Picking Up The Broken Pieces Part 2 (Prapai's Story)

Chapter 3

Prapai awoke with a throbbing headache and his vision was blurry, but he could tell that he was in his bedroom. The light from the hallway spilled in from under the door, and he could hear muffled voices just outside. 

He felt the binds around his hands as he tried to sit up on the bed, but he was being held down by something. His mouth was dry, and his lips were beginning to swell from being hit in the face. The gag was tight around his mouth and was beginning to hurt the more he wiggled. 

Suddenly, the door opened and a small-framed boy, maybe Sky's age, stepped in. He had a glass of water in one hand and what looked like an aspirin in the other. His tee-shirt was stained with sweat, probably from having to carry his unconscious body from the doorway to the bedroom. 

"You're gonna need this later." The boy chuckled, setting the items on the table. Pai eyed him carefully, to see if he could spot any clues about who this person was, and what they wanted, but he was unsuccessful. 

He squirmed in his binds, and kicked his feet, showing his discomfort, hoping they might at least remove the gag. But the boy just smirked and turned to leave. He left the door open a crack and Pai could now hear more voices in the hallway. 

Where was Sky? Pai pleaded to whoever was listening that Sky had made it out of the building before these people entered it. Sweat was beading his forehead, and heat was beginning to build on the sheets where his body was laying. He wiggled his hands once more to see if they had loosened, to no avail. 

After what had seemed like hours, someone stepped into the room and flipped on the light. Pai blinked as the bright light blinded him after being kept in the dark for so long. He winced as the person cut the rope that was tying him to the bed and pulled him up. 

His veins became ice as his vision cleared and he saw who was standing in front of him. His fear became anger, and a guttural growl bubbled from his throat. Gun. Pai watched as his face turned up into a Cheshire-cat-like grin and a small, condescending giggled escaped from his mouth.

"Nice to see you too, Ai'Pai." He wai'd mockingly, bowing deeply. Prapai tried to stand, but his hands, still bound behind his back, were connected to the bed, pulling him back. The bed frame rattled behind him and he hit his head on the wall, infuriating the bruise on the back of his skull. He winced in pain as Gun burst into laughter. 

"I'm going to kill you!" Pai screamed through the gag, but his message was clear. 

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you." Gun lowered the gag, and Pai had to resist biting his hand off. 

"I have enough money to take you to the end of the earth and drop you in a hole for the rest of eternity, you son of a bitch!" Prapai's blood was boiling now. "WHERE IS SKY?" He was almost feral as he looked into Gun's menacing eyes. One of them would not leave alive and Pai would be damned before he let it be him. 

"Let's see, shall we?" Gun held up one of Pai's burner phones, showing that he had Sky's number pulled up. "My Love...now, who could that be?" He punched the call button, putting it on speaker. 

"Don't pick up, don't pick up..." Pai prayed that Sky was in class already, safely taking his exam, blissfully unaware that anything was wrong. The phone rang once, twice, three times, and then it went to voicemail, meaning that Sky had ignored the call and Prapai heaved a heavy sigh of relief.