by Ivy Knight
"Okay, everything's set then. You're Summer White who was born in Tennessee. Your parents died at the age of seven and you ran away from your, now deceased, uncle. From there, you were picked up from the local gang and sold for over a year in their camps. This will explain the smoking, cutting and you not being scared of them," my mouth parts when he mentions smoking and cutting. I want to lie and excuse myself from the truth.
"I-"
"Save it Summer, I already know. You can't hide anything from me."
"So why haven't you tried to stop me?"
"Because I'm not your knight in shining armour, you'd never listen to me. Someone, someday, will teach you how to love yourself with the scars you have. I just hope he gets to you before it's too late."
"It already is," I whisper. "And too bad they don't actually exist. I'll keep the act going and let's just hope he falls for our trap. Until then, find a way to hack their computers, phones, security cameras; anything that is hack-able so that after seven days, you know exactly where I am and what's happening to me."
"Okay, let me know if you change your mind."
"I don't change my mind."
"I thought that might've changed after what I just told you."
"You thought wrong. I'm not gonna give you false hope Brody."
"Mm-hmm."
"Now, don't go all soft when I leave. You have to take care of Alice and my parents."
"I know, I'll talk to you soon."
"Bye," I end the call and put the phone in my nightstand's drawer. Numerous thoughts are swirling around in my head. Thinking about the whole day is giving me a major headache so I lean my back against the headboard of my bed and brush my hand through my hair. I close my eyes and sigh. When I open my eyes, they land on a teddy bear on my desk which I've never seen before.
I take my eyes off of it and stand up from my bed, walking into my closet. I've never seen that bear, ever.
Okay Summer, if there's a camera in there, you have to stay calm.
I stand in there for over two minutes before an idea pops into my head. I grab a large shirt from my closet, one that would cover me to mid-thigh. Then, I stand at the end of my bed. I turn my back towards the bear and strip out of my clothes. When I'm only left with my underwear, I grab the shirt and slip it on.
The thought of putting on a show for Kai makes me sick, but I do it to make it look as casual as I can. I take hold of my old clothes and throw them on my desk. The cup of my black bra lands perfectly in front of the bear's eyes.
Not wasting another second, I scout through my room as if it is an investigation area. Nothing seems out of place or disoriented. My whole room is clean except for one place I still have to check.
I run into my closet and open the floor board on the bottom right corner under my shoes. My jaw drops when I see absolutely nothing. The mini chest that I kept hidden isn't there anymore.
They found it. If Kai opens it, my life's going to end for sure. My blades, my secrets, and my real identity; he'll know everything.
Breathe Summer, the chest was modified to only open with your voice and thumb print. They won't risk breaking it open. They're not going to want to break anything in there.
I'm so fucking done!
"Dammit!" I groan closing the floorboard angrily.
How could I be so careless?!
I run to my nightstand and grab my phone dialing Brody's number. I enter the bathroom just in case the bear captures audio as well, "Hello?"
"I need the name of Kai's strongest drug dealer, now."
"Why? What happened?"
"I want the name first, questions after."
"Fine, let me just go over to my computer." I hear a bit of shuffling around before he starts talking again, "The guy goes by the name Alexander Renaldo."
"When does he usually deal and where?"
"Kai owns the club downtown. Alex deals there almost every night."
"Okay thanks, can you send me a picture of him?"
"Okay, but don't do anything stupid."
"We're past that stage, Brody," I answer, thinking back to when I striped in front of a camera on purpose. A normal person would just throw the bear out of their room or burn it, but me, I decided to strip in front of it.
Ugh!
"Well this can't be good."
"Nope, not at all. I'll call you tomorrow."
"Okay, good night."
"Night," I end the call and exit the bathroom to go to my closet. I search for the sluttiest dress I have for occasions like this one. Finally, I decide on a black, skin tight dress that stops just below my ass. Black, gives it an elegant touch while the cut outs, in the mid-section, scream come and get it.
