My eyes shoot open when I feel something ice cold being held to the top of my head. My eyes are met with tan skin, dark eyes, and black hair. Ryan. We're in his room and I'm laying on his bed, him sitting beside me.
"You're up" he says, sounding satisfied. He takes the bag of ice off my head.
I try to spring myself out of his bed but I feel a pull on all four limbs. Each limb is tied to each of Ryan's bed posts with rope. I'm spread out like a starfish, the most vulnerable I've ever been.
"I'm sorry I had to do this to you" Ryan says but I ignore him.
"HELP!" I scream at the top of my lungs.
"Come on, don't be like that" Ryan says and I begin to panic.
I pull on the ropes with all four limbs, but all I successfully do is give myself rope burn.
"Stop hurting yourself" Ryan says, his face deadpan.
His door bursts open; it's Derrick.
"I heard a cry for help" Derrick says. His eyes look over me, then at Ryan.
"I've got this, Derrick" Ryan says, irritated.
"Okay" Derrick says and gently shuts the door.
Before the door is all the way closed I scream again, "LIAM!"
Ryan glares at me, angry.
I finally acknowledge him. "Where's Liam?" I ask worryingly.
"He's in my backyard" Ryan says without a single thought.
"Why's he there?" I inquire.
Ryan looks at me and cocks his head to the side. He raises his eyebrows. "Let me repeat myself. He's IN my backyard" he says.
My stomach drops and my eyes water. No no no no no. This can't be happening.
"YOU KILLED HIM!" I scream, my voice raspy.
Ryan clenches his jaw. "Of course I did. People don't get away with treating me or my friends like that" he says as if it makes all the sense in the world.
People? "You've killed more people?" I ask, my voice choking on every syllable.
"Well not just me. My friends too. Remember when Mariam went missing last year? She had told Josh that she would go on a date with him. She told him to meet her at some fancy restaurant and she never showed up. The next day at school she acted like she had no clue about going on a date with Josh. She broke his heart. So we broke hers. Literally" Ryan says and I'm speechless.
"There have been others we've killed, but that one is the one that comes to mind" Ryan continues.
"What about your parents? How do you keep this a secret?" I ask, curiosity getting the better of me.
"We were all orphans in some foster home. Some dumb drunk woman took 'care' of us. She'd beat us with a belt sometimes if we irritated her. We all got sick of it and ran away. She never even reported us missing. Probably got more money from the government by doing so" Ryan says and I can see he truly dislikes the woman.
My pity for him is nonexistent though. I need to find a way out of here.
"We were all in middle school at the time. We scrambled for jobs and lived in various play grounds around the city. Eventually the six of us could afford a place together. We all work to pay rent and for our own personal needs like any normal high schooler, but sometimes we get lucky when something is on a person we kill. Like one time we found a gold watch on Se-" Ryan continues before I cut him off.
"I don't want to hear it" I say bitterly.
Ryan rests his hand on my one of my biceps stretched above my head. My arm only twitches because that's the most I can move it.
"We don't kill for money Jen! We only kill the people that hurt us" Ryan says as if that's perfectly acceptable.
"You're all psychotic!" I yell angrily.
Ryan sighs. "Let me get you something to eat" he says softly. Is this supposed to distract me from the situation?
"Just let me go! I never did anything to you except be nice!" I proclaim.
"Come on Jen, you're smarter than that. You know I can't do that" Ryan says as if I'm his best buddy. It pisses me off he sees me as someone he can talk to after I've discovered what an evil person he is.
"So are you going to kill me too?" I ask, starting to fear for my own life.
"I really don't want to, Jen. But you have to be good" Ryan says.
I don't know what to think. Thoughts about never going outside again, being tied up for the rest of my life, and never seeing another person again run through my mind. Would dying just be the easiest thing to do?
"My parents will look for me" I say.
"Will hacked into your phone. He's pretty good at those things. We saw you didn't text anyone where you were going or make any recent calls. I don't think anyone will know to look for you here" he says.
I rack my brain. Then, a realization hits me. Mr. Stoppelmoor might be able to find me. He knows I was dropping off Ryan's work. I just have to live like this for a little while. I keep my face stoic.
"Now tell me, do you want anything to eat?" Ryan asks.
"What time is it even?" I ask. I am pretty hungry. How long was I out for?
"It's around 6 pm. You were only unconscious for a couple hours" he answers.
"Okay. I'll have something" I say quietly, giving in to the satisfaction of food.
"Peanut butter sandwich okay?" he asks.
"Fine" I say.
Ryan exits the room, shutting the door behind him.
