Perfect Places

Sob Story

"A million?!" I exclaimed.

"As in, dollars?!" Zane shrieked.

Connor smirked at both of us, knowing exactly what he was doing. He knew darn well what neither of us would ever be able to pay him that huge sum of money. On the other hand, if Zane's life was getting a price tag put on it, a million dollars was nowhere near enough. I knew that I would fight tooth and nail for that million dollars if it meant keeping Zane alive.

"I mean," Connor started, "That is ... if you even want to live."

"Connor, you know I won't be able to get the money." Zane admitted, "I mean, I'm barely scraping by as it is."

Zane was playing the "poor" card. Smart move. I decided to play along.

"Same here. Jim and Cece are on the verge of making me pay rent, Connor. How do you expect me to get that sort of money?" I lied, using the best acting skills that I possibly could.

He looked me dead in the eyes, "Oh please, I'm not buying your sob story, princess."

"And I'm not buying that fake Supreme sweatshirt, dirtbag." I fought back, gritting my teeth.

Zane laughed hysterically. Connor glared over at him.

"Alright, alright," Zane wheezed in between laughs, "You gotta admit, Con man, that you set yourself up for that one."

"PFFFF-" I roared with laughter, "Con man?! Okay, now that's a good one."

"I send my CONdolences to you, Connor. She practically buried you in the ground with that one." Zane joked, barely being able to hold himself together.

This was getting out of hand, but I was just getting started.

"It seems like this situation is a little out of your CONtrol, Connor." My jokes were getting cheesier and cheesier by the second.

Zane's laughing got louder, which made me laugh. The room was filled with hysterical laughter. The only one killing the vibe was Connor, whose face was completely red. I could tell he was livid. I think his face was the funniest thing in the room.

"SHUT UP," Connor screamed, pacing across the room, "KEEP IN MIND THAT I'M THE ONE WITH A GUN HERE."

Finally, Zane and I collected ourselves.

"A year," Connor calmed down, "You have one year to get the money."

By then, I had made a small tear in the sticky duct tape. Freedom from that chair was well within reach. It was so close I could almost taste it.

The Con man was still talking. He was still running his mouth. I was so zoned into getting free, that I had completely tuned him out. But hey, the silence was peaceful.

Every once in a while, I would glance over at Zane. He looked like he was in the same situation as I was. I could tell that he was definitely not paying any attention, and I could slightly see his fingers working at the tape.

"Correct?" Connor asked me, snapping me out of my haze.

"Correct?!" He asked again.

"Wha-" I was completely confused.

"I asked if you would get the money for me by the end of the year." He fiddled with the trigger of the gun, "Did you hear me?"

"I wish I hadn't," I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" He touched the side of my cheek.

"Oh my God, shut up. Give us all a favor." Zane begged, clearly fed up with Connor's mouth.