"Run, Aiden! Hurry, son! Get out of here or these people will kill you, too."
Samuel groaned, clutching the bullet wound in his leg. His five-year-old son, Aiden, just stood there, looking down at his father writhing on the ground in pain.
"No, Dad! I'm not leaving you here!"
Samuel could see the men searching for them from where they were hiding. They had escaped into a dark alley, but it was only a matter of time before they were spotted.
"C'mon, Tiger. Don't be stubborn! You've got a long life ahead of you. Don't waste it on a dying old man! Just go!"
Samuel slid a gold ring with a bright green gemstone off his finger and pressed it into Aiden's hand. "Take good care of this for me, okay?"
Aiden nodded and squeezed the ring tightly in his small fist.
Samuel pulled himself to his feet, gripped the trigger of his gun, and limped out into the street to face the men standing by his car.
Aiden watched from the shadows as his father and the other men exchanged fire. The crack of gunshots split the night air. He looked on in horror as bullets riddled his father's chest. Samuel's knees buckled, and he fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
With his last breath, Samuel looked up at Aiden. "Remember the face of the men who shot me, Tiger. Promise me you'll make those bastards pay."
"Dad!" Aiden shouted.
Suddenly, Aiden woke up in his bed, drenched in sweat. He looked down at the ring on his finger and sighed.
"Ugh, not again."
Every night for the past eighteen years, he had this same, exact dream — a dream so real it felt like a memory.
"This is getting to be a real pain in the ass," Aiden groaned. He pulled back the blankets, got out of bed, and dragged himself to the bathroom to get ready for work. He hated waking up like this, but he hated his job even more.
Aiden was an orphan — both of his parents died when he was young — so once he turned eighteen, he was on his own. His job as a delivery driver barely covered his bills, but he had no choice but to support himself, and he didn't know any other way to make money. His life felt like an endless grind.
There was only one thing that brought him happiness, and that was his girlfriend, Vanessa. Whenever Aiden saw her, he forgot all of his problems. He had plans to see her later; it was her birthday today, making it even more special. That thought was enough to keep a smile on Aiden's face throughout the entire boring day of deliveries.
After work, Aiden stopped by a bakery to get Vanessa a birthday cake. A bell above the door chimed as he stepped inside.
"How much is this one?" Aiden asked the shopkeeper, pointing at a large, tiered cake with white frosting.
The shopkeeper looked Aiden up and down suspiciously. "Fifty dollars."
That's way too expensive, Aiden thought. He pointed at a cupcake-size version of the same cake. "Okay, how about the small one?"
The shopkeeper smirked. "You mean the cupcake? That's five dollars."
Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll take it."
Vanessa will understand, he told himself. If we're going to get our own place and move in together someday, we'll need to save every penny.
When Aiden reached Vanessa's apartment, he saw colorful lights and heard loud music coming from inside. He rushed up the stairs and rang the bell. A few moments later, Vanessa answered the door in a sexy and obviously expensive new dress.
Aiden was shocked to see that Vanessa's apartment was festively decorated and packed wall to wall with guests. The table was overflowing with drinks, snacks, and an enormous chocolate cake. Aiden was too stunned to speak.
He suddenly realized that everyone in the room was staring at him. He remembered the cupcake he was holding and offered it to her. "Hi, Vanessa. Happy birthday. I didn't know you were having a party tonight."
Aiden recognized a guy named Derek walking over to them. "Why did you order a cupcake?" he asked Vanessa, interrupting them. "I already bought you a real cake. How much do we owe you, bud?" Derek asked Aiden dismissively, pulling a wallet out of the pocket of his expensive suit.
"Don't be silly, Derek," Vanessa giggled. "This is Aiden. You recognize him, don't you?"
Aiden's fingers curled into fists. He knew precisely who Derek was — a spoiled rich kid who was always hovering around his girlfriend.
"You're dating a delivery boy?" gasped one of Vanessa's friends, a tall, blonde girl named Tracy. "Wow, Vanessa, you've really lowered your standards, haven't you?"
Aiden's face turned bright red as the room erupted in laughter.
"You think that I've lowered my standards, but you're wrong," Vanessa told Tracy. "My standards have actually gotten much, much higher."
Is she talking about me? Aiden wondered. For a moment, he thought that Vanessa was defending him. Then he saw her reach for Derek's hand.
"That's why I'm breaking up with Aiden. Derek and I are together now. This is my new standard. I hope you all approve!"
Aiden's heart sank while everyone else in the room laughed and cheered wildly.
"Why be with someone who can only afford to buy you a cupcake when I can buy you the whole bakery?" Derek sneered, then he leaned in and kissed Vanessa's lips.
Aiden couldn't stand by and take the abuse any longer.
"Shut up, you bastard!" He threw the cupcake he was holding at Derek's head, then lunged at him and punched him in the face. There was a loud crack as Aiden's fist connected with Derek's nose.
Derek looked down in shock as blood spattered onto his expensive suit. "You're going to regret that," he growled. He took a swing at Aiden, but Aiden easily dodged the blow, landing a kick to Derek's stomach. Derek fell to the ground clutching his ribs.
"How could you do this to me, Vanessa?" Aiden shouted, but she just smirked in return. As he stormed out of her apartment, he grabbed a bottle of vodka from the table and slammed the door shut behind him.
Aiden wandered around for a while without knowing where he was going. He took big swigs from the vodka bottle, trying to numb the pain in his heart, but with every sip, it felt like his pain was only getting worse. He couldn't help replaying the scene of Derek kissing Vanessa over and over in his mind.
Vanessa was the only good thing in my life, and now, she's gone.
Aiden had no idea where he was, so he sat down on the steps of a fancy hotel and gulped down the last sip of vodka. He tossed the empty bottle into the street and watched the glass shatter into a million pieces.
"I just want this night to be over," he told himself. He was feeling dizzy and tired, so he lay down on the hotel steps. In less than a minute, he was fast asleep.
A few minutes later, an expensive black car with tinted windows screeched to a stop in front of the hotel.
"Looks like it's our lucky night. Time to teach my sister a lesson. Grab him, boys," said the driver, a gangster named Shane Stone.
Four of Shane's men jumped out of the car. They picked Aiden up as if he weighed no more than a pillow.
"Where are we taking him?" asked one of the men.
"Bring him up to room four-oh-nine. Take off his clothes and put him in bed next to my sister," Shane commanded.
"Yes, boss," a burly man replied.
"And hurry up. We have to get him into her bed before the drugs wear off and she wakes up. We might not get another chance like this one!"
Shane's men picked up Aiden and carried him straight up to room four-oh-nine. Once Aiden's clothes were removed, they laid him gently on the bed next to Shane's sister, Ava, who was already lying there fast asleep.
The next morning, Aiden was woken up by a hard slap across his face.
"Who are you, and how did you get into my room? What have you done to me?"
Aiden was shocked to see that he was lying in bed next to a girl he didn't recognize. To make matters worse, they were both completely naked.
"I have no idea…" he started to explain, the blood rushing to his face. But before he could say anything more, the door to Ava's room burst open and Shane came rushing in with his men.
"Shame on you, Ava! I always knew that you were a slut, but Grandpa wouldn't believe me! Now I finally have proof."