by Abby Osuna
tighten her grip at the sight of the two. Maybe it was because of Anthony.
“Uhh Carley, this is my mom. Mom, this is Carley.”
I think I saw my mom hesitate before taking Carley’s outstretched hand.
“I should get going. Nice meeting you. Take care Drei,” my mom suddenly acted weird, but she
hugged me nonetheless. I didn’t want to let her go, but things were much complicated than I
thought.
We started toward the opposite direction my mom took. I was processing what she just told me
when my phone vibrated.
A message from my Mom.
I opened it hastily, curiosity getting the best of me.
She too.
I didn’t understand what she was talking about.
What?
Luckily Anthony and Carley entered a new stall and were now busy looking at the items. I trailed
after them. It took about five agonizing minutes before my phone vibrated.
One word made my jaw drop and my knees weaken.
Member.
Carley was a member too.
~
Chapter 25
“So we’re not going to the dance after all.”
I stared at Anthony as Carley entered another stall.
My expression must’ve given me away since he asked, “The dance. The one I invited you to.
Semis. Interschool.”
I blinked, taking in his words. Dance. Dance. OH THAT DANCE!
“The dance!” I almost shouted.
Instinctively, his finger sprung to his lips to silence me.
“I’m so sorry! If only I wasn’t occupied these past few days, if only this was a different situation, if only---“
“Drei, relax. It’s just a dance. Your safety is more important,” he had his hands on my shoulders,
trying to calm me down. “And besides, there’l be other dances we could attend in the future.”
I tried my best to hide the smile that threatened to show. It was a bit flattering that he was
thinking that we’d stil be in touch in the future. That he was stil considering me as his date.
Wait, date?
“Which one’s better, Drei? Black or blue?” Carley was suddenly beside me, holding out two
cocktail dresses. I hesitated, not real y knowing which one to pick. In normal days, I’m not real y a good fashion consultant, especially now, that I’m bombarded with problems about my life.
Well, my very life is the problem.
I shrugged again. “They both look good on you Carley,” I opted for the safe answer.
“Real y? Then I should have them both, then.” She chirped happily as she left us to enter the
stall again.
I sighed. She doesn’t seem like the type that would be a part of a syndicate. She was so nice!
So beautiful. So perfect. How did she wind up with the syndicate in the first place?
“Are you okay, Drei?”
I was snatched from my thoughts. “Of course.” I lied.
He studied me for a moment. “You sure? You know I’m just here when you need to talk.”
It was my turn to study him. I looked straight into his eyes. And instead of knowing whether he
could be a safe for my innermost thoughts, I found myself wondering how it would feel like to
stare at his innocent eyes every day of my life.
I blinked, mentally slapping myself. “As I’ve said, I’m okay.” I turned to stare at the floor.
“Done!” Carley was with us again, holding out another pair of bags for Anthony to carry. My
eyes flew to his hands which looked full.
“Let me carry those, Carley,” I offered.
“You sure?” she stared at me.
“Ye---“
“No. Let me,” Anthony’s hand met mine as we both reached for the bag. He real y knows how to
ignite the spark, doesn’t he?
I let go, not arguing anymore. He noticed my dismissal, and smiled in triumph. Somehow, he’s
one of the reasons that I am somehow thankful that my life made a drastic turn since Dad died.
If we didn’t leave England, I wouldn’t have met him. But it seems that our situation right now is
just too complicated. The syndicate was making it all too complicated.
“Let’s?” I stared at Carley as she gestured that we go.
I nodded, trailing off behind her, Anthony by my side.
Her eyes were stil on the items displayed as we passed, but this time, she didn’t enter the stalls anymore. She would mutter a comment or two about the items, but not stopping to look at them.
We rounded a corner, and she still did the same. But this time, she kept fiddling with her phone
as if she was talking to someone she’d meet any minute now.
“Here!” she suddenly stopped at a novelty shop.
Anthony and I stared at her, waiting for her to explain why we were here.
“Zed’s coming,” she smiled sheepishly.
“Oh.” Anthony and I answered at the same time, making us sound dumb. Our heads turned to
face each other, smiling. Of all the syllables of acknowledgement in the world, we chose to utter
the exact same one.
After a few seconds, Zed showed up with someone. Someone that almost made my jaw drop.
Carl.
“Hey you two!” Carl beamed after Zed and Carley greeted each other with something I didn’t
quite catch. Carl’s mere presence was quite annoyingly distracting.
“Hey,” Anthony muttered. His tone was not annoyed, instead confused.
I forced a smile. But I think what came out was a grimace.
“Ready for the dance?” Carl asked Anthony. Then it hit me. Carl was in the basketball team too.
That meant that he would be going to the dance too.
Anthony hesitated. Just then, Zed spoke up. “Come on, Carl. Quit playing.” I think I saw the
faintest glare in his eyes before he smiled politely. Why did that seem wrong? Why would he
glare at Carl? How did they know each other anyway?
