The Cannibal Bride *WattyAwards2024

14) Everybody Loves Crazy

"Heathens" by Twenty-One Pilots
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Ian said nothing as he carried Alyssa through the house, and she said nothing either. Her mind was working in overdrive as she tried to figure out what Cassi's strange words meant. Obviously, she was talking about Ian. What Alyssa couldn't figure out was what she meant by it. Elementary school and a little boy? Alyssa was struggling to recall what she meant.

It was soon discovered that everyone had gathered in the living room. Ian took a seat on the couch and attempted to seat Alyssa on his lap, but her deathly glare caused him to roll his coffee-brown eyes and gently move her to sit beside him instead. Despite her hesitation, she found herself wishing she had remained on his lap; she felt safer with him close by.

As Alyssa took in her surroundings, she realized that the living room was filling up with people who must have arrived while she was down in the basement. To her surprise, there were some unfamiliar faces among them. Simone and Delores were there, and she recognized the sheriff. But there were also two large men she didn't recognize, along with two women. One of the women, in her late twenties, was holding a toddler, while the other young woman cradled a decent-sized baby bump. Nick Stern hovered nearby; his face etched with a glare as he watched Alyssa closely.

She thought she was outnumbered in the basement, but now, looking at the group of people gathered in the living room, Alyssa realized that was a joke. She was vastly outnumbered now, and the only person she felt she could rely on was the man she considered a monster sitting beside her. Understanding she needed to play along and show Ian affection to survive, Alyssa brought her knees up and hugged them close before leaning against Ian's shoulder. The ploy seemed to work; Ian easily fell for it, thinking she wanted his touch. He draped a long arm around her, pulling her in closer.

Snuggling in and resting her head against his strong shoulder, Alyssa felt a wave of disgust at herself for resorting to such displays of affection just to gain Ian's favor. Leaning her head up close to Ian's ear, she tried to sound as vulnerable as possible as she prepared to ask her question.

"They're g-going to kill me, aren't they?"

Her damsel-in-distress voice worked. Ian swiveled his dark head to stare at her, his eyes narrowing. "No."

"You don't know that."

Ian leaned down to press his mouth against Alyssa's, his lips kissing her softly before he pressed his forehead against hers. "They're not going to kill you...as long as you behave."

He seemed confident in that quiet statement. Alyssa was disgusted his mouth touched hers, but she didn't really have much choice in having him touch her. The options were rather limited; go along with it, or, become outnumbered by what her sister called cannibals.

Alyssa nestled herself closer to Ian as more people began finding places to sit or stand in the room. She couldn't help but notice the heavy glares directed at her, particularly from the two unfamiliar women in their mid-twenties. Their disdain seemed solely aimed at Ian having his arm around Alyssa and holding her close. Alyssa couldn't quite understand why such a simple gesture would provoke such animosity. Was it jealousy? The air of superiority and the narrowed eyes hinted at it. Perhaps they were envious of the affection Ian was showing Alyssa.

Her suspicions seemed confirmed when a large, heavy-set man with a patchy beard approached and planted a kiss on the woman cradling a baby bump. It was evident they were a couple. The man, unattractive by most standards with a lumpy head resembling a potato, a protruding beer gut, beady blue eyes, and crooked yellow teeth, stood in stark contrast to Ian's model-like appearance. In comparison, Ian looked like he belonged on a runway, exuding a charisma and attractiveness that seemed to heighten the jealousy in the room.

"Oh lord, they haven't killed the ally cat yet," said Delores as she waddled closer, causing Alyssa to find that comment ironic. Ally-cat was the name Luke had branded her as a nickname. It was what he thought was a clever usage of Ally and cats in general. If she weren't currently surrounded by a bunch of murderous nutterbutters who kidnapped her baby sister, Alyssa might've snorted at the bitchy remark from the old woman.

"She's mine, grandmother. I'll train her," Ian said, flashing a dazzling smile to Delores's direction. The sudden glares that all the women in the room had made Alyssa press herself even closer to Ian. The phrase if-looks-could-kill came to mind.

The glares were harsh from the women. Simone, Delores, and the two women looked at Alyssa as if she were a three-headed dragon attempting to eat their children.

Even though Cassi was the only thing on Alyssa's mind, she knew if she didn't start doing a damn good job at bullshitting she wasn't going to get her sister out of this. With a shaking hand, Alyssa grabbed ahold of Ian's jacket to hold herself against him. Ian took her grasp at meaning she wanted to be even closer, so he easily scooped her up, so Alyssa was sitting so very close to him, she was practically on his lap again.

"She's gotta mouth on her, that one. She's nothing like any of the others," Delores said, a steely look to her.

"That's why I like her," Ian countered playfully, gently toying with the end of Alyssa's dark hair.

"Well," said Tom, walking into the room with a knife in hand. Alyssa winced recognizing it as her own sharp knife Ian had disarmed from her. "It's obvious she's not walking out of here after what she saw," he continued, his dark eyes watching Alyssa intently "so what do we do with you, Alyssa Ross?"

"She can't leave."

"She can't stay!"

"Who would want her to even stay..."

The women seemed to be the most vocal on the matter, while the creepy yellow toothed man watched Alyssa with a sick kind of look that made her think of an old animal documentary she once saw. It was one where the crocodile was watching a wildebeest drink from a watering hole. It was the look of hunger.

"I get the damn say of what happens to her!" Ian snapped in response, causing all the women including Simone to fall silent. It appeared the men were the dominant ones of the family. When they spoke, the women respectfully went silent. "Now, it's no secret we've been having a hard time keeping Cassi's disappearance quiet," Ian said, his eyes locking with Tom's.

"Yeah, and that's thanks to the girl!" Delores exploded, her eyes watching Alyssa with a particular type of loathing. "Cassi could've been good and trained and married to Ben in less than a few weeks time if that fucking stick-thin bitch hadn't interfered."

Alyssa stared at the woman with shock. Never had she heard Mrs. Fallon speak so vulgar.

"What you're missing is a really big opportunity to make Cassidy's father drop suspicion altogether," Ian continued, once more playing with the end of Alyssa's hair. Alyssa was silently stunned. Was her dad still asking questions...?!

"Killing them all isn't an option if that's what you're leaning towards," Tom said. "You couldn't imagine how much suspicion a whole family disappearing would cause."

Ian shook his head. "I'm talking about a distraction. Something big enough that it'll make Mr. and Mrs. Ross even forget they have a daughter named Cassi."

Alyssa swiveled her head to stare at him, not sure where he was going with this. Due to all the confused glances and furrowed brows, the group of people were thinking the same thing. No one could really grasp what Ian was leaning towards.

"What do you suggest?" Tom finally asked, his curiosity seemingly grabbing ahold of himself. "How could we possibly divert attention from Cassi's disappearance?"

Ian swiveled his head to look at Alyssa sitting right beside him, his crooked grin returning. "Easy. Alyssa marries me."