Music Box 2

Chapter 9

I open my eyes. I have no idea where I am. Thousands of questions go through my mind.

Is Lucas okay? Did Jace kidnap me? Who is Seven?

I pull the blanket away and stand up from the couch. Suddenly, I realise where I am. I am back in the building, surprisingly.

The door opens, and I see Aston. "Hey," he simply says. He walks up to me with a plate. "I brought you food," he says. He puts the plate with some bread and other supplies on the table beside me. "How is Lucas, and where is Jace?" I ask. "You mean that friend of yours? He is fighting with Hener, I believe, "he replies.

Of course, typical...

"Oh... and Lucas?" Jace sits on the other couch. "Still in the hospital."
"A-and seven?" I ask. Aston looks at me confused. "Who?"
"Seven," I repeat. "The one who attacked Lucas."
"I don't know, police is pretty slow, not gonna lie," says Aston. His face is unreadable like most times of the day.

I remember what Seven said. 'Our place', where is that supposed to be? I don't even know who he is, I don't think it's any of the others, though.

"Please break up Jace and Hener. They are noisy, "interrupts Aston from my thoughts. "Of course," I sigh.

When I come into the room, I see Jace on the ground, with Hener on top punching him in the face. Jace grabs Hener's collar and drags him underneath, with a sudden punch in Hener's face. "Guys..."

There is a sudden silence, and their eyes turn on me. Without any expression like they're waiting for me to say something. Monica just stands there, afraid to get punched as well if she will interrupt them. "Is this really necessary?"

"Not at all," says Jace and gives Hener a last punch. He flies backward. Jace stands up and gives Hener a mean smirk. Hener glares at him, like he could tear him apart. Monica gives me a relieved smile before thanking me. "I don't know how much furniture could be furthur destroyed if you hadn't helped out," she says. I just nod my head.

"See you later everyone", I say and walk towards the exit. "Where are you going?"asks Monica. "Visit Lucas," I shortly answer before closing the door.
.

.

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I take a seat and wait. There are still some doctors with Lucas, so I have to wait. Suddenly, there walks a guy in and takes a seat next to me. Of all the seats he could choose, why next to me? I glance at him. He has blonde hair, twinkling blue eyes. He is wearing jeans with a loose shirt. "Hi," he says happily. "Hey..."

Am I supposed to know this guy? He seems to know me, or is he just being nice?

"Do you know Lucas?" He suddenly asks. "Yeah. He is my... friend, "I say. "What about you?"I ask. "Oh, I'm a friend as well. His best friend, actually." The handsome guy smiles warmly.
I can't help but feel comfortable with him. He reminds me somehow of the time before the six serial killers.
"What's your name?" I ask. "Tony, what about you?" "I'm [name]", I want to shake hands, but he goes immediately for a hug. As he releases me and sees the confusion on my face, he apologizes. "Sorry, I'm a touchy guy," he says as he scratches his neck. I smile back. "You know what? I don't mind at all."

A doctor comes out of the room. "You can visit now," she says. We both stand up and go to his room. Lucas lies on a bed, connected with some tubes and monitors.

"Tony, [name]. Good to see you, "Lucas says. "Are you okay?" I ask. "I'm fine," says Lucas, happy to see me. "Dude, you look horrible," chuckles Tony. Lucas smiles. "You shouldn't talk. You didn't look better last time," replies the cop.

I smile at their conversation. But it doesn't last long. I hear someone whisper my name out. I look behind me at the door, where I see Hener. "I'll be right back," I say to the two. "Okay, see ya soon," says Tony.

I leave the room and see Hener leaning against the wall. He isn't angry. He just looks at me with a soft gaze, his eyes caring. "Are you going to be alright?" He asks.

Is he genuinely worried about me?

"Yes, I...." I stop. I feel overwhelming all over me. "I-I'm fine." Hener walks over me and pulls me in a hug. Normal, I would push him away, but I can't.

Everything feels so genuine... Would he really have changed for me?

I hug him back, laying my head in the croock of his neck. "[Name]", he begins. "I care about you. You know that, right?"
He strokes my hair, and the comforting feeling washes over me. The last time I felt this way was when I was finally free again.

I realise that he doesn't belong in prison. He never did. I compare every situation with what happened before, but it's different now. There aren't 6 serial killers with him. He turned on them.

He chose me over them...

I can feel my heartbeat rise up. I pull back and take off softly Hener's mask, revealing the nasty scar. He let's me take it off. My fingers softly caress the scar. My thoughts went back when I first saw him. A lot changed between us. "I've never thought it was ugly," I say. Hener smiles softly at my sentence and takes my hand in his while he leans his face against it.

"Do you trust me now?" He asks.

"Yes, I do."