HIDDEN (hide or die)

Chapter Eighteen

KYLE'S P.O.V 

More like, who? 

The question remained unanswered as she pushed me in the front seat of her car and jerked the car to life. After whirling around in shock after I had asked her who ‘shadow’ is in which she tried to play it off, but it worked on me not because I heard her murmur, “did I say shadow?” to herself but I heard it anyway. 

She drove slower than Mathew and for that I was thankful. But at the same time, it elongated my stay inside the confinements of the car in which I didn’t want to be in. I sighed looking down at my hand that I had to—quite literally— pry off from Beaky’s hold since she wouldn’t let go even when she needed both hands to drive. 

“Can you please tell me where we’re going?” 

She took her eyes off the road for a second to grant me a look into her sparkling eyes before she sighed and returned her sight to the deserted street. “To my brother… he’s a— uh… a doctor! He’ll be able to help.” I didn’t like her tone on that one. Her unsureness unsettled me even more than her forced grin. 

The blue Mercedes Benz she gloatingly drives came to a halt in front of the most gorgeous house— mansion— the prettiest thing I’ve seen. It was the epitome of “white picket fence” that I read all about through romance books that romanticized everything to the point of toxicity, yet I fell right under its charm. 

But the sight did not soothe any of the— albeit absurd— thoughts and scenarios that I conjured up in my head during the ride. In fact— the pristine trimmed greenery and the fountain with the ever so clear water gave it a chillness that sent the hairs at the back of my neck to stand pin straight. 

But no matter how bad my gut told me to flee, looking at the wide grin on Beaky’s face forced me to shove that uncertainty to the back of my head. Feeling guilty for doubting my friend and assuming she would put me in an unsafe environment sent bile to my throat. 

“Where are we?” 

Hell, if I thought the outside was grand and— cold— and— proper— then the inside greatly surpasses that. The marble floor was polished to clearly reflect my grimacing face, the high walls made me feel small, and the extravagant chandelier— well it didn’t make me feel anything, it was too pretty. Everything was too pretty and yet, I couldn’t trust the un-hominess of the place. 

“This is where I live. My home” she had a proud glint in her eyes, that manifested itself into her ever so present smile. 

A man— I didn’t notice was there— bowed as he took the keys from Beaky’s fingers, and said something that I can’t remember what, as I was focused on his three-piece tuxedo and shiny leather boots that I’ve only ever read about in books with fancy rich— elite— characters. I have so many questions. 

“c’mon, we didn’t miss him. But he’s all the way in his office,” 

She grabbed my hand, a habit of hers for sure, and walked me through a stupidly long hallway. Portraits, and magnificent paintings of different scenes and items- pictures of a family (I’m guessing) in different places that I only recognized two off. That being the Eiffel tower, and the Taj Mahal. We passed a few doors each had two stands of sorts, probably made of stone or marble, on either side. Some had flowers, candles, books or even a platter of artificially perfect fruits. 

All of that lead to a wide, overly big— that seemed to be a theme here— space, with two different sets of settees that I would probably ruin by merely breathing near them. One facing the largest TV screen I’ve ever seen— I didn’t even know that size exists. And the other facing a fireplace, though it seems to be one of those modern digital ones rather than a traditional one. Yet it’s made to look like one from centuries ago. 

My jaw didn’t leave the floor as I looked around the space that could amount to my whole house combined. It seemed to be split in the middle to make two spaces with different styles that somehow meshed perfectly together, and harmonized as one space all the same. I briefly registered Beaky telling me that she’ll go get her brother and that I should ‘make myself home’ as if anything in this household was cheaper than my whole existence. 

I lowered my butt to the very edge of the velvet sofa, so very near the edge that I could fall off if I didn’t hold my posture, but I didn’t want to risk ruining something. I was still admiring all the antique yet somehow modern trinkets, when voices drifted from a distance. A normal person would not have heard but I’m no normal person. That technically means I’m eavesdropping but I can’t really help it. 

