Chapter Twenty-Four: Emma and Will

Another one of my favorite chapters to write! I love my characters a little too much. :')

***

Kidnap My Heart

Chapter 24: Emma and Will

Emma

The next day, I spent a good portion of my time watching Eric and Taylor through narrowed eyes, even when we were all eating at the dinner table. I hadn’t had a chance to continue observing them until then. We kept going downstairs to eat at different times, and they’d chosen to watch TV in Eric’s room instead of the living room, so that also contributed to the separation.

I tried to be more discreet about my staring, but I couldn’t help the way I was reacting. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. Gaining Eric’s trust was a good thing. Developing a stupid crush on him wasn’t. I just hoped Taylor would have enough sense to separate fantasy from reality before she dug a hole she couldn’t climb out of.

I was so busy staring at those two that I didn’t even notice Will had tampered with my drink until it was too late. I picked my soda can up and brought it to my mouth, and it dripped onto my t-shirt. Luckily, my shorts were spared. I sighed and shot Will a look. He’d poked a hole in my drink. “Seriously?”

Will snickered and let out a horse-like laugh while Eric and Taylor just shook their heads in amusement, Taylor’s eyes constantly glancing towards Eric’s to gauge his reaction.

Ugh!

I abruptly stood up, nearly knocking my chair down as I did so, partly because I needed to go change and partly because I couldn’t look at them any longer. Now that I’d finally noticed their behavior—however small their gestures may have been—it was all I saw. Eighteen days. I’d made a mental calendar of our time spent here, and that was how long we’d been here. Only eighteen days and Taylor was already crushing on this guy. Openly crushing on him.

Halfway up the stairs, I noticed Will was following me. He didn’t even trust me enough to let me go upstairs and change. Once I got to the top of the stairs, I pivoted around and placed a hand on my hip. “Do you really have to follow me everywhere?”

“I’m just following orders,” he repeated, slowly scaling the last few steps. That seemed to be the only answer he was capable of giving. “I’m just following orders, I’m just doing things Eric’s way, I’m just doing what my dad said, ner, ner, ner.”

“Do you really think I’d be dumb enough to try to escape right now?” I asked.

He took a moment to ponder this. “I don’t know. You’re kind of unpredictable. I’m just being careful.”

Oh, please. “What you’re being is idiotic.”

“I don’t trust you, Rage. Why is this such a surprise?”

I fought a wave of annoyance and kept a calm façade. “Oh, it’s not a surprise. Your idiocy is the one thing I can always count on.”

He rolled his eyes. “Shut up.” A look crossed his face—a look of recognition, almost. “Why haven’t you tried to escape, anyway?”

I paused. I actually wasn’t sure how to respond to him. I couldn’t tell him the truth. I wanted to gain his trust, not lose it by saying the wrong thing, but at the same time, I didn’t want to pull a Taylor and gain his trust by making googly-eyes at him all day and giggling at all of his lame jokes. That wasn’t me. That would never be me.

Before I could think of a proper reply, Will continued. “Don’t tell me you’re starting to like it here.”

I shot him a disgusted look. Did I need to remind him of what he had taken me away from? The money, the clothes, the traveling, the cars, the notability? And here? There was nothing here. I had nothing. He had nothing.

He held up his hands as soon as he saw the look on my face. “Okay. You’re not starting to like it here.”

I just rolled my eyes and walked in the room, flipping the light switch on my way in. Unsurprisingly, my dark-haired headache followed. I had to resist the urge to slam the door in his face.

“Well, if that’s not the reason, then what is?”

Did he ever stop talking? It was like as soon as he got me alone, he turned on this switch that made him forget how to keep his mouth shut.

“I like how you think this is a question I’d actually answer,” I said.

“I’m honestly curious.”

I glanced at him and accepted this. With a casual shrug, I said, “Maybe I realized escape isn’t my best alternative right now.”

“So I’m a better alternative than freedom?” He seemed pleased— a little too pleased.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what did you mean?”

I sighed impatiently. This conversation needed to end already. After my conversation with Taylor the day before, I had zero patience, especially when it came to Will. “Are you always this stupid?”

He didn’t even falter. He shot back his own reply at lightning-fast speed. “Are you always this evasive?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes. I mean, no! Damn it.”

