Chapter sixteen
•Morgan•
When I agreed to this mission.. well, more like forced to undertake this mission, I did not expect I'd be sat in the back of some sort of truck, blindfolded, with my hand covered in blood.
It's not mine... I think.
"Ow!" I yell. "What the hell was that for?" I ask whoever just pricked me in the arm. I feel blood roll down my arm, making it tickle and itch, but my hands are tied so I can't do anything about it.
"So, where we going?" No answer.
"Can we get some food? Please?" No answer.
"Can—".
"Shut up", someone says from somewhere in this van—I assume this is a van.
"Hmmm, no", I drawl. This isn't the first time I've been kidnapped. "So—", before I can finish my sentence, the man next to me pulls my blindfold down, shoving it in my mouth. I groan, leaning my head back on the cold wall of the van.
I'm sat on a bench in the back of a van, next to a large, creepy man.
Ha, that rhymed.
"We're here", the driver says, stopping the van. Suddenly, a paper bag is put over my head so I can't see, and I'm being carried.
Damn, it's cold.
"Stay there", one of the men put me in a chair in a large, square room. They take off the paper bag and cloth in my mouth, and tie me to the chair.
"Well it's not like I can go anywhere".
"We'll be back soon", they say as they walk out of the room. I'm facing a door however, it's the door that leads outside, behind me is the door that the two guys went out of.
I hear groaning from behind me. "What the hell?" I mutter to myself. "Who's there?" I jump with my chair, turning around to face the other door. "Max?" Max is laying on a mattress in the corner of the room, to the left of the door. "Max what the hell? What's going on?"
"So, I see you're keeping each other company", one of the guys walks in.
"What the fuck is going on here. Why are we here?" I question.
"Look, I don't have time for this", he says, checking his watch. "I'll send someone in to keep an eye on you, then the real fun will begin", he walks out, shoving a teenage boy in. The boy looks frightened, he can't be more than sixteen years old.
"Uh, h—hi", he takes a seat on the floor, to the right of the door.
"Hey, what's your name?" I ask.
"Parker", he holds his legs up to his chest.
"So Parker, how old are you?"
"Fifteen", he reminds me a lot of Gabe when he was fifteen just, without the terrified expression.
"You look like you don't really wanna be here", I stare the obvious.
"I don't", he scoffs.
"So why are you?"
"The guy, the um—the boss, he's—he's my uncle. I've been raised by him, practically my whole life because, he—he killed my parents. Well, foster parents", he pauses.
"We have a lot more in common than I thought. Not the 'uncle killing my parents' part but—sorry, I'll stop. Carry on".
"I don't know if I should be telling you this", his voice wavers.
"No, it's okay", I say, softly.
He shakes his head. "What if—what if they hurt me again. What if—how—how do I know you're not like them?" He starts to panic.
"Hey, Parker. It's okay, I'm not like them, whoever they are. I can help you, if you help me by telling me what's happening, okay?" He nods.
"Um so, my uncle is the boss and he was working with his friend to send messages to two people close to Romeo. He first sent one to him", he points to Max. "Saying that he needed to go home for something, and that's when they took him. Then they sent one to his other friends, saying that he needed to go back to Romeos office.. or something like that. He knew Romeo would offer him a room at his house, so they were just waiting until they went back to his house. My uncle knew Romeo was smarter than that, and would track the number, so he had to get the phone as far away as possible, then he'd have enough time to get in and take Josh. But then, Romeo got home sooner than expected".
"Because he found the phone", I mumble to myself, understanding what Parker is saying.
"Yeah, then his right hand man was sent in. He was ordered to take Josh, but he said you would make better leverage so, here we are".
"How do you know all of this?"
"My uncle beats me, usually until I'm unconscious, but as I've grown I can handle more, he just doesn't know that. I always pretend to be passed out and hear a lot of plans and phone calls being made".
"Well Parker, thank you and, do you have your phone on you?" He shakes his head, muttering a 'sorry'. "No it's okay, you don't have to be sorry", just as I speak, the door bursts open.
"The boss is dead. You're gonna pay for this", he comes over to me, slapping me across the face, then punching me. It draws blood from where he's wearing a ring. He grabs my arm, pulling out a pocket knife and slicing a line down my arm. "That's mark one. You get a new one for everyday you're in here, until you die you die of blood loss, eventually", he punches me again before hearing a noise, like a door closing. "What was that?" He turns around; I lift both of my legs that are tied together, kicking him down.
