As usual, I don't have anything important whatsoever to say. So on that note, please enjoy the chapter and try not to fall asleep while you're reading it. It's not exactly 'boring', but it doesn't really get exciting until the next chapter.
From the Shadows
Chapter 9
"Come on, you idiot... Wake the hell up." Kouji poked Takuya's face with a remote control. "Wake. Up. You. Idiot."
Kouichi scowled, grabbing the remote from his twin brother. "Dammit, Kouji! Don't fucking poke him like that. It looks like you're checking to see if he's dead..."
"He's been passed out for nearly an hour, so I'm making sure" Kouji countered as he rolled his eyes. "He's gotta wake up sometime."
However, the remote-control poking seemed to have worked, for Takuya let out a grunt. The brunette rolled over on the plush couch, only to suddenly crash into the floor a moment later. The impact caused him to snap out of Dreamland and back to the real world.
"Holy shit!" He jumped up, somewhat delerious. "What the hell happened?"
"Jeez, calm down," Kouji said dryly. "Damn, maybe it was a bad idea to put you on the couch. Oh well, at least you didn't get any blood on the floor...I'd have to make you clean it up before it stained anything."
Takuya blinked, looking surprised to see his friends. "Kouji? Kouichi? Where the hell am I?"
"Where do ya think, Sunshine?" The long-haired twin asked sarcastically.
"What the fuck am I doing at your apartment?" Takuya asked as he gazed around the living room.
Kouichi chuckled, handing his friend a bottle of beer. "Kind of a weird story. You see, Kouji and I went out for a beer run. As we were driving, we saw you running away from an apartment building, looking like you were running away from a man-eating monster."
Kouji snorted. "A man-eating monster? Very realistic..."
"Eh, shut up. But anyway, as soon as you got to the sidewalk, you fell down looking really dazed. Just as we pulled the car up next to you, you kinda passed out on us..."
"That was you with that blue car?" Takuya asked, shocked by the coincidence. "I didn't get a good look at you two before I lost consciousness."
Kouichi nodded. "Yeah, that was us. We couldn't just leave you there, so we dragged you into the car and brought you to our apartment."
"After we made our beer run of course." Kouji held up a thirty-rack. "So what the fuck happend to you, Kanbara? You look like hell."
"How long have I been out?" Takuya suddenly demanded, his face dark with paranoia. "How long?"
"Probably about an hour," Kouichi told him after thinking for a moment. "What-"
Takuya cursed. "Fuck! I gotta go!"
"Hey, wait a minute." Kouichi stared at him with puzzlement. "Can you at least tell us what's going on? Why were you running away from that building like that? Did something happen to you?"
"I just ran away from some psychotic bitch, that's what happened!" Takuya frantically felt around in his pockets. "Fuck, where are my car keys?"
"We didn't find them on you," Kouji told him. "And for the record, Kouichi was the one who looked through your pockets, not me."
"Asshole." Kouichi groaned at his brother's annoying attitude before reverting his attention back to Takuya. "I looked for them so that I could follow Kouji here in your car. I didn't want to leave your car behind at that place, but I couldn't find them anywhere on you. They weren't on the sidewalk or anything. So we had no choice but to leave it."
"So you're telling me that my car is still with that psychotic bitch?" Takuya held his head in exasperation. "Fuck..."
"When you say the term 'psychotic bitch', you're not referring to Zoe, are you?" Kouji asked, raising an eyebrow.
"No! I'm referring to some crazy schoolgirl named Kyrie," the brunette explained. "You see, I met this girl a few days ago and accidentally bumped into her. I let her stop by my place to clean up and then she dropped by the next two days to visit. She acted really strange when I told her that Zoe was my girlfriend. But then she showed up today to hang out and-"
The short-haired twin interruped him. "You didn't...sleep with her...did you?"
"What? No!" Takuya exclaimed. "But Zoe caught us in a...position...and thought that I was cheating on her."
"But you didn't cheat on her, did you?" Kouji asked.
Takuya let out an annoyed sigh. "No, Kouji. I didn't cheat on her. But Zoe thinks that I did, so right now, she doesn't want anything to do with me! I fucking proposed to her and-"
"Wait, you proposed!" Kouichi interrupted. "Why didn't you tell us?"
"Kouichi, right now I have bigger things to worry about!" Takuya practically yelled. "And both of you, quit interrupting me!"
Kouji took a sip of his beer. "So tell us what the hell you were doing in that apartment. Was it that Kyrie girl's apartment?"
"Yeah," the brunette replied, his shoulders slumping. "You see...after Zoe stormed out thinking that I cheated on her, I couldn't get in touch with her. So I went to a bar...got a bit drunk...and then Kyrie found me there."
"Stalker," Kouichi coughed.
