REGGIE

"We're fucking wasting our time! They're not here!"

We had been searching this god forsaken cabin for the past two hours, looking for any clues that would suggest Lily Ann or AJ's whereabouts. The only thing we'd found was a lot of blood and a smashed lamp that had belonged to Matt's mother. I threw my hands up and let out a frustrated scream, clutching at my red locks and trying to force my brain to think. Where the fuck is she? Did she run? Did she make it? If I knew anything about my best friend, it was that she was a fighter and wouldn't accept failure.

Everyone in the house was on edge. Even Jimmy and Johnny were sitting on the couch, staring at the small space of floor between their feet. When Matt walked back into the room from the back of the cabin, he held up a huge fucking hunting knife covered in blood. Lily Ann's hunting knife, to be exact. I remembered the day my dad gave her the box of shit her parents had left for her. She had kicked it, spit on it, and then locked herself in her room for the day. I never once blamed her for her behavior, even though mom and dad thought it was a little over the top. Shit, these people gave her up for whatever reason, and now she was supposed to happily accept a box of their shit? Come the fuck on.

"Matt, I think they ran," I said, not noticing every eye suddenly glued to the side of my face since my eyes were trailing the smeared blood on the front door frame. I imagined Lily Ann slicing Zacky with her father's hunting knife, and then getting the fuck out of the house with AJ. But why would she leave her car in the driveway?

"What do you mean? And I don't understand what you find so fucking funny about this shit, Reggie," Matt snapped, forcing me to realize that my fantasy of Lily Ann kicking some major Zacky ass was making me grin like the fucking Cheshire cat. Bad move, Red.

I shook my head, both to clarify and to clear my head. "Nothing's funny about this. I think they ran, like literally. Explaining the car outside?" I said, gesturing through the bay window in near the door. Matt frowned, and I could almost visibly see the effort it was taking him to consider this. Come on, you giant gorilla teddy bear. You can do it...

"But why would they leave the car behind? Zacky's too level-headed for that shit. He wouldn't just go running off into a national forest in the middle of the night."

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who heard the collective groan that ran through the room, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say my head was about to explode. "You know, Matt, your loyalty to your friends is a great quality, and I happen to find your naivety appealing most of the time, but right now, your dense ignorance is pretty fucking embarrassing." I couldn't stop the word vomit if I had tried, which I really didn't, but I'm pretty sure I could have done it in a less cunt-y way.

I heard Cole gasp and Kayla snort, earning a gentle pat on the back of her head from Johnny who shot her a look. Jimmy popped up between the two of us when he noticed the monstrous vein stick out of Matt's neck, but my eyes never left Matt. I loved him dearly, but come on. "You're a real fucking bitch, Reggie," Matt seethed, knocking Jimmy's hand down off of his chest. "Just because your best friend and my best friend are missing doesn't mean that Zacky had anything to do with it. You're just looking for somewhere to place the blame, and I'm getting really fucking sick of it."

Jimmy gaped at Matt before backing away. I just stood and stared for what seemed like forever, the rushing blood in my body making my skin feel like it was on fire. Oh, so he wanted to play games like that, huh? Before anyone realized what was going on, I snatched my shirt over my head, revealing the bloody gauze that covered my chest tube site, along with the slightly raised scars that were still a garish, shiny pink.

"This is where Brian pinned me to the floor after I found out that your best friend was slipping my best friend Rohypnol and raping her on video for their sick amusement," I snapped, turning to he could see the small scars on the backs of my arms and across my back from being forced into the shards of broken glass from that beer bottle so long ago.

"This is where they both tied me to the bed post after they kidnapped me from the club," I said, bringing their attention to the scars formed by the massive rope burns on my ankles and wrists.

"These are from the switchblade Zacky used to cut my clothes off of my body," I gestured to the thin scars decorating various points of my body, the ones of my inner thighs longer than the others. "Shall I fucking continue? You're a god damn fool if you think that Brian and Zacky are innocent in this train wreck."

Without waiting for his response, I turned and walked out of the cabin. My best friend was missing and I wasn't going to sit around and play Who's Got The Bigger Dick with Matt. I understood the accusations against his best friends were hard to swallow, and I understood he was on edge about his missing girlfriend, but I was more about action than words.

I walked to Lily Ann's car and opened the driver side door, finding the keys in the center console's cup holder. I shook my head, remembering the many times I had scolded her for leaving her car unlocked with her keys inside, but she assured me that she had faith. Not in god or the goodness of others, but the fact that most Californians are super fucking laid back, and not many people are out looking for a car to steal. Especially not this sleek little beauty. Too conspicuous.

Standing next to the car, I considered my options. I could go looking for her, without any leads or clues as to where they would have disappeared to, or I could wait around and hope they come back. I might as well go ahead and sign my friend's death certificate on either one of those options. I slipped my phone out of my back pocket and checked for any text messages or phone calls, but there was nothing. Just like there had been nothing ten minutes ago when I'd checked. I chewed on my bottom lip, struggling to figure out my next move, when the front door of the cabin swung open.

