The House

Chapter 18 One More Friend

                 

The room was empty by the time the guys entered. However, there still was a fresh stain of blood on the carpet. July was very disappointed.

Meanwhile, I started packing my things again to move to a different room. When the guys caught me doing that, they asked me why I wasn't staying at my old room and even though I trust them I couldn't tell them everything. I just said that I discovered something about me and that I couldn't trust my parents after keeping a secret like that from me. Of course, they tried to make me tell them more, but they stopped when they realized I was getting angry.

Now I'm staying at the room to the right of the one I was previously at. I know it isn't a big change, but I'm fine with it. By now, all the rooms in The House look like they're brand new.

And today I'm finally ready to leave my room. Today I will ask that guy's name after my test. I hope I can find Charlotte, so I can move on with the next person.

I open the doors of the Dark Room. The dentist chair, the weird machine, and all the wires are still there. I walk inside to begin the test when suddenly-

I feel a sharp pain on my left cheek and everything gets dark.

...

My head is killing me and I feel like I could throw up any minute now. I can barely open my eyes. Everything is spinning. I can't see anything.

I pass out.

...

I open my eyes again. I don't know where I am or what day it is; all I know is that all my blood is going to my head and that I can't stand the pain anymore.

...

I'm hungry, I haven't eaten anything. I can't scream for help because my throat is too dry.

...

I can't stand the darkness anymore. I want to get out. I want this to stop.

...

"Isabelle! Isabelle, wake up!"

I gasp and open my eyes. My head feels like it's about to blow up and everything is spinning.

"Oh thank god!" it's a female voice, but I can't figure out who it is.

My open my eyes a little bit more and realize that everything is upside down. My hands are tied to my back and my feet are tied to something that's hanging from the ceiling.

"W-What...?" I say.

"Don't talk." says the girl. "You've been here unconscious for days."

I made a bigger effort to try to recognize who's helping me, but all the blood in my head isn't doing me well.

"Let's see how I can get you out of here." I feel how she's grabbing my legs as if I were to fall in any second. "Oh, here..."

I hear a metallic "clank" and my body is released from the ceiling. The girl catches me and holds my body to her chest.

"Oh my god," she says. "Thank God you're okay... Well, thank God you're alive. Everyone thought you were dead."

"W-Who...?" I look up at her face. Everything is still blurry, but I can already guess who it is. "Cindy...?"

Cindy smiles. "Aren't you glad I'm here?"

Cindy is one of my friends, and she's also one of Moth's classmates. I actually met her before him, but having one more friend made everything better. She's a little shorter than me, her skin is light brown and her eyes and hair are dark. Sometimes people think we are sisters because we look alike. A lot.

"What-?" I want to ask her what is she doing here, but my throat is extremely dry.

"Here, take a zip." she helps me sit down and gives me a flask. I desperately grab it and drink the cold water that's inside. She also hands me a slice of bread. "I'm sorry I couldn't get you more, but that British guy barely let me bring you something." she takes something out of her back pocket. "Also, this was here." It's a piece of paper. "It says: 'I told you you would pay."

I swallow. Great, this is for what I did to Max. I'm sure he told that Kepler guy everything. Well, most of it anyway. "What happened? Cindy, what are you doing here?"

"August called me a couple of days ago. He told me that we needed to meet and that it was urgent." she says. "He gave me this address. He also explained everything to me." she sighs. "He told me that one day he was talking to the others guys when, suddenly, something like a fire alarmed went off. They went outside their room and saw that you were being pulled by chains to this room. They tried to help you, but the door was locked. That's when the British guy told them that the only way to help you was with the help of someone that knew you but that wasn't part of 'this game'. When August told me all that of course I did everything I could to help you, but nothing worked. We kept trying to open the door until, well, today."

I put the empty flask away. "Thanks." I say and she gestures me to give her the flask. I do. "How long was that ago?"

She doubts for a second. "About two weeks now."

"What?! Cindy, you've been staying here for two weeks?! Why?!"

"Because," she stands up. "I was worried to death about you Iz! Gerard was too! We helped all the parents when they were looking for their kids, but we only cared about you. August was safe, then Christ. Ronald was unharmed but you disappeared! We had no idea what happened to you. We even tried to track down you but it was useless. I'm telling you, you're lucky that I was here on vacation."

"Cindy..." I feel ashamed. "You should leave. Don't stay here."

"Don't say that! I told my mom that I would be okay. She even wanted to stay Iz! That's how much people care about you... No wonder why Gerard isn't talking to you."

"Wait, you know why he's ignoring me?"

"He's doing that because you ignored him! Us! For two years we cared about you and you didn't care. We're not expecting a thank you, but an explanation would be nice."

"Cindy, I..."

She stares at me, waiting for an explanation.

"I know you deserve to know what happened to me but... I can't." I say.

"Isabelle," she says after a sigh. "What happened to you during these two years?"

I sigh and stare at the ground. "A lot happened, and no one knows. Not even my parents, I..." out of the blue, warm tears start falling down my cheeks. The room is filled with my sobs. "I..."

Cindy knees down and hugs me. "Hey, it's okay. I'm sorry if I'm demanding too much from you, but try to put yourself in my shoes. I couldn't stand the thought of losing you. Thanks to you I met August and the other guys, thanks to you I stopped worrying about what people said. Iz, you're my best friend."

I calm myself down on Cindy's shoulder, then I push her away to look at her. "No, you're right. You need to know. Moth deserves that too, but you can't tell anyone. No one can know now, it will make things complicated and I can't afford a worthless search right now. I will take care of this once all of this is over."

She smiles, again. "You have my word. Now, let's look for Moth."