"Ha, bitch", I say. As he starts to stand up, Parker emerges from the small closet on the side of the room, next to a sink, and chokes the man with a hanger, until he passes out. "Nice job. I'd high five you, but my hands are tied".
"Here", Parker takes the pocket knife that the man dropped, using it to cut the ropes. "I called the cops, by the way, I grabbed his phone".
"Dude, you're the best", I go to hug him, but the door swings open again. "Oh fuck".
"Parker", the man grabs Parker's arm.
"Let go of him", I stab the knife into the mans shoulder, causing him to release Parker.
"Go hide in the closet again", I push him towards it. I knock the guy off of his feet while he's distracted, and put my foot on his neck, slowly pressing down.
Not long after, I begin to hear police sirens. I take my foot off of the mans neck, waiting until the cops come in. Less than two minutes later, the room is full of cops, picking up the two men.
"Oh my god", I hear his voice. "Thank god you're okay", Romeo rushes in and hugs me. I'm taken back by the sudden action however, I still hug back, enjoying the familiar smell. "Where's Max?" He asks as he pulls away.
"Passed put over there", I point to his unconscious body, laying on the mattress. "One second", I walk over to the closet, opening the door. "Parker, it's me, it's okay".
"Is it safe to come out now?"
"Yeah", I hold a hand out, helping him stand up.
"Um, did—did he say that my uncle's dead?"
"Yeah, he did. I'm sorry".
"No, I'm, uh—I'm relieved but, now I've got nowhere to live. I—I have no other family", he looks to the ground. "What am I gonna do? I'm fifteen, I don't have money. I can't live on the streets. I—I'm not going into foster care again—nope, I can't do that", he starts to panic.
"P, it's okay, I'll find a place for you to live", I put a hand on his shoulder. "Come with me", I lead him outside, where the police and ambulances are. "Hey, Romeo?" I find Romeo by the ambulance he brought Max to.
"Hm?" He turns to face me.
"Do you happen to have a spare room?" I ask, sheepishly.
"Depends who for". He raises an eyebrow.
"This is Parker", I pull him over. "He's fifteen and his only family was the 'boss', whoever that is, so now he has nowhere to stay. He also was the one to call the cops.. please?"
He takes a deep breath, "okay".
"Yay, thanks!" I kiss his cheek, walking over to one of the cops that had called me over, trying to hide my blush at the realisation of what I just did.
✯✯✯✯
I spoke to the cops, telling them what had happened, then we were let go. The two men were being taken into custody and everything was going smoothly.
I just finished showering, getting changed into an oversized hoodie and sweatpants. I make my way down to the kitchen to make some food however, I realise it's dinner time and I decide to order pizza.
"Hey", Romeo says, taking a seat at the island after visiting Max in the hospital.
"Hey, did you just get back?"
"Yeah, he should wake up in the next couple of days", he runs a hand through his hair. "He has a bunch of lines cut into his arm, do you know why?" He asks.
I nod, lifting up my sleeve to show him mine. "It's the amount of days he's been there. I, of course, only have one because I was only there for a day.. well, less but, you get the point".
"What the hell?" He grabs my arm, rubbing his thumb over the cut; I hiss in pain. "Shit. Is it still hurting you? You should've gone to the hospital. Come on, I'll clean it and bandage it for you", he rambles, leading me into the bathroom.
"I'm fine, Ro", I say as we enter the bathroom. His head shoots up, but then drops back down as he shakes it.
"Here", he takes some rubbing alcohol from the cupboard, putting it on the wound. I hiss, trying to pull my arm away from his grip however, he only tightens his hold. "Relax, I have to clean it", he then puts a bandage over it, slowly pulling my sleeve back down.
"I'm gonna go order pizza", I walk out of the room and into the living room, turning on the TV and grabbing my phone. Soon after, Romeo walks in, laying his head in my lap. Once I order the pizza, he grabs my hand, putting it in his hair and closes his eyes.
"I'm sorry", he whispers. "I didn't want you to get involved in this".
"It's fine. I'm okay, aren't I?" I say, softly.
"Yeah, but what if you weren't".
"What did they want?" I ask.
"Money, I guess", he shrugs. "I didn't know them, but they said they knew my father. There's no way I'm asking him about it, though".
I continue to run my hands through his hair until the pizza comes. I lift his head off me and let him sleep, while I take the pizza into the kitchen, calling Parker down from his new room.
this chapter just flew by. when I was writing, i wrote it so quick lol.
updated authors note:
heh. ngl im so tired i forgot what happened in this chapter and i just reread it. sorry if there are any mistakes😭