I close the door and creep out into the hallway, trying my best just to put it out of my head, despite the fact that I can’t control my tears at the moment.  It wasn’t so bad.  It was quick, because he’s terrible in bed, but I made sure he had no idea I thought that way.  I smiled, kissed him, told him he was an excellent lover.  He was satisfied with that, satisfied with me.  Now he’s asleep, and I don’t have to put up with Adrian anymore.  I did what I had to do, and I know he doesn’t expect me to have sex with him again.  He knows I’m with Charlie, and he has enough hoes staying at his place to keep him busy for years.  I was just a sample, like something you’d rent for a weekend but never truly invest in.  I’m fine with that.

I’m fine with it because Justin is still alive due to what I did, and I don’t have to guilt myself with his death.  

Well, not yet.

The house is silent for the first time all day.  The TV is off, all of Adrian’s hoes and dealers are asleep, so I sit down on the plush sofa, and hold myself as I quietly cry.  I’m so fucking confused.  I don’t know how Charlie is going to treat me from here on out, because of this.  I doubt he’ll trust me, let me do much of anything without his supervision.  Hell, he doesn’t want me near Justin, but I made it clear to him that I had to be the one to bring him food and take him to the bathroom, because he’d seen my face already, and nobody else needed to be put at risk.  It was the only thing I’ve said to him all week that he seemed to take seriously, without slapping me across the face.  I was happy about it.  I like talking to Justin.  He’s the only one that’s been able to keep me calm during this situation, and that’s really messed up of course since he’s the victim, but I can’t deny that it’s true.

He’s so fucking genuine, and I wish we had kidnapped somebody else.  I’d rather be abusing a spoiled asshole, because I don’t think I’d feel as guilty then.  Justin is trying to make the best of this situation.

Justin actually wants to help me.

I shake my head roughly because the idea is so ridiculous.  As much as I’d like to believe him, tell myself that I could help him get out of here and start a new life with him, I know it would never happen.  He wants out of here, and he’ll tell me whatever he feels will work, to get me to play along.  I know the minute I allowed him to run, he’d get as far away from me as he could.  I wouldn’t blame him, but...I know I’d have to hunt him down and kill him.  

Charlie would force me to.

I’ve been trying to put the fact that we kissed out of my head.  I figured having sex with Adrian would help me take my mind off of it, but all it really did was remind me how good it felt to feel Justin’s skin on my skin.  I felt safe for the first time in years, and I can’t fucking explain that.  I don’t know him...not really.  Why should I be allowing my emotions to get the best of me when it comes to him?  Why do I allow myself to linger on how wonderful it would be to run away with him?  I have to stop.  I’m going crazy thinking about him like this, and I know that if I allow myself to give into him again...let his lips touch mine, I might not be able to stop myself from letting him get away.  God...I don’t want to think about the consequences of that.  

I know I’d be dead in a matter of minutes.

“Hey, why you still awake?”

I lift my head to meet Trevor’s gaze.  He’s another one of Adrian’s dealers, and I’ve known him about as long as I’ve known Adrian.  He’s always been around, handling part of Adrian’s dirty work when Charlie hasn’t been able to.  I know he gets paid a lot better than Charlie, and it’s something I’ve never understood.  I don’t ask questions though, because it’s not my place.  While he’s never hit me or anything, I know he works for Adrian and he’s just as dangerous as the rest of his dealers and lackeys.  “Couldn’t sleep,” I say quickly, wiping my eyes harshly, hoping that he won’t notice I’ve been crying.

“You okay?”

I’ve never told Charlie that Trevor and I are sort of friends.  I think he’d probably freak out, so I do the best I can to simply keep our friendship to myself.  I mean, I shouldn’t trust him, but I do.  He’s gentle, listens to me, and has never tried to get me in trouble with Charlie.  Not that I’ve ever really done anything to get myself in trouble, but still, I know Adrian would sell me out in a second if I lifted a finger wrong.  “I don’t know,” I say quietly.  “This whole thing is crazy.”