I laughed out loud. God, he was stupid. This bantering thing never went his way. I didn’t know why he even bothered.

After I’d grabbed another t-shirt from his closet, I turned around and arched an expectant eyebrow at Will.

“What?” he asked.

“Aren’t you going to leave so I can change?”

He pretended to think about this. Considering the amount of time it took him to do this, it seemed to me that the wheel was turning, but the hamster was dead. When I’d had enough, I made a noise of exasperation. I threw the t-shirt I’d just grabbed on the bed and pulled off the shirt I was wearing. If he wasn’t going to leave, then whatever. I’d change, anyway. The soda from the shirt was starting to stick to my skin, and let me tell you, that wasn’t the most pleasant feeling in the world.

“Holy—”

I glanced over at him and saw the way his blue eyes widened. “What?” I asked, walking over to the bed. “It’s not anything you haven’t already seen.”

I mean, he took my dress off to get back at me for doing the same thing to him the day we met. I had nothing to hide. He’d already seen me in nothing but my bra and underwear, and I’d already seen him in his birthday suit— both sides. We were pretty well acquainted with each other in that sense, unfortunately.

“Yeah, but—” He abruptly stopped himself, but he didn’t stop himself from staring.

“But what?” I glanced around the room. “Do you have a wet towel or something?”

“I can, uh, go get you one,” he said. His eyes had traveled upwards and were now solely focused on my face. I could tell he was struggling to keep his gaze on my eyes, and it kind of made me want to laugh.

“Yeah, go do that,” I said.

He actually did come back with the wet towel I wanted. I wasn’t going to put on a show for him by wiping myself down, so I made sure to turn around before using the towel. I didn’t care if he saw me in a bra since he’d already gotten a long, hard look the day after we met, but anything further than that was leaning on the exhibitionist side of things. Besides, if it was socially acceptable for guys to walk around shirtless, why couldn’t girls walk around shirtless if they covered their boobs?

When I went to grab the clean t-shirt from the bed, Will shook his head at me. “You know, I think we have more in common than you want to admit.”

I ignored him and pulled the t-shirt over my head and over my torso. Changing your shirt in front of someone who has already seen you half-naked was one thing. Whipping off your towel and showcasing your privates was another thing entirely.

I thought heading back downstairs would end the questioning he’d been submitting me to, but no. When we were halfway down the stairs, he went on with his stupid questioning. “So am I a better alternative than freedom or what?”

I gave him an annoyed look, stopping in my tracks. He’d already come to a standstill on the stairs and stood slightly above me. “Are you still going on about this?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I suppressed a sigh. His persistence was getting on my nerves. “No, you’re not. But I figure this will be over soon enough. You’ll get your stupid ransom, and Taylor and I will go home safe and sound and eventually forget this ever happened.”

Except this was a lie. I was just waiting for a good opportunity to present itself. If I tried to escape and my plan failed, I might not get the “privileged” treatment I was receiving because Will had to do things Eric’s way. He might not be so lenient with me after that. Will’s dad thought Eric’s way was working since I hadn’t tried to escape again, and unless I knew there was a 99.99% chance my escape plan would work, I wasn’t going to risk it.

“I don’t know about soon enough.” Will scratched the back of his neck and avoided my gaze. “My dad said that the longer you guys stay here, the bigger the ransom.”

This caught my attention. It was the first comment he’d made about their plans for us. I looked at him and tried to stop my eyes from going wide, but I couldn’t. How long were they planning on keeping us here? I wasn’t sure how much more I could take before I lost my mind.

Will seemed to realize the effect his words had had on me because he quickly added, “Not that you should take this as a reason to escape or anything. It won’t be too long. Just a bit more.”

I nodded slowly. “Right.”

“I’m serious.”

Bullshit. I couldn’t think of a better reason to want to escape than the prospect of staying here for a long time. “Okay.”

He eyed me cautiously. “Let’s just keep things the way they are now, okay?”

I raised an eyebrow. Our current circumstances were sketchy at best. “You mean prank-filled and slightly hazardous?”

He hesitated. “Yes?”

I shrugged. “Fine by me.”

