Kiss and Makeup

lol u have to wait and see...

 

"Abby. Wake up."

My eyes snap open. I'm back in my hospital room. Hendrix and Josh are sitting at my bedside (quite literally) and brought in flowers. My shattered leg hurts less, but still throbs softly with a dull ache. I see that new bandages have been applied. I feel groggy, which the painkillers probably triggered. I see the IV inserted expertly into my bicep.

"Hendrix! Josh! Your here," I murmur, still weak.

Hendrix smiles weakly."Josh told me what happened."

"Abbe's, you were sleeptalking. What's wrong?" Josh's brow wrinkles in concern.

I take a deep breathe."I had a bad dream. I realized... how I compare to the other girls. It was like they were taunting me."

"Abby, your very pretty! You have a different style, sure, but your pretty. Just because you aren't a beauty obsessed fashion snob doesn't mean your not pretty. Nobody's perfect," Hendrix convinces me. "Society has placed a ridiculous label on beauty- your as pretty as the rest."

Josh pecked on a kiss on my forehead."Abby, you know your gorgeous. And anyway, think of inner beauty. Caroline has none whatsoever. You shine like a star! Your a great person!"

I smile."You think?" I can't help it; Josh's compliments still give me butterflies, and of Hendrix is complimenting me she must be genuine. Hendrix's a blunt, forward girl and doesn't waste too much time on niceties. It was from her that I learned how tiny my chin was.

Hendrix rolls her eyes and punches me on the arm."Duh."

I sweep her up in a hug happily. Maybe she's become more compassionate.

"Abbe's, your my best friend, but I'm seriously not a hugging type o' gal," she chokes, gently prying her body off mine. Nevermind.

"Sometimes I gotta share the love," I whisper happily. Her red curls are in a roaring ponytail, where they tumble out of the black lace ribbon and look like she just awoke. She shakes them at me jokingly and I menacingly whip my shaggy blonde locks at her as well.

"Hair fight!" Hendrix crows happily.

This is one of the only fun times we have anymore. In our younger kiddy years, we went down the famously steep green plastic slide in the playground that ALWAYS got staticcy and shocked you, we dressed in up in Hendrix's older sister Juno's old Halloween costumes that we dug out of the cat litter-smelling laundry room, making forts in Hendrix's big sandy beach backyard, having sleepovers on my sofa bed and watching scary movies all night, swiping candy bars at Mel's Drugstore for a rush of adrenaline and hiding out behind the old warehouse to eat them and giggle.

I don't ever want to lose my best friend. So I joyously whip my hair at her. Maybe I won't get everything that I want, maybe I'll suffer through this time, but at least I won't go through it alone. Maybe the dream helped me appreciate Hendrix and Josh a little bit more.

 

oh lol it's not not over

 

Me and Hendrix gasp for breath and take a break.

"Sometimes I wonder who told Jason all those things about me. It's like he has a spy on the inside, telling him everything to make me crack," I ponder while sitting up in my bed. I manage to scoot up into a sitting position, and feel the cool, crisp hospital bed sheets on the small of my back, where my paper gown rided up.

Josh nods."It's weird. It's like one of our friends is betraying us..."

Nurse Gretchen left the room to give us some time alone. So me and Hendrix and my beloved boyfriend are here alone.

Suddenly, the door opens and a I see a boy with platinum white blonde hair and icy violet eyes. Max. Behind him enters a hunky Spanish guy. Mike. How sweet that they came to say hi!

"Oh, hi Max. Mike," I wave. It's nice to see so many people; at least I won't go stir crazy.

"Bro! What are you doing here!" Josh cries happily. He envelopes his brother in a bear-hug.

Mike chuckles."Just checking on the princess." He does bow, and I blush.

"Yeah, well, Bray told me to see you," Max mumbles, shrugging. He appears indifferent, but he did come, after all. I should appreciate any half-nice gestures from him that I rarely get.

"Abby's leg got totally SHATTERED," Hendrix coos. For minute I think that she's excited by the severity of the injury. I correct myself, but I am, admittedly, probably right. What scene girl WOULD'NT be captivated by my broken leg?

Max coughs and twists his neck around, digging in his duffel shoulder bag for something. Mike takes a half-step back from the group and coolly directs his gaze to Max's scrambling fingers.

"What?" Josh inquired in concern.

Max whips out a gun sort of thing into the air. Hedrix jumps. Josh scuttles backwards. I frown.

"Max, you can't kill them! What are you doing?!" I hissed, praying that no one would walk into the room.

Neither boy bothers to answer. Max slams the butt of the gun into his hand and fires a tiny, delicate arrow from the muzzle of the sleek black gun into Josh's neck. Josh's eyes roll up into his skull, he spasms hysterically, and collapses onto the linoleum floor. Me and Hendrix shriek.

"What did you do that for?!" I cry. I have a sinking feeling that something bad is, yet again, going to happen.

My suspicions are confirmed as Max shoots another arrow into Hendrix's arm as she was reaching for the gun. She has the same reactions to the poison, except her mouth froths a little bit. I shriek.

"Don't kill them!" I plead. "Your own brother? Why are you doing this?!"

The last thing I see before darkness is Mike sinisterly pointing a dart gun at me.

 

When I awake, I'm in a small room. My hands are cuffed to a rusty pipe. It looks like a basement room, being very dirty and gross. My legs are still in their casts, but hurt like crazy. Panic shoots through my veins, and I chafe my wrists against the grungy handcuffs trying to slip free of them. I feel the cold concrete floor through the paper thin hospital gown and shiver.

"He-hello?" I call out. I will myself to clear my voice, and this time echo out a loud bellow. "Hello?"

The heavy, chained doors chink and clink open. Max and Mike step inside. Relief and confusion crush me, but I need answers. Now.

"Guys! Help me!" I screech."Someone kidnapped me!"

"That would be us," Mike snaps.

"Were the inside rats. The double agents. Whatever you prefer to call it. Jason was paying us loads of cash. And he said that if he died we would only get our share in the will you were gotten rid of," Max smirks."Might as well tell you, since we are going to kill you."

"Please don't kill me," I beg, as memories flood back into me. A feeling of despair overwhelms me.

"We want money," Mike shrugged.

"Don't you have a heart?" I plea."Maybe you could set up a ransom. You'll still get your money."

Max barked a laugh."Your family can't afford anything more than a pencil!"

"Please just don't hurt me," I sob.

They look at eachother thoughtfully: Finally Mike says something.

"You get 48 hours. If no one pays the $500,000 ransom by them, we will lock you in this room forever. No food or nothing. If they do, we will blindfold you and drop you off in a specified location. Got it?!" Mike demands.

I nod timidly."G-got it."

The leave and let the door slam shut behind them. Either I starve in here, or I escape.