He sits back and puts his hands behind his head as he lets out a tired sigh.  “The last thing I expected was for you two to haul Justin Timberlake through the doorway this afternoon,” he says with a light laugh.  “How the hell did you pull it off?”

I rub my face with my hands.  “Fuck, Trev...I don’t even know anymore.  It was all so fast, and Justin...I just lured him in.”

“Oh you were being all sexy and shit?”

I roll my eyes.  “I guess so.”

“Adrian says he might send me to collect the ransom.”

I slowly meet his gaze, my eyes widening automatically.  “Trevor, please don’t mess up.”

“Wow,” he says.  “Thanks, Sam.”

“I’m just saying,” I say quickly, wincing slightly in fear.  “Bad things will happen if this doesn’t go down the right way.”

He nods, seeming to understand.  “Yeah, I know that.  But I’m the best man Adrian’s got.  I’m not going to fuck it up, Sam.  I’ve done a lot of jobs for Adrian...worse ones, if you can believe that.”

I shake my head and look away from him.  “He deserves to get out of here, Trev.”

It’s quiet for awhile, and part of me thinks that my comment was too bold just now, that he thinks I’m siding with Justin instead of focusing on the money, but I just don’t care.  What happened in the basement earlier has completely changed my view on this entire situation.  If I could...if I knew I wouldn’t be killed, I’d go down there and let him go right now.  I’m done with this.  I don’t care about the money, or what Charlie thinks.

Hell, after this, I’m thinking about leaving Charlie on my own anyway.

“You’ve been talking to this guy?” Trevor laughs.

“I was elected to be caretaker,” I groan.  “Charlie said that because I’ve never been arrested it doesn’t matter if he sees my face.”

“You know,” Trevor laughs.  “I’m sorry, Sam, but he’s a fool.”

“Why?”

“The cops will find you even if you don’t have a record.  All they need is for Justin to give them a description and post a sketch of your face on the news.”

I start to tremble just slightly.  I would hate the spend the rest of my life in prison for this, but...at the same time I know I deserve it.  If Justin gets out of here and tells the cops about me, that’s his right.  I did an unspeakable thing to him, and he deserves justice.  “I’m going to try and get out of the country,” I tell him softly.  “With Charlie.”

“First you gotta get the money,” he reminds me.  “And...you gotta make sure Adrian doesn’t decide to fuck y’all over and keep it for himself.”

My eyes widen a little and I meet his gaze again.  “You think he’d do that?”

“I’ve known the guy for five years, and lived under the same roof as him for three,” he nods.  “He’s a cold hearted bastard, and if he can get more money out of this he’ll do it.  You better just watch your back girl.  You know he’s capable of shooting you both dead if it means a better outcome for him.”

I shudder as the realization hits me dead on.  I have no idea why I hadn’t thought of that before, but I know Trevor is right.  Adrian is an asshole, and if he can get more for himself and screw us over he will.  I want to warn Charlie but I have no idea what he’d say.  I doubt he’d listen to me, he never does. I mean, if  he did, we wouldn’t have had to kidnap Justin at all.  Fuck, I’m getting a terrible feeling about this.  Charlie  shouldn’t have gotten Adrian involved so soon.  “What should I do?”

For some reason, Trevor has always been sentimental towards me, and right now is no different.  He reaches a hand out and rubs my shoulder, doing his best to flash me a reassuring smile.  “I’ll watch out for you, girl,” he whispers.  “But you gotta keep your head up, aight?  Don’t do anything stupid, like let that kid downstairs get killed.  You gotta make sure of that.”

I cock my head to the side.  I can’t deny that I’m starting to get a little confused at his remark about Justin.  I mean, Trevor works for Adrian, and I know he does what he has to do to get the job done.  That includes killing people, and Justin shouldn’t matter to him this much.  “Why do you care if he dies?”

He sucks in a breath.  “Just trust me.”  He gets up a moment later, adjusting the gun in the front of his pants.  “I know what I’m talking about, Sam.”

I nod a little, and watch him as he walks away from me and down the hallway without so much as a goodnight.  I’m confused still, but I know it’s senseless to dwell on it for long.  I know I want to look out for Justin.  Hell, I don’t want anybody to get hurt, I just want to get the money so Adrian won’t kill us.  I mean, he could take it all at this point and I wouldn't’ care.  As long as I get out of this with my life and Justin does too I’ll be happy.  Charlie too...

