The captor came back, cleaned up with fresh clothes and a stitched upside. He had a smug expression on his face as he put more tubes and needles in me – taking more of my blood.
I stared him hard in the eye.
"Blink, kid," the captor tells me. "I have all the answers to the questions you want to ask." The man takes a rock and sharpens his knife, stained with old blood. "Reyna seems nice. Sadly, she's really smart."
"Damn right," I smirk.
Rapidly, the man slaps me. "I'm talking, Makai!" Settling down, he takes a sip of my juice. "Anyways, my annoying half-brother got to her and told her everything. I found out after she rescued the handsome young lad, who was injured in the road...P.S., Makai, I'm handsome young lad."
"So she'll never trust you," I figure out.
Once again, the man laughs that jackal laugh. "No, she trusts me." Suddenly, he turns extremely sad. So sad, that I almost want to ask if there's anything I can do for him, despite all he's done to me. His amber eyes fill with tears and his hands shake. "Makai, I've begged everyone I know to give me a second chance. And with you, I want at least one."
"What?" I ask, confused.
The captor sobers up at the drop of a hat. "That's the killer line that let Reyna trust me...pretty good, right? Actually, don't answer that. I know it's great. Nevertheless, I thought I should tell you that she agreed to go on a date with me at the Spring Carnival."
"That's not fair," I plead. "No one can play emotions like that. It's psychotic."
The man takes more white and blue pills. "Well, you're looking at Solaris's very own psychopath." After he swallows the pills, he adds, "Medically diagnosed."
"How do I know you're not lying?" I challenge, growing dizzy with the loss of blood again.
He laughs at me like I'm a stupid little kid. "You can think whatever you want."
I shake my head, which proves to not help with the dizziness. I imagine Allister and Della being with this man, going through this, and that's what keeps me going. I'm glad I took their place. God knows what this psycho would've done to them. "You can't do this to Reyna. She...her trust..."
"No need to try and not give her psyche away," he assures me with a too-firm pat on my shoulder. "I know people. I manipulate them for a hobby. Reyna will slowly let me in, and once I intrude her trust, I will destroy every aspect of her."
"Why?" I ask again.
"Money, Makai. I feel like we've been through this."
"No," I protest. "No one does this just for money."
"You're so right," he agrees, amber eyes wide with craziness. It's here, that I see his psychotic diagnosis. His eyes are physically wide and his smile is way too big. He's happy about making people hurt. "It's also fun. The date with Reyna will be fun too. Tell me, does she like chocolates or flowers?"
"You're disgusting," I spitefully say, spitting on the ground.
"Dude, relax," he tells me. "You're invited, too...just, not in the way you'd want to be."
"What're you going to do to me?" I ask through gritted teeth, rage dominating me. Someone already hurt Della, he's going to hurt Reyna and me, and there's nothing I can do about it besides eating crackers and drink juice.
"It's going to be at the Spring Carnival," he explains, brandishing his knife and leaning forwards. "So let's play some games."