My hand gave an involuntary shiver as a wave of realization hit me. Of course they knew each
other! They were in the syndicate!
“Are you okay?” my head snapped up to Carl, who was eyeing me concernedly.
I nodded stiffly.
“Anthony, I think I need to grab something to eat. Would you come along?” I needed to talk to
him. Alone. Fast!
“Can you do that later, Drei?” Carley smiled.
I hesitated. No. I had to talk to Anthony. NOW!
“Uhh. I real y need to fil it up,” I smiled happily, tapping my tummy.
She and Zed exchanged looks.
“Just wait for a while, Drei,” Carl spoke up. He really was a big object of annoyance.
“For what?” I snapped, suddenly blurting out my feelings of irritation.
Then two muscled men came up, dressed in coats. If not for their long sleeves, I was sure I’d
see tattoos in their arms. They smiled at us politely, swiftly brushing past Zed and Carley, to our sides. I suddenly felt something hard pushed against my side.
“What---“
“You should be doing, is to behave well. Or else, gunshots would be engraved on your tiny
torso.” Carley smiled with that polite one that she always had. I turned to look at Anthony and
asked for help, but found that he was rooted to the spot too.
My mind raced. The best option I had right now was to…
“HELP---“
Just then something soft was on my face, covering my nose and mouth. The next thing I know,
everything around me went pitch black. Before I lost track, I heard Carley’s voice as if a mil ion
miles away: “oh my! Not again! Let’s get her to the hospital!”
~
My head was throbbing slightly. My body dangled. From something I could not make out. All I
knew was that my feet weren’t in the ground. My hand was limp, and I was moving. There were
steps. I was bumping to each. Then I finally realized that I was slung on someone’s shoulder. I
could hear voices now, yet they seemed so distant. I tried to listen closely. I could hear them
more clearly now.
“Hey!”
Anthony.
“Careful. We need them alive.”
Carley.
“Carl, you can leave now. We can handle this. Send word.”
Zed.
I think I heard a scoffing sound. That must’ve been Carl.
Wondering if I had the strength to open my eyes, I tried. To my relief, my eyelids fluttered. But I hoped against hope that none of my captors saw it.
When seconds passed and I didn’t hear them stir, I discreetly opened my eye to see where we
were now.
There were no footfalls from anywhere near me, so I decided that I could take a quick glimpse
at the surroundings. To do that, I should raise my head a little, so that I could see something
else aside from the back of whoever was carrying me now.
I must do it discreetly. Imperceptibly.
One.
Two.
Three!
With the next step, I pretended that I swung a little farther than usual. Success! I saw
something! It was not where we were going. But at least from the direction we’d taken.
I saw the car I assumed took us here.
As I pretended to stil be limp once more, I couldn’t help but be dismayed.
The car was a red chevy.
Why oh why did I think that my dream wasn’t important?
~~~~
Chapter 26
“Put them apart.”
“No.”
“Apart.”
“No.”
“Or I’l cut her head off.”
I heard Anthony’s faintest grasp from where I was slung. I could not let them know I was
conscious now. It was too dangerous, if what we’re in now wasn’t dangerous enough.
Maybe Anthony nodded or something, since I heard the people around me beginning to move.
With one swift and gruff motion, I felt my body leaving the uncomfortable shoulder I was slung
in. My back met something hard, and I tried hard not to show any emotion. Only now did I
realize how big of a deprivation it was not to react.
I heard someone being shoved against what seemed like a wall from somewhere to my right. All
this time that I have been feigning unconsciousness, my hearing grew very sensitive.
“Don’t try anything stupid, Anthony dear,” I heard Carley’s sweet voice.
Why did someone as nice as her have to be in the syndicate?
I heard Anthony scoff. Wait. Anthony, scoffed? That was so out of character! But with the
situation, who on his right mind would stay ‘in character’?
I tried to check my hands. They seemed free. But I thought against it since it would give me
away. I heard the clicking of Carley’s heels as she left the room. But based on Anthony’s
silence, I assumed we were not yet alone. Within seconds, someone shoved me to my side and
I felt a pair of harsh hands tying mine. No, he wasn’t tying them; he was gripping the blood out
of them. It was so tight!
Tying what seemed the nth knot, the man (assuming again) left my side, leaving me in the
position and banged the door shut. Behind it, I could hear series of locks snapping. I sighed in
relief, finally being able to react.
“Drei?”
I don’t know how more relieved I could be to hear that voice. “Hey.” My eyes flew open, landing
on the wall I was facing. My hands were tied to my back, and so were my feet. But unlike my
hands, they weren’t tied that tight. I balanced myself so that I could lie facedown on the bed.
With my elbow, I turned to my side again so I could face Anthony.
“Thank God you’re okay!”
“Anthony!” I felt panic surge inside me. He didn’t look the least bit okay. There were bruises on
his face.
