I close the bathroom door. I was thrown forward as Oliver shouldered the door open. My feet slid across the tile floor. My heels clicked on the floor as I leaned my back against the door.
I pulled out Colin's phone. The screen lights up as it vibrates. The name Quinton flashed across the screen. I picked up the phone and held it to my ear.
"Please, you need to call the police," I told the caller before he had a chance to speak. "I was kidnapped and he kidnapped your friend."
Oliver was turning the doorknob. I grabbed the handle and tried to pull it up. Oliver pressed his weight against the door. I couldn't hold the door shut for much longer with just one hand. I pressed the hands-free button with my thumb and the phone dropped to the floor. It bounced and landed next to me. With the screen facing up, I could see that Quinton hadn't hung up yet.
"Diana, let me in!" Oliver shouted to the door.
I grabbed the doorknob with both hands and leaned back to keep the door closed. The muscles in my arms were screaming in agony. My heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to burst out of my chest.
"My name is Diana" I shouted loud enough so Quinton could hear.
"Colin, what's going on?" the voice said.
"He's been kidnapped!" I yelled. "Call the police."
a loud purr
The other side of the door. A crack opened in the wood of the frame. Oliver pushed open the door and entered. His eyes quickly fell on the phone. He leaned over to grab it, but I kicked it away. The phone slid across the tiles. I chased the phone, but he grabbed me by the hair. He threw me to the floor. The breath was knocked out of me as he pressed his knee into my stomach.
"Please." I was breathing hard, my chest burning. "You have to call the police! He's going to kill me!"
"Don't be silly," said Oliver. "You're just crazy." He was still trying to pretend he was my psychiatrist.
"No! I'm not crazy," I said.
The pressure in my chest eased as he reached for the phone. He hung up the phone and I grabbed his knees and rolled onto my side. I struggled to stand up. Oliver put an arm around my neck and pulled me against his chest.
"You're so messed up, kitten," he growled in my ear.
"Let me go!" I screamed.
I clutched Oliver's arm, panting. His other hand was around my waist, pushing me forward.
He pushed me into the hallway. I kicked and screamed. He grunted and tried to hold my hands down with his arm around my waist.
He pushed me into the room and Colin was lying on the bed. The monitor beeped as Colin's heart maintained a normal rhythm. Oliver dragged me to his bed. He let me go. I wanted to turn around, but there was a sudden pain on my face. He hit me on the nose. He kicked me in the back of my knee, causing me to collapse.
I touched my throbbing nose and my fingers bled. Oliver opened the drawer and I heard the sound of metal on metal. Something cold wrapped around my wrist and my arm was jerked to the side. I looked and saw that he had pinned me to the bed frame. I pulled on my arm and the metal dug into my flesh.
Oliver took off his thin metal glasses and ran his hands over his face. He took a deep breath and paced the room.
"How dare you do this," he said. "You messed it all up."
A smile formed on my lips as I turned my head to the side and leaned against the bed frame. This thing is finally coming to an end.
"I should sell yours," he said. "I should turn you over to Dr. Alexander before he realizes how difficult you are."
"It's too late," I said. "They'll find me."
Oliver was shaking as I spoke. He turned his back to me and shook his head.
"I'm going to have to go upstairs and fix this," he said. "You better hope nothing happens to Colin. I don't know when I'm going to kill someone again."
Oliver went upstairs without turning around. I had to wiggle my wrists on the bed so I could kneel down. Colin was still unconscious, but I could see his chest rising and falling with each breath. I leaned back on the bed. My shoulder muscles hurt.
I listened to the beeps of Colin's heart monitor and imagined the police breaking into the house after tracing the call.
I sat on the floor for hours. As time went on, the severe pain in my back and legs got worse. I close my eyes and am about to fall asleep. My eyes fluttered as I heard a sharp scream, then a clang of metal.
I jumped to the floor and faced Colin. I can rest my elbows on the mattress. The tilt relieved my back discomfort.
"Who's there?" he asked. His voice was hoarse.
He tried to grab the bandage on his face. He struggled against the handcuffs. I managed to cover his hand with one of my hands.
"Diana," I said. "I'm the girl in the cafe."
"That patient?" he asked.
"I'm not actually sick," I said. "Doctors are the ones who are sick."
"Your eyes," he said.
"No,"
Colin jerked his wrist and tried to tear the bandage off his face. I tried to hold his hand but he pulled away from me. He twisted his back, trying to free his hands. The heart monitor beeped.
"He did the same to me, didn't he?" Colin asked.
