A bright light was shining through the dark hole I'd kept myself in for so many years.
My eyes opened to see the world through a new perspective.
Suddenly, I knew I wouldn't be able to live without this person. I wouldn't be able to think about a future without including them in it.
I was fucked.
-
"How does pancakes sound?" Frank asked, leaning over the countertop to kiss my forehead.
I held back a grin and cleared my throat.
"Pancakes would be amazing." I talked softly to hide my hoarse morning voice.
"Great, only one problem."
"What's that?" I tilted my head.
"I don't know how to cook." He scratched his head.
I sighed and hopped off the stool I was sitting on, walking into the kitchen and grabbing a mixing bowl.
"You're the best!" He called.
"I know." I chuckled to myself.
-
I didn't leave the house till around noon. I'd already called my Mother to tell her I 'woke up early' and went over to Frank's house. Followed by that, I had to tell her about the Mrs. Smith incident or she would have found out through someone else. And that, wouldn't have been good.
Luckily she gave me the sympathy card and just apologized for not asking if I was okay when I came home. I wasn't going to school today and she didn't blame me. That's a relief. Apparently they gave me time off after witnessing Mrs. Smith's death. Hah, I should see people die more often.
I didn't want to be at school primarily because I didn't want to be around for the whole grief counseling, student assembly, memorial service, and even worse all the kids pretending to cry because they wanted someone to feel sorry for them.
Not that there's anything wrong with that, I mean, in a way I wanted my Mom to feel sorry for me so she would lay off my back for a while.
I gazed out the window of Frank's car door. We were driving to Mr. Way's house to talk about Lucas and where we go from here. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried, I seemed to be the only reasonable person out of the three of us. Frank and Mr. Way would probably kill Lucas if it was up to them. Even though I was starting to despise the little shit, I just couldn't let that happen. No more death, no more fear, no more drama. Not for another lifetime.
We arrived at around 1 o'clock but the lights still seemed to be off in Mr. Way's home.
"Should we knock?" I whispered.
"Nah." Frank turned around and dug through a potted flower sitting on the floor, when he pulled his hands out he was holding a dirt-covered key, smirking.
"Ah, he hasn't changed in 10 years." Frank chuckled dryly.
"We can't just barge in! He's my teacher!" I hissed.
"Sure we can. If you haven't noticed you two are far past the student-teacher relationship now. Dead body, holding a minor hostage, orgy. Remember?"
"Orgy?! That never even happened!" I grimaced.
"Well according to Mrs. Smith it did." He winked.
"Mrs. Smith is dead."
"Good point. Then it never happened." He shrugged.
"Make up your mind!" I groaned.
He stuck his tongue out at me and proceeded to unlock Mr. Way's front door. I cursed under my breath and followed him inside the dark house. It was almost creepy at first, no signs of any life, a bone chilling atmosphere thick in the air.
"Gerard," Frank called, his voice echoing in the hallway.
"Where is he?" I hissed.
"Somewhere. His car is still here."
We walked further into the house, now making it into a pitch-black kitchen. Frank felt the walls looking for a light switch but I eventually spotted it near a window.
When the lights went on a groan came from the floor and we found a human slump next to the refrigerator. Mr. Way was in fetal position, a bottle of liquor in his right hand, and lines of cocaine on the counter.
"You're fucking kidding me!" Frank growled and went to pick Mr. Way up by his collar.
"Frank!" I pleaded, this was NOT going to be a repeat of yesterday.
"No, you're better than this Gerard!" Frank dragged Mr. Way to the sink and turned the faucet on high. Before I could stop him he forced Mr. Way's head underneath the water. He woke up almost immediately, his body writhing underneath Frank's grasp.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I gasped.
"Waking him up!" Frank replied. He pulled Mr. Way out of the sink and let him slump back to the floor, he was still very out of it.
"I'm sorry Mama.." Mr. Way groaned.
"Mama?" Frank raised an eyebrow, a laugh somehow escaping his throat even though his demeanor was very serious.
"Mama we all go to hell.." He mumbled, his eyes glued shut.
"Gerard what the fuck are you going on about!" Frank reached over and slapped him hard.
This made Mr. Way scream, his eyes popping open and looking all around the room in a confused daze.
