Chapter 9: Shopping

Nessie's POV

"It'll be fun!" Alice had insisted.

I sighed a little too dramatically. How she had convinced me to go to a sleepover, which included a 'major shopping spree' was completely beyond me.

One thing I could say about that short little hyperactive pixie was that when she was determined nothing could stop her. Even if that meant simply going to the mall with me, Rosalie, and Bella. It would be just us girls shopping she said. No boys would be allowed.

Over the past couple of days I could easily say that I had become friends with the Cullens. Edward was the most difficult to understand out of all of them. Don't get me wrong he was a very nice boy but he was always very quiet. I could never quite shake the feeling that he just liked to observe me from a distance. It didn't bother me or anything. It just made me very curious about him. He was so mysterious.

I also got to spend a lot more time with Jacob and that made me happy. I was just happy that my binge drinking hadn't turned him off. However he wasn't afraid to tell me exactly what he thought of my drinking habits when I told him that I went to parties like that often.

I did the last of the finishing touches on my makeup just as Alice pulled into the driveway and called me. I quickly double checked that I had packed everything that I would need for the night.

Why was I doing this again? I wasn't exactly a shopaholic the way Alice seemed to be. I'd much rather just head to the bookstore and then head to a coffee shop and read one of my new books.

I zipped down the stairs in less then half a second. The three of them were waiting patiently. Well Bella and Rosalie were waiting patiently for me. Alice looked slightly less patient then the other two girls did.

Bella just looked downright excited to see me the way she always did. I never understood Bella's excitement to see me and I wasn't sure I ever would.

Thanks to Alice's speedy driving we arrived at the mall in no time. I could barely keep up with Alice as she dragged me to just about every store in the mall. She had me try on so many clothes I was beginning to think I should charge her for dressing me up like if I was a model or something which I'm not. She didn't seem to notice my lack of enthusiasm or she noticed but didn't really care.

What are my chances of escaping and going to that Barnes and Noble I saw across the street? I'd be so much happier picking out books then picking out dresses.

I heard something or someone scream in terror somewhere in the distance. My blood chilled instantly as I recognized the voice as little Ethan's. He was in trouble. I could sense it. I could feel it in my blood. I tensed up. I was ready to spring into action to go protect him. Maybe no one else cared whether he lived or died but I did.

"Nessie!" All three of them screamed in surprise when I suddenly took off running from the store as fast as I could.

I heard him scream again. The fear that I wouldn't get to him in time increased tenfold. I followed the sound of his screams to a deserted park.

I saw them as I got closer. Several men. Two of them were the gang members that tried to hurt Ethan the other day for stealing some Meth from them.

"Put him down!" I yelled when one of the men suddenly grabbed Ethan.

"Oh look who it is. Little Nessie" My blood instantly ran cold when the man stepped into one of the park's lights and spoke. This was the very same man that had raped me when I was nine years old. He was 14 years old at the time. I had seen him often since then but never like this. Never alone at night. One girl up against a bunch of men.

I could have run right then and there and maybe I should have but I couldn't leave Ethan with these monsters. I don't even want to imagine what they would do to an innocent two year old.

"Put him down!" I repeated.

The man laughed. They all did.

"Nessie!" Ethan cried out helplessly.

"What did he ever do to you?!"

"You mean besides steal money from us? Besides stealing drugs from my men a couple of days ago? This kid is just a completely useless annoying waste of space. At least you served me a good purpose when you were a kid. As a matter of fact you may serve that purpose again tonight when I'm through with the boy"

All of my fear instantly evaporated. I charged at him at full force. Strong enough to knock him over. Unfortunately I was caught by the other two men though.

"Nessie if you want to make it out of here alive you're better off doing what I say. Got it!"

"What about you do what we say and release the both of them!" Bella yelled out of nowhere fiercely. She was with both Alice and Rosalie.

The monsters holding Ethan and I captive just laughed.

"Girls. They think they can tell us what to do. Maybe we can have some fun with all of them the way I did with Nessie all those years ago"

Just like that they lost it. Particularly Bella and Rosalie. I mean the guys were so scared they actually dropped Ethan and I.

"Nessie!" he screamed as he ran over to me. I grabbed him and held him tight.

"Bella? Rosalie?" Just like that they calmed down considering. Not completely though.

"Nessie what were you thinking?!" Bella scolded.

"I heard Ethan screaming and I couldn't ignore him"

"You know this boy?"

"Yes I've known him since he was born. He's a homeless orphan that I love and care about. I'd do anything for him"

"Wait homeless orphan?" Rosalie asked.

"Yes. Homeless orphan since the day he was born. To make a really long story short no one wants him so he lives on the streets"

"Nessie I think this conversation can wait" Bella interrupted. "We need to get home right now"

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