I was still looking at my once best friend, Alan McCarthy, in utter bewilderment and distress when Ace stepped towards him, punching him square on the face.
I didn’t do anything to protest. I couldn’t. I was frozen in complete shock.
“You are a pathetic excuse for a friend.” He snarled.
Alan stumbled back from the punch but held himself together. The blank vile expression on Alan’s face didn’t change. He spat on the ground and looked at Ace with so much hatred that it even shook me to the cores.
“You are a pathetic excuse for a gang member.” Alan sneered. I blinked my eyes hoping that the Alan I knew would come back.
Where was the friend who held me when I fell in my freshman gym sessions? Where was the friend who made me smile when I was feeling low? Where was the friend whom my mother adored and let him have the cookies even though he dropped crumbs all over the floor? Where was the friend who acted as Janice’s fake boyfriend when she needed to make her ex jealous? Where was the friend who made all of us laugh by his crazy jokes and flirty ways? Where was the friend who was my best friend?
I had no fucking clue where he was.
And the person standing in front of me right now was nowhere near the person I once knew. The Alan I knew was funny, sarcastic, a big flirt, kind and my best friend but this Alan was vicious, harsh, wicked and held no ounce of humanity. Did I even know the real Alan?
“I trusted you.” I whispered unwillingly, my eyes glistening from the tears of betrayal. But Alan seemed unaffected with my despair, he kept looking at me with those same loathsome eyes like I never meant anything to him.
It’s the people you trust who have the direct key to hurt you.
When a person enters a heart, he can not only blossom it but can also break it into pieces.
Riyaz gave a malicious smile as he clapped gleefully. “Aww. A friendship broken, a heart scattered, a tear escaped and I don’t give a fuck. Let’s get this show on the floor guys.” he clicked his fingers.
And before I knew what was happening, I found myself in the familiar arms of Alan, only this time I instead of liking the feeling I felt utterly disgusted. I kicked and slapped my arms around. “Alan you betraying bulldog, let me go!” I demanded angrily but his hold only tightened. I saw Blacky and Riyaz punch Bryan who was trying his best to fight the two hefty guys.
“Bryan!” I shouted when I saw Scar-face neared Bryan from the back. But it was already too late, Scar-face slammed the back of his gun on Bryan’s head. I watched in horror as Bryan’s eyes rolled backwards and he landed flat on the floor.
Riyaz kicked on Bryan’s stomach one last time to make sure he was unconscious and grinned in victory when Bryan didn’t make any move to wake up and punch him back.
“Bryan! Fuck! Get up!” I screamed in anguish, throwing my hands around, trying to get away from Alan’s grip. I glared at Riyaz. “You all are so going to die. If Bryan won’t kill you, I surely will.” I punched Alan’s shoulders. “And you Alan, let me fucking go or I’ll ship you off to Antarctica. Bryan, you jerk get up. You promised not leave my hand. Get your ass up and kick these assholes out of here!”
“Chloroform her.” Riyaz ordered and immediately I felt a handkerchief stick up my nose. I shook my head violently, urging myself to not breath.
But Alan knew my weak spots, his fingers ran around the sides of my waist, tickling me. My mouth instantly opened and the colorless, sweet-smelling chemical entered my body, making me feel dizzy almost immediately.
“Bryan!” My lips muttered before my eyes closed and blackness lured me into its lair.
.
I opened my eyes feeling light-headed and disoriented. I blinked a few eyes, forcing my eyes to adjust themselves to the dim lights. Where am I? I twisted my hands but they refused to move. I gasped when I realized they were tied together behind the wooden chair I was sitting on. Even my ankles were tied to the front legs of the chair.
I was confused for a good two minutes, wondering how I reached from having awesome sex to getting tied in an old chair. Soon the memories flooded my mind.
I gritted my teeth in enrage as the images started coming back to me. Riyaz coming in the house, Scar-face and Blacky acting like jerks, Alan betraying me, Bryan getting hit and me fainting. I cleared my gruff throat.
Oh, I was going to kill Alan. I was going to chop him into pieces very slowly and then burn him.
“Hello! Anybody there?”
“Yeah making a sandwich would you like one?”
I scowled at the unfamiliar voice and dumb sarcasm. “Yeah sure, extra cheese.”
Soon the source of the voice came in sight. I squinted my eyes to get a better look. He looked young, maybe a few years older than me but definitely young. He had dirty blond hair and pretty hazel eyes. A gun rested on his hand as he smirked at me. He looked way too good to be in a gang but then Bryan was in this gang too so it was okay. Guess hot guys love joining gangs and then regretting it.
Bad boys and their gangster love.
“And you are?” I raised my eyebrows at him.
The corner of his lips twisted upwards. He pointed at himself. “This masterpiece is known as Ian.”
I stared at him flatly. How was he a drug dealing gang member? “Yeah Ian, now how about freeing me and showing me the way out of this hideous place?”
He let out a small melodic chuckle. “And get myself shot? No thanks.” He turned his back to me and started to walk away.
“Hey Ian! Wait.” I shouted. “I-uh need water.”
“Sure.” He disappeared and came back with a bottle of water handing it to me.
