“Well,” I said taking a deep breath, “we are called the Knights of Rage. My best friend, Aiden, and I have been members for a couple years now. And we were recently promoted. We are now ranked.”

            “Is it a violent gang?” Paula asked.

            “At times yes,” I said. “But we are only violent when someone attacks us. We retaliate and go back on the defensive. We don’t go out looking for fights or make beef with anyone.”

            “How are things right now?” Paula asked.

            “Right now,” I said. “Right now is a rough time. Our rivals have been starting trouble a lot the past couple weeks.”

            “I don’t know how I feel about Spencer being involved in this,” Arthur said. “I don’t want anything to happen to her.”

            “I completely understand sir,” I said. “But even though I have only known Spencer for a few days, I care about her a lot. I care about her more than I have ever cared about anybody my entire life. I don’t want anything to happen to her either. I am going to try my hardest to keep her out of harm’s way. I will do everything I can to keep her out of that part of my life. I think I would die if she ever got hurt because of my gang.”

            “That’s all I needed to hear,” Arthur said. He walked over and gave me a big hug. This time I didn’t mind it. I wrapped my arms around him tightly. We let go of each other and he smiled at me “You’re a good kid, Ashley.”

            “Thank you sir,” I said.

            "Just make sure you keep my little girl safe," he said.

            "I will sir," I said. "You don’t have to worry."

            “Stop calling me sir,” he joked, “you’re making me feel old.”

            “Sorry Mr. C,” I said.

            “That’s better,” he said. “You can go ahead and go upstairs if you want. I think that’s all we had for you.”

            “All right,” I said. I jumped off the chair and headed to the stairs. Half way up I noticed Spencer sitting at the top. She had tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. “You listened didn’t you?”