I mean...yeah, I guess Charlie too.

It dawns on me that I’ve started not to care about him so much.  It’s crazy as hell.  I’ve only been talking to Justin for a few days and already I can see how much better my life would be if I got off this coke and dumped Charlie.  I could have a future, because I know I’m not a stupid girl, I’ve just made a lot of bad decisions.  Jesus, maybe Justin is right.  Maybe I should try to run away with him, escape from this horrible place and never look back.

Shit, I must be nuts.  There’s no way I could do any of that.  We’d both be dead within the hour, and that would be so fucking pointless.

No, I need to wait this out.

I silently make my way down the opposite hallway, and down the stairs that lead to Justin’s hiding place.  I know it’s risky.  If Charlie wakes up and catches me checking in on Justin he might throw a fit.  I stop at the mini fridge outside of the hidden room and grab some water so I’ll have an excuse.  Not that Charlie would care if I had an excuse, he thinks what he wants and nobody can tell him he’s wrong.  

But at the same time, as much as I’m afraid, I can’t stay away from Justin.

I slide the door open, and find him curled up in the middle of the floor.  For a moment I think he’s asleep, and almost turn back, but then he stirs, and he speaks up after a moment, his voice barely more than a scratchy whisper.

“Who is it?”

“It’s just me.”  I step further into the tiny room and slide the door closed behind me.  “I thought...I thought you might be thirsty.”

“I thought I told you to get out,” he says darkly.

“It’s pretty hard to get rid of me,” I say, trying to sound positive as I crouch down beside him.  “You should know that by now.”

He’s silent for a long time, and I don’t try to push him.  I find that it’s better to let him blow off some steam, and we usually end up having a better conversation because of it.  

“What was that before?” He says suddenly, as I begin to remove his blindfold.  

I pull it off the rest of the way and watch him squint for awhile, as I sigh and sit back against the wall.  “I don’t really know,” I mumble.  “I wish I did.”

“Well it confused the fuck out of me.”

“Oh yeah, and it was just so normal for me.”  I roll my eyes and take a swig out of one of the water bottles.  “You know, because making out with somebody I’ve kidnapped is an everyday thing, Justin.”

“We didn’t make out, we kissed,” he explains.  “Give me some water, will you? Jesus.”

I remember myself quickly and move close to him so I can hold the bottle to his lips.  He guzzles the water eagerly and I immediately feel like a piece of shit again.  “Sorry,” I tell him.  “I would have given you some more before but...”

“Yeah,” he says, coughing a little when I pull the bottle back from his mouth.  “But you were just a little distracted I guess.”

“Don’t blame the whole thing on me,” I snap.  “You’re just as guilty.”

“Look,” he sighs.  “I’m too tired to fight, and too scared to care who’s fault it was anymore, okay?  I could be dead tomorrow for all I know, and I need to get out of this before that can happen.  So are you going to help me out or not, Sam?”

I stare at him for awhile.  I want to help him so fucking desperately.  If I knew there was a chance, that nobody would be able to find him and that I wouldn’t be blamed, I’d let him go right now.  But that’s impossible.  Charlie has ensured me that I’ll be the one blamed if Justin gets out, since I’m the only one that’s been seeing to his needs.  “If I let you go I’ll die tomorrow,” I tell him.

“Not if you come with me,” he whispers.  

I shake my head roughly.

“Come on, Sam.”

“No.”  I push myself up from the ground.  “Charlie needs me, and I can’t leave him.”

“Then I’m going to fight you...the both of you,” he says, a deep hatred in his eyes.  “I’ll do what I have to do to get out on my own.”

“Not likely,” I say, not meeting his gaze.  “You’re not going anywhere tied up like that.”

“You’re vulnerable,” he sneers.  “I’ll get you off guard.”

“Then maybe I won’t come back,” I tell him harshly, hating myself for it.  “Nobody is making me help you out like this.  I’m doing it because I don’t want you to suffer.”

