The Bad Boys and the Fighter

18

ARIEL

I stood at the sliding glass door that overlooked the beautiful beach. The grey clouds blanketed the sky, and the ocean waves grew from the wind. I watched as they crashed down, the firm sand absorbing the white foam.

"What are you thinking about?" Cole said from next to me.

I shook my head. "Nothing," I responded, keeping my gaze on the ocean.

It wasn't the truth, and we both knew it, but my thoughts weren't worth sharing with him. He had tried everything over the last couple weeks to make the situation better, but everyone in the house knew something was going to happen soon, and it wasn't going to be good.

"Elijah's here!" Carlos announced as he trotted down the stairs.

I pulled away from the window, brushing off Cole as I walked past him to the kitchen. I watched as Tyler opened the door for Elijah, whose arms were full with duffle bags.

"Food," he declared as he set one bag on the marble countertop, "clothes," he continued, placing two bags into Coles arms, "and entertainment," he finished, handing a bag to Jeremiah.

"No offense, Elijah, but we're a little sick of puzzles and board games," Tyler stated slowly. "When will this be over?"

Elijah hung his head and I let out a groan. "Oh fuck." My head rested in my hands as I tried to keep my breathing under control.

"What?" Cole wondered. "What's wrong?"

"They've all disappeared," Elijah muttered. "Those kids from your school are gone. The remaining members of Daniels gang fell off the face of the Earth. Those that didn't are in police custody and they're not talking. If there's no breakthrough soon, this might become a permanent situation."

"No, no, no, no," Tyler murmured under his breath, backing away from the kitchen, his hands gripping his hair.

"Permanent? As in like, forever?" Jeremiah asked Elijah, a worried expression painting his face, fearing the answer.

"Let's not think about that, Jeremiah," Elijah replied. "Something could happen and we could catch him. But it's been three weeks and so far there's nothing."

"But lets be honest with ourselves, yeah?" Cole offered. "Theres going to be no breakthrough unless they find us."

Once the words left Coles mouth, a stupid idea popped into my mind. He was right. Nothing was going to happen unless they found us.

Nothing was going to happen unless they found me.

Deciding what to do next was not difficult. I looked up at Cole who shot me a small smile before focusing back on Elijah.

"Just keep your head up, okay guys? It won't be long now," Elijah encouraged.

Even though we had heard that exact same sentence every time he brought us provisions, we didn't call him out on it. It was better to try to believe the lie than believe the truth.

The rest of the day was difficult. The boys had holed themselves in their rooms as a way of coping with the new information. With a heavy heart I sat at the counter and started writing.

my love,

you're stubborn, and irresponsible, but i love you.

i'm sorry i dragged you and everyone else through my mess. i never intended for you to get caught up in it, nor did i ever want you to. this was always my issue to deal with, never yours, but i know you took it headfirst as your own.