𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐏𝐒𝐘𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐀𝐓𝐇 ━━ 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐘

nineteen

it's been so long, but i'm finally back. (: expect more frequent updates from now on. i know what i want to do with this book and ready to finish it! thank you for everyone who's still reading this story, i love each and everyone of you. <333

j a c k

☁︎

"come on, let's go back, he's waiting" corbyn whispers softly in my ear. i nod my head and walk out of the bathroom, corbyn following behind me.

jonah, christina and zach are all sat around the table. zach's head is in his hands, running his fingers through his voluptuous black hair. corbyn and i take a seat in the two empty chairs.

"ruby, jade, we were just talking about you guys getting your hair cut" jonah blurts out as both of us sit down. "what?!" i shout back.

"you have to be as incognito as possible, jewel, your hair is a very noticeable part of you. if you're seen by anyone they won't be able to recognize you as easy" he shoves a spoon full of food in his mouth.

"no! my hair is the only thing i have left! i love it! please don't take it away from me, please" i cry out. "i'm sorry ruby, it has to be done" he says with dead eyes.

i put my head in my hands and start to cry. my hair is the most valuable thing to me and he's just taking it away from me.

"ruby, it's okay. you're fine" he scoffs, "mr.kelly will be here to buzz your hair in an hour". mr.kelly was the one that stitched up my cut. i can't trust him yet.

"okay" i sank down in my chair. hair grows back, right?

☁︎

*snip snip*

i close my eyes as mr.kelly chops off my hair. i can't bare to look at the world right now.

"hey, you okay?" he asks while turning on the buzzer. "yeah" i sigh. "i'm sorry for what jonah is doing to you" he apologizes. i'm shocked at what comes out of his mouth.

"you're sorry?" i reply. "yes, very. i can't even imagine what you're going through right now" he finishes buzzing my hair. i stay silent.

"it's done" he says taking the towel off my shoulders. i get up and walk to the bathroom mirror. he packs up his stuff and leaves out the cellar door.

my glace directs to the very reflective mirror. it's gone, it's all gone. i can't believe it.

without my hair i look so... different. i'm not used to seeing my face so clearly. i miss my old hair but this new style is growing on me.

i walk back out to the living room to where corbyn, zach, and christina are. they gasp when they see my head. i give them an emotionless expression.

"you look great, jack!" christina complements me. "yeah i really like it" corbyn adds. zach stays silent.

"thanks i guess" i shrug and sit next to corbyn. the television is on and they're watching a movie. i don't pay attention and get lost in my thoughts.

i soon get bored and decide to explore. i get up from the couch and look around the cellar. i go in corbyn's room and look at the bookshelf.

the books are very organized, they are lined up neatly and look perfect. i decide to count them because i have nothing else to do.

107. 107 books in the book self. i take a random one down and open it. i flip threw the pages and put it back.

the bookshelf is very crooked, so i try to straighten it. it seems like the left side is bolted to the wall. i pull the right side and find a door.

my jaw drops. i try and open it but it's locked. footsteps echo down the hall, getting louder and louder. i close the bookshelf and grab a random book from it and start to fake read.

corbyn's head pops around the corner of the doorframe. he walks in, noticing that i'm in the room.

"hey jack, whatcha readin'?" he ask, holding his hands behind his back. "just a random book, i was just looking" i nervously chucked.

"okay, well i was just checking on you, seeing how you were doing. you can go back to toe book now" he laughs. i return it with a chuckle.

he walks out of the room and closes the door, thinking i'll want it quiet when i'm reading. once the door closes i put the book down and go to lock it.

the key to the door has to be here somewhere. i look every where in the room to find a key that might work. i've found four but none of them were for the door.

i drop to the floor and look under his bed. piles of clothes, wrappers and, other things are scattered around. what really captures my eye is a small black notebook.

i reach my hand under the bed and grab the book. dust is everywhere on in. i wipe it off, the particles get in my nose and mouth. i inhale and cough up a storm.

once i stop i open the notebook and see tons of writing. i flip through the pages and see that every page is filled with words.

i start on page one. it's a songbook. i sing- almost hum the song and melody. it's really good. he has hundreds of songs in here, both slow and upbeat. all of them have a meaning.

i come to the last song and see that it's titled "love sick". i sing through the whole song. some parts stood out to me more than others.

'you cry all the time, but never on my shoulder'

'your hair so dark and mysterious, your smile so bright and conspicuous'

'you make me feel like the luckiest man on earth, but you're not mine'

who is he writing about? who makes him feel this way? i flip another page, trying to find out who the person is.

instead, i find a key taped to the paper. my eyes explode open as i grab it and try to open the door.

it's slides right in and turns smoothly. the door creeps open to reveal a horrible sight.

guns, ammunition, tons and tons of boxes, knives, rope, any weapon or murderous thing you can think of is in there. i walk in, being cautious at all times.

i'm in total awe. this is were jonah stores everything. he must trust corbyn so much to give i'm the key. or maybe he stole it.

the boxes are open and over flowing. i fall to my knees and look through them. it's all newspaper clippings of random events.

boxes line the shelves labeled with all kinds of different names.

andrew, ethan, morgan, johnny, julia, chloe, evan, emma, micheal, and hundreds of more.

6 separate boxes sit on one shelf. the names are written in bold red.

maya, zach, corbyn, christina, jack

then i see a box that will forever haunt me.

daniel.

—
friday
september 6th, 2019
1146 words

-alayna ☁︎