Page 90 of Resting Grump Face
“Shut up,” another artificial voice cuts me off. “You know exactly what you did, and now you will have to pay for it.”
More rustling ensues. I move my head from side to side attempting to grasp what is happening. It almost seems like the people are fighting between themselves. There are hushed voices, something knocking on wood.
When I tilt my head slightly forward, the blindfold slides off my face, giving me a clear view of my abductors. There’s five of them and I recognize them immediately. I am staring at Paige, Robyn, Guy, and Earnest. To my surprise, the last person is not Sienna, but someone else. All of them are wearing masks, if you can call it that. Guy opted for one of Paige’s nylon pantyhose that distort his face and makes him look like he had one plastic surgery too many, Earnest is wearing a surprisingly authentic-looking Spiderman mask, Paige looks like she just came from a mask ball in Venice, while Robyn’s eyes peek out of a ski mask. She is dressed in all black, making her look like a professional burglar.
On closer inspection, I determine person number five to be Paul Bearer who works the reception desk at Haven. His usually shaven face is covered by what I assume to be a beard from a Santa Claus costume, and above it, he’s wearing sunglasses with a fake nose attached to them.
For a second I don’t know what to say or do, and apparently neither do they. We are just staring at each other until Robynseizes the initiative. She takes Paul’s cane, lets it hover over my crotch, and lifts a small device to her lips.
“Like I said, you know exactly what you did and now you will have to pay for it.” The cane slowly moves down and stops just short of my private parts. “Unless…”
Alright, that’s enough.
I slide my hands out of the restraints, grab the cane, and push it away. “I know it’s you, Robyn. No need for that thing.” I get up, take the voice alternator, and throw it away.
“Hey,” a muffled complaint echoes from Spiderearnest.
Without much hassle, I loosen the rope around my legs and step to the side. “Seriously guys? What the hell is this? What are you doing? I thought we were friends.”
No one moves an inch until I decide to get out of here. This is utterly ridiculous.
“I will now leave. You should be happy that I am not calling the cops on you.” I shake my head, turn around and head for the stairs.
I’m aware I haven’t known them for very long, but their betrayal stings nonetheless. This seems to be a common theme, and I probably shouldn’t be surprised that they are in cahoots with Sienna. They are friends, after all.Family.
The emptiness that I have been feeling all day hollows out my insides even more. Bit by bit, it gnaws away at what little feelings I had left. Not that there were that many to begin with. At least not until I met her.
I shake my head once more in disbelieve, reach for the door handle, and?—
34
SIENNA
Icock the gun and look into Ryker’s surprised eyes. His chin drops to the ground. I close his mouth with the cold piece of metal in my hand, then motion for him to go back down.
“We’re not done here,” I say.
It takes a moment for him to comply. When he does, I step into the basement myself and pull the door shut behind us.
At the bottom of the stairs, one of the most bizarre sights I’ve ever had the displeasure of seeing reveals itself.
“What the fu—” Before I can finish my question, all five of my friends start jabbering at the same time, making it impossible to understand a single word.
“Silence!” I shout and am surprised when that actually works. Everyone, even Robyn, pipes down, so I continue. “You,” I say to Ryker, “in the chair.”
Reluctantly, he does as he’s told.
“Spiderman,” I order Earnest over to our abductee. “Tie him up, but this time make sure he can’t escape.”
“Paul did the first tie,” he defends himself quietly.
“Don’t care. Just get it done.” I turn towards the rest of the avenging seniors. “What the fuck were you thinking? I thought I told you: no kidnapping.”
“It’s not what it looks like,” Guy, who apparently just stepped out of a cheap heist movie, begins.
Santa Paul nods decidedly, his fake nose almost falling off his face. “I could have sworn he was ATF, or another one of those building inspectors that are up to no good.” Then he looks over to Ryker, who is still getting tied up again. “Sorry about that handsome little head of yours. It wasn’t personal.”
“Looks like what we observed wasn’t a hallucination though,” Paige interrupts and hands me a small stack of stapled papers. “This was in his briefcase. It’s the contract saying he is the new owner of Haven.”
