you might come to save us. I don’t even know what you could’ve done, but I didn’t want to break my promise to you… but Stacy spilled the beans.” Amy admitted.

“She told them that we weren’t the last people with Hawk… that it was you, Gary. Stacy told them how you barged in, told her to get the two of us out, and that that was the last time we had seen that guy’s brother.”

When saying these words, Amy’s hands were shaking more than before, and Gary instinctively grabbed them, trying to comfort his sister.

“It’s alright, Amy. There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’m honestly just happy that you made it out safe. You should have just told me everything after he came to your school. I would have told you to just tell him the truth and let me deal with it.” Gary gave Amy a weak smile.

“I know you would say this, Gary, but you can’t just take on everything yourself.” Amy stated, wiping her tears away. “I’ve seen you trying to replace Mum, while she’s in the hospital, so I didn’t want to burden you any more than that. It’s all Stacy’s fault anyway.

“I… I haven’t spoken to her since… I didn’t text her, write to her or anything… Not only that, but I’m not even sure, I’ll ever want to see her again. After she told them everything… Hawk’s brother told her that she was free to go…

“And you know what happened next? … she left… Stacy didn’t even try to ask them to let me go with her… she didn’t try to convince him to let me go too… she just gave me a brief look before she practically ran out of the shop…”

Gary didn’t know what he should say in this situation. He could tell that Amy felt betrayed by her best friend, but during his time with the Underdogs, he had seen this situation happen time and time again.

Fear was a strong tool to use, and everything that Raven had done so far, had been to instill fear into the girls. Making them feel safe, and then realising that even the place they thought was safe was not. He had broken Stacy down, Gary was honestly surprised she had stayed quiet for as long as she had done.

Of course, Stacy’s actions were abhorrent… but they were also the norm. Knowing this didn’t stop Gary from inwardly cursing the teenage girl for leaving his sister, especially since it was Stacy’s fault in the first place that the Dem family had been dragged into the entire mess. Just when Gary was about to ask his sister how she had escaped, Amy continued:

“I thought I was done for at that point. That guy told me that they had some type of jammer in the coffee shop. I couldn’t call anyone and my message wasn’t sending… but then he just looked at me and laughed. He seemed to have greatly enjoyed seeing me so hopeless and desperate…

“Nobody did anything to me, so I sat back down, afraid what would happen next… I was prepared for him to ask me about you, about what happened that day again, but… for some reason he just sat down opposite of me and continued to drink his coffee.

“Occasionally, he seemed to give his men some orders, but otherwise he only looked at me with a smirk on his face. I must have sat there for at least a few hours… I don’t know how long exactly, but eventually he just stood up and left.”

“I was shocked, afraid that this might be another sort of trap. I continued waiting there for a while, but nobody seemed to care about me… eventually, I gathered my courage and slowly headed towards the door… seeing that nobody stopped me, I ran out as fast as I could.

“I was so stunned by everything that happened, I couldn’t even process it all.” Amy finished, putting her legs on the chair and hugging herself. Gary immediately came up and gave her a hug. His sister didn’t push him away, she just started to sob into his chest.

The two of them stayed in that position for a while, until Amy stopped crying.

‘The Grey Elephants, it looks like that guy I got rid of was really important to someone in their gang. Not just anyone could use an entire place like that and utilise so many people… so now the two biggest gangs in Slough are after me, huh?

‘This might mean I need to act. I might have to act against the Grey Elephants as well.They know me and they did all this to my **ing sister!’’

While Gary was lost in his thoughts, Amy patted her brother’s arm, indicating that she was okay. The teenage boy let go of his sister and went to sit back down in his seat. Amy’s eyes looked swollen and puffy. It reminded Gary of the day they had found out what had happened to their mother.

Amy herself had been through a lot that day, and Gary never wanted for her to have to experience something like that again but because of him…

‘Why didn’t I just threaten them… hurt them a little… no, there’s no guarantee it would have ended with that. That Hawk guy threatened me with consequences and based on the way his brother acts, he would have definitely come back for revenge.’

“Gary.” Amy called out to her brother in the midst of his thoughts. “Can you tell me what happened after Stacy and I left the room? I wanted to ask you the other day… but that guy did tell me a bit more. He said that not only his brother had gone missing, but everyone who had been there in that room, except for me and Stacy.”

This was a question Gary had been dreading, but of course it was actually something he had prepared an answer in the past. He just hadn’t had to use his excuse.

“What do you think I did?” Gary sighed as he looked at his sister, trying his best to look innocent. “Honestly, I was in a panic. I mean, I came in and saw what they did to you. So… I shouted at them like a mad man, threatening to kill them if they would ever touch my little sister again.

“I’ve once heard that acting crazy is the best way to scare people away, since they can’t predict what you might do next. It seems like some of that was true, or perhaps they were just too confused about my sudden appearance.

“I just wanted to buy you two enough time to get away, and when it seemed like they were about to attack me, I decided to run away. Believe it or not, I’m quite the fast runner now.” Gary explained, pointing to his now strong body.

His sister made a strange face at his explanation. Gary’s suddenly changed body was actually another mystery that Amy was unable to comprehend.

“Those guys must be gangsters like the one who kidnapped you, right? I bet they’re involved in all sorts of stuff. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were on the run from the police or something, but you don’t have to worry about any of that, okay.” Gary tried to persuade Amy.

With that, the conversation seemed to have somewhat come to an end, and that’s when Amy stood up. It looked like the teenage girl was ready to go back to her room, but before she did, she turned around.

“Gary, you’ve changed a bit these days.” Amy stated, and she could see the worried look on her brother’s face, so she quickly smiled. “I don’t know if it’s a good thing or bad thing yet, but whatever happens, you’ll always be my big brother!”

When heading back to the room, Amy got in her bed and laid down. She was exhausted in more ways than one, not even caring that she had barely eaten anything this entire day. However, she was sure she would have a hard time getting to sleep tonight, especially since she couldn’t stop thinking about one thing.

Amy sat up right in her bed, and looked towards the wardrobe, but it wasn’t her own wardrobe she was looking at, it was Gary’s.

‘Why are those in there?’ Amy wondered.

******

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