"Colin, calm down," I said.
"You're out of your fucking mind," he said.
"Your friend Quinton called," I told him. “I answered the phone and told him to call the police.
"He blinded me."
"But he won't kill us." "I'm such an idiot."
Colin took a sharp breath. When Oliver hit me, my glasses were knocked off my face. Colin's face was quite blurry, but I believe I could see a few tears flowing from under the gauze.
"How could I not believe you?" he asked. "I wanted to help you, but this happened to me."
“Look, we’re getting out of this,” I said. Footsteps echoed above us, someone moving upstairs. Colin sniffed and sobbed. Oliver must have heard the two of us talking and wanted to check on his progress. We listened to him move around.
The door creaked open. I looked back at the blurry figure coming down the stairs. Colin squirmed in his restraints, his anxiety growing with every step he heard. I looked back at him and he squeezed my hand. I stroked his knuckles with my thumb.
"Diana, what's wrong with your face?" I turned my head sharply. The blurry figure turns out to be Ben, not Oliver. He was wearing a dark jacket. The scarf around his neck was loose. He held my face in his hands. He wore a pair of gloves that were soft against my skin.
The pain in my nose turned into a dull ache. The lower half of my face was covered in dried blood.
"Oliver hit me," I said. "What are you doing here? Is Bethany talking to Oliver again?"
"He called her and she did answer," he said. "She called him on speaker phone, so I heard it all. He was crying, and I just know you call someone and he was scared the police were going to come."
"The police are here?"
"I'm not sure, but I always promised you that we would come out of this together."
Colin's handcuffs clanked against the bedrail. Ben's eyes darted to the bed. He took his hands away from my face. He stood up and locked his eyes on Colin.
"Who is this?" he asked.
"Colin," I said. "Oliver kidnapped him and performed a surgery on him."
"Please." Colin took his wrist again. "Please get me out of here."
"Is Bethany here with you?" I asked.
"No," he said. "She's not coming."
I frowned at him. His jaw was clenched, his fingers balling into fists and back again.
"Why don't you go to the police station?" I asked. "You know they're looking for us."
"Because I told you the two of us would get out of this together," he said.
Ben reached forward, grabbed the pillow, and pulled it out from under Colin's head. He pressed the pillow against Colin's face. Colin struggled under Ben's control. His arms and legs were flailing violently as he tried to push Ben away. The heart monitor beeped faster and faster.
"What are you doing?" I screamed.
I kicked my leg out and hit him in the calf. Be
The hand holding the pillow loosened for a second, then took a step back and continued to try to suffocate Colin. I tried to kick Ben off of him but I couldn't reach him anymore and it seemed like an eternity before Colin stopped moving. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I tried to kick Ben. I stopped kicking when I heard Colin's heart monitor stop beeping.
Ben relaxed from Colin's body. He tucked the pillow behind his head. He walked over to the sink and wet some paper towels. He knelt before me. He wiped my face with a tissue, washing away the dried blood. I tried to stay away from him.
"You killed him," I said. "Why did you do that?"
"I have to do it," he said. "He'll ruin my plans." "What's your plan?"
"Let's get out of here."
I closed my eyes and shook my head. Ben tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and pressed his lips to my forehead. I tried to push him away, but the metal dug into my skin. Ben leaned back and I could see a smirk playing on his lips.
"We key," he said.
Ben stood up. Open the cupboard door and take out the bottle. I didn't notice he had a backpack on the counter until he started loading it up with medication.
"Ben, what happened?" I asked.
"I told you, I'm going to get us out of here," he said. "We need to get out of here before the police get here. Well...if the police get here."
The door opened and Oliver came down, the stairs creaking. Ben turned around. I squinted and saw the butt of a gun sticking out of the waistband of his jeans. His hand hovered over the gun.
"Ben," he said. "what are you doing here?"
Ben pulled the gun from his waistband and pointed it at Oliver. He raised his hands and took a step back. Ben pulled the trigger of the gun.
"Get down on your knees," Ben said.
"What are you doing?" Oliver asked, kneeling on the floor.
"Where are the keys to the handcuffs?"
"In my pocket." "Slide them across the floor to me."
Oliver reached into his pocket and placed the keys on the floor. He slid them across the floor, Ben stepping on them with his shoes.
"Do you have medicine anywhere else besides here?" Ben asked.
Oliver shook his head.
"Good," Ben said. "We're done with you."
My ears were ringing as Ben fired. Oliver's lifeless body fell to the side, lying in a pool of blood.
