THE MURDERER AND I

chapter sixteen: bad choices

"What happened?" Gunner asked us as we walked back home quietly. Ace and I stayed silent.

"Where's Ryder?" Scout added.

"Phoenix got him?" Fox scowled.

"Yeah." I replied quietly.

"Then let's get him!!" Scout yelled.

"Yeah! Get him!" Gunner and Fox raised their fists.

"It's not that easy." Ace spat, giving me a look.

"What's that mean?" Jax asked us suspiciously.

"Ransom?" Gunner asked innocently.

"We ain't got no money and Phoenix knows it." Fox scoffed, ruffling Gunner's hair.

"What's it mean then?" Scout asked, his curiosity getting the best of him.

Ace and I stayed silent. Jax did too, and I was guessing he knew what it meant.

"They got him hostage huh?" Fox spoke up.

"Yes." Jax replied blankly.

"Then what does he want?" Gunner asked again.

We were quiet again, until Ace grew impatient.

"He wants Bella to sleep with him ok?" He yelled angrily, breaking the silence.

"Oh..." Gunner whispered, and I felt the three boys look up at me.

"Quit it. She's not gonna do it." Ace said.

It was quiet again, before Scout started a friendly conversation.

"We can find another way, and I bet Ryder's fine. He's real tough."

"I sure hate that Phoenix now." Gunner whispered.

"Yeah he's a traitor. We oughta gut him." Fox sneered, pretending to fight someone.

The rest of the boys agreed, and soon they were all planning ways to beat up Phoenix once they saw him.

Jax, Ace, and I continued to walk in silence until we reached the house.

Everyone ran in quickly, but I found myself lagging behind. I needed to be outside for a while.

"Need a smoke?" Ace said from behind me.

I took the cigarette from his hand and lit it. We sat down at the curb once again. My hand shook as I took the cigarette out of my mouth. Ace noticed as he eyed me closely.

"Don't worry. Ryder's ok." He assured me.

"I'm not." I replied softly.

He sighed and leaned back. "Look, all I know is that you shouldn't do what Phoenix wants."

I looked at him curiously, wanting him to tell me more.

"He's dangerous. More than us. More than anyone."

"I'm pretty dangerous myself." I scoffed.

"He's a different kind of dangerous, you know?"

"I knew someone like that." I told him, as I nodded slowly. Of course I knew. He was like Dean. A different kind of dangerous. Phoenix was the kind of dangerous you knew was bad for you, but it just called your name. But Dean, he was the type of dangerous you knew would kill you but you wanted it. The type that made you feel like you couldn't breathe, yet they were a breath of fresh air. The type that made you feel like you were surely going to die with them, but yet you spent every moment feeling so alive.

It was quiet again for a moment, until Ace suggested we should head inside.

All of the boys were sitting on the couch, and some on the floor, but they all had worried looks on their faces. They tried to conceal it, but I could tell how much Ryder meant to them.

"We'll find another way to get Ryder back." I assured them. But I wasn't sure I was saying the truth.

"You think we're gonna see him again?" Gunner asked softly, but no one answered.

"Yeah we are. We just gotta stay away from Phoenix." Jax finally replied.

"If we stay away from Phoenix then how the hell are we gotta get Ryder back?" Fox grunted.

"If we stay away from him, he'll get bored and let Ryder go or whatever he's doing to him." Jax explained.

"God that's gonna be hard, 'cause most of us here  are itching to teach Phoenix a lesson." Ace scoffed.

The rest of the boys nodded in agreement, but Jax kept a straight face. I guess it was just his normal face.

"Well you're gonna have to." Jax said seriously. He turned to look at every one of the boys. "Stay away from Phoenix you hear?"

His eyes finally landed on me, and gave me stare so cold and so hard, I was actually intimidated. But it didn't change anything. Nothing would change my mind. I would be doing the opposite of what Jax was warning us about, because I knew Phoenix wasn't one to give up, and if he did, Ryder would be dead.

-
what do you think is gonna happen to ryder?
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