“—No Beak. You need to take him to a hospital. I don’t even know why you bothered, you know I don’t deal with this sort of thing.” His voice was a mix of frustrated anger that made guilt flood my insides like a tidal wave. 

“But— if he wanted to go to the hospital, he’d not have come to me! Please you have to help him, Dar.” 

“How is he even— a normal person cannot hold it this long.” Yeah, I think we established that. “I cannot help him, sis.” 

I stood from where I was barely sitting, deciding that my issue was not worth having two siblings fight over. I might as well go to mom. I’d face a wrath but at least she’d have a solution that doesn’t require a rift between two people. I walked back to the entrance of the room, but froze in my tracks when the hallway did not match the one we went through. When did we make a turn? This hallway was bare of anything. And I didn’t want to risk getting lost so I sat my a*s down. 

“How am I supposed to explain that to Kyle? I don’t—” 

“Kyle? Did you say Kyle?” 

The conversation ensued. But I didn’t understand why my name made a difference. The guy yelled something about me needing urgent attention, and Beaky yelled in return that she already knew that. They were getting closer and the volume of their voices was starting to make me wince. 

“Fine. I’ll see what I can do. But know that I’ve never worked on his kind before, so I can’t guarantee the outcome” 

His kind? That was enough to have my heart ram in the confines of my ribcage and my breath shortened. What did he mean by that? What did he know?  

It began to settle in that I might be in an unsafe environment. The phrase ‘I should’ve listened to my gut feeling’ stuck on repeat in my head as I stood up once again gnawing at my lips as I walked to the entrance yet again. But just as I passed the threshold of the elegantly arched entryway, I detected the echo of their steps coming my way. 

So I ran back and sat down again, straightening my clothes as though that will cover the panic that’s as clear as my problem, on my face. 

I stood up as Becky entered the room, followed by a strangely familiar guy. I recognized his build and stance and when Becky moved away, I could tell why. 

Daren. The guy from Pixies’. Multiple absurd thoughts flooded my brain, assumptions that would do me no good. What if he knew all along and used Becky to lure me out?— ok I’m the one who reached out so– no. 

But what if it was a set-up from the very start? And I practically handed myself to them on a silver platter? Oh, my poor mother— I mean it would make more sense. For why would gorgeous, smart, rich and popular Becky befriend— me? 

Yet again she always sounded so genuine when we interact. And not once did my instincts truly urge me to flee in the opposite direction. 

I have to be overthinking this. She simply mentioned me as a friend to her brother. It’s not hard to recognize me in crowds since I stand out too much. And I do a s**t job of blending in. 

His kind. 

That is what unsettles me. 

His footfalls were confident yet graceful somehow. He had an intimidating aura all around his physique that’s amplified by the smirk lifting the corner of his lips. And that glint in his eyes confirmed his impure intentions. 

I took notice of his firm build— not buffed, just well-muscled. He wore grey washed jeans that broke off the formality of his white button-up which stretched over his taut chest tightly. Hair a dark brown and styled to absolute neatness to the back of his head, and a smell so sweet and fain. Yet potent enough to lure me in for a stronger whiff, and a deep sleep potentially. 

All of that led to unexplainable self-consciousness, over the fact that I was about to discuss my already embarrassing situation as it is, now I have to do so with this fine specimen. 

“Kyle, this is my brother, Darren” 

And then just like that, he was in front of me, all up in my space yet distanced enough that it didn’t look as weird and unsettling as it felt. 

“Kyle, my darling! I am very pleased to see you!” okay cheerfulness did not suit his raspy voice at all. 

“It’s nice to see you too.” I pushed forward (what I hoped was) a smile. 

He smiled back, offering me a hand to take as he urged towards him “come with me darling, we’ll solve your… problem.” 

I nearly did, body tilted forward, hypnotized by the sweetness in the air that made my mind foggy. But then their conversation was their beyond the haze and I was already shaking my head sober. 

“I can’t. My… mum just called, she needs me back right now. It’s an emergency.” I turned to Becky with an apologetic smile to cover my relief, and turned towards the entrance before she has the chance to stop me. 

