The Kidnapper

Chapter 7

Blair

I was not the same girl at school anymore. I was the girl who lost her dad and mom now. The orphan. Everybody looked at me with pity, even though six months had passed since my dad's death and many years since my mother's.

I guess I move on pretty fast, because I pitied myself way less than everybody else pitied me.

I'm not heartless, it's just that my dad and I weren't really close, and I always kind of hated him.

Before my mom died, he kept sleeping around with other girls that were five or more years younger than him. She stayed with him for my sake. And when she died, he hadn't even attended her funeral - his own goddamn wife's funeral! - and he kept sleeping with much younger girls.

But it still hurt to know that I was officially an orphan. Now that both my parents were gone, my godparents Georgina and Julio moved in with me to take responsibility of me.

Both my parents were murdered. I was pretty sure they were murdered by the same person I mean, they both were killed the same way!

But why would the murderer kill them though? Why did the murderer kill my dad that night, but left me and Leighton alone? Could it be the same murderer that killed Mr. Pions, Mr. Clair, Mr. Lacroix and many more? I shook my head. What was I thinking? It was obviously him or her.

I had been so stupid. I knew this would happen, I had a feeling it would. I should've said something to my dad when he announced he was going to work as the state senate. If I had... he still would've been alive right now. And people wouldn't constantantly treat me like a poor soul. I know what I am, and I know I'm strong, but no one believed me. I would just keep my head up and then maybe people would finally stopped giving mortified looks everytime someone spoke of death or mentioned that word.

I wanted answers. Even though I barely knew my mother, and that I wasn't very close to my father, I wanted to find out why they were killed and who killed them. It just hurt, knowing that the killer was still on the loose and that it would happen to more poor, innocent people.

I slammed my locker shut after grabbing my cheer outfit. The regionals were coming soon, and I couldn't afford to let my team down, so I had to participate and act like all was well.

"Are you ready to go?" Kenaya asked, looping her right arm through my left arm.

I smiled at her. "Yeah, let's go."

We walked silently to the changing rooms, quickly trading our regular clothes for mini-skirts, crop top and pompoms.

"Okay, team, huddle up! We're going to discuss the choreography for regionals!" I shouted, cupping my hands around my mouth, using it as a bullhorn, as Kenaya and I arrived outside.

They all stopped practicing their handsprings, tumbling and pyramids, rushing towards me.

We sat on the grass and I gave everybody a role, according to their forces and skills.

Everybody started practicing, some were in groups, others individual. I smiled at how amazingly hard they were working. They never spared an effort and they loved what they were doing so much. I passed by and made a few comments here and there, and helped some people who were completely out of it.

"Blair!" Someone shouted from behind me.

I turned around and smiled when I saw Leighton walking up to me. I ran to her.

"Hey! Since when do you visit me on cheer practices?" I said, squeezing her hand gently.

She yanked her arm out of my grasp and glared at me.

Well okay. I thought we had made some progress. Leighton was never really nice to me, but ever since the night where my dad died, she did start acting a bit nicer.

It really hurt when she rejected me. I would compliment her and she would just nod and not say a word. Or I'd try to hug her and she'd wince, like I burned her.

I just wanted to be close friends with her, but she didn't seem to really care about me.

"I'm not here to visit you, Blair," she snapped, taking her sunglasses off.

"Blair, I need help with my backflip," Kimberly said, touching my forearm.

"I'm in the middle of something, Kim," I snapped, glaring at her. "Go ask Kenaya to help you, she's not my assistant for nothing, after all."

She nodded and walked away from us.

I shifted my attention back to Leighton.

"Why are you here, then?"

"Listen, I really need you. Tonight, I want you to kidnap Taylor," she said, staring at me.

I stared at her blankly and burst out laughing. I stopped when I felt something cool and hard against my temple. She was holding a gun to my head!

I slightly turned my head to get a better look at her and she had an angry look on her face.

"Listen, Blair," she said my name like it repulsed her. "I have killed many people in my life, and killing you won't be a big deal. So you better do as you're told, or I will end your life, right here, right now."

I gulped hard when I felt her press the barrel against my temple harder and clicking the bullet in place. She just had to pull the trigger, and I'd be dead.

She was a fucking psycho.

But she could kill me. I gulped down hard and nodded.

"Wh-what do you want me to do?" I stuttered, feeling my heart hammering against my chest.

I was so scared, but I didn't want to let my fear show.

"You go to Taylor's house and knock him out. You blindfold him and tie his hands and then you kidnap him. Make sure nobody sees you. Especially not him. And take your stupid friends Elle and Avery with you."

Elle and Avery? Why them?

I realized that Leighton was really smart. She managed to fool me and everyone. She killed my dad, in my presence, and had gotten away with it.

She even realized that I was stupid enough to trust her, so she decided to use me to get Taylor.

Why did she want me to kidnap him anyways?

I felt her pull the gun away from my temple.

"You wanted to meet Taylor? Well here's your chance."

Of course I wanted to meet him. But not under those circumstances.

"Wh-what do I do after I-I kidnapped him?"

"You take him to your house. Lock him somewhere. Make sure no one sees or hears him. Do not feed him. Do not give him anything to drink. I will come get him tomorrow after school, I'll drop by. He better be there. Or your head won't be on your neck anymore. Like your dad." She put her shades back on and burst out laughing again.

She tapped my chin with her index finger and walked away, chuckling.

"Hey, Blair. What are we doing tonight?" Avery asked excitedly in the changing rooms.

I grabbed her and Elle's arms, dragging them with me outside the field.

"Girls, tonight we're doing something we've never done before. You cannot tell anyone about it, or we'll get killed. We're doing something illegal, dangerous and unusual. We're kidnapping a boy," I announced, staring into their eyes.

They exchanged worried glances and gulped hard. They turned their attention back to me and slowly nodded.

What had I gotten myself into? And why had I dragged my friends in this mess?