I groaned and shoved my pillow over my head as a headache pierced my skull. Last night was a mistake. Drinking like a maniac wouldn't help anything so why did I do it? Idiot.
I forced myself to sit up enough to shut off my alarm. As I flopped back down, I noticed a glass of water, a bottle of Tylenol, and a small note sitting on my night stand. What in the world?
I grabbed the little note and read it.
'Drunk Rylee is pretty entertaining. Take it easy, sweetheart. You're going to have a hell of a hangover. - Kason'
I froze. I couldn't really remember last night. The last thing I remembered was grabbing the vodka and dancing. The rest was a confusing blur. But clearly Kason was here. So what happened?
I lifted my blankets. Thankfully, I was still fully dressed in my clothes from yesterday, so nothing too drastic happened. But... why was he here? Hopefully he was just bringing me home.
With no intention of going to school today, I buried myself back into bed after taking some pills to calm this raging hangover. Maybe I would avoid getting drunk ever again. Then I could avoid this horrible feeling.
I wasn't aware that I fell back asleep until I woke to the sound of a phone ringing loudly near my head. I groaned and blindly searched for it among my blankets. When I finally found it, I answered without looking at it.
"Hello?" I muttered into the speaker. It was probably really unpleasant for whoever was calling.
"Oh, good. You're alive." Anne's voice responded, sounding relieved.
"Only partially." I muttered. "I gave you this number two days ago, and the first thing you do is call me when I have a world record hangover?"
"You weren't answering my texts, so I called." Anne said, seemingly not caring that she disturbed me. "You were really drinking hard last night and then you vanished. I got worried. What happened?"
I forced myself to sit up, wincing as the bright sun met my eyes. I glanced at my clock. It was past one in the afternoon. "Uh, I'm not exactly sure what happened."
"Did you wake up somewhere random? Do I need to come rescue you?"
"No, Anne, I'm alright. Kason brought me home, I'm in bed right now, I just woke up."
Anne didn't answer for a moment. "He- he brought you home?" She gasped. "I haven't seen him today, are you with him?!"
My cheeks went hot. "No! Geeze, Anne, don't jump to conclusions. He just helped me get home without dying, that's all... I think."
"You think?"
"I don't know! I don't remember much of anything from last night, but based on the signs, he only helped me, okay? Relax."
Anne let out a breath. "Okay, I got it. You've just been kind of off lately. I was concerned."
I smiled slightly. "Thanks, but you don't need to be. I'm alright, okay?"
"I believe you. But if there's ever anything you need, I'm right there. I was just making sure you were fine, but I need to get to class."
"Go learn, baby. I'm going to eat and be lazy."
She laughed. "You do that. See you tomorrow."
"Bye." I closed the phone and tossed it onto the floor. I didn't feel like moving. But I knew I had to. Being a normal person sucked sometimes.
* * *
Why can't I focus? It's like I'm a zombie again. What is with this?
I shook myself, trying to get back into full attention. Yesterday was a nice day off, so why was I so out of it today? I grabbed my desk, like that would help, and focused my full attention on Me. Slater.
"For the final project of the trimester, all I want you to do is write a brief summary about your year and something you learned from it." Mr. Slater's words sounded... wobbly, muffled.
My eyes moved around the room as I noticed a sort of grey haze at the edge of my vision. I thought it was the light at first, but nope, it was my vision. What was wrong with me? I got over my hangover yesterday.
Everyone around me was suddenly all getting up and leaving, and I realized the bell rang. I didn't even hear it.
Blinking hard, I got up and gathered my things. I had a race tonight, so whatever was wrong with me had to be gone soon. Very soon.
I moved out into the hall and was jarred at how... muffled everything sounded. Like I was wearing ear plugs. My movements felt rather slow as well. Was I actually turning into a zombie? Was I patient zero?
"Rylee!"
I jumped, screeching to a stop as someone stepped in front of me. "Oh, hi Anne."
She grabbed my shoulders. "You don't look so good, are you okay? Are you sick?"
I shook my head. "I- I'm not sick. I don't think I am."
"I said your name a million times, and you didn't even flinch." Anne looked into my eyes. "You're not drunk again, are you?"
"No, I'm not. I think I might just be coming down with something." I pushed her hands away. "Thanks for asking, but I'll be fine. I need to go."
Anne still looked worried, but she let me walk away.
I found myself watching how I walked as I went. My feet were so slow and... unstable. I stopped there in the middle of the hallway, shaking my head like it would clear away this fog. I felt someone brush past my arm slowly, and I stepped back against the wall to get out of the way.
What is happening?
This sort of happened to me the other day, but it wasn't half as bad as this. The other day I thought I was just tired but something was definitely wrong.
"You were acting weird in Humanities." Kason suddenly appeared in front of me.
I slowly moved my gaze up to his. "What?"
His expression immediately changed. "Whoa, are you okay?" He glanced around and then pulled me down a smaller hallway. Then he gently grabbed my chin and raised my head to look in my eyes.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." I found myself saying.
