Whirl | book one

3: love shack

Song: Disappear Here by Bad Suns

Chapter 3
~his love shack~

"What did you do!" The growl ripped into my unconsciousness, waking me up little by little.

"I-I don't know." The second voice was breathless as he spoke, "S-She was dying...I just..." he trailed off, unable to answer.

"She's yours." The first voice barked, the anger dripping off of her in acid. "You should have let her die."

"Maybe." He said lowly, "But I couldn't. The car just drove off. How can—"

"Because they're all the same! And now you've possibly made this one..." she hissed in frustration.

"One of us." He sighed. "Shit."

"You're telling the elders." The girl spat, "this is your mess." The force of her voice shook me, jolting me awake.

"Little mermaid's waking up..."

My eyes opened slowly, instantly feeling a sharp pain in my lower side that made me whimper. I tried to move my body around, to catch a glimpse of where I was but pain shot through me like an electric current. Through a watery sight, I took in my surroundings, trying to piece together my whereabouts in my spinning head. Warm authentic stained wood lined the wall, with a wall hanging that reminded me of something Native American descendants might use as decoration. Faded colours of red, blue, and white created sharp shapes throughout the tapestry, the aging obvious on the material. With an attempted twist, I pulled my torso towards the side, but quickly collapsed in a yelp of cries.

"If it hurts so much, quit moving." A young man, not much older than I, stepped into my view, his dark blue eyes hard as he watched me without pity.

The six foot tall giant had naturally tanned skin that gave off a bronze tint, indicating that there could be native blood in his family tree. I blinked, feeling my cheeks flush as I took in his bulging biceps crossed against his chest—that was clearly defined even under the black t-shirt. Running down his otherwise smooth dark arms were veins, proving the strength that he showed wasn't all just for looks. He was gorgeously frightening as he stood menacingly over me with a tightened jaw and crease between his thick eyebrows.

"Where am I?" I moved my attention back to his eyes, seeing the smugness on his now smirking face as he towered over me in the domineering stance.

"Like what you see?" He purred, crouching down to my eye-level. "You're in my..." he looked around, trying to think of a word, "—love shack." He grinned a pearly white smile when he turned back to me. "Homey, don't you think?"

My face contorted in disgust at his insinuation. I could feel the rancid acid in my stomach stir as the creeping sense of danger set in. "What happened to me?" My voice lowered until it was no more than a whisper; the fear evident in the ragged sound.

The not-yet-a-man but no-longer-a-boy tilted his head to the side, causing his chocolaty curly strands to fall into his dark eyes, "You got your stupid ass hit by a car." He shrugged, leaning back until he fell on his butt purposefully, knocking the bouncy hair back into place out of his eyes.

As he talked—very nonchalantly—about the hit and run, I could feel my strength coming back to me; my energy becoming so revved I was fidgeting with the tapping motion of my fingers. Risking the pain, I sat up on what I saw was a well-loved faded red couch, sneering slightly as the sensation ripped through me.

"Why didn't you call the hospital?" My lips curved downwards as my forehead wrinkled with disapproval and blatant befuddlement.

With a quick look around the tiny log cabin, I almost missed the girl in the back corner. With her bare legs over the arm rest, she was lounging on a faded blue sofa while playing with something sharp that glittered from the flames of the fire—almost.

"Because he's an idiot." She answered in a hum, throwing the shiny object so that it spun dangerously until the hilt was the only thing visible on the target above the fireplace. It was a perfect bullseye.

With the sides buzzed down and the top spiky with uneven layers, her hair gave her already dangerous personality a boost that was unmissable. Her light—but still darker than mine—skin contrasted with the midnight darkness of the blue-black of her hair. But her eyes were the obvious focal point of her face that demanded immediate attention; the pale blue so beautiful it was breathtaking. And yet, at the same time, a violent tremble fell down my spine in haunting whispers of warnings.

The hair on the back of my neck stood erect as I raised abruptly to my feet. "Well thank you for...all of your help." I squeaked, the trembles reaching my voice. "But I need to get home now."

Turning swiftly on my feet, I took one step towards what I assumed was my escape to the outside world. Before I could blink, the same knife from before, soared past my face, skimming my shoulder before hitting the door a few feet away from me.

"The hell?" I jumped back, facing them as my heart began to pound desperately in my chest, letting out a disbelieving breath. My hand held my slightly bloodied shoulder, hissing from the new tenderness.

"Sorry, Ariel." The girl purred with a sadistic smile growing across her face. "Think of this like a intervention—you can't leave until we know you're alright."

"Sasha," the guy growled warningly, standing up to his full height. "I've got this—she's mine, right?" He narrowed his dark eyes at her daringly before walking towards my now full-on trembling figure. "Relax Annie, We have no intentions on hurting you, so just sit down and shut up until it's done."

With the dismissive wave of his hand, I scoffed. "You're kidding right? Y'all are insane. 'Sit down and shut up'? What the hell kind of order is that? Until what is done?" I spat, turning back around and desperately trying to pull the knife out of the door with no avail.

"Well?" Sasha clicked her tongue. "Little Raggedy Ann is trying to escape—gonna do anything, Rex?"

"Can you just—" he swore under his breath, "You know what?" He laughed, making me look over at him in worry for my own well being... and curiosity. His blue mischievous eyes flashed to mine, "Go right ahead, Mary Jane. I won't stop you."

At last, with a final tug, the knife came loose, knocking me backwards off of my feet with the surprise impact. Bracing for the fall, I closed my eyes, but I only felt my back collide into something cushier than what I was anticipating.

"You'll come back." The whisper tickled my ear as his strong and surprisingly warm arms circled my small body protectively. "I can promise you," the feeling of his lips curling upwards into an amused smile, sent shivers down my spine as my eyes popped open and hand clenched tightly around the hilt of the knife, "you will come back." With a chuckle, he released me, opening the door with a smirk on his arrogant lips. "I'll be seeing you, Dorothy."

Throwing them both a look that questioned their sanity, I ran off, following the dirt path through the thick greenery of the forest. All the while muttering to myself that I was perfectly aware that I was a redhead and that using so many nicknames was not necessary.

It wasn't until I had miraculously found my way back to the house that I figured out the inside joke he was clearly hinting at.

I left my camera equipment.

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😍 He's super hot in my head.

If you're someone who has a hard time picturing characters, I tried to find a pic of a dude that was age appropriate to him, so that's up there. But in my head he's a lot sexier and less baby faced. 🖤