𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐌𝐄

─ ❝ act xlii ❞

⎡ act xlii - false illusions ⎦

┊❝ Are you... kidding me? ❞┊

── "ARE you... kidding me?" (Y/N) exclaimed as she stared upwards at Dylan and Ian in a mixture of shock and disgust, struggling to comprehend how absolutely insane both boys sounded. "You're welcoming me home? Here? Are you actually fucking serious!?"

Dylan exhaled softly through his nose at her words, as if he were disappointed with her.

Just that fact made her brow tick.

Flicking her eyes to the door directly behind the two boys, (Y/N) didn't hesitate in trying to bolt for it in hopes of escaping. Just as her fingers barely brushed against the knob, she was yanked backwards by her hair and thrown harshly to the floor. With the wind knocked out of her and her ribs feeling as if they were bruised, she lay there gasping for air for a moment, helpless as Ian dragged her back to the bed. When she finally regained feeling in her arms and legs, she tried to fight back, but it was to no avail, soon enough handcuffs keeping her chained to the wooden bedpost.

"Look at me," Dylan hissed as he fully grabbed (Y/N)'s face to yank in his direction. "What the fuck are you trying to accomplish, (Y/N)? I really don't think you fully understand the situation here."

Quivering under his intense glare, she hated how fearful she felt. She hated how he did this to her—how he was able to control her with a single command, with a single look. But then again, the constant reminder of how humiliating and degrading it was to be beside him was like an instinct ingrained so deeply within her mind that she wasn't sure if she would ever be able to shake it. Just the idea of cowering, even if she couldn't help it, left her blood simmering in primal rage.

"Huh..." Dylan hummed as his eyes raked down her shivering body. "It's funny how you do this."

"Do... what?" She snapped.

"Act so defiant when you're obviously so... scared," he chuckled, as if the thought amused him—if all things considered, it did.

"Just because I'm scared..." (Y/N) spat out, wincing when he dug his fingers even harder into her jaw however not yielding. "...doesn't mean I won't try anything. If you're thinking that you can just keep me here against my will, you're wrong."

"Am I?" He scoffed.

Her eyes narrowed at his derogatory mannerisms towards her.

"Whatever you think you're accomplishing by doing this to me, know that it will only get you a sentence in prison," she scowled, forcing her head away from his grip and trying to kick him in the stomach so he would back away, succeeding in that aspect even if momentarily. "You know what my father is like, but even like that, he'll still file a fucking missing persons report, you piece of shit! People know what you did to me! They'll see the phone records! They'll know everything!"

"That's where you're very wrong, (Y/N)," Ian simpered with an almost mocking smile as he crossed his arms over his chest, his stance one of total ease, much the same as Dylan's. "We know all about your little... investigative work. All those recordings you took you thought were 'secret.' All those photos you printed out as 'evidence.' Your phone with its 'evidence.' All that is gone."

(Y/N)'s expression twitched, yet she kept her glare searing and hot.

She couldn't allow him to rattle her.

She couldn't.

"Wanna know how we know?" Dylan laughed almost psychotically, dangling the information before her and just waiting for her to take the bait.

She steeled herself.

"How?" She forced out.

"By watching you all the time, every day... everywhere," Dylan whispered into her ear, the very insinuation of what he meant making all blood drain from her face. "Whatever you did or thought... we knew. We always knew."

"And don't worry," Ian shrugged. "We made sure those cameras were taken care of as well. The police will find nothing if they sweep the place. At least, nothing that we want them to find." Watching with absolute ecstasy at her ever shifting expressions from his and Dylan's words, he continued with a soft hum, "Oh, you didn't know? We also made sure any and all trails of your disappearance led back to your dad since... we know what he's like."

Fear filled (Y/N) to the brim.

She had felt trapped before, but never like this.

Never so utterly constrained.

"We just want the best for you, (Y/N)," Dylan placed his hand to his heart as if he were genuinely wishing for her well-being, the twisted glimmer within his honeyed gaze however telling a very different story. "That's why we're doing all of this, because the best place for you is right by our sides. Always. And, we couldn't let college, your father, or anyone else get in the way of that. You must understand that, right?"

His words only fell on deaf ears.

Staring mutely down at the wall in front of her, her eyes devoid of all life or emotions, (Y/N) could do nothing but sit there.

This was happening to her for a reason.

Because she tried to help a boy?

Because she didn't fight back more?

Because... why?

...Why?

Why?

Why?

Why!?

The questions swirled within her head until it was maddening, screaming at the top of her lungs for help whilst thrashing wildly on the bed in hopes of freeing herself from her handcuffs, the metal cutting into her skin just like the rope that had been binding her earlier had done. Dylan and Ian glanced at each other before silently leaving the room, deciding that once she was entirely broken, she would finally accept her reality and them.

Breathing heavily, her entire body trembling, (Y/N)'s muscles tightened until taut.

She had to escape.

She had to.

If what Dylan and Ian had been speaking was true, then help wouldn't be arriving like she had initially hoped. She had to escape, and she had to do so before the obsessed boys keeping her captive noticed. Sawing her handcuffs against the wood of the bed frame, already she could see the polished frame whittling away.

She would escape.

She'd rather accept death if she didn't.

__________________________________

To be continued...