We reached the amusement park in ten minutes only to find it shut down. The gates were closed, and not even a single light was blinking inside.
Except for the streetlights, everything else is drowned in the darkness.
I could hear Dahlia curse in the row when she saw the gate of the amusement park closed.
"That's our luck? Fuck." She dashed out of the car and kicked the closed gate once and twice and thrice. Her cursing continued as I also climbed down the car and pulled her back before she hurt her feet.
"Cool down, Lia." I sighed as my mind thought of alternatives.
"What now?!" Lia looked at me with a pout. The disappointment on her face is something I could never stand. I need to vanish it...
.
Now what?
Do we have another choice than to return home?
Well,
We do have another choice than to return home.
.
"Now we'll climb the gate," I suggested. I suggested it, and Sofia looked at me like I was asking her to jump from the mountain. Jeremy looked at me like I was asking him to push Sofia from the mountain, and Camilla looked at me like she would witness Jeremy pushing Sofia off the mountain.
And for Dahlia,
She is like me. She enjoys thrill.
If Uncle Rhys and Uncle Christian find this out, it'll be the last day of my life. They'll make sure to hang me from the tree and take turns to shoot the apple above my head.
And Uncle Josh,
Well, he has his ways to torture people. It's not hard to understand what Uncle Josh would do to me since I am almost a carbon copy of his personality.
If he gets mad, he'll beat me to death and not be sorry at all.
.
But only if they find this out.
.
"I am so going to tell this Dad and J." Sofia used her classic sister move to threaten me with Dad and Uncle Josh, but
"I'll buy you the gold cover edition of 'The Lord of the Rings' book." I bribed her.
"Are you trying to buy me with the money?" Her face and tone say only one thing. 'My Dad is a Billionaire with a capital B.' " One call to Dad and he'll buy me even the platinum."
"Limited edition and a week of no annoyance from me." I increased the amount of the bribe.
"Two weeks." She negotiated, and everyone else looked at how badly we traded each other's souls when we're supposed to be those loving siblings.
"Limited edition of the Lord of the Rings book and two weeks of no annoyance from me." I repeated. "Deal." I offered her the handshake.
"Deal." She returned, and that's it. We have a deal.
.
"Look at you guys! How loving!" Dahlia ogled us both and rolled her eyes.
"What do you say, Jerry?" I asked Jeremy and started taking unofficial votes from the members since we'll go with the majority.
"I suggest no. We'd be in trouble." Jeremy is also not fond of adventures and troubles. He is really picky about what he chooses to do.
I sometimes wonder how he is the son of Uncle Josh and Aunt Jules. He is the total opposite of them. But thank God he is the opposite; otherwise, the Chen family would have burnt the world with their vicious tricks.
Though he was in depression a few years back, and it made him even quieter, but...
But we refuse to talk about it in front of anyone since only the Volkovs and Chens know what happened.
.
Sofia and Jeremy stood at 'No,' while Dahlia and I stood at 'Yes,' and that gives power to Camilla.
"What do you say, Camilla? Yes or no?" I asked. 99% of the possibility lies under 'No,' but I believe in that remaining 1%.
"Um?" She explores the gate with her eyes, trying to measure the height of it. I could see the battle going on inside her. Her eyes say she wants to have fun, but body language says we shouldn't do something troublesome.
"Take the chance, Camilla." I said. I mean it. "Trust me and never let go of my hand, okay?" I wasn't deciding her answer, but I also don't want her to hold back.
She could be anyone she wants; she could do anything she wants.
She is not bound to obey anyone other than herself.
.
"Okay." She nodded. She nodded, and I beamed with a smile. My heart jumped as if she had said yes to the marriage proposal.
Not like I'd ever propose to her. I mean, why would I propose to her?
We're just friends.
Why am I thinking about a marriage proposal in the first place?
I guess too much excitement is making my head go crazy.
.
As per the rule of majority, everyone had to accept the fact that we're going inside the shutdown amusement park while our parents have no idea of what we are doing. Even the thought of it is thrilling.
.
I climbed up the gate and jumped to the other side of it. Dahlia followed, and I helped her climb down. Sofia was scared at first but somehow managed to climb up, and I caught her when she jumped down. Jeremy helped Camilla climb up, and I helped her down.
And here we are.
Inside the shutdown adventure park.
.
All the dark and silence filled the place. Empty roads and shutdown rides. Dim moonlight and flickering sounds of insects.