After changing, I put on some dramatic makeup matching my dress. To finalize the look, I loosely curl the ends of my hair and match my whole outfit with black heels.
I place a pocket knife in the strap of my bra and another one under my dress, right above my hip. I also take off the bandages on my hand. The cuts on my wrist are now two-week-old scabs while the cuts on my hands are still freshly scabbing.
Not again, Summer.
I scold myself mentally. I was never supposed to be this weak again. Cutting was a mistake and I'll make sure it never happens again.
I check my phone and surely, I find a picture of Alex. He has short blond hair, blue eyes, and a sharp nose. Attractive, but seems a little arrogant in looks.
Knock knock.
I immediately jump in my spot, "Summer, I know you're awake, so open up."
I roll my eyes and walk over to my door letting Alice in. When I see Alice dressed almost as slutty as me, I groan. I gesture towards the pile of clothes on my desk and then the bathroom. After some weird expressions, she finally understands and enters the bathroom. I follow in her steps and close the door behind us.
"You're not coming with me."
"Damn right I am. I'm not letting you go alone."
"You could get hurt."
"And so can you. Even worse, you can get caught."
"How do you even know where I'm going or what I'm about to do?"
"Brody called telling me about Alex. I don't know why you're after him, but I'm pretty sure he's not gonna make it out alive."
"No, he's not. Kai took something of mine and I need to show him that he made a mistake."
"He took your mini chest?" Alice questions. I nod in response. "He took my diary, but I kind of had a feeling that he would hunt around the house, so I wrote some made up shit about adopting you from Tennessee and how much shit you've been through."
"Well, that's smart. I can't believe I was so arrogant. Whatever, Alex is dying and he is dying tonight."
"Okay, I'll come along."
"Fine, but only because I need a distraction for Kai."
"You think Kai's going to be there?"
"I can bet on it. Just seduce him until he notices Alex is missing. After that, run. Don't wait for me, just get out of the club and meet me at the local lake. Got it?"
"Got it."
"Now pass me your knives."
"What about self defence?" she frowns.
"Kai is a gang leader, he can see your knives even if you're wearing five winter jackets and twenty scarves." Alice rolls her eyes before taking her knives out. In total, she takes out four knives that were all hidden under different parts of her red dress.
"Can we go?"
"One more thing, leave your phone at home. They're probably tracking them," she nods taking out her phone and putting it on my bathroom shelf.
"Now, can we go?"
"Ye."
"Finally, this is gonna be fun," she grins, causing me to laugh.
...♛...
"There," I nod at Alex who's sitting at the bar with a scotch in hand.
"Behind him. Kai along with Cole and Alec," I yell into Alice's ear through the music. She notices them and groans rolling her eyes.
"Three at once?" I nod sympathetically. "Be quick after they realize he's gone. Remember, don
't wait for me," she nods before heading towards Kai behind the VIP section. She smiles and calls for him. Gaining his attention, he lets her in. Not wanting to waste our precious time, I walk over to the bar making sure my back is towards the VIP section.
"A martini please."
"ID?" the bartender asks. I roll my eyes and take out the fake ID I stashed in my bra. He nods and starts making my order. From the corner of my eyes, I see Alex glancing my way.
"Make it strong, it's been a rough night," I add.
"A rough night, huh?" Alex starts. I look at him as a small smile appears on my face.
"Yeah, you?" I ask with a higher pitch to my voice than usual.
"You could say the same for me."
"Stephanie," I gesture a handshake. He looks at my extended hand and contemplates for a second before shaking it.
"Alex."
"Wait, the Alexander Renaldo?" I emphasize.
"So you know me?"
"I don't know you, but I do know your name."
"Nice one," he chuckles. The bartender hands me my drink and I fiddle around with it, faking nervousness.
"Can I buy something off of you?" I question. He looks at me skeptical of my intentions.
"It depends, what do you have to offer?"
Idiot.
I turn around giving him a better view of my chest.
