Petal Peak (undergoing major editing)

Chapter Six

Violet was sitting in the corner of the cell, when someone had kicked the door open. She hope that it was Emma, but it was just Ryman bringing someone else in.

Ryman drug him down the hallway, but paused at her cell. He unlocked the door and slid it open, then pushed him inside, before slamming it back. He didn't talk to Violet or Ben as he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

She had stayed silent the whole time he was in here, but after he left, she gasped. "Eddie?!" She quickly crawled over to him. She knew that they were never really friends, but she still wanted to make sure that he was okay.

She lightly shook him. "Eddie?" She asked again. "Talk to me. Are you okay?"

Ben was watching from the other cell. "Is he even still alive?"

She nodded. "He's breathing, so he's alive." She shook him again. "Come on, Eddie. Wake up! I know you have a thing for my sister, and after today I don't think she'll be taking Ryman back.. so you'll have a chance with her.. but you have to wake up first!"

***

Emma had met back up with Chris and Dom. "Either of you find Eddie?" She asked, sounding hopeful. But she had a feeling she already knew the answer to that one.

Dom shook his head. "Sorry, Em. We looked everywhere we could think of for him."

She sighed. "It's okay guys. At least we managed to find Shawn. And.." she glanced over at Ciara. "I'm sorry, who are you again?"

Ciara forced a small smile. "I'm Ciara Walker.. I was new to town."

Emma smiled back. "Well you already know Shawn. This is Dominic Grayson, Dom for short, and Chris Baxter, and his brother Ryman is the one whose causing all this."

Ciara nodded. "I wish we had met under different circumstances, but I am willing to help you find your friends."

"Thank you," Emma spoke up softly, then she glanced at the others. "Well, let's go find Ryman and hopefully beat him at his own game."

***

Ryman met back up with Rachel. "Do you think I'm going to far?" He asked her, even though he didn't really care about what she thought. "I'm doing whatever I can to hold unto Emma.. even if some people get caught in the crossfire."

Rachel just chuckled. "No, I don't think you're going to far.. I think you're in love with this girl and want to do what anyone else would in your situation."

He nodded. "Exactly. So you do understand!"

She also nodded. "Completely. I don't care what happens to any of those people. But why did you kidnap Ben Grayson? What did he have to do with any of this? I understand kidnapping Violet and Eddie though."

He sighed. "Ben was going to tell Emma something about me that would have changed things.. so that's why I did what I did."

"Ah, got it. So what are you going to do about Emma's friends now? And if I remember correctly, your brother is one."

He rolled his eyes. "Thanks for reminding me, I almost forgot I even had a brother. Anyways, I'm stronger than Chris is. I'm stronger than all of them."

"Except the Mason sisters combined." Rachel said.

"Which is why I kidnapped Violet, I knew they were stronger than me together.. but separate I could beat them."

***

Eddie slowly opened his eyes, glancing around. "Wh.. where am I?" He nervously glanced around. "Vi.. Violet?"

Violet nodded. "It's me. Are you okay? What happened?" She tried to help him up, but stopped when he winced. "Hey, are you alright?" She asked, concerned.

He shook his head. "My back hurts every time I move."

She frowned. "So what happened before Ryman brought you here?" She asked.

"Your sister wanted me to follow him to see if he would lead me to Shawn, but when I did, he found out. We got into a fight, and he knocked me against a tree, where I then got crushed by a branch."

She listened to him. "Did it crush your back?" She asked, trying to figure this out. "Because it could be broken."

***

They had a plan, and now if only Ryman would fall for it. Emma paced around holding the phone up to her ear. "Ryman?" She asked when someone answered.

"Em?" Ryman's voice came on the line. "What do you want? I thought you made it pretty clear how you felt about me."

She took a deep breath. "I was so wrong about you. I listened to all of these lies from your brother and his friends, my sister included. And I want to marry you, I do."

"That is great to hear!" He said excitedly. "Where are you sweetheart? I want to make this official."

She quickly told him where she was, then hung up. "Are you sure about this? Think it will work?" She asked softly.

Chris nodded. "I'm sure. It has to. We need to find Vi before he can hurt her. I'm sure you'll do great, good luck Em."

She smiled. "You too." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear nervously. Dom, Shawn, and Ciara were hiding somewhere, getting ready to sneak off to find Violet. "And are you sure about your part in this?"

He nodded again. "I'm sure, Em. It's going to be okay, I promise. We'll rescue Vi, find Eddie, and then we'll go back to the house to celebrate. Okay?"

She gave a slight nod, even though her mind kept playing the worse that could happen scenario over and over again. "Okay."

***

Ryman gave Rachel a quick hug. "I have to go, Em needs me," he smiled. "She said that she was wrong and she wants to marry me."

Rachel frowned. "I don't think she knows what she wants, but keep your eyes open, okay? This could be a trick."

He nodded. "Of course." He walked off to meet up with his future wife.

***

"I see him coming," Emma mouthed to Chris. Then she pushed him away. "I told you! I'm in love with your brother and not you!"

Chris glared at her. "You don't believe me anymore, Em?" He pushed her back. "What's changed?"

She started to answered that, when Ryman stepped between them. "And what's going on here?" He asked.

Emma sighed. "Chris keeps trying to feed me these lies about you because he's in love with me, but I don't believe them."

He smiled. "Good, you shouldn't. Because my brother was always jealous of what I had. My powers, my place in the family, and now my girl," he smirked. "Maybe because he's not good enough for the things I have."

She smiled back. "You're right, he is just jealous. If only he was half as good as you."

Chris winced at her words, but knew he had to keep playing along. "You know what? I am jealous. You seem to keep getting everything you wanted, and what do I get? Nothing!"

Ryman's smile grew wider. "It's not my fault that you can't commit to anything for more than a few seconds."

Chris fell silent at that, glancing from him to Emma, then back again.

Emma frowned. She had a feeling what was about to happen, but she couldn't say anything since it might blow her cover. Chris, don't!  She silently willed him.

Ryman chuckled. "What's the matter, little bro? Did I strike a nerve there?" He glanced back at Emma. "Should we go now?"

Before Emma could answer, Chris tackled him to the ground. This wasn't exactly the plan, but she knew that Ryman was asking for it. She backed away, then hurried to where the others were waiting. "Ryman came from that way, so let's follow in that direction." She instructed. Before she followed them, she glanced over her shoulder one last time. She would talk to Chris later about his attitude problem, but right now they had to find her sister.