***

Will

Eric suggested we watch some scary movies when we went back downstairs, much to my dismay. I usually didn’t have a problem with horror movies, but that was before those creepy fucking ghosts decided to camp out at our house. Horror movies used to be an excuse to comfort girls. Now, they were an excuse for Emma to make fun of me and ask if I needed her to hold me. Taylor was just as freaked out as I was, if not more, but that didn’t really make me feel better. She was an eighteen year-old girl. Matching her level of fear wasn’t really an achievement.

After a few hours, my brother and Taylor fell asleep. I didn’t notice until the movie ended. I’d thought Taylor was resting her head on Eric’s shoulder for comfort, but she was really just trying to fall asleep.

Emma decided horror movies weren’t as fun when Eric wasn’t awake to help her make fun of me when I became startled and Taylor wasn’t awake for her to laugh at, so we went back upstairs.

I was willing to admit it. I was freaked out. Those horror movies had messed with my mind and made me afraid to fall asleep. I knew that the second I did, something would murder me in my sleep. There was no way I was going to sleep that night, but I wouldn’t last if I didn’t have Emma to keep me company.

I took it as a good sign when Emma sat down on my bed instead of laying down. Maybe that meant she wasn’t tired. I turned on the light when I walked in after her and stood by her bed. “Rage?”

She looked up. God, I loved her green eyes. Well—green eyes in general. Not just hers. It could have been a guy, and I would’ve liked them. No, wait. That sounded kind of gay. Okay, fine, I lied. I especially liked hers. “Yeah?”

“How about we stay up? Like the first night you stayed in my room?”

Both of her eyebrows went up. “Uh… why?”

I tried to keep my tone nonchalant. I absolutely did not have any ulterior motives. Nope. “I don’t know. It just sounds like it’d be fun.” It did sound entertaining, but it mostly sounded safe. Nothing could murder me in my sleep if didn’t go to sleep.

A knowing look crossed her face. “Are you suggesting we play sleepover games like we’re in middle school?”

“… That’s exactly what I’m suggesting.”

The look on her face made me think she didn’t really want to, but she did end up going along with it, so what did I know?

I settled down on the bed, sitting right in front of her. “How about Truth or Dare?” I hadn’t played that game in a long time. It usually got out of hand whenever I was involved, but that was what made it fun.

Emma’s reply was immediate. “Hell no.”

“Why not?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

I grinned. I knew exactly what she was imagining. I would’ve kept things PG-13—even though we were both over eighteen and would be doing absolutely nothing wrong—but whatever. Her loss.

“How about Would You Rather?” This game also got out of hand whenever I was involved, but it wasn’t as bad as Truth or Dare. It was the only thing that came to mind. Like I said, I hadn’t played any of these games in a long time.

Her reply wasn’t as immediate this time. “Fine... But just remember that if you have to hesitate before asking a question, it’ll probably get you socked in the nuts.”

I was going to protest, but I shrugged in agreement. I could accept those terms. “Fair enough.” I had to dismiss five questions right off the bat. Those would definitely get me socked in the nuts. “Alright, would you rather eat poison ivy or a handful of bumblebees?”

“Is that a death threat?” When I laughed and shook my head, she cracked a smile and answered. Her answer was technically a question, but it was all she needed to say. “Are the bees alive or dead?”

I wrinkled my nose. “That’s disgusting. You’d pick the bees?”

“I’m pretty sure eating poison ivy could kill you, or at the very least make your throat swell and clog your airway, which would likely kill you in the long run if you didn’t get medical help immediately.”

Oh. Good thing she hadn’t asked me that question. I would’ve gone with the poison ivy, and I was too hot to die.

“Would you rather live without music or live without TV?” she asked.

“This is what you’re starting with? That’s weak, Rage.” My head shook. “I’d rather live without TV.” I’d watched more TV during these past two weeks than I ever needed to watch. If I heard the word Kardashian one more time, I was going to jump out of my window.

“You’re crazy. I could never live without Grey’s Anatomy.”

Huh. I would’ve taken Emma for a reality TVkind of girl, not a medical drama kind of girl. But then again, there was a lot I didn’t know about her. I’d only known her for what, two and a half weeks? Plus, we weren’t exactly the best of friends.

“I could.” I needed something good, or better yet, something gross. Aha! “Would you rather chew a piece of toenail off a dirty man’s foot or thoroughly lick his un-showered armpit?”