“You try being handcuffed and locked in a room for hours,” he snaps.  “It sucks whether or not you’re here, Sam.  Talking to you is pissing me off and completely pointless, so why don’t you just leave like you said?  I don’t give a fuck anymore.”

“You do though,” I point out.  “If you didn’t care, you wouldn’t be so dead set on getting me to come with you.”

He turns away from me then, and I know he’s had enough of the bickering.  I sigh.  I know I can’t comprehend exactly how fucked up he’s becoming because of this situation.  I mean, I have an idea, but I’m not the one locked in a room.  I want to help him out some other way, but I really have no solution other than to let him go, and I can’t do that.  I’m trapped.  I’m trapped just like he is.

And it’s hell.

“Justin...”

“When are you getting the money?” He cuts me off, harshly.  

I sigh.  “I don’t know.  They haven’t told me a thing.”

“Well damn, be useful and find out, would you?  I’m sure if you suck Charlie’s dick long enough, he’ll give you whatever you want.”

“Screw you.”

He’s silent.  I know he’s really angry, and of course I can’t blame him.  I need to give this up...this whole friendship thing with Justin, or whatever the hell it’s turning into, because that’s not reality.  I helped Charlie to kidnap him and put him in this horrific situation, that’s reality, that’s what I’m going to have to live with for the rest of my life.  I need to get it the fuck together.  Taking in a large breath, I push myself up from the floor, and crouch down beside Justin again so I can reapply his blindfold.  I’m silent as I perform the task, and he doesn’t say a word to me.  I wonder what’s going through his mind right now.  Is he scared? Confused? Is he thinking about me?

“Sam.”

I’m nearly out the door when I hear him gently say my name.  I want to walk away, try to rid myself of the horrible feeling I get knowing I’m torturing another human being.  It reminds me of my brother, of how he was most likely taken as a POW, and tortured...starved.  It makes me queasy, makes me want to run upstairs and take a nice hit of my coke to rid myself of these horrible emotions.  “I gotta go,” I say quietly.

“Sam I...I know we’re both confused.  My emotions are like this big mixed up pile of shit that I won’t be able to sort out for a long ass time, but I don’t...I don’t want that to make you lose sight of that fact that you’re not like them.  You’re a good person, and I’m...I’m sorry I blew up at you just now.  Just please...please don’t them him kill me.”

I can’t leave.  I can’t leave because he’s hit me right in the heart, and it hurts so fucking bad.  I crack.  I don’t want to but it’s not something I can hold back anymore.  I sob heavily into the door, my face pressed against it.  I ask God for a reason as to why this has to happen...why anything in my life has turned out the way it has.  But there are no answers.  Life is what you make of it I guess, and this is what I’ve done with mine.

Justin has done amazing things with his.

Now I’m destroying it all...and for what?

For fucking Charlie. Charlie who makes me live in fear of him.  Charlie who slaps me whenever he pleases.  Charlie...who keeps me addicted to drugs probably for his own gain, so he'll always have somebody to take his anger out on.

“Let me help you.”

He wants to help, but he can’t.  I’m too far gone.  Too much of a waste of life, to be helped at all.  “You can’t help me,” I sob, miserably.  “Nobody can help me now.”

“I’m asking you to trust me,” he says, as gently and calmly as ever.  “Just trust me, and I’ll help you, Sam.  I’ll make your life better, I promise you that.  Just untie me, and lets go...right now.”

I stare at him, trying to get my tears under control as I think about what he just said to me.  What if I could do it? What if I could take those cuffs off of him, and lead us out of here?  I mean, if I was to do it, tonight would be the night.  Adrian is passed out, and I’m pretty sure Charlie is too, along with all the other scum bags in this house.  I’m really good at creeping around, and being silent.  I’ve had to learn how, to be able to avoid waking Charlie up when I’ve needed to get away from him for a few hours.  “Maybe we could get out...if we don’t make noise.”

“That’s it, Sam,” he encourages.  “Just take the key and unlock these cuffs so we can get a plan going.”

