Page 104 of Apathy
“Where am I?” I asked before she could fully enter the room. I pushed myself all the way to the headboard. “Why am I here?”
My blood ran cold when she lifted her head, revealing the same scar I had on my arm, engraved on her forehead.
“Oh my God.” What the fuck was this place? “Please, let me go. I didn’t do anything.”
But she said nothing while she stood at the entrance observing me. Her dark brown eyes held no trace of life in them. The paleness of her skin only told me that she didn’t go out all that much, but I couldn’t see anything else.
There were no emotions playing on her face. I wasn’t hurt, that much I knew, but that wasn’t a guarantee that they wouldn’t hurt me now that they had me here.
I wondered if the rest of our friends looked for us. I wondered if they thought that Lauren was in danger just how I was.
I wondered where I went wrong for her to be a part of this—whatever the fuck this was.
“What’s your name?” I tried a different tactic, keeping my voice steady, while she walked toward me slowly, as if she was afraid to approach me.
“Can you tell m—”
“Leah!” somebody roared from the doorway. A voice I knew too well. A voice that belonged to my friend.
I moved myself to the side, having a clear sight of the doorway, the pain from Lauren’s betrayal intensifying with every passing second.
“Kane?” Disbelief laced my words, barely above a whisper, barely audible. “What are you doing here?”
Tall and regal, this was the Kane I used to know. His dark hair was slicked back, his eyes brighter than ever, and as he walked inside the room, he took one look at the girl, Leah, and pointed toward the door as if she was a dog.
“Leave us.”
She complied almost immediately, but she didn’t run. No. In the same way she entered the room, she also silently moved backward, bending her head down.
“Kane? What the fuck is going on?”
I wanted him to tell me that this was just a joke they were playing on me. I wanted him to tell me that the rest of our friends waited outside this room, ready to continue the party. But when he finally looked at me, I knew that all my wishes wouldn’t be fulfilled.
“I wanted to tell you about all this, but I couldn’t. They told me I couldn’t tell you, at least not yet.”
“Who?” I moved closer to the bottom part of the bed, closer to him. “Please, tell me. What did you want to tell me?”
He exhaled softly and looked up at the ceiling. “For centuries, our families held this town in their iron fists, ruling from the shadows, dictating who did what and who married who.”
I frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“You found a book, Sky. I think you understand more than you think you do.”
The book?
Oh God.
“It was you,” I exhaled. “You left that note in my locker.”
He nodded rapidly and took a seat close to me. “I wanted you to know, but I couldn’t tell you everything by myself. So, I planted a book that could give you some answers.”
“I-is this…”
“The cult they mention in the book?” A sorrowful smile grazed his beautiful face. “Yes, this is the Black Dahlia. And you are the bride, Sky.”
My right eyebrow lifted, and I still waited for him to start laughing, to start joking around. But his face grew serious instead. “You are the one he wants,” he whispered. “But before the ceremony starts, I need you to know something.”
“You mean, besides the fact that you guys kidnapped me, or that you’re mentioning something about brides and ceremonies. There’s something else I need to know?”