She actually gagged at the prospect of my question. Literally and visibly gagged. “Oh, God,” she muttered, covering her mouth. “That’s disgusting. Do I have to?”

I just smirked and nodded. I loved this game.

“I’d lick the armpit. I hate feet. I could never.” She shuddered.

I gave her another judgmental look just to annoy her. There really was no good option here, but I wasn’t going to admit that.

A spark flicked across Emma’s eyes. Oh no. “Would you rather swim in a pool of human blood for an hour or hang upside down for eight hours?”

Gross. I didn’t mind blood, but enough blood to swim in? That wasn’t okay with me. “I’d rather hang upside down for eight hours.”

“Then you might want to plan your funeral before you do. If you were to get an aneurysm after the third hour, you’d be screwed.”

“Damn it. Why do I always pick the one that would kill me?”

She let out a laugh, and for once, it wasn’t a bitter laugh. I didn’t feel like she was just laughing at me. It felt more like two people sharing a joke. “You would’ve picked the poison ivy, wouldn’t you have?”

I didn’t even have to say anything. She already knew the answer. For once, I didn’t mind that I’d made myself look like an idiot because I liked seeing her laugh. Not that it mattered if she was enjoying herself or if she was happy. Who cared? Not me.

Once her laughter died down, I went on with the game. “Would you rather marry the first person you see tomorrow or never marry?”

It wasn’t until after I’d said it that I realized what I was really asking. Fuck.

By the look on her face, I had a feeling she’d caught on. The look of surprise faded and she said, “Considering you’re the first person I see every the morning… never marry.”

Damn. “Really?”

Her reply was delayed. “No.”

I resisted the urge to show any kind of emotion. It wasn’t much, but at least she’d chosen me over absolutely nothing. If she’d preferred to never marry, I didn’t think my ego would’ve ever truly recovered.

“Would you rather have everything you ever dreamt of, materialistically speaking, or have the love of the one you love?” she asked.

“I don’t love anyone.”

She rolled her eyes. “These questions are metaphorical. Just pretend you met some gorgeous, perfect girl and fell in love. What would you pick?”

The love of the one I love. “Everything I ever dreamt of.” Why did I choose to lie? I had no idea. Maybe because the answer that came to mind at first was so… unmanly.

“Figures.”

Damn it. Maybe I should’ve told the truth. Girls seemed to appreciate unmanly sometimes. Maybe Emma was like other girls in that sense. Or maybe she would have made fun of me if I’d told the truth. But hey, if she wanted to play this game and see how materialistic and vapid the other was, that was fine by me. Two could play at this game.

“Would you rather marry an ugly billionaire or a hot poor guy?” She’d said it herself. These were metaphorical situations. There was no certainty that I was referring to myself or anyone in particular.

She narrowed her eyes at me before answering. “The ugly billionaire.”

Why was I not surprised? I echoed her previous words. “Figures.” I should’ve ended it with that and let her ask the next question, but instead, I asked another one, one I knew would make her angry. I didn’t call her Rage for no reason. “Would you rather marry me, stay with me forever—no divorce, no cheating—and consume the relationship with kids and everything, or would you rather spend the rest of your life, starting now, in prison? All of your dreams… poof. Vanished. You’d never have a chance at happiness, or at having kids, and the prison would only have women, so you couldn’t have a relationship. Unless, you know…”

Her mouth dropped open and she glared at me. “I hate you. I’m not answering this. It’s not even your turn.”

I shot her a cocky smile. “Why? Is it because you don’t wanna admit you’d pick me?” By this point, I just thought it was fun making her squirm. These metaphorical questions made her uncomfortable and annoyed, and I loved it.

She groaned quietly. “You made it impossible to pick otherwise.”

“So you admit it? You admit you’d pick me?”

“I suppose…”

I couldn’t help but grin. Again, it wasn’t much considering what her options were, but it was something, at least.

She huffed. “Okay, then, same question you asked me, except your prison is strictly males. What would you pick?”

My response was instantaneous. I mean, it was a no-brainer. “You, of course.”

She stared at me in awe. “Are you being serious?”

I shrugged. “Yeah. Why would I pick prison? You’re hot, I’m hot. We’d make ridiculously attractive babies.”