"No shit. But anyway, she convinced me to go to her place so that she could call Zoe and tell her what really happened. Being the desperate, drunk idiot that I was-"
"And still are," Kouji quipped.
Takuya grabbed one of the pillows off the couch and hurled it at Kouji's face. "Shut up! But anyway, Kyrie drove my car to her place since I was incapable at the time. Once we got there we went inside, she knocked me out, and then I woke up tied to a dirty mattress completely naked."
"Damn, Kouji. We found someone out there who is actually crazier than you," Kouichi quipped.
Kouji ignored his brother's comment and gave Takuya a weird look. "What did she do to you?"
"I really don't want to talk about it," Takuya replied, making a disgusted face. "But she told me that she loved me, that she wanted to be with me forever...and that she wanted to kill Zoe."
The twins sat there in silence for several seconds, unsure of what to say. However, Takuya simply saved them the trouble of replying by continuing with his explanation.
"Kyrie showed me this corpse of some guy that she keeps in a sack...and then she introduced me to her boyfriend," he said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "Except he was only a fucking rotted head in box!"
"...You're fucking kidding, right?" Kouji stared at Takuya as if he had sprouted an arm out of his forehead. "I mean...that sounds like something out of a messed up horror movie."
"No, I'm not kidding! I'm dead fucking serious! Why the hell would I make something like this up?" Takuya angrily demanded.
Kouichi smacked Kouji in the arm. "Takuya, don't mind this moron next to me. Obviously you wouldn't make something like this up. This Kyrie girl sounds like one sadistic little bitch...and you said she's after Zoe?"
Takuya nodded. "She's planning to kill her if she gets the chance. And I don't doubt it."
"How the fuck did you get out of there in the first place?" Kouji inquired. "Go Bruce Lee on her ass?"
"She tried to fuck me, but I broke free and knocked her off me," he told them. "I was able to unfasten the buckles and got up, but then she tripped me and made me hit my head. I managed to give her a good kick to the head and knock her out, though. Then I got dressed, ran outside, and passed out on the damn sidewalk. The next thing you know, I wake up here..."
"So Kyrie could've gone to your apartment then, huh?" Kouichi speculated. "Well, Zoe's probably not there right now. If she thinks that you cheated on her, then the chances of her stopping by are pretty low. She might be staying at a friend's house for a few days until she cools down."
Kouji snorted. "Idiot. She still lives there, ya know. There's a good possibility that she'll drop by to pick something up, such as clothes."
"Shit! I've gotta get to the apartment right now," Takuya said firmly. "If she's in danger-"
"Wait a minute. Call Zoe or text her, telling her not to go to the apartment. If Kyrie has your keys, then she has access to your car and apartment," Kouichi pointed out. "It's not safe to go there."
"Just give Zoe a call," Kouji said, vehemently repeating his brother's words. "If you barge in like that, you might get gutted like a pig, and Zoe will probably be killed if you're stupid about this."
Takuya searched for his cell phone, finding it in his pants pocket. He feverishly scrolled down the contacts list and and selected Zoe's number. Putting it up against his ear, he anxiously waited for her to pick up. After a few seconds, he dropped the phone to the floor, his face growing pale as he realized the hopeless situation.
"It's off..."
Meanwhile
Zoe stood in the bedroom that she had shared with Takuya, slowly packing an overnight bag. Her emerald eyes were dull with despair and slightly puffy from her bouts of crying. She had decided to stay the night at Imaru's, but had been forced to go back to the apartment to pick up the necessities. To her relief, yet at the same time disappointed, Takuya was not home. His car was not in the driveway, nor was he anywhere inside.
With a melancholy sigh, the blond stuffed a few outfits into her bag, along with her toiletries. She wanted to just get her stuff and leave before Takuya returned. As much as she wanted to straighten things out with him, Zoe knew that she would only break down as soon as she saw him.
Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, she thought to herself. It wouldn't be the first time he ever saw me cry. But...it would be the first time that the cause was because of him...
She sank down onto the bed, feeling tears well up in her eyes. "I shouldn't jump to conclusions...I'm sure that he has a reasonalbe explanation for being in that position with Kyrie..."
Yet no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think of anything that would convince her otherwise. Kyrie had been blatantly straddling his hips, and Takuya's hands had been on her waist. Their lips had been pressed together...
"Don't think about it," she mumbled, burying her face in her hands. "Don't fucking think about it..."
But I can't help it, she thought in dismay. Every time I picture Takuya, I see her with him. Did I do something wrong? Was he miserable with me?
The questions kept flashing through her mind, deepening her depression. The tears finally began to run down her face, dripping down onto her lap and clenched hands.
"Takuya...what happened?" She asked aloud, wishing that he was there to hear it. "What happened between you and Kyrie? Is what I saw the real deal? Or is it something else that is beyond my comprehension at this point?"