"Anything you want," I grin mischievously. I lean my mouth closer to his ear, "How about we go to my place? My car's parked outside."
He nods dumbfounded. I take his hand and walk towards the back exit. I take one glance at Alice who's currently sitting on Kai's lap. Cole, with a hand in his drink and a girl glued to his side, seems to be just as enthralled by the sight as I am.
Content with Alice's work, the cold air hits my bare skin causing goosebumps when we exit the club.
"Is this your car?" Alex questions as he sees a random Ferrari parked.
"Do you have a family, Alex?" I question, discreetly taking out the pocket knife from under my bra strap.
"No, this business doesn't allow family. Why are you asking?"
"Just so it hurts less after I kill you," I say with a cold tone. In a split second, I whip around. The knife slices through his neck and his hands claw at the hole in his neck as he gasps for air but he only chokes on his blood.
His body falls on the ground in a loud thud.
I close the bloody knife and walk over to the fence where I left a bag of clothes. Quickly, I change into a black hoodie, black sweats, and runners.
Right on cue, the back door opens revealing a pissed off Kai. I meet his cold eyes just as he points his gun at me. Even under my hood, I'm scared that he sees who I am. Snapping out of the haze, I turn around and climb the fence with my bag on my back.
The sound of a gun going off makes me falter, but I somehow manage to climb over the fence. I hear more shots go off, but I keep running to the car I parked for myself. I climb in, and take a last look at Kai who stands there glaring menacingly.
I turn on the ignition and drive to the local lake Alice and I decided to meet at after. I make it to the lake in an hour because of the extra turns I took just in case I was being followed.
I spot Alice's car and park right next to hers. She enters my car, "Did you do it?"
"I did it. Alexander Renaldo is dead and so is most of Kai's income. Drugs are a major part of any gang and killing his dealer off his like killing off the president's second in hand. They're not as visible, but crucial to a proper running. He can replace him, but the dealer won't be as experienced as Alex making the new dealer even more arrogant. Not to mention, trusting a newbie is a lot of risk."
"Mmm. Well, I literally had to give Kai a lap dance and Cole had all his filthy fucking hands on me. You don't even know how hard it was not to slap him."
"Don't worry, you won't have to do it again. Let's burn our clothes," she nods. We both exit the car with our bags in hand. We walk over to the lake and put our bags right on the edge. After wetting them with oil, I take my lighter and set the bags on fire.
"What if Kai finds out?"
"Then he finds out."
"Very assuring," Alice exaggerates.
"I know," once the flames reduce to ashes, Alice and I head home. Alice walks in from the front while I creep in from the back, through the forest - the same way I came out.
I change into the same long shirt as before and wash my hands off from the dry blood. Killing is in my blood, but just because I kill, doesn't mean I don't feel. I felt my whole body stiffen right before I forced it to turn around to slit Alex's throat and felt my heart skip a beat when I watched his body thud onto the ground.
Before heading to bed, I take out a piece of paper and write the number twenty-three, next to the letters A.R.
Chapter 5
"Summer, wake up," my mom groans for the hundredth time this morning. I roll around in my sheets, lazily covering my ears trying to block out her voice. "What is it with you and Alice this morning?"
I hear footsteps distancing and I sigh in relief. Moments later, I feel myself drifting back into a deep sleep but before I can fully fall asleep, I'm drenched in ice cold water. I shoot up in one move and wipe my face, "Mom!"
I hear her laugh, "It's not funny, I'm tired."
"We went to bed at ten yesterday. If you decided to stay up on your phone all night, that isn't my fault and that's not an excuse for not going to school," my mom scolds. I roll my eyes and groan taking off my sheets.
Is going out to kill someone an excuse to not go to school? I wonder.
"Now, drying the mattress is your job and don't keep your bra on display like that," mom adds before leaving. I groan once again, this time louder.
I take my clothes off the teddy bear and throw them into the laundry basket inside my closet. I pick out a random outfit and take it into the bathroom with me.
