The Gangleader Kidnapped Me | ✓

Chapter Twenty Four.) BABY, TAKE ME BACK!

"I'm trying to discuss the future of our fish, but apparently you don't even care about them!" I threw my hands in the air.

"I do so! You're just too serious all the time!"

"No, I'm not!" I objected. "You're not fit for the responsibility of taking care of our fish. I'm going to keep them."

"You can't do that!" His mouth is open in shock.

"I sure can," I nod. "You are relieved from your duty." I waved him off.

Tyler's mouth is still hanging open in disbelief before he closes it. "You know what, Vanessa?"

"What?"

"You-" he fumbles for words. "You're not my bae anymore. You are now ex-bae."

I gasped, placing my hand over my chest. "Ex-bae?" I echoed.

He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

I sniffed, wiping under my eyes. "And to think I thought we had something special."

His bottom lip trembles.

Suddenly, he's thrown himself at me, wrapping his arms around my waist. "BABY, TAKE ME BACK!" he cries.

Aww, my poor baby, Tyler.

"I'll do better, I promise!"

I pursed my lips to the side. "Will you change the fishes' diapers?"

"Anything for you, cupcake."

I grinned. "Okay."

"Yay!" he cheers. "You're my bae again!"

"Yay!" I cheered with him.

"What?" somebody growls. I jump in shock and look at a furious Keith. He glares at Tyler, then me, before he storms out of the room angrily.

"Jeez, what crawled up his ass and died?" Tyler mutters and I stare at him in surprise. Tyler almost never cussed in front of me. Not that anything was wrong with cussing, but Tyler just wasn't a cusser.

Was there a feud between Keith and Tyler that I didn't know about?

-

"Hello," I chirped as I walked into Keith's room. He and Marco were sitting on the floor with papers scattered all around them.

Keith didn't answer, but Marco did. "Hey, Vanessa."

I took a seat next to them. "What are you doing?" I questioned.

He gestured to the papers around him. "Analyzing."

I nodded. "Can I help?" I offered.

Marco eyed me suspiciously. "I don't know... You did burn the spaghetti yesterday."

I rolled my eyes. "There's no way for me to burn something here."

"But it's you."

How many times were people going to say that to me?

"Please?" I begged. I was so bored that I was willing to do anything.

Marco turned to Keith. "Keith?"

Keith looked at me for a second before shrugging and handing me a folder. "Organize these by date and make note of anything strange."

"Mkay," I took the folder from his hands and opened it. Inside were a bunch of papers filled with information about everything James bought and where his money was spent.

It was quiet, and I had a burning desire to say something, but I knew Keith was angry, even though I didn't understand why. I shuffled through the papers and sighed in boredom when nothing interesting came up.

After a while, Marco stands and says he needs to go ask Gina something. Keith nods and Marco stands up, brushing the dust of his pants. Out of the corner of my eye, I see something hidden under his jacket.

As soon as Marco disappears, I put my attention on Keith. "What's wrong?"

He doesn't answer.

I continue. "Why were you so mad this morning?" I added.

Instead of answering my question, he fires back at me with one of his own. "What's going on with you and Tyler?"

I'm confused. "What do you mean?"

He gives me a flat look.

It takes me a while, but I finally get it. "Oh, that."

"Yes, that."

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes. "We're just playing, Keith."

"Does he know that?"

I'm starting to get a little angry. "Of course he does, he's my friend. Probably one of the only ones who actually nice to me in this gang."

"I don't like it."

"You don't have to like it."

He glares at me. "I don't want you to talk to him anymore."

I cross my arms over my chest. "I can do what I want," I reminded him.

"Do you want to get killed?"

He's bluffing, inner-me reminds me, recalling his confession that night at James' office.

"You're annoying," I muttered, flipping through the papers in front of me.

"I'm annoying? Try dealing with an immature girl daily."

I gasped, offended for the second time today. "Try dealing with an asshole daily!" I retorted.

"BRAT!"

"POOP FACE!"

"STUPID!"

"FAT PIG!"

"SPOILED BRAT!"

"TURD!"

"WHINY BITCH!"

"WATERMELON!"

Silence.

Keith shakes his head at me. "Watermelon? Really? That was your best insult?"

"Better than anything you can come up with, you useless doorknob," I retorted, not about to let him bring me down just because I was creative with my name calling.

He glares at me. "You-"

But he doesn't get to finish his sentence because Angela is standing at the doorway with her face full of alarm and panic.

"Um, sorry to interrupt this... whatever," she gestures to us. She clears her throat. "But, Keith, there's something you might want to see."