Page 46 of Evil Villain (The Royal Court)

The man scoffed. “If I was threatening to drag you to Connor Loche what would you do?”

It didn’t make sense. If they knew how dangerous he was, how could they bring me back there?

“Well, whatever, there’s nothing we can do. We’re just going to tell him we never saw him,” the woman said.

“Fine by me,” the man replied. “Let’s go. It’s cold by this fucking water.”

With that, they turned around and walked back down the docks and retreated until I eventually couldn’t hear them anymore. Even long after they were gone, long after my leg had gone numb from pain, and my arm had gone numb from pain, and my vision and hearing were waning, I stayed there treading water. I tried counting the minutes to myself to keep track of how long I stayed down there, but then I started to shake and lose breath, and I knew I was probably close to giving myself hypothermia.

It was a struggle, but I managed to drag myself back out of the water. The car show was no longer lit up, and either because it ended or because of the pursuit, it had been shut down. The warehouse district was abandoned and quiet, so I limped my way along the edge of the shipping containers until I could cross back through the warehouse district and eventually to the main road. I had no phone or way to get a hold of someone, but finally, I saw a few people walking near the edge of the road. They kept their distance from me, which was fair, so I held up my hands.

“Please. Can you just call me a cab?”

None of them responded to me, but one did press a few buttons on their phone and lifted it to their ear. I was briefly afraid they were calling the cops, but then I heard him say, “Hey, can I get a cab? Right outside the warehouse district on Melcost Lane. I’m a big guy with red hair and I’m soaking wet. You can’t miss me. Cool, thanks.”

I nodded. “Thanks.” Then I dropped and sat on the edge of the road and waited. The people, though they never got closer or spoke to me, stood nearby until the cab came, and then waited as I climbed inside. “There’s a $200 dollar tip if you can get me home. I fell in the ocean and lost my wallet.”

The man looked at me through the rearview mirror at me. “I will call the police if you don’t pay.”

“I swear. Just get me home, and my mom will pay you.”

He nodded, so I provided Felicity’s address, and we started off. I nearly faded from consciousness a few times and I was shaking violently, but eventually the cab did get me back to Felicity’s house. I kept looking around, afraid that I’d been followed, but for the time being, no one had come. As soon as the cab pulled up, those of Venom’s men who had been watching the house surrounded it with their guns drawn, but I quickly climbed out and called them off.

“Can someone please give this guy $200? I’ll give it back to you,” I asked.

“Don’t worry, D,” one of the guys, Max, said. “He reached into his wallet and pulled out a few hundred dollar bills and handed them to the driver. “More money for your trouble and to keep your mouth shut, huh?”

The cab driver nodded his head dramatically. “I was never here.”

“Good man,” Max replied.

The cab screeched away and I limped my way up the walk to Felicity’s front door. I knocked and it opened almost immediately, a teary Felicity appearing on the other side. “Oh thank god,” she whined and pulled me into a hug.

“You were right. I shouldn’t have gone,” I said.

“Yeah,” she replied. “Let’s not worry about that right now. Come inside before you catch death.”

All I could do was laugh at her phrasing. Little did she know how close I’d come.

17

Cherri

Alistair and Avery both got out of the car in order to walk me up to the door. Because I hadn’t spoken to my parents in six months, neither had any of my friends. Avery and Alistair were the two people I considered my ‘real friends’ from The Royal Court before everything changed, so my parents had gotten used to seeing them around. When I asked Avery to drive me back to their house so that we could have a chance to talk, both her and Alistair got excited about the idea of being able to say hi for the first time in half a year.

I lifted my hand to the door and went to knock, but then stopped. My keys were in my pocket, and my parents didn’t take them away from me. Even though it felt awkward, I used them and let myself, Avery, and Alistair into the house.

It was a little after eight at night, but I could hear the quiet drone of the television coming from the living room. I led the way towards it and walked in to where my parents were sitting on the couch, my dad totally passed out, and Gus was sitting on the floor, also half-asleep.

“Cherri,” my mom said, and then she smiled. “And look who else you brought.”

Avery lifted her hand with a smile. “Hey, Rebeccah.”

The voices stirred my dad and Gus, who awoke and looked over. “Cherri!” Gus yelped, jumping up and running over. He slammed into me in a big hug and I squeezed him back as tightly as I could. “I missed you.”

“I just saw you a few days ago,” I replied, but Gus squeezed tighter.

“I know. I always miss you.” He was such a sweet kid, and I had to imagine still traumatized by my sudden disappearance, so I took this statement with the weight it held and kissed him on top of his head.

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