Once I'm done my morning routine, I head downstairs and greet my parents. Right after sitting down, I start munching on my breakfast. Seconds later, Alice walks down the stairs. I can tell she didn't get enough sleep last night by the amount of concealer packed right beneath her eyes.
"Morning, Honey," my dad greets Alice. Alice waves her hand loosely, dismissing his greeting as she takes a seat.
"Okay, are we missing something?" Mom and dad look at each other, then at us. "Did you guys sneak out to a party last night? No lying allowed."
"No dad, we didn't. Alice... actually couldn't sleep all night because she misses her boyfriend from back home," I come up with the most believable excuse.
"Alice, you had a boyfriend?!" my dad asks baffled. Alice glares at me.
"It wasn't serious, I'll get over him." Before dad can say anything, Alice beats him. "Oh look at that, it's time to go," she abruptly gets up pulling me along with her.
"Bye!" We both throw over our shoulders as we exit the house.
...♛...
Day two and still, Alice and I are left without any friends. I'm not so worried about me making friends as much as I'm worried about Alice making friends. I only have five more days before I lose my bet, so Alice needs friends to survive. For today though, I guess we'll just have to be alone.
"So are you sure you actually, you know?" Alice tries asking secretly as we walk to the cafeteria.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I slit his you know. I watched him go down."
"Oh, okay. Good... I guess," she replies awkwardly. The concept of killing is still new for Alice even though I've killed a couple of gang members back in her hometown.
We find an empty table in the middle of the cafeteria and take a seat. Alice takes out her lunch and I take out mine from my bag. We haven't seen any of the three boys at school which is pretty normal considering they need to fill the gap I created in their gang yesterday.
Just as I'm about to take a bite out of my sandwich, I spot Alice's annoyed expression directed behind me. I put my sandwich down. The familiar scent of his cologne gives him away before I even turn around.
"Kai," I look up meeting his dark eyes. He looks down at me not so pleasingly. On either side of him, are Cole and Alec.
"We need to talk," Kai demands. He walks around and sits down beside Alice.
"Hey there baby," Alice winks at Kai, but shuts up after Kai gives her a cold stare. I'm guessing she was teasing him about last night. Cole and Alec take a seat on either side of me.
"Where were you last night?" Kai starts, his resting poker face intact.
"Why don't you ask yourself?"
"Answer me properly when I ask you a question, Summer."
"And from what I remember, I still have five more days of freedom," I retort. Kai clenches his jaw in anger. As if it's his last resort, he nods towards Alec who's sat on my right side. Before I can react, my left hand is being handcuffed to the table by Cole while my right hand is being held out flat by Alec. His other hand holds a lighter right above my palm.
"What the fuck is your problem!" Alice and I shriek in unison.
I try to pull at my wrist handcuffed to the table, but the metal just digs into my skin causing unnecessary pain, so I stop. Alec lights the lighter and heat from the flame travels down to the palm of my right hand. I suck in a deep breath remembering the raw connection I have with fire.
"I was at home," I speak through gritted teeth.
"And Alice where were you?" Kai asks.
"At the club, downtown."
"What were you doing downtown?" I fake a shocked expression.
"I just needed to have some fun and I couldn't sleep, so I went."
"Alone?"
"Yeah, until I met them and hung out. I guess," she avoids my gaze - something I taught her to do when she needs other people to believe she feels guilty. Her lack of eye contact can be interpreted as lying or as guilt.
I try to close my palm into a fist, but Alec holds my fingers down. I give him a death glare, but he doesn't budge, "Save the crap for someone who believes it. Alice didn't walk into my club alone. She walked in with a blonde dressed in a black dress, who was last seen with my drug dealer, Alex."
"Gangs deal drugs?" I ask teasingly. I need to get off of the blonde girl topic.
"Ah!" I scream when Alec presses the flame down onto my palm. The skin now raw and shining bright red, I grit my teeth. "I swear, do that again, and I will rip your fucking throat out."
