Sorry for the wait! Dx School has been stealing away my thinking process but I got it back... I hope. ;)

Chapter 13

"Impossible"

I woke up in a trance. The world around me spun and I found myself squeezing my eyes shut, waiting for it to stop.

Did I pass out drunk?

No.

Other scenarios came to mind until I got sick of guessing and opened my eyes to a crack. That was futile. All I could see was endless darkness. At least I knew I was in an unrecognizable room and not some creepy alley. Not that this place wasn't creepy either. In fact, if it hadn't been for the wetness surrounding my head distracting me, the place would have concerned me. I dipped my fingers into the puddle beneath me and sniffed them. The coppery smell of blood made me sneeze. What the hell?

Attempting to sit up was a wasted effort which only exerted me. The back of my head throbbed wildly. I heaved a sigh of pain as I turned to my side and reached back there. In that moment it all came back to me with a burst of realization. The bloody handprints along the hallway leading to Belly's room; the mess I discovered after knocking down the door; and the worst part, the glimpse I had of the body inside the closet. Her body. And that's when my memory fades. Someone knocked me out cold. That was the only plausible explanation to why my head was fucked up, I decided.

I surveyed the rest of my body, checking for the overall damage. I was left mostly untouched except for the head wound.

I scrambled onto my knees, pushing the wrecked ache aside. As I heaved myself up off the floor, my knees threatened to give out.

"Are you here?" I called out weakly. I heard her signature sob. "Belly?" At first it was almost inaudible but as I moved to the right it grew louder. "Belly!"

In the darkness I could just make out her figure. She was slumped against a wall. I ran and stopped myself from throwing my arms around her. I wasn't sure how badly hurt she was.

"Bells! Are you okay?"

"I don't know," she croaked.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you. I'll take you to the hospital!" I felt around the pockets of my shorts for my phone but then I remembered I left it on the deck.

"You can't." Her voice was oddly raspy.

"It's okay. I can carry you out of here."

"But—"

"Put your arms around my neck."

"Conrad, please listen." She never sounded more fragile. I froze. "Do you remember how we got here?"

"No..." How could I? I was knocked out until a few minutes ago.

"Neither do I. All I know is that we're being held captive."

"What do you mean?"

"I woke up hours ago. When the sun was out. I could barely see through the small window over there." She pointed over my shoulder but I couldn't see a window. "You were lying beside me. I—I thought you were d—dead."

I thought she'd been dead too but I kept that to myself. I searched for her hands. She laced her fingers around mine and leaned her head against my chest. I let her cry for a while. When I couldn't take it anymore I said, "Feel my heart beat? I'm right here." I kissed the top of her head. "Where are you hurt?"

"Just my neck and legs, oh and I think my left shoulder is dislocated. You?"

I winced.

"The back of my head feels like it might fall off."

We laughed drily. Maybe it was our nerves. I was living in confusion, not sure whether I was relieved she was alive or angry she was hurt. "Do you know who did this?"

"In the morning I heard shouts and thought that someone found us but then I realized it was our own attackers. One of them appeared at the door." This time she motioned at the opposite wall from the window. "It was a girl. She appeared to be around our age. I couldn't see her face though. I pretended to be asleep, barely watching through my eyelashes as she examined your body."

"She did what?"

"She looked you over, I'm guessing to check where you were hurt. She pretended I wasn't there and whispered something."

"What did she say?"

She skipped over my question. "I think she knows you."

"Fuck. What happened after that?"

"She left and locked the door behind her. I tried crawling over there until the pain in my shoulder stopped me. I've been in this spot ever since."

I was going to get us out of there. I had to. "Stay here."

I stood up slowly and felt along the wall until I reached the door. It was metallic. I examined it the best I could. There was no doorknob, no window, only a key hole. "Do you have a bobby pin by any chance?"

"Nope."

"What else could I use to unlock this? We need to get out of here fast."

"I don't think we can."

"We have to!"

"Come back over here, please."

I didn't hesitate this time. I carefully wrapped my arms around her waist and held her close.

"They're going to kill me, Conrad."

"Don't say that." I tightened my hold on her. This whole situation was absurd. What had we done to deserve this?

"That's what she whispered when you were unconscious."

I couldn't speak. My heart was hammering louder than my thoughts.

"You had just woken up. You probably didn't hear her right."

"I know what I heard."

The muscles in my jaw tightened. "I won't let her or anybody else touch you."

"Shhh..." She placed a finger on my lips. "I think they're back."

I listened hard until the rev of a car engine reached my ears. It was followed by two door slams.

"We need a plan!"

"There's nothing we can do, Con, it's over."

I didn't want to accept that. I thought hard. Maybe I could wait by the door and attack them if they were to come inside. Yes, that could work.

"I need you to lay down and stay still. Pretend to be asleep."

"What are you going to do?" she asked worriedly.

"Attack whoever comes in first," I answered quickly because I could faintly hear their footsteps.

"That might not work—"

"I have to try. For you..."

I tipped Belly's chin up and kissed her cold lips. At first softly and then harder because I wasn't sure how many more times I would get to do that. I felt something inside me light up. I wanted more but it couldn't happen like that. I forced myself to pull away. We were out of breath. The silence that passed through us in that moment held everything we were both thinking, desiring.

I reluctantly went back to the door and pressed one ear against it while covering the other. They were talking somewhere else in the building. Building? House? Whatever.

They started arguing.

"Why haven't you fed them?" A female's voice rang through the walls. That voice. It sounded oddly familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

"What the hell for? They're good as dead." I recognized the guy's voice right away. But it couldn't be...

"Idiot! I told you to give them a good scare. That's all! You weren't supposed to knock them out! I swear if he dies—"

"Don't threaten me!"

"I'll deal with you later then. Go check on them... Now!"

My heart was beating roughly against my rib cage. I clawed at the spot, afraid my heart was going to burst right through my chest. Betrayal is a human's nightmare and at this moment, it was my reality. I steadied myself on one side of the door and angled an elbow toward it. His footsteps grew louder. He was alone from what I could tell.

He was cursing under his breath as he unlocked the door. Before he could step inside I elbowed him hard in the stomach and covered his mouth to muffle his cry of pain. I pulled him inside the room and left the door open just a crack so that I could make sure I wasn't mistaken. The light from the hallway lit up Clay Bertolet's face. His eyes widened. He was surprised I was alive. Good.

Clay tried getting out of my hold but I pushed him hard against the wall. My hand still covered his mouth and the other twisted his arms behind his back. I'd learned well from wrestling with Jeremiah.

I studied him, trying to recognize the guy I thought was my friend. We'd been neighbors in Cousins every summer for over ten years. He always threw those crazy bonfires on the night of Fourth of July and I never missed out. Sure we weren't close but we were far from being enemies.

"What are you doing, Clay?" I whispered.

He shrugged and I quit covering his mouth so he could speak.

"She threatened to narc me out."

"Who?"

"Look man, sorry I hit you with a lamp. You weren't supposed to be upstairs."

I let go of his wrists and shook him by the shoulders hard. "Who is making you do this?"

"She has proof that I've been selling drugs and I can't go to prison—"

"Clay! Who are you working for?"

"This chick that claims to be your girlfriend, Agnes."