Little Red

A Warning

     Two bloodied wedding rings and a small polaroid picture lay on the floor. A heavy silence blanketed the room. You stared at your parent's wedding rings. Dried blood was splattered on the rings, stuck in the crevices of the rings. The blood painfully contrasted against shiny silver. The jewel of the ring was covered as if it was dipped in blood to evenly coat the once bright diamond. The picture had landed upside down. You preferred it stayed that way. Your eyes burned from the hot tears that silently fell, as you felt your throat tightening, the feeling reminiscent of barbed wire being wrapped around your throat.

      With a shaky hand, you pick up your mother's ring. Slowly turning the ring in a circle, you show the perfectly covered diamond. Putting it back down, your gaze turns to the paper that was halfway out of the box. You pick it up. The handwriting was messy, as if the person writing was rushing. You read the note aloud.

     "A warning in case you ever thought to try to leave."

     Jamie stood, running a hand through his hair. He muttered curses under his breath as he paced behind the couch. 

     "Calm down," Onyx said, her normally cheerful voice void of emotion.

     "Calm down! How the fuck do you expect me to calm down?!" Jamie yelled. He had stopped pacing to face Onyx.

     "Jamie-" Kye started to say, before Jamie cut him off.

     "Shut the fuck up! We're all fucked because you had to bring your dumbass friend here. None of this would be happening if y/n wasn't here!" At Jamie's words, Kye stood up. 

     "Don't talk about them like that," Kye warned Jamie, his hands balled into fists. His voice was unusually cold and gruff. Ace stood, putting their hand on Kye's arm, trying to calm him down.

     "Fuck off Jamie. The last thing we need right now is for you to throw some tantrum about how life isn't fair," Val spoke in a toneless voice from next to you.  

     "Yeah. Val's right, Jamie," Onyx said, her silvery tone wavering. She was the only one who didn't show her fear. 

     "That's bullshit. You all are thinking the same thing, I'm just the only one that's not too scared to say it," he said with a scoff.

     "Would all of you please stop," Maria finally spoke up. Her words were wavering. 

     Ace sat back down with a sigh and said, "There's nothing we can do now."

     Jamie stopped pacing. With a sigh, he walked up the stairs while grumbling.

     The room got silent again. You glance out the window. It was already night. Val took out her phone.

     "I got to go to work," she said with a sigh. She gave you a small smile as she got up, heading upstairs. After  Val left, everyone else went upstairs one at a time, until you were the only one left. You sit there for a moment before gathering the rings, putting them back in the box. You grab the picture, putting it in the box upside down. You get up, going upstairs.

     The next morning, you asked Ace to go with you to your house. When you got up in the morning, Ace was already up, cooking food in the kitchen. Ace drove to your house. 

     "Whose car is that?" Ace muttered, pulling into the driveway, behind the car. Your parent's car sat in the driveway. 

     Before you could say anything, Ace got out of the car. You followed him. He walked up to the driver's side window and looked inside before you could stop him. With a gasp he stumbled back. You walked towards him, but before you could get near him, he stopped you.

     "Don't. Don't come over here. Let's just get the boxes and go," they said, walking over to guide you away from the car. You realized they were trying to protect you. You let Ace take you away from the car, over to the stacked boxes on the side of the driveway.

     "I already know. The picture in the box," you said softly, trailing off. Ace gave you a look of pity and pulled you into a hug. After a moment, he pulled away. 

     You both go to the boxes, going through them to find your belongings. After you find your stuff, you put the boxes in your car and leave.

     The drive home was completely silent. When you got inside, Kye was pacing. When he saw you, he ran up to you.

     "What happened? Are you okay? Why weren't you answering your phone?" He questioned. Val and Onyx stood as you and Ace walked in.

     "We're fine. We went by y/n's house to grab their stuff," Ace said. 

     "See. Told you they're fine," Onyx said, sitting back down.

     "We should leave," Ace said suddenly.

     "What?" Val asked in disbelief.

     "Look, I saw what those assholes did to their parents. We're fucked either way, so we should leave. Give ourselves a chance," Ace said.

     "Was it that bad?" Onyx asked. Ace nodded in response.

     "We are just renting the place," Val said. 

     "Let's wait until everyone's here. We could talk about it then," Kye said, running his hand through his hair.