With one swift motion, I sat up. I dangled my feet on the side of the bed to steady myself for a
few seconds, and trudged to where he was seated. I struggled to sit beside him without toppling
over.
“Are you okay? What happened?” Curse these ropes tying my hands! I wanted to check on his
bruises. He had a horrible one on his right cheek and there was an evident cut on his left lower
lip.
“I’m fi---“
“Tell me.”
He hesitated, but gave in. “The guy who had you…”
I gestured him to go on.
“Wel , when he tried to place you in his shoulder, I thought you might feel sick since you didn’t
like heights, and you were in an awkward position all the while,” he was sheepish all of a
sudden.
I totally forgot the situation we were in and let out a loud, “Awwwwww.”
He blinked in confusion.
Then my response sank in. “I mean,” I cleared my throat, “you shouldn’t have done that. I wasn’t
sick at all. Adrenaline got the best of me, so all other emotions drowned out.” I explained,
without breathing.
Then out of the blue, he smirked. My jaw dropped.
“What?” he asked.
I closed my mouth. “Nothing. Er, does that hurt?”
He raised an eyebrow.
I stared at his lips to point out his cut. Wrong move. I shouldn’t have stared. I couldn’t take my
eyes off it!
“Not real y.”
I blinked to brush off the trance. “Where did you get that? Was that when he tried to---“
“Yea. When he tried to carry you on his shoulder.”
I stared at the floor just to have something to do.
“I lied.”
My head turned toward him.
“What?”
“It hurts.”
I blinked. “Oh, the cut.”
“Yea.” He said. But this time, it was he who was staring at my lips. OH. MY. GOSH.
I chewed on my lower lip to brush away the thoughts I was having.
He cleared his throat and he looked away. My eyes instinctively landed on his lips again to
check on the cut. It looked terrible. I suddenly felt guilty.
“I’m sorry Anthony. I shouldn’t have dragged you through all this.” The moment the last word
was out, a part of me regretted that I said it. I didn’t real y drag him through all this, since he was indirectly part of the syndicate too. Maybe that was what Mom was thinking when he appointed
him as one of the three people to watch over me. But stil . He didn’t have to suffer all this. This is all my punishment. I should endure this alone.
“What?”
“You don’t deserve this.” I looked him directly in the eyes.
For a moment, he didn’t respond. I thought he didn’t hear me. A second later, he suddenly
inched near me. My heart jumped to my throat. He was so close! What was he doing?
“I volunteered, right?” his face was so close to mine that our noses were an inch apart. “And
besides, it’s not your fault that I want to help you. It’s not your fault that I… I like you.”
I thought I saw him come even closer, but…
The door swung open, giving both of us a start. We stared at the open doorway and saw Zed
and his movie star looks.
“Don’t get all smoochy here lovebirds,” he crossed the room to get to us. “Carley told me to
keep
an eye on you, and so here I am. Glad you’re awake, Drei. Keep him company.”
I glared at Zed to the best of my ability. But I think what came out was just a stare.
“Al this time…” Anthony started.
“Oh yes. Al this time, we weren’t the persons you thought we were.”
“But---“
“Why?” Zed continued for him nonchalantly. “Wel ,” he perched on the bed, “I don’t know. One
morning, we just woke up and there we were. In the middle of all the excitement the group has
to offer.”
I could not believe what I was hearing. How could he be so casual about this whole thing? The
syndicate wasn’t just something to be described as ‘exciting!’
My head turned to Anthony and I wasn’t at all surprised to see him clenching his jaw. “I don’t
think Dad would find this exciting at all.”
“Oh is that a threat, Anthony?”
I suddenly felt hopeless. So Anthony didn’t have the slightest clue about his indirect
membership in the syndicate. He wasn’t even aware that his uncle was a member. That he was
killed because he saw my Dad being slaughtered by the good-for-nothing people. I suddenly felt
sick.
“Depends on how you take it,” he was glaring hard now and I could tell he was getting furious.
“Anthony,” I whispered. “Calm down.”
“She’s right, Anthony. Calm down.”
Anthony rolled his eyes at him.
“So what do you want now, Zed?” I chal enged him, taking the task from Anthony since I know
all the threats he would make would be empty.
He shrugged noncommittally.
It was my time to roll my eyes at him. The longer he stayed in this room, the more I realize that
he’s just another pretty face. That Carley was doing all the thinking.
Then, as if on cue, Carley entered the room.
“Why, welcome back Drei!” she chirped happily, as if we were stil in their mansion.
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“I guess that’s a thank you,” she smiled, “Now. We’re a complete attendance today; so I would
like to make an announcement.”
I heard Anthony sigh. An irritated one.
“Someone wants to meet you tonight. So look your best and put your best manners on. That
would be all. Come on Zed. We don’t want to take much of their time. Our guests must be cozy.”
She reached for her husband’s arm and led him toward the door. Within seconds, they were