"Your eyes are glazed over. But you're not drunk." He gave me a serious look. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel- I feel normal just... slow. And everything is foggy. Your voice sounds kind of far away." My own voice sounded far away. "What's up with me?"
Kason stepped back, looking me over. Then he suddenly grabbed my right arm and lifted it up. "When did this happen?"
I looked at my arm in confusion. Three long, parallel scratches ran down my arm. "Where did that come from?" I looked at Kason.
His eyes widened, and he seemed to go pale. "Shit. You've been marked."
"Marked?" I questioned as he took his jacket off.
"Put this on, cover that up." He ordered, putting his jacket around my shoulders.
"What? Why? I'm confused."
Kason looked around, seeming paranoid and... scared. That was so unlike him. Then he led me through the halls and out of the school. "Keep your head down. I'll explain things once we get to the motel."
I was beyond confused, but didn't say a word as he put me in his car and then got in. "What do you mean I've been marked?" I finally asked as he pulled onto the road.
Kason was holding the steering wheel so tight, his knuckles turned white. "Those marks on your arm mean you're a target, a product to the Black Bands."
Nausea moved through my body and I felt myself go pale. "Product? What does that mean?"
He couldn't seem to look at me. "My bosses are sick men. They trade in everything including drugs, weapons, and..." he swallowed, "and girls. Someone in the Black Bands met you, learned about you and decided you would be perfect for snatching. So they marked you. Those marks mean you're supposed to be grabbed tonight."
I wasn't feeling so good. I rolled the window down, trying to breathe in the fresh fall air to calm down. "What do I do? Hide at home forever?"
"No." Kason answered immediately. If they found out where you live, your house will be marked too."
"But... Why am I so out of it right now?"
"Have you felt off like this before?"
I nodded. "Yeah, the other day. When I overheard you and your boss."
Kason's head whipped to me, like he was realizing something. "That would explain why you passed out for at long."
"What explains it?"
"You were drugged. They use a certain drug that acts as a sedative of a sort. It basically turns you into a sluggish robot, I guess. That first day they tested it on you to make sure it worked. Today they gave you a higher dose to slowly turn you into a submissive, reactionless, husk."
I could feel myself beginning to panick. "But how? I- I haven't been anywhere or with anyone that might have drugged me." My eyes widened. "My fosters. They've disappeared. They weren't home yesterday at all. But I didn't see a note or anything."
"Shit." Kason growled. "Your fosters might have been... dealt with to make your disappearance easier to get away with."
My throat tightened, and I hated it. "What do I do?"
"Just try to breathe, Rylee. I'm taking you to the motel so I can protect you. They won't know where to find you, okay?"
I could feel my hands shaking, and I clenched them in my lap. "I'm scared. I was drugged and marked, all without knowing it. Who could it have been?"
"Have you been around anyone besides your friends and me?" Kason asked, brows furrowed in thought.
"No-" I froze, and it felt like someone poured ice cold water onto me. "Wait. Jacob."
Kason swerved and his eyes snapped to me. "Jacob?"
The sick feeling in my stomach grew. "I- I met him a bit ago. He moved back-"
"Son of a bitch!" Kason burst out, raking a hand through his hair. "That bastard. Let me guess, he was charming and friendly."
My heart tightened. "He's in the Black Bands, isn't he?" I asked, my voice quiet.
"He's my boss. You overheard him and I, actually."
I covered my face. "I'm so stupid. I didn't see it. Even with all the clues right there in my face!"
"Hey, don't beat yourself up. He's the problem." He pulled up to the motel and shut off the car. "Come on, we don't want to risk anyone spotting you."
I followed him inside and to his rooms, my limbs heavy and trembling. I couldn't believe what was happening. I was on the verge of panicking completely. What the hell did I just get into?
Kason locked the door once we got into the room and then turned to me. "I kept you from getting involved, but Jacob found you all on his own. He dragged you into this."
I hugged myself, finding comfort in Kason's jacket surrounded by his smokey scent. "What now? I just hide here until they lose interest?"
Kason paced uneasily. "You aren't in deep like I am. There's still a chance to get you out of this." He stopped, his green eyes meeting mine. "You'll be okay. I'll make sure of it, okay?"
I nodded, though I didn't feel much better. "What are you going to do?"
"Can you sit tight here? I need to get with my only allies. I'll figure out a way to get you away from all this safely."
I swallowed. "Okay. Whatever ideas you can think of can help."
Kason came over to me, gently raising my chin. "I won't let anything happen to you, Rylee. Can you trust me?"
I slowly nodded. "I trust you."
A sad smile tugged at his lips. "Good. Sit tight. I'll be right back."
I caught his hand. "Be careful."
Kason nodded. "I'll be fine. Stay here, I'll be back."
I didn't want him to go. I was terrified, confused. But I let him leave.
What the hell was I supposed to do now?
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And here things have really picked up. Yay! How you enjoyed.
Thanks for reading (. ❛ ᴗ ❛.)