Play the game // l.r.h

Chapter 36 - Trapped

“OK. So you know the plan?” asked Michael. We all nodded and went down the hall and to the stairs. We knew it would be quieter if we went that way.

Emily lived in apartment 5C. Which meant a lot of stairs, which wasn’t great.

We made our way around the building eventually coming to her door. We knew that because there was a lot of us she was more likely to wake up so we decided to just let four people go in. Two to try and find the thing and two to make sure she didn’t wake up while the others kept watch outside the apartment in case anybody came.

This was an actual criminal offense and if we got caught for this, it would be ten times worse than anything she could do to us because it’s something we actually did. It’s not like she planted evidence this time. This was something we’d done off of our own backs and once we entered that apartment, there was no turning back.

Me, Lori, Violet and Sam volunteered to go in while the boys kept watch because we were the lightest of our group and we could get around the apartment faster.

We stared at the door for a second and realised that we didn’t know how to get in there either. Violet pulled a pin from her hair and handed it to me, I guess we were going to have to go old school on this one.

I knelt down at the lock and twisted and turned until we heard a satisfying click and the door nudged open. I slowly pushed it wider to see the dark apartment.

I couldn’t actually see much other than the dark shapes of the furniture and the windows. I couldn’t turn a light on in case she woke up so I had a torch with me.

The girls and I tip-toed around the apartment, looking for her room. We went to the back where we found her bedroom door open. I was about to walk in and very quietly go through a few draws until I saw something that made me want to vomit everywhere.

I felt like somebody was playing football in my stomach, ping-pong in my head.

Emily wasn’t alone in her bed.

Oh no.

She was tangled in the arms of somebody else.

I followed the arms to a body, to a neck, to a face.

A face I recognised and loved so dearly.

Luke.

I wanted to fall to the floor and cry and cry and cry.

I wanted to scream and yell and kick holes in her walls and punch her cabinets and remove her doors from their hinges.

Why was he there?

Of all places in the world, why was he in her bed?

Had they slept together?

Of course they had. Why else would he be there? I thought he cared about me. He kissed me didn’t he? Back at the hotel, only a few hours ago. He kissed me. And I thought he ran after me back there. Why would he do that if he was just going to end up here? Did all of that just mean nothing at all? Of course it meant nothing. He was Luke Hemmings. He could get who he wanted. I was just average, plain old me.

I felt the girls staring at me as I stared at Luke.

Lori put her hand on my arm but I flinched with her touch, she quickly retreated.

“Adi, I’m sorry” whispered Sam.

“Whatever” I said, focusing on the task at hand, “Just make sure she- they. Make sure they don’t wake up.”

I walked out of the room with Violet by my side and we searched the apartment frantically for the pictures.

It wasn’t for Luke. He could go to jail for all I cared. But if he did go, the band would be over and I wasn’t about to lose that for Michael and Calum and Ashton. I had a job to do and I wasn’t leaving until it was done, no matter how long it took.