I looked at him and gave a blank stare. “My hands are tied, dimwit.”
He smiled sheepishly, coming closer to me. He opened the cap and tilted the bottle near to my lips.
“You can just untie my hands, I can drink myself.” I tried again.
He winked at me. “And miss a chance to get this close to a pretty girl? No thanks.”
Involuntarily color rose to my cheeks. I parted my lips and felt the tasteless and much needed liquid fill my mouth. After a few sips I turned my face to indicate it was enough. He closed the bottle and kept it besides my chair.
“So where am I?” I asked conversationally.
“In front of me.” Ian replied cheekily.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s your age?”
“Twenty-two but my heart is still ten.”
“I can see that.”
A silence settled around us and Ian sat in front of me, his legs stretched out in front. I cleared my throat. “So where are we?” I repeated.
“Australia.”
I gasped in panic. What? That’s like overseas. Was I really unconscious for almost three days?
Ian chuckled at my terror-stricken place. “Relax, you were just out cold for a few hours and we are just outside the city.”
“Oh.” I sighed in relief. “So why am I here?”
Ian shrugged. “How am I supposed to know that? I am not the one who got you here.”
“Well you can keep your ears open.” I snapped.
He rolled his eyes. “You are kidnapped not here for a party, don’t act too smart or I’ll just chloroform you again.”
I blew a breath of exasperated breath. “Who owns this place?” I asked, changing the subject.
“Some rich Indian, he’s never here so we use this as our hideout.”
“And when can I leave this place?”
“As soon as you are of no use.” He leaned back, looking at the ceiling.
“That’s so mean.” I complained. “Can’t you just let me go now?” I put my puppy dog face, pouting for extra effect.
Ian turned his gaze on me, his eyes scanning my face before he sighed. “I have had girlfriends you know? So that expression doesn’t work on me anymore. I am too used to it by now.”
I opened and shut my mouth in shock. Ian chuckled at my face. “What? I can’t have girlfriends? This gorgeous body is hard to resist.” He pointed at his flat chest.
I rolled my eyes. “I am sure your girlfriend appreciates her boyfriend’s work as a gang member.”
He shrugged. “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.”
“You know it’s because of people like you that all guys are considered douches and pricks.”
He winked at me. “She’s the same too, not in a gang but we just flirt and have sex. It’s a mutual understanding you know.”
“I don’t and nor do I care. I already hate you.”
“There’s thin line between love and hate.” Ian smirked, his eyes shining in humor.
I paused for a second. “I don’t hate you.” Ignoring his triumphant grin I continued. “But if you were on fire and I had marshmallows, I would roast them on you.”
A moment of silence before Ian laughed out heartily. His clear white teeth shined in the dim lights. “I like you.”
I bit my lip, fighting the smile. In some weird twisted sort of way I felt safe with this stranger. Like we’d known each other and could joke around. I gazed at his face for a second charmed by those high cheekbones. Then I realized my train of thoughts and shook my head, looking away. “The feeling is definitely not mutual.”
He didn’t say anything just kept smiling as he stared at the ceiling. I wondered if he was waiting for someone to suddenly drop from the skies.
Probably Mufasa. Yeah he could come and kill Ian and free me!
I snorted at my joke, making Ian turn to me with curious eyes. I shook my head.
“Her name’s Andrea.” His sudden words startled me.
“Your girlfriend?”
“My ex.”
My lips formed an ‘o’. Why was he telling me all this?
“I actually loved her you know. She was this sweet, kind girl who couldn’t even hurt a fly. When I first saw her she was dressed in a simple plain pink top and blue jeans that clung to his cute ass. It wasn’t love at first sight but I felt an attraction for sure.” He paused. “This was three years back.”
I gulped. My eyes searching his sullen face. He suddenly seemed a human, deprived of happiness and love. My heart felt a pang of sympathy for him. I still didn’t know why he was telling me all this. Me, a complete stranger. But then it made sense.
Sometimes a stranger can understand you better than a friend ever can!
“I stalked her, like literally.” He let out a strangled chuckle. “She worked in this coffee shop in the evenings and I would go there every day and drink coffee. I hated coffee, I still do but I still drank it. And then one day she finally came and talked to me. ‘You hate coffee, don’t you?’, maybe it was the was the way my nose scrunched up in disgust every time I took a sip or the half-filled cups I threw in the trash that gave me away, I don’t know but I nodded in reply. She smiled, her left dimple full on display. I swear my heart skipped a beat. ‘There’s a pizza shop nearby, my shift gets over in 10.’ Her invitation lay naked on my table and I’d be a fool to not grab it.”
He paused. I saw his forefinger moving on the floor, I followed the action. ‘A’ he kept drawing. A slight smile formed on my face, he was still so smitten.
“We had pizza and after two days we went on our first date. My life was a mess that time, she was like the sun that suddenly came into my dark sky, shining and blinding everything else into insignificance. I suddenly started seeing light and a path that led me to my dreams. Until then I didn’t know what being perfect meant but after her I knew the definition of perfect. She was perfect. I felt whole. You know that feeling of being complete and knowing you can get past any hurdle?” I smiled, oh I know that very well.