"See you soon, man." Vic said, giving Chris a friendly hug.
Mike grunted a goodbye. He was still furious about what Chris did to me. Finally, the car pulled out of the driveway. I fiddled with the bandages on my arm from his nails. The scratches were healing pretty well.
Vic nudged me with his elbow and motioned for me to follow him, which I did. He smiled playfully as the led me down to the one part of the house I'd never gone to; the basement.
Instead of being dark, creepy and everything else you'd expect a basement to be, the guys had turned it into a studio of sorts. The floor was tiled and the room was brightly lit. The room was cold, the air chilled my bare arms.
"This is where we first started recording." Vic said. "Our parents and neighbors got tired of the constant noise, so we all spent about a year turning this basement into a recording studio." He closed the basement door, shutting me in the room with him. However, I wasn't alarmed as I may have been before.
"Why'd you bring me here?" I asked, rubbing my arms to warm them up a bit. Vic took off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders.
"Because this room is practically soundproofed. Nothing gets in, nothing gets out. And I want to talk to you." He pulled out a chair and offered it to me, I sat down, and he did the same.
I looked down at the dog tag that never left my neck. I ran my finger over Joey's name, permanently etched onto the cold metal. I ached for him. I longed to see the brightness of his face, the depths of his smile and the sparkle in his eyes. I missed the touch of his presence. I missed him.
Vic cleared his throat, drawing my attention back to him.
"We've all been thinking about this. A lot." He began. "And I think we've finally come to trust you." My heart swelled, but Vic wasn't finished yet. "Now, here's the thing. We can't be certain that you won't tell anyone about what happened."
I flew from the chair and went to my knees, and I grabbed a hold of Vic's hand. "Please, Vic, please. I'll be so happy, I won't tell anyone. Even Joey. I promise. I swear to God on my brother's life. Please." I begged. For once, I was actually telling the truth. As crazy as it sounds, I almost didn't want them arrested. They'd kept me alive when they could've killed me, right?
Vic nodded. "I believe you." He dropped my hand, and I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. "You're going home tomorrow."
I wanted to dance, and sing, and yell. I began laughing out of pure joy and happiness. Vic smiled and brushed a few curls out of my face. "I like hearing you laugh. I wish I would've gotten to hear it sooner."
I felt guilty instantly. Guilty for how I'd been treating them. Even though I was always furious, they never stopped caring about me. And all I ever did was scream and cry.
"Vic, I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry I never let you guys in, I'm sorry for screaming at you. I should've....I could've-" I stammered.
Vic just put his hand on my shoulder. "Don't apologize, Bethany. You had, and still have, every right to hate us."
I looked him in his kind, brown eyes. "Then why don't I?"
He smiled. "That's the funny thing about life, isn't it?" I smiled back. He pulled me into a bear hug, squeezing me tightly. I hugged back just as passionately. "I'll miss you, Beth."
Just as I was about to reply, Jaime practically ran down the stairs. His usual smile was gone, his eyes full of concern. "Guys, we have a problem."
•••••
"What the fuck! I come back to get my phone charger, and this is what I find?!? You can't just let her go home! She could tell!" Chris screamed.
Mike's hands were clenched into fists. He gritted his teeth, and his eyes had the same fire they did when he confronted Casey on the night I was taken.
"I won't say anything! I swear to-" I began to say. Chris drew his hand back and slapped me as hard as he could. I tasted blood.
"Shut up, lanky bitch." He hissed at me. Mike lost it and lunged for him.
"Don't you dare touch her! Don't you fucking dare!" He snarled as Tony held him back by his arms. Mike fought against him, but Tony fought back just as hard.
Chris backed out of the house slowly. Something inside of my head told me that everything was about to change.
•••••
"Wakey, wakey, ugly cunt."
I opened my eyes lazily, and saw a figure standing over me. I couldn't see his face, but I recognized the voice as Chris'. I was about to scream, but his hand shot over my mouth. I saw the glint of the blade of a knife. "Don't be stupid, kid." He sneered in my ear. I nodded rapidly and he drew his hand back.