Zoe looked down at the glittering ring on her finger, unsure of what to do. She considered taking it off and leaving it on the dresser for Takuya to find. However, she found that she couldn't bring herself to do such a thing. Not until she uncovered the truth.
"That's it," she whispered, wiping her face with the back of her hand. "I'm calling him. I want an answer right now."
The blond reached into her purse and pulled out her light purple cell phone, realizing that her phone had accidentally shut off at some point. As she went to turn it on, she suddenly felt a blade press up against her throat.
"Don't fucking move," a female voice hissed, digging the blade in deep enough to draw a few beads of blood.
Back at the twins' apartment
Takuya breathed in and out, trying his best to remain calm. "It's okay...maybe her phone died..."
"Or maybe she doesn't want to talk to you," Kouji pointed out.
Kouichi immediately smacked his brother upside the head. "Dumbass! We're trying to calm Takuya down, you know."
"Ow! I'm only speaking the truth, you stupid bastard. Zoe might've shut her phone off 'cause she still doesn't wanna talk to Takuya," Kouji defended himself. "So stop fucking hitting me!"
"Yeah... She might've shut it off purposely," the brunette said dully as he paced around. "Maybe I should call the police and tell them that someone may have broken into my apartment."
Just then, a text message appeared on Takuya's cell phone, illuminating the screen. He picked it up off the floor, breathing a sigh of relief as he saw who it was from.
"It's from Zoe," he quickly told his friends, pressing a button to read the message.
"What does it say?" Kouji asked as he and Kouichi walked over to him, craning his neck to get a better look.
The message finally appeared and the moment Takuya laid his eyes on it, he turned a sickly shade. He swallowed back the bile that had risen to his throat and shook his head to rid himself of the feeling.
Kouichi took the cell phone, reading the message aloud. "Come to the apartment. You have a visitor."
"Shit," Kouji muttered.
"It's Kyrie," Takuya said in despair. "She's using Zoe's cell phone. Either that or she's making Zoe send the messages herself. Shit...what should I do."
Kouji thought for a moment. "I would tell you to call the police. But that'll probably backfire and get Zoe killed."
"Why don't the three of us just go to the apartment together," Kouichi suggested.
Another text messase appeared on Takuya's phone, and once it had opened, he read it out loud. "Make sure you go alone. There'll be consequences otherwise."
"What is she, psychic?" Kouichi mumbled, shaking his head.
"Well, looks like you're gonna have to fly solo on this one," Kouji speculated, his face etched with worry.
Kouichi's sapphire eyes widened. "Wait, what? No! We can't just send him there alone! He'll be mutilated."
"What other choice do I have?" Takuya asked with a wry a smile. "I have to go alone or else Zoe will be killed."
"Well...Zoe might not be there," Kouichi said after a moment. "Maybe Kyrie's bluffing."
Takuya shook his head. "Who else would the visitor be? Everyone always calls before showing up."
Kouichi thought for a moment. "I'm sure that it was only a misunderstanding... There's no friggen way that Kyrie is keeping Zoe hostage and using her cell phone to text you."
A third text message lit up the screen on Takuya's cell phone, with Kouji reading it aloud this time. "Better hurry...Zoe's running out of time."
"Aaargh!" Kouichi cried out dramatically. "Is she a mind-reader or something? Jeez!"
"No, you moron," Kouji groaned as he rolled his eyes. "She's only stating the obvious. She has Zoe and wants Takuya to know that she's not afraid of hurting her. If she threatens him, she knows that he won't refuse to show up."
Takuya stared at his phone in silence for a few seconds before looking at his friends. "Well...since she has my car, I'll have to walk."
"Take mine," Kouichi told him as he tossed his friend his keys. "Kouji will get his panties up in a bunch if you take his."
Kouji merely snorted and muttered, "Jackass..."
The brunette tried to ignore the anxious churning in his stomach, afraid of emptying the contents of his stomach right onto the floor. "Thanks, Kouichi. I'll leave the keys in the glovebox once I get there so that you can get your car later. You know...just in case I don't come back."
"Don't say that," the short-haired twin said sternly. "You and Zoe are gonna get out of this situation. Just don't do anything drastic that might piss her off."
Takuya gave him a brief nod, before making his way to the front door. He left the apartment and walked over to Kouichi's car, the same blue vehicle that they had picked him up in. Just as he settled into the driver's seat, a final text message appeared on his phone. After a few painstakingly slow seconds, the message finally loaded and allowed him to read it."
"Don't even think about calling the cops. If you do, consider Zoe dead. See ya in a little while."
Kay...that is the end of the chapter. I felt like it was pretty boring, but whatever, I'm the author so I'm bound to dislike my own work. But anyway, hopefully you found it to be better than I did. Only two chapters left!
