DARK AND TWISTED

CHAPTER 27

As soon as we hit the road, I opened my mouth, "what did we just hear inside it?"

"Looks like there's a kidnapper, possibly a sadist, in the cave, doing business selling humans," Nyx clenched her jaw.

"About Melissa, her wax figure, it looks so realistic. Too realistic actually. I don't-" I couldn't continue my sentence. My fingers froze and trembled so much that I could barely hold anything.

"I always wanted to know what they do inside it. Last month when I gave a tour, this man warned me to never go near the restricted area. He even threatened me but I could do the same thing to him if I wanted to."

"Do you think they did something unspeakable to Melissa? We're not close but we know each other."

"I know how to sneak in but we have to wait at 1 in the morning. The silent hour as I call it. There's also the active hours."

I scratched my head, "when are the active hours?"

"Around 2 until 5 in the morning and 6 p.m. until 12 a.m."

"You know everything?"

"Maybe," she smirked as she glanced at me. "But I swear I didn't know about what's inside the cave and the business stuff. Probably more. Hope, you seem curious about this museum thing."

"Am I obvious?"

"I can read you like an open book. How about this," she adjusted her position. "We get you back to Suzanne first. She's going to notice if you don't come back. It's risky."

That's true. She'll notice if I don't come back and perhaps find Nyx and hurt her. I nodded, agreeing with her idea.

"But I need to take a shower first. I'm covered in I don't know what's in that cave. She'll get more suspicious."

Nyx drove us home and this time, she made sure nobody was around like yesterday. We got inside and I went straight to the shower. Nyx placed my clothes on the bed while she cooked something for me to eat because I won't be able to eat anything sooner.

While I ate, she got my bags ready to send them back to Christian's. She drove me there but I asked her to drop me far away from Christian's.

"Are you embarrassed of your mother dropping you to hang out with your friends?" she cracked a joke to ease the tension.

I chuckled, "No, I just don't want them to know I was with you because they might go after you. That's just a guess. I could be wrong."

"I agree," she stared at me as her lips curved into a smile. "Pretty rare to hear you laugh or chuckle. Be careful, okay?"

I got out and took a few deep breaths before I trudged while carrying my bags. They weren't heavy as I expected them to be. Maybe Nyx helped me organize everything which helped with the weight. I rubbed the bracelet she gave me as it gave me comfort and it made me feel safe.

I stopped in my tracks as I arrived at the front porch. My fingers trembled when I held the freezing metal doorknob in my grasp, biting my palm. I twisted the doorknob, nudging it open with my fingers. I saw Zayne on the couch.

"Hey! There you are. I missed you."

I put on a fake smile, "Sorry I've been gone for too long."

"No biggie. I thought something bad happened to you because I'm ready to take anyone down. Are you hungry? My father bought a lot of meat today. I think you're going to like it."

"I already ate but I can eat some fruits."

Suzanne came from upstairs, her heavy footsteps gave me goosebumps all over, "you don't like the meat?" her expression wasn't warm like it used to be.

"I do but I ate a lot of them when hanging out with my friends."

The corners of her mouth lifted into a smile, "So, you love it?"

"Yes," I rubbed my neck. "Listen, I'm exhausted right now and I just want to stay in my room so I can recharge my battery. Can I?"

Both of them nodded and I sprinted upstairs. Good thinking, now I just have to get out of there before they do something to me.