༻𝑇𝐻𝑅𝐼𝐿𝐿 𝑂𝐹 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝐻𝑈𝑁𝑇༺

ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ

         Today was the day of the Pinball Incident.

I felt like absolute shit when I woke up this morning. I barely had gotten any sleep due to the Vance situation racking my brain all night long, so I wouldn't be surprised if I looked like a total zombie right now.

I rolled out of bed, making my way out of my room. Mom was standing in the kitchen, glaring dangerously at me.

"I didn't even know you came home last night. How do you think it felt for me to wake up at 3 something in the morning, not knowing if you were home or not? Thank God you were, but you should have woken me up to let me know." she scowled, her arms crossed.

I scoffed. "You were passed out, Mom, and I knew it wasn't just from being tired. You were drinking again, weren't you?"

Mom fell silent, a hesitant look crossing her face. "It's not your problem what I do and don't do."

I glared and made my way over to the couch she was sleeping on last night, crouching down and digging up underneath it, only to retrieve two empty beer bottles.

"Don't think I don't know about your little hiding place, Mom." I snapped, waving the bottles around. "We're in a new town because you wanted a fresh start. I gave up my life back home for you, Mom. So maybe don't waste this on drinking because all that's going to do is make things worse. Go out and apply for a fucking job."

She seemed completely stunned by what I had said. I've never talked to her like that before, much less cussed at her. Either she's gonna kill me, or she'll realize the reality check I just gave her.

She waited a moment before replying. "Alright."

I assumed that's all she had to say. Half of me was relieved, but the other half was still pissed off. We're two days into this stupid town and she was already drinking.

"If I'm gonna go find a 'fucking' job today," she said, obviously a little ticked from the way I spoke to her, "Then you have to run a few errands for me."

I groaned, rubbing my face. I did this shit to myself.

Mom grabbed a small sheet of paper from the counter, handing it to me. "I want you to head down to that little convenient store on the corner, it's called the Grab-N-Go, and get everything on this list."

My heart lodged in my throat anxiously. The Grab-N-Go. I remembered Gwen mentioning thats where Vance spent his time every weekend. Jesus Christ. Isn't this convenient.

"No," I quickly spoke, "Isn't there another place I can go to?"

Mom shot me a confused look. "No? This is the cheapest place, and we're not exactly caught up on all of our bills, Y/N."

I bit down on the inside of my cheek. Of course. Of course this has to happen to me.

Maybe he won't be there?

_______________

I stared fearfully through the window of the Grab-N-Go, straight at Vance Hopper, who was focused on the pinball machine.

It's okay. I'm okay. I'm not going to die. I still have a plan. If Vance is so invested in that dumb game like everyone says he is, I'm sure I can sneak in there and out without him noticing me.

I took a deep breath, gripping the shopping list, and walked inside. I felt like an idiot for being so dramatic about this, but I didn't want to take what Vance had said as a joke.

"I'm gonna make your life a living hell."

I shivered nervously at the thought, making my way through the aisles and picking things up. I grabbed some food, paper towels, and band-aids. Every now and then I'd glance over towards the game, watching Vance and making sure he wasn't getting distracted.

"Woah, Vance, you're gonna beat your high score!" a boy beside him pointed out, watching him as he played.

Vance scoffed. "I know I am, dipshit, I said I would."

I grabbed the last items from the shelf and scurried over to the cashier, plopping them down. I watched anxiously as she scanned the items, making sure to glance back every now and then.

"You alright there, hun?" the lady asked me, raising her eyebrows. "You're looking a bit pale."

"Uh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm just—.."

CRASH.

I whipped around mid-sentence to see what the commotion was. There was Vance, charging after some poor kid and grabbing onto his shirt.

"You fucked up my game!" he screamed angrily, raging flashing behind his eyes.

"Holy shit," I gasped, turning to the lady. "Dial the cops."

She desperately picked up the phone while I watched Vance beat the living shit out of this kid for messing him up on his pinball game.

Jesus, how bad were his anger issues?

Flashing sirens came into view outside of the store, and within seconds two police officers busted in, grabbing Vance by his arms. He looked dead at me as they wrestled him out of the store and into the cop car.

Damn.

I turned to face the cashier again, stunned.

"Lord." she scoffed, beginning to bag up my items. "That's the last time I let that hooligan into my store. He's always causing a scene."

I nodded, pulling out the money Mom had given me and handing it to her. "Thanks."

"Have a good day." she replied.

I turned, heading towards the door. I cringed at the blood scattered on the tile. I looked up, noticing that Finney walked in.

That little backstabber.

Him and Gwen left me with Vance yesterday. What if he murdered me or something?

I stormed over to him, clearly pissed. "Hey, what the hell?"

Finney looked at me, seeming to know what my problem was. He brushed past me towards one of the shelves with a shrug, "Sorry Y/N. When it comes to that psychopath, it's every man for himself."

"Oh, cool, cool." I said sarcastically, following after him. "So you couldn't have just stayed there? It would've been nice to have some
witnesses just incase he decided to kill
me."

Finney looked me up and down with a bored look. "You look pretty alive to me."

I groaned, annoyed. "What are you doing here, anyway?"

He walked over to the newsrack that was pushed against the wall, inserting in a couple coins. He grabbed the paper, holding it up to my face.

I read the headlines.

"Denver Suburb Rocked as Bruce Yamada Goes Missing."

"Holy shit." I said, "Someone went missing?"

"I forgot you're new here." Finney nodded, flipping the paper over to read it. "This is normal here. Kids getting kidnapped. They call him The Grabber. Bruce was his third victim."

I was taken aback. What the fuck? A kidnapper? God, isn't this perfect. The town Mom and I moved to for a "better life" and a "fresh start" is the source of an active kidnapper.

"Just be careful when you're walking alone," Finney added, noticing the mix of shock and fear that crossed my expression.

"Yeah, I will. You too." I nodded.

I gripped onto the bags in my hand and walked out. Maybe moving here was a mistake. First I get myself into shit with the most feared asshole in town, and now I learn there's a kidnapper going around taking kids in broad daylight.

I headed slowly down the sidewalk, making sure to be cautious of my surroundings. I noticed someone sitting on the curb a couple yards in front of me, and it took me a moment to process who it was.

Vance. And he was looking right at me.