She rolled her eyes, but I didn’t miss the smile that crossed her face.

The questions veered off into the weird and awkward after this, and I was pretty sure Emma and I were both relieved when Eric poked his head in the room and distracted us. Our questions were just getting bizarre.

“What are you guys still doing up?” he asked, squinting in the bright light. He looked like he was still half-asleep. “You guys having a heart to heart or something?”

“Something like that,” I said, angling my body so I could see Eric without having to turn around.

Emma snorted. “This isn’t what I would call a heart to heart.”

“There’ve been some pretty hearty confessions here, Rage.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?”

“See?” I nodded over at her. “She’s not denying it.”

“The only reason they’re hearty is because we’re playing Would You Rather and you pick the worst questions.”

Well... “Not just because of that!”

Eric opened his eyes a little further and smirked. “So you haven’t told him who’s behind his haunting?”

Wait. Wait, wait, wait. What? What was he talking about? And why was Emma trying to subtly signal at him? And why did she look distressed? Narrowing my eyes at her, I asked, “What is he talking about?”

She just shrugged innocently, glaring daggers at my brother when she thought I couldn’t see her. “Eric.” Her voice came out as a warning. “What are you doing?”

“Eric, what are you talking about?” I asked slowly.

“I think Emma here is just dying to tell you, Will,” Eric said, his lips twitching upwards. “Aren’t you, Emma?”

I looked back at her. The angry, distressed expression had faded. In its place was one that mirrored Eric’s. Instead of telling me whatever Eric was hinting at, she tried to stifle her laughter.

And then it hit me. I shot up, almost falling off of the bed as I did so and pointed an accusing finger at her. “You! It was you. You did this. You sneaky little—you said you heard the noises, too!”

She tried to continue holding in the laughter, but that didn’t last long. The laughter burst out, and she started laughing hysterically, so hard tears pooled in her eyes and she started swatting at the air and her own legs. Between her laughter, she managed to say, “Yeah, because—I was—behind—the—noises.”

She started laughing even harder—something I didn’t think was possible—when she saw the look on my face. From the heat I was feeling on my neck and face, I was guessing I didn’t look too happy. I felt like steam was going to come out of my ears and nose anytime now.

Eric shot Emma an entertained look and said, “Well, my job is done.”

He started to walk out, and I screamed after him as he did. “You knew about this and didn’t tell me?”

“Not my fault you’re an idiot and didn’t figure it out by yourself,” he called back.

“He—was in—on it—too,” Emma wheezed out before leaning down and shoving her face into the bed, waves of laughter rolling through her shoulders.

“I don’t believe this,” I muttered. My brother and my roommate. This was low. I couldn’t believe them. Well, no, I could, but that didn’t make this any better. Feeling betrayed, I fell back on my makeshift bed on the floor.

God, this was humiliating. I’d spent the past couple weeks freaking out over nothing. No wonder Emma didn’t take me seriously. I was so fucking gullible.

“Is Squilly mad?” Emma taunted once she’d calmed down.

Damn it. Damn her. “I’m gonna get you back for this.” And I was. I was going to pull something so horrific she would regret ever doing this to me. This was war.

“Because you haven’t been pulling shit this entire time.”

“Not anything like this!” I snapped. How the hell had she even managed to pull something like this? It all seemed so real… the voices… the sounds… the fucking blood on the wall. Everything was perfectly executed. I was starting to think she was more than I could handle. I wasn’t sure how I was going to top this.

“It’s not my fault you’re such an easy target.”

I just grunted. I had nothing more to say to her. Hell, I’d even offered to protect her from the “ghosts” like the idiot I was, and she hadn’t said anything. She’d let me believe I was being gallant and impressive for once. Damn it. Why did I even bother trying to get on her good side? She was evil. Pure evil.

Emma got up to turn off the light. I still wouldn’t look at her, but I could see her move out of the corner of my eye.

After lying down in bed, she said, “You should be thanking me.”

The nerve this girl had... she was going to drive me insane. “Why the hell would I do that?”

“At least now you’ll appreciate it when you get a good night’s sleep. Plus, if the house ever actually becomes haunted, you won’t be bothered by it anymore.”

“Screw you.”

She laughed, and I hated that I loved the sound. “Goodnight, Will.”