A Light in The Dark

Chapter five

Seth glanced down at his watch before he returned his gaze to the window. "Come on, Richie."

Seth decided telling me where his brother went was apparently unimportant, so I remained oblivious to what was going on.

I dropped back down on the end of the empty bed as the older man, whose name I'd learned was Jacob, stood up. "The infamous Gecko brothers." He was just asking for Seth to hit him, again.

Seth looked away from the window and pointed at Jacob. "I didn't say you could get up."

"Just because you have a gun doesn't mean people will listen to you, Mr. Gecko," I muttered to no one in particular. I looked over to Scott, hearing him chuckle, and sent him a goofy grin, to which he laughed some more.

"You did the right thing," Seth said, and he waved the gun, motioning towards the bed. "Now sit."

But Jacob didn't sit. He wasn't going to back down just because Seth told him to. No one really took him seriously. "Radio said you robbed a bank in Abilene."

I'd previously heard the same thing. It's where they took the bank teller hostage. The dead bank teller.

"You're moving south. Means you're going to Mexico," Jacob continued. "That's what you need us for, isn't it? Gonna use us to cross. We're your cover."

It made sense. The police had probably put an APB out on my car the moment we left that liquor store. Them having time to identify the car was my fault because I took too long to actually get in. Seth might've blamed me for that, too.

"And what about her?" Seth interrupted, "Since you know everything, why is Angie still here?"

"I don't know how she was dragged into your mess. She seems like a sweet girl, so I'd guess she's here to keep you or your brother from killing us."

I looked at my lap, fiddling with my necklace. He was exactly right.

Seth just laughed. "You're a smart man. You ever do any acting?"

I got up with a sigh and walked over to my bag, maneuvering around Seth in the process. Bag in hand, I made my way into the bathroom and shut the door. I wasn't too keen on listening to Seth attempt to intimidate other people.

I grabbed the hem of my tank-top, raising it just past my ribs. In all the commotion, my hip had begun to throb, slightly worrying me. I checked the bandage, only finding a small quantity of blood that had soaked through.

Relief consumed me as I pulled my top back down. Blood loss wasn't going to kill me. The pain, however, might've.

Reaching into my bag, I grabbed a bottle of Ibuprofen and popped three capsules into my mouth. After washing them down with water from the tap, I grabbed my bag and waltzed back into the room, coming face to face with a girl.

She was pretty, there was no doubt about it, and she seemed innocent. She didn't belong in our world. A world full of death and more death. I was born into that world, and I hated that she had to be dragged into it.

"Excuse me." Her voice shook, the fear in it clear as day.

"Sorry." I smiled sweetly, and I stepped out of her way. Looking around the room, I noticed the previously missing Gecko. "Richie," I greeted. Knowing where he was, I wished I had been there to keep the girl from being another hostage.

A slight tilt of his head was the only indication that he'd heard me.

No real response was given. Not an "Oh, hey, Angie," or a "Hey". Just a small nod. I wondered if I'd done something to upset him. Maybe Seth pissed him off.

Seth knocked on the bathroom door. "Time's up princess."

The girl opened the door, briefly glancing up at the Gecko, and swiftly sat down beside her family.

"Okay, ramblers, let's get ramblin'."

I rolled my eyes. Could he get anymore idiotic... nevermind that's not even a question. It was Seth, afterall.

"Now, we can't all go marching past the lobby at once," he started, waving his gun around.

I stopped paying attention to the man that I figured would get us all killed. Instead of listening to Seth, I turned my attention to Richie. His gun was aimed right at the family, his grip never wavering. His gaze, however, was pointed directly at me.

As much as I wanted to to look away, due to my eminent embarrassment, I couldn't. My cheeks were heavily flushed, but I didn't look away. I couldn't. It was like his eyes were holding me in place. Like he was staring straight into my soul.

Or maybe he's plotting your death. If I wasn't so entranced, I would've rolled my eyes at myself. It wasn't an illogical thought, knowing him, but I didn't think he had it in him to kill me.

The corner of Richie's mouth quirked up, in an almost smile. The movement was so quick that I nearly missed it.

Seth had thankfully missed our little interaction- as I was standing behind him-, otherwise, I'd have never heard the end of it.

I snapped out of the trance like state I was in when I heard my name.

"Angie, you'll be with them." Who he was talking about, I had no idea, so I just nodded like I'd heard every word.

"Five minutes after that, me and Miley are gonna go down," Seth continued, "Everyone should have their hero switch in the 'off' position. I make the plan, everyone executes it or I execute you. Simple as Sesame Street."

"And if someone doesn't 'execute' your plan perfectly?" I interrupted, crossing my arms over my chest. Nobody could've been more fed up with Seth than I was.

"Did you not hear a word that came out of my mouth?" Seth raised a brow, obviously wishing I would've kept my mouth shut and done what he said.

"I heard you," I answered. "I just find it hard to believe you'd kill one of us, especially me."

He ground his jaw and clenched his fist that wasn't holding the gun. He knew he couldn't kill me, otherwise he'd have practically the entire mob after him. I didn't care much for what I was born into, but I still used it to my advantage.

"Richard, take her before I do something I'll regret." Seth ran a hand down his face, clearly exhausted.

Angie 1, Seth 0.

I smirked victoriously as Richie guided me to the door. Jacob had already left, and Richie, Scott and I were preparing to follow in suit.

Once out the door, bags in hand, Scott spoke. "Why do you talk to him like that?

"Like what?" I asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Like you want him to shoot you."

I shrugged before pausing to actually think about it. He's right. Now that I think about it, I've been undermining his 'authority' and acting like he couldn't shoot me in the blink of an eye.

"I guess... he just brings out the worst in me, but you're right," I looked over at Scott with an assuring smile, "I'll be more careful." I was saying that solely for him and his family's sake. Seth might not have been allowed to kill me, but that didn't apply to them.

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I know it's late, sorry. I'm working on my prioritizing, I promise. Next chapter should be up sometime next week.

Published 11/10/2020 

(Unedited)