Ayanna Quintan

Chapter thirteen

When I got home last night I was happy to see that Ambrose was in a good mood. It was clear to see that Emerald had kept her side of the bargain. 

We had made a deal that she wouldn't tell my brother about what happened as long as I stayed away from Tobias and his group. 

Of course, that was going to be very difficult for me 

I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to keep my side of the bargain but if Ambrose found out then I'd already be six feet under. 

I packed up my belongings and headed for the school exit, I was a few minutes late leaving class so I guessed that Ambrose would already be outside waiting for me. 

I spotted his car straight away but what had me confused was the fact that he wasn't inside of it. I quickly scanned my eyes over the area until I spotted him. 

That's when I knew these would be my final moments on earth. 

Tobias was slumped, leaning back onto his car with a cocky smirk across his face. Luca and Zaid were both at his side, Zaid looked emotionless but I could tell Luca felt uneasy as he shifted his weight from side to side. 

What the heck are you thinking Ambrose?

Suddenly Ambrose lurched forward and grabbed Tobias by his shirt. I ran from my spot and darted straight towards them. 

"Ambrose what the hell are you doing?" I yelled 

When neither of the boys looked my way, I knew I had to act fast before this broke into a fight.

I quickly gripped Ambrose's arms and attempted to pry them away but his grip was too strong and he didn't budge. The smirk on Tobias's face was still in tact and I could tell he was daring Ambrose to act on his impulses. 

"Let him go!" I demanded 

Ambrose's eyes flicked towards me then back to the boy he badly wanted to punch. I relaxed slightly as Ambrose released his grip and Tobias dropped back onto his car. 

"You're just lucky we're still on school property" Ambrose warned Tobias 

"Exactly, school property. You have no power her Quintan, there ain't s**t you can do about it either" 

Ambrose scoffed when hearing Tobias's words. He was clearly accepting his challenge. 

"Oh we'll see about that Reid" 

Then Ambrose turned his attention to me, his face relaxed but I could tell by his eyes that there was still anger raging inside him. 

"Let's go Ayanna" he demanded 

I didn't argue or look back to the trio by the car, I simply followed Ambrose in silence.

Silence. 

That's exactly how the whole car journey home was, you'd be able to hear a pin drop. 

Ambrose slammed the car door closed and stormed into the house. I followed suit. When I entered the house we was stood at the bottom of the stairs. 

"I know you're stubborn Ayanna, but why couldn't you listen to me?" 

For a moment, he almost sounded broken.

"What do you mean?" 

I didn't think before I had spoke. I just added fuel to a fire. 

"Don't play dumb, you've been hanging out with him? That i***t sure does like to gloat. I specifically told you to stay away from him and yet you do everything but what I tell you" 

"But I don't understand why I need to stay away, how could I possibly understand anything when you won't tell me anything" 

"Can't you just believe in me? Can't you just have faith that I'm right?" 

"Can't you have any faith that I'm right?" 

Tobias and his group hadn't done anything which sent red flags my way so I didn't understand what the big deal between these two groups of people was. 

"You have no idea Ayanna, you're completely oblivious" 

"then tell me!"

He turned away from me quickly as though he couldn't stand to look at me anymore. 

"They're...trouble" 

"You've said that-"

"They do bad things... terrible things, Criminal things... I don't want you involved in that life" 

He sounded so desperate and as he turned to face me once again, I couldn't ignore the pleading in his eyes. 

He really was genuinely worried for me 

"How do you know?" I questioned "how do you know about the things they do?" 

He closed his eyes tightly as if he was suddenly in pain. 

"I've... I've lived here a very long time Ayanna. I know people, I know this town and I know the things that people get up to. I'm begging you to listen to me... I can't loose you like I lost father" 

I could feel my heart break from him. The worry within him was suddenly making sense to me. 

He had lost the parent that raised him, then I come into his life and he's paranoid about losing me too.

I couldn't imagine what it would be like to loose mum. Ambrose has been so strong this entire time but now I can see that on the inside he's broken. 

"You're stuck with me" I whispered as I wrapped my arms around him. The only thing I could do was attempt to hug away the pain. 

"I love you Ambrose"