I was there. Just three more steps. But Darren’s hand clutched at my arm and turned me around. With his back to his sister, he let the gentle smile slip and a sinister smirk took place. 

“You cannot delay this Kyle! The longer you leave it untreated the more dangerous it becomes to your health! You could die! What good are you going to be to your mum if you’re not even alive huh?” his voice was comically high pitched and to his unsuspecting sister, extremely concerned. 

“Please ,Kyle! Let my brother help you!” Becky’s face came into view, eyes nearly wet with tears and her palms pressed against one another to accompany her plea. My eyes stuttered between hers and her brother’s, and because I’m the absolute worse under pressure— I agreed. 

Everything was so- sterile. 

Darren led me through many corridors until the walls lost the champagne tent to their glossy paint, replaced with flat white. The sparkling chandeliers were swapped with fluorescent lighting that cast greying shadows into the walls, and the laminate flooring, and the dark expression Darren didn’t bother to hide. 

I’m not sure when Beaky separated from us, in one hallway she was walking right beside me, in the next, she wasn’t there at all. I wanted to ask where she had gone— but my heart was thudding against my chest too violently, and the echo of our shoes against the white floors was too loud in my ears that I couldn’t calm down long enough to ask. 

He slowed down until he stooped, and I nearly crashed into his wide back, but I stopped just a few steps behind him. The door was heavy and so- white. It had a padded lock that he extracted a small key for. I was wondering how a measly small lock would keep this door locked, but that only unlocked a digital screen where he entered a five-digit code that I was able to catch— more like the pattern of his fingers so I’d guess it to be 13 2 03. 

I repeated that a few times to keep it memorized. But then he placed his finger on a thumbprint scanner and swiped a thin card along the slot intended for it. This triple lock system is definitely foolproof. 

“Come on darling,” he gestured for me to enter before him, and I inwardly cringed. He kept calling me darling and it made my insides churn. We met like, once! But that prickling feeling at the nape of my neck prevented me from triggering him. 

My breath hitched, the sight in front of me breathtaking. I don’t know what I was expecting, but not this. Were the skylight dome roof let in the beaming sunlight that reflected on the clearest water encased in a circular pool right in the middle of the room. Surrounded by bushes of roses and other florals of all types and colors that mushed so cohesively behind the glass walls. 

An indoors gardened pool wasn’t what I expected such a bland hallway to lead to. My mind registered the door getting locked behind me, but I was more focused on how cold the water looked to be. 

“Do you like it?” his icy breath caressed my ear as his body pressed up against the back of mine. His hands hovered above my hips and I had to bite back a sound as my body involuntarily leaned back into him. 

“What?” my voice was embarrassingly breathless as I whispered back. A stupid cat-like purr bubbled up in my chest as his’ vibrated in a silent chuckle, and I fought to keep it down. 

“The garden, do you like it?” he was so, so close. To where his lips would skim the nape of my neck when he talked, his tone sultry and well-disguised sending the hairs there to unkink. 

“It’s— it’s lovely.” It took me a moment to compose my frazzled self, finally able to answer him after I escaped his invisible clutch to take a closer look at the rose bush nearest to where we stood. 

“Why does the pool look so cold? I’ve never seen bluer water,” I animated my voice a bit, moving towards the pool to escape his heated gaze. I looked at him when he didn’t reply, and he had this wicked smirk lifting up the side of his face as though to tell me he knew something I don’t. 

“It’s supposed to be, darling. You’ll see why.” 

His eyes left my face to trail down my body until it stopped on my crotch. I felt heat creep up my face and I tugged my very oversized shirt down. As if that helped. He chuckled, worsening my embarrassment. 

“Alright, let’s start before it gets any worse,” he trailed off, moving towards the only solid wall in the room which is not a wall at all, I realized as he opened the handless cupboard somehow. 

“It’s quite simple actually, I just need you to get in the pool, darling.” 

I paled.