I reach into my pocket, my hand closing around the tiny key a moment later.  I’m shaking as I step towards Justin again, my hand quivering as I crouch down and put the key into the first lock.  “What if something goes wrong,” I whisper, as if the whole house could be listening in on this conversation.  “What if somebody wakes up?”

“That’s the chance we’ll have to take,” he tells me, seriously.  “Don’t think about that, all right?  Just think positive.”

I try to take his advice, try to put Charlie and the two years of abuse he’s given me out of my mind as I turn the key in the lock.  Soon, Justin’s handcuffs are off completely, and he yanks the blindfold off of his face, as I work on the cuffs locked around his ankles.  

“What’s the easiest way out of here,” he says, a little breathlessly.

I finished removing the cuffs and toss them to the side.  Then, I meet his gaze.  He’s tired...no, exhausted.  Exhausted, and weak, and confused but still, he’s smirking.  Smirking because he’s filled with hope once again.  “Up and out,” I say nervously.  “It’s the only way I know of.”

He nods and his brow furrows as he begins to ponder what I’ve just told him.  “And you’re sure everyone is sleeping?”

“Pretty sure.”

“Then lets go.”

I raise myself off the floor, slowly, and reach out my hand to help him to his feet, which he accepts and doesn’t let go of as I lead the way to the sliding door.  Once I get it open, I cautiously stick my head out, just to make sure there’s nobody lurking nearby.  The coast is clear, thankfully, and so I pull Justin along behind me.  Then we’re out of the room.  I turn to look at him, and his eyes are filled with a triumphant gleam, as if he’s never been so happy to be in a new place before.  

“Give me your gun.”

I could kick myself, because I know where my gun is, and it’s not in my pants like it should be.  Instead, it’s on Adrian’s nightstand.  I look at him, feeling like I might cry.  “I don’t have it.”

He cocks his head to the side.  “Where is it?”

“It’s in Adrian’s room.”r32;

He lets go of my hand after that, and stares me down with sad eyes.  “So you did it?”

I tear my gaze away from his.  “I didn’t have a choice.”  I look at the floor as I say the words to him, because I know he’s disappointed.  He thought that I’d be able to think it through, give Charlie an excuse as to why I wasn’t going to sleep with Adrian.  I’m not that strong though, and I wish Justin could get that through his head.  If I was strong, I would have been able to come up with a better plan to get out of debt than taking Justin captive.  

“You had a choice,” he whispers.

“I can’t talk about this right now.”  I storm ahead of him and expect him to follow behind me.  “If we’re going to do this, we have to do it fast.”

He doesn’t reply, but I hear him following behind me so I know he’s decided to drop the subject for the time being.  I step on the first stair, thankful when it doesn’t make noise, and look over my shoulder, motioning for Justin to follow me.  It seems like we’re climbing Everest, because it takes such a long time to get to the very top of the staircase.  I turn back to him once my left foot hits the top stair, and whisper for him to be quiet because I’m about to open the door.  He nods, the fear in his eyes more than obvious.  He knows this is a gamble, that one of Adrian’s goons could be waiting outside that door with a gun, but it’s a risk he’s willing to take if it means he can be free of this horrible nightmare.

And I guess if he can be this brave, so can I.

I open the door, very slowly, just enough so I can peer out of it without having to stick my head out.  The house is like I left it before, dark...silent.  “I think we’re okay,” I tell him, hardly above a whisper, and I feel him take my hand.

“I’m right behind you.”

We’re standing in the middle of Adrian’s living room about five seconds later.  I can hear Justin breathing heavily, and I know he’s terrified.  I try to think about what the next plan of action should be.  Do I simply make a run for that front door with Justin in tow? Do I try to get a weapon first?  Fuck, I just don’t know.  I don’t know what’s the safer play.  I turn to Justin, hoping like hell that he’ll have an answer for me, since this was his brilliant idea to begin with.  “What now?” I ask him.

He looks around in curiosity before meeting my gaze again.  “We need to get out,” he says quietly.  “Where’s the door?”

“This way.”  I don’t hesitate to lead the way.  I figure that Justin has a good head on his shoulders, and if he thinks this is the best way to escape, then so be it.  

It’s crazy how dependent I am on other people.

The door is literally inches from us now, and I feel my stomach beginning to do flip flops, the idea that I might actually be getting out of this, that I might be able to have an actual life, being too much for me to take in at once.  

“Come on, Sam.”  Justin urges, racing ahead of me so he can throw the door open.  “Come on!”

My mind forces me to move faster, and I quickly follow Justin out onto the landing once he’s opened the door.  The wind blows softly, an owl hoots in the pitch blackness of the night, and it’s fucking wonderful.

It feels wonderful that I’ve actually accomplished something.  That...I’ve started to save Justin’s life as well as my own.

We race down the stairs, my hand tightly grasped in his, making a run for it once our feet hit the gravel driveway.  There’s nothing but the sound of our heavy breathing as we run, the stillness of the night almost eerily quiet, but I try not to take notice.  The faster we run, the further away I am from Charlie, his drugs, and my own personal hell.

But then...there’s a light in the distance, and all the hope that has built up inside of me over the last half hour suddenly begins to fade away.

“What’s that.”  Justin says, skidding to a stop as the light gets closer to us.

“I...I dunno.” My throat goes dry and I try to catch my breath, but the fear building up inside of me won’t allow it.

“Get down!”

He pulls me into the bushes at the side of the driveway, and I’m able to hear the sound of a car motor looming closer.  Somebody has returned to base, and I have no idea who.  No matter who it is though, they’re going to find out soon enough that Justin and I are both gone, and we’ll begin to be hunted like animals.  I have no doubt in my mind that Adrian will shoot us both dead the moment we’re caught, and I start to tremble at the prospect.  “We shouldn’t have done this,” I say, my voice trembling.  “Justin, we shouldn’t have done this.”r32;

“Calm down,” he rasps.  “They’ll hear you.”

A set of car doors slam.  I hear footsteps, and gruff voices.  One sounds like Charlie’s, one like Adrian’s, and I feel like I’m going to vomit.  It means that Adrian must have left the house while I was downstairs, and I had the perfect opportunity to grab my gun.  We’d be protected, if I’d simply thought to check, and now this whole thing has turned into a cat and mouse game.  The minute it’s discovered Justin and I are missing, we’ll have no choice but to run for our lives.

“We’re already getting ten million,” I hear Charlie say.  “That should be enough, don’t you think?”

“Not if we can get more.”

Justin and I exchange glances, both of us knowing what that means, and also knowing that it’s anything but good news.  Now more than ever, I know I have to get Justin out of this.  The ransom has been met, that’s obvious, and now Adrian wants more.  I knew this would happen, and I really wish that Charlie had listened to me from the get go.

“Adrian, man...it was hard enough getting this much...”

“Who’s calling the shots?,” Adrian barks.  “I really don’t think it’s you anymore.  Now go get that whore of yours to give Justin the news, and I’ll talk to him more in the morning.”

In about five minutes, everyone will know that we’ve gotten out, and I really wish they’d get inside so Justin and I can get a head start.  I look over at him again, and he looks like he’s going to be sick.  But naturally he’d feel that way.  I mean, he must feel like a walking talking bank for Adrian now, and I know that he’s grateful to be out of that house.  It’s keeping him this way that’s going to be the problem.

But I can do it.  Yeah.  I can do it.

It seems like ages before they both climb the stairs and disappear inside the house, and it takes even longer for the automatic spotlight to go out, but it finally does.  We wait about ten more minutes in intense fear, before feeling safe enough to climb out of the bushes again.  Then we start running, too terrified to bother holding hands this time.  The driveway seems to stretch for miles upon miles, and I never feel more relieved when I see the large black iron gate looming in the distance.  “This is it,” I breathe out to him a moment later.  “Once we get past the gate, the nearest gas station is a few miles down the road.”

He doesn’t answer, just starts running faster, and I know that he’s desperate to be saved at this point.  Desperate to be free.  He has his family to get home to, something I wish that I had.

But maybe he’ll include me in all of that, once he’s safe and sound.

Maybe I’ll be able to see my family again too.

“It’s a code,” he tells me, uselessly hitting the buttons on the keypad, once we reach the closed and locked gate.  “What’s the code Sam?”

I don’t know the fucking code.  I didn’t count on having a code to crack, or hell...even getting out of the house with Justin.  What do I do?  What do I tell him?  I feel myself start to lose it again.  “I...I don’t know the code,” I whimper.

A spotlight snaps on above us.

Oh no.

“Shit.”  Justin says, the panic in his voice more than obvious.  “There’s gotta be a way.  Tell me there’s a way, Sam.  Come on!”

“I...”  I run my hands though my hair, and try not to cry, but it’s useless.  The tears are rolling down my face a moment later, because I know we’re done for.  We’re fucked...dead, and it’s all my fault for not thinking ahead.  “Justin I don’t know!”

He starts pounding on the key pad furiously, trying every combination he can think of to make the gates open, but of course they never do.  Soon I hear the familiar sounds of a car engine roaring towards us, and I look to Justin, hoping he’ll have gotten the code figured out by some grace of God.  Naturally he doesn’t.  Instead, he’s trying to hoist himself up the bars of the gate, miserably sliding down them only seconds after he gets both feet off the ground.  There’s not enough grip, and the gate is too large to be climbed without a rope in the first place.

I’ve officially failed him.

The car, a sleek looking black mercedes, skids to a stop just feet from the two of us.  I see a figure get out of the passenger side, who I recognize as Trevor, despite the fact that he has a ski mask over his face.  His gun is drawn, and his stance is more intimidating than I’ve ever seen before.  Sure, we may be friends, but he works for Adrian, and wouldn’t hesitate to kill me on command if that’s what he was told to do.  

“Put your hands up.” Trevor says, almost in a gentle way.  “Behind your head.”  

I pathetically give in, and raise my hands, folding them behind my head.  I pray that Justin has done this as well, but I’m too scared to look back and check on him.

Then another figure emerges from the drivers side, ski mask protecting his identity.  It only takes a moment for me to know it’s Charlie, and I know things are only going to get worse from here.

“Help!” Justin yells.

I look back over my shoulder and find that he’s run up to the gate, pressing his face between the bars as he pathetically cries to be rescued. “Help me!”

“Help isn’t coming, asshole.”  Charlie draws his gun, and pulls me by the hair as he storms over to Justin.  I cry out in pain when it feels like the hair is about to be ripped out of my head, even though I know I deserve this.

I hear Justin get punched and kicked, then I hear his body collapse to the ground.  Charlie spins me around, and forces me to kneel on the ground, so I can see exactly what he’s doing to Justin.  He has his foot on Justin’s windpipe, ready to crush it at any moment, all the while keeping his gun pointed at him.  “Stop!” I cry out.  “It’s my fault!”

“Take her!” He calls back to Trevor.  “Take her inside!”

I’m grabbed off the ground a moment later, my arm being twisted behind me by Trevor, who starts to push me forward.  “Don’t kill him!” I scream as I’m lead away.  “Please don’t kill him!”

“What the fuck were you thinking,” Trevor harshly whispers as he pushes me forward.

I can’t say anything.  All I can do is sob, and wonder what the hell I’ve just done.  Have I gotten Justin killed? Have I gotten myself killed too?  I have no idea.  “Trevor, go back,” I sob.  “Go back and tell Charlie not to kill him.”

He ignores me.

I’m forced up the long staircase and back into the house.  Trevor leads me down a hallway, and I’m pushed into one of the spare bedrooms.  The door is slammed in my face, and I try as hard as I can to open it back up again.  Trevor has all his weight against it though, and I’m no match for him.  I hear clicking.  The door is being locked, and I scream at him to let me out, but it’s as if I don’t even exist.  Sooner rather than later I hear him walk away, and I know I’m alone.  A loud, pathetic sob escapes me as I slide down to the floor, my ears straining to hear the gun shot...the one that tells me Justin has been killed.  I know Charlie is more enraged than ever, having caught the two of us together, and I know he’ll do it, whether or not Adrian wants him to.

“Please,” I whisper, rocking myself back and forth.  “Please help him.”