"Reggie!" I looked up to see Kayla hurdling down the steps, a phone held in her outstretched hand. She nearly barreled into me, jabbing her pointer finger at the screen excitedly. "IthinkwefoundAJ!" I shook my head, holding my hands up. "Whoa, calm the fuck down! I can't understand a word you're saying!" She sucked in a deep breath, attempting to contain her excitement so that she could explain herself better.

"The park ranger called from the station that's about ten miles that way," she said, pointing off to the left towards the dense forest. "He said a group of campers brought in a battered looking girl, but they couldn't get much information off of her. They said she was clutching a cell phone and kept repeating Lily Ann and Matt's names over and over again."

This certainly caught my attention, and I tore my gaze from the dark thicket to eye her anxioulsy. "Well, what the fuck are we waiting for? Gather up the troops and let's go find her!" I knew that, even though AJ was probably shell shocked from her encounter with the bloodthirsty psycho twins, the sight of her friends and loved ones might encourage her to spill what she knew about Lily Ann's whereabouts. Even more than that, I was hoping she would be able to give me Zacky and Brian's location. I had a few words I wanted to share with them, and none were pleasant.

Kayla nodded once before turning around and hurling herself back into the house. I settled myself down in the driver's seat of Lily Ann's car, running my fingers gingerly over the expensive black leather and closing my eyes briefly. "Just hold on, baby girl. Just a little longer."

LILY ANN

Once again, I awoke with an ache that enveloped my head and a darkness that obstructed my vision. Groaning, I pushed myself into a sitting position, noticing that I was no longer bound to the bed. I glanced around nervously, looking for signs of movement and straining my ears for any sounds outside of the door. When I was greeted with stillness and silence, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and inched my way to the window.

It was still dark outside, but I was in no condition to try and guess the time. The sky seemed lighter than the typical inky blackness of the night sky, so I figured it had to be somewhere near dawn. I looked down at the yard below and saw no signs of movement.

Mustering up what courage I had, I crept across the bedroom and cracked the door open, my heart hammering in chest and nearly stopping when the door knob clicked, signaling that the door was able to open. Waiting for a few palpating heart beats, I inched the door open and was met with silence in the dark hallway. Frowning, I moved slowly into the hallway and crept to the bedroom at the farthest end of the hall.

Peering into the cracked doorway of Zacky's elaborately decorated bedroom, I saw that the bed, while mussed, was empty. The bathroom door was open and dark, which left me even more confused. I checked each room on the second floor, my frown stretching to impossible lengths as I noticed that I was alone. I tip toed to the stairs and took the first few steps so that I could peer down into the living room below.

Everything was quiet and dark, with a few blinking colored lights emanating from the electronics that were still powered on. As quietly as I could, I made my way down the stairs and to one of the living room windows, the blood that rushed through my veins almost deafening in my fear. No cars were in the driveway. My eyes widened in surprise, but my brain screamed at me that there was no way it could be this easy. It was a trick, surely.

Instead of going for the front door, I turned and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a large chef's knife. Gripping the handle instantly made me feel better, though not by much. I stumbled over something on the floor, hissing sharply at the noise I made, though no one came charging into the room. I bent down and picked up the obstacle, wrinkling my noise in disgust when I noticed it was a pair of plaid boxers that were tangled up in a bright pink thong. "Fucking nasty..."

I tossed it back to the ground and made my way through the house, looking for any other signs of life. None. Nothing. I was alone here, and I took only a few seconds to contemplate my options. "Fuck this shit..." I murmured, heading quickly back to the front door. Before I had a chance to grip the handle, though, I was greeted with the sound of a car pulling quickly into the driveway and doors opening. I squeaked a string of curses and sprinted back through the house, running for the closet that was down in the basement.

Why that one, you ask? Because in the few times I had actually paid attention to this house and Zacky's mannerisms, I knew that this closet was rarely used for anything more than seasonal gear and luggage that was probably used for when he went on tour. I barely squeezed myself into the dark closet before I heard the front door open and slam shut, silently screaming obscenities as I forced the door closed as quietly as possible and folded my body as best as I could over and around obstacles until I made it to the very back corner.

Within a few short minutes, I heard doors upstairs slam and angry voices shouting, though what was being said was lost in a muffled haze through my fortress that I hoped would be enough to keep me concealed until they left again. For the first time since I was a little girl, I found myself frantically praying, promising everything from regular church attendance to dedicating my first born children to ministry services if I could just get out of here alive.

I hugged my knees to my chest, barely breathing in the hopes that they wouldn't find me in the back of the closet. I only had one chance to get out, and if I blew it, they'd kill me for sure. I thought the pounding of my heart would give away my location when I heard footsteps outside of the door, and I had to choke back the squeak when the door flung open. Luckily, I had stuffed myself behind these suitcases, so maybe the dim lighting and the ridiculous amount of shit would obscure me from view.

No such luck...

Notes

Hi there, my lovelies!

This chapter was shorter than I originally intended, but after looking at it again, I realized it's shortness is necessary if I want everything to line up just right.

Thank you again, everyone, for sticking with me and putting up for my absences!

I love you all!