"Frank?" He began to hyperventilate.
"Yeah." Frank gave him a disappointed look.
"What are you doing man, look at yourself." He sighed.
"I-.. I don't know. I don't remember what happened." He groaned. This time it was me to reach forward and slap him.
"You'd better start remembering! You aren't allowed to forget this! Me and Frank aren't! We have to live with it!" I yelled at him.
"Panties?" He slurred, looking up at me with sleepy eyes.
This made me hit him even harder this time.
"LANA!" I shouted my name at him. Frank started to chuckle.
"Why are you laughing!?" I snapped at him.
"Oh come on, you have to admit it's pretty funny-" This time I slapped Frank.
"OUCH. Hey I didn't do anything!" He pouted, rubbing his cheek. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to Mr. Way.
"C'mon. Help me get him in the shower." Frank sighed, returning to his seriousness again.
I nodded and grabbed Mr. Way's feet while Frank hoisted his upper body up. We carried him into the bathroom and sat him up right in the shower.
"This won't be pretty, step back." Frank ordered. I did as he said and took a couple steps. Frank reached forward and turned the shower knob all the way up to the coldest setting. Mr. Way gasped as if he hadn't breathed for days then flopped around the shower trying to get out. Frank reached forward and held him down for 30 seconds. He was right, it wasn't pretty. It was almost traumatizing to watch.
Frank now turned the shower knob off and I handed him a towel which he wrapped around Mr. Way.
"C'mon buddy, get up." Frank helped Mr. Way stand on his feet and walked slowly with him over to what I assumed to be his bedroom. Mr. Way was totally silent, his head hanging low and his wet, ruby red hair covering his face like a drape.
"Lana, wait in the living room. I'm going to help him change." Frank said to me.
I nodded and walked out of the room, simply sitting on Mr. Way's couch once I found it. I scanned the room for a remote control till I saw it was right next to me on a tiny cupboard. I switched the tv on, flicking through the channels curiously.
"Yaman's theory is only proved to be incorrect when used with emphasis on the idea that human wellness and-"
"Boring." I grumbled, trying to pry away from the history channels.
"Rice Krispies are ideal for children because they're made of rice and easy on the tummy-"
I kept browsing, stopping on every other channel to see what was playing. I stopped on an E! True Hollywood Story. I waited for a few minutes to see who it was about.
"Meh, Keanu Reeves." I flicked to the next channel again, this time FOX news playing.
At this point Frank walked into the room, I put the remote down and turned my attention to him.
"How is he?" I asked.
"Resting. I can take you home if you'd like, I'm going to stay for a while and keep an eye on him." He replied.
"No, no. I'll stay with you." I smiled at him.
"You sure? It could get quite boring." He frowned.
"Positive. And when is it ever boring between the two of us?" I laughed.
"True." He grinned and moved to the couch, crawling closer and sitting next to me. He reached down and wrapped his arms around my waist, pushing me underneath him and crashing his lips against mine. I could feel the cool leather of the sofa against my lower back and I knew he was easing my shirt up. He brought his lips down to my neck, laying gentle but passionate kisses on it. I turned my head to the side, loving the feel of his lips on my skin.
My eyes glanced at the TV for a second, unsure of what I was looking at.
"Frank-" My eyebrows furrowed, and I tapped his back to get his attention.
"What?" He looked up confused. I pointed to the TV, a sense of worry filling me.
It was Lucas, talking on the news. The reporter was asking him questions and the headlines read "17-Year old Danielle Jolie, mysteriously missing. Suspected kidnapping."
"We made plans to hang out after school and I waited for at least an hour-" Lucas' voice caught as if he were about to cry. He was looking around worriedly, emotions clear on his face.
But I knew what it was, Frank knew what it was. Just an act.
I chewed on my lower lip, a whirlwind of emotions running through me. If he did something to Danielle I don't know what I'd do. She was my friend, sure we weren't super close but she was my friend and I cared about her. To top it off I knew what Lucas was up to yet I did nothing last night, now poor Danielle was paying the price.
"What are we going to do?" I cried, looking at Frank.
He thought for a moment, a certain intensity filling his eyes.
"I have to kill him."