It does sound like a horror movie where a group of friends comes into a forbidden place and dies brutally.
Well, I hope we're not that group.
"I swear I'll kill you if anything happens to me or anyone here." Sofia's love language lies under the threats she gives to me or anyone.
She held Jeremy's hand and followed Dahlia while I offered my hand to Camilla as I promised.
I am taking the responsibility of her safety; I'd even take a knife inside my heart to keep her safe.
That's how seriously I take my promises.
.
"See! You got the chance you were looking for." I said, engulfing my fingers with hers. To my knowledge, her fingers are the softest thing I've ever held in my hand. If I put any more pressure on them, they'd break.
"I guess I did." She answered shortly. The cold wind, silence, and moonlight only make her look prettier. I can say blindly that she has no flaws, but she also has to believe in herself. Or else, she'll never overcome the trauma she has of the mirrors.
"How are things going on? Are you fine?" I asked now that we got some alone time to talk. No one knows about the secret we hid between us, and Camilla doesn't want anyone to know either.
"Perhaps." She said. "Perhaps I am fine." She nodded.
Perhaps?
"Is he still bothering you?" I asked as the memories clouded in my head.
Tears in grey eyes. Blood on pink lips. Gripped blondes.
Everything about it makes me want to burn myself alive.
"I don't want to talk about it, Niko." She stopped walking, and we stood between nowhere. The emptiness of the roads and silence of the night are the only things between our bodies.
Her blondes waving with the wind while her fingers grip onto my palm every time she shivers from the cold.
"Why?" I asked, but not out of curiosity but out of worry. "Why can't you talk about it?"
"Because some things are inevitable, and you'll have to accept it eventually." She answered with a swallow.
"What are those things, Camilla?" I didn't raise my voice, but it does sound higher. "Things that you never wanted?"
"I want it now." She replied, and I nearly chuckled with anger. I am not an angry person, but dear God, I can't stand wrong. I just can't.
"You want it now?!" I gripped those delicate fingers hard and pulled her closer to my face. Her tiny body crashed onto my chest when all I could think of was shouting and pulling her out of those thoughts.
"Yes." She stared into my eyes as anger also flicked in her eyes. Those angry eyes only show the Larsen blood in her Von-Ascherberg body.
"Do you really think I'd buy that?" I pulled her even closer with a rougher pull.
"I'm not trying to sell anything, Niko." She answered back with the same intensity, and offense ran through my body.
"I know what you went through, Camilla. I have witnessed it, and I'd not let you face those things again." I uttered.
"I can't escape, Niko. I just can't." Camilla gripped on my sweatshirt and squeezed it between her delicate fingers as my palm rested on her waist.
"You can. You can escape if you tell your mom and dad..." I suggested, but before I could finish my sentence...
"No!" She slammed her hand on my mouth and shut me up. "You promised me, Niko! You promised me to keep it hidden."
"I promised you to keep it hidden as long as it won't bother you." I remember things perfectly.
"It's not bothering me." She gulped and stole her eyes. "Rather, I have accepted those things and made them part of my life."
Part of her life? What the fuck is she talking about?!
"What do you mean?" It wasn't a question.
"Nothing."
"What do you fucking mean, Camilla?!" I lost it. I lost the coveralls of calm and sunshiny Niko. Even though I am full of Chen blood,
I have possessive blood of a Volkov.
And help me; I can't help my possessiveness!
.
"You don't have to know everything." She said it, and I could feel my blood boil.
"Yes, I do. I am your best friend." I uttered, and my hand tightened on her waist. "And you have no right to push me away."
"We are not kids anymore, Niko." She scrunched her brows with pain but maintained the anger in her eyes. "We're grownups, and we should behave according to that."
Seriously?
What the hell is wrong with her?!
Those can't be her thoughts, can they?!
.
"What are we then?" I was about to lose all my calm, but-
"Hey guys! Look at this!" Dahlia took our attention, and my grip on Camilla's waist loosened. "A haunted house!"
"I'm not going in." Sofia said as she wrapped her arms around Jeremy's torso and sunk in. I pulled Camilla with me to where Dahlia, Jeremy, and Sofia were standing.
The heat of anger was still burning my heart, but we can't argue in front of everyone else. Not when Camilla has taken a promise from me not to tell.
"Okay. No forcing here." Dahlia looked at Sofia and then glanced at me. "You can stay right here and not go anywