Little Red

Memories

     Over the next few days, you start to adjust to your new normal. Wake up. Ace and Kye still sleep in the same bed with you since no one wants to "claim" Maria and Val's old room. Get ready for work. Head to the living room. Tell Jeff not to mess with Ace. Leave for work. Come back in the evening. Tell Jeff not to mess with Ace again. Go to bed. And finding food somewhere in all of that mess.
     Surprisingly, Jeff never harms Ace. He only scares them. You suspect it's because you threatened to throw yourself off the roof if he ever hurt Ace or Kye. Jeff really wants to be the one to kill you. Not the first person, definitely not the last, but for now you can use this to your advantage.
     Jeff got rid of the body. It wasn't to help you. He did it because if you ended up in jail for having a dead body, it would make his plans to kill you much more difficult. He couldn't be bothered to deal with all of that. You don't know where he put Maria or when he did it. You came home from work one day and the door to her room was open. The room was spotless. No blood. No dead body. No stench of her rotting body.
     You didn't ask about it. You closed to door and went to your room. From the corner of your eye, you could see Jeff look at you annoyed. His lips formed a frown, something you've gotten better at seeing, especially since his smile obscures it.
Ignoring Jeff, you head into your room. There Kye sat on the edge of the bed, the TV playing an episode of Charlie Brown. Your eyes flit away from Kye to the tv, a painful tingling welling up in your chest as a memory flashes back.
     You sat on a bed between Kye and Toby the tv on and playing at a low volume. It's s 40 inch tv with a thin frame that's still covered in plastic. It sits on a messy pink drawer, the top of which is covered in clothes, toys and other items. You sit with your back against the backboard, as does Toby. Next to you, Kye lays down, propped up to see the tv with nearly all the pillow on the bed. Lyra lays over all three of you, her head on Toby's lap, her back against your lap and her legs draped across Kye's lap.
     Only an hour earlier, all three of them snuck into your room through your window. You had wanted to hang out, and your home was the safest. Lyra stops on a shown. Charlie Brown. You watch it for a few moments, before hearing something peculiar. Charlie Brown calls Lucy Van Pelt a bitch then kicked her. Toby started laughing as Lyra immediately changed the channel.
"What the fuck? Isn't that supposed to be a kids show?" Toby says between laughs. Kye snickers as you look towards the closed door of your room, as if worried your parents heard that from their room across the apartment despite the low volume. After a moment you laugh with them as Lyra tries to find a new show. After a few moments, everything calmed down. Ly.
     You glances at Kye. He was looking at the tv, but he's eyes kept darting to a corner of your room. He started to get tense, but after a few moments he relaxed. You gave him a concerned look but he brushed it off.
     Kye's attention was split between the tv and the corner of the room. His eyes darted back and forth, as if he was fighting between appearing normal and keeping an eye on whatever it was that he could see.
     After a moment, Kye sat up, moving the pillow he was laying on to be in front of him. He pressed his back to the headboard. It would have seemed like he was just adjusting his spot if you hadn't been watching him. Kye's breath hitched as he grabbed onto one of the pillows in front of him, his hands curling into fists so tight around the fabric that his knuckles had turned white.
     Suddenly he flinched and screamed, turning his head away and burying it into your shoulder.
     "What the fuck?" Toby said with a stutter, his neck cracking with a tic as he glanced over at Kye.
     "Shit," Lyra mumbles. Light seeped into the room from under the door. Lyra jumped up, grabbing Toby and quickly tip toed to the closest. She quickly, but quietly opened the door and slipped in. You tried to rearrange the pillow as you normally have it while Kye rolled off the bed with a small thud. He slid under your bed just as the door opened.
    Your mom peaked into the room, quickly glancing around before asking why you screamed. You keep your eyes trained on her, fighting the urge to glance at your friend's hiding spots. A nightmare. You tell her it was a nightmare. After a moment she nods and starts to leave. At least, she was going to, until she heard a quiet sound from the closet. Toby's tics. She glanced back in the room, looking towards the closet, then towards you. She sighed softly and left the room, closing it behind her. After a moment, the lights from the hallway turned off and you could faintly hear the sound of her bedroom door closing. Toby and Lyra came out of the closet, with Kye crawling from under the bed at the same time.
     "Do you think she knows we're here?" Kye asked.
     "Yeah. She definitely knows," you respond, making room for them to sit back on the bed.
     "Why do you think she didn't say anything?" Lyra asked as she laid back down on the three of you. The room became silent. Everyone knew the answer, but no one wanted to say. After a moment you speak up.
      "Because she knew that the situation would only get more dangerous for all of us if any of your parents knew."
     "You okay?" You ask as you sit next to him.
     "Are you?" He responds, his voice devoid of emotion. He looks down at his hands, closing his eyes as he takes a deep breath. He speaks again, his voice softer now.
     "Are you okay?"
     You nod. After a moment you shake your head.
     "No," you say, keeping your gaze in Kye as you continue, "but I'll manage."
     A heavy silence falls over you and Kye, the only sounds in the room being the both of you breathing and the tv playing.
"I'll do anything," Kye murmurs, his eyes trained on the ground as he breaks the silence.
"What do you mean?" You ask, looking back at Kye with a small, confused frown.
"It's only going to get worse from here. So I'll do anything to make sure we make it out," Kye says. You nod, not wanting to think about the implications his statement had.

A/n
I really was going to post 10 chapters last week then lost all motivation after two days. So , as promised, I'll write a bonus chapter for y'all. So far it's a tie between fluff and smut so comment which one you rather see. I hope you enjoy the new chapter ♡