Chris' hand closed around my wrist and yanked me out of the bed. The guys had decided to let me sleep alone because I was leaving soon. I wished they hadn't.
He dragged me into a separate room, one I hadn't been in before. I was thrown through the door frame and onto the ground. Chris stood menacingly over me. He drew back his foot and began kicking me in the stomach. I fought every urge to cry out in pain.
Chris never said a word. He just kept kicking me over and over again. After he finally stopped, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a matchbox. Terror bloomed in my stomach.
He struck a few matches against the box, the flame the only source of light in the room other than dim moonlight streaming through the window. He stepped back through the doorway and drew a key out of his pocket with his free hand.
Chris' lips drew back into a terrifying smile, illuminated by the small flame from the match. "Bye Bethany." He whispered before throwing the matches to the carpet. The flame immediately spread, smoke already flooding my nostrils. Chris slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside. I heard his feet running as the smoke alarm began to sound.
Faint shouting began to move through the house as everyone realized what was going on. I struggled to get to the door to bang on it, but flames blocked my path. The blaze spread, and soon the room was bathed in the glow of the burning embers.
Someone began pounding on the door. "Bethany! We're gonna get you out of there! Hang in there!" Tony screamed, sounding just as panicked as I felt.
"Tony!" I tried screaming. Smoke flooded through my open mouth and choked me like a claw. I coughed loudly, feeling the heat beginning to grow. I began hyperventilating, breathing in the smoke. I knew I should've been trying to breathe sparingly, but my body was on auto pilot.
The fire was drawing closer and closer. I ran, or tried to run, in the opposite direction. I looked out the window and saw my last option; the roof. There was a ladder on the wood balcony that led up to the roof. I planned to climb it, and get up to the top before the fire burned the balcony completely.
I looked around for something to smash the window. My eyes landed on a crack in the glass. I remembered Vic telling me a story of how Jaime cracked one of the windows and Chris' mother got super pissed. I silently thanked him for doing it.
I slammed my elbow into the pane and the crack grew bigger. I felt a hot sensation on my heels. I looked down, and saw the flames creeping towards my feet. I used all my strength and hit the window once more, the glass shattering. I pushed on the broken glass and cleared it. I pulled myself through the window pain, my bare arms scraping the jagged pieces that hadn't quite come out.
My feet landed on the wood of the balcony. I knew I didn't have much time to act. I quickly scaled the ladder and pulled myself onto the roof of the house. My lungs were full of ash and smoke, which was quickly pouring out of the house. I was surrounded by a thick, black cloud.
"Vic!" I heard Jaime scream. "I see her! She's on the roof!"
"Bethany!" Vic yelled. "Jump! I'll catch you!"
I shook my head, though I wasn't sure if he could see it. "No!" I yelled down, my voice was raspy and broken. My throat felt like it was coated in sand. I coughed and sputtered. "I don't know where you are! I can't see you!"
"But I can see you!" He yelled back. "Just walk forward and jump! I promise, I won't let you fall!"
I staggered forward, the fear in my stomach consuming my entire being. I looked down at myself and realized that I was covered in soot and minor burns- burns that I hadn't even felt. I continued walking to the edge of the roof. I took a deep breath- a bad idea. Smoke burned in my lungs.
I closed my eyes and stepped off of the roof. The wind rushed through me, and I began to wonder if this is what dying felt like. The cool air rushed through my body, giving me an overwhelming and indescribable peace.
I fell freely for a few seconds, expecting an impact. But it never came. Instead, I landed in the strong arms of Vic Fuentes. He'd saved my life again.
"I got her!" He yelled. He pulled one of my eyes open, and stared into it. "Can you hear me?" I grunted a "yes."
The last thing I remember is Jaime yelling into a phone and Vic singing softly in my ear.
Chapter Song: A Love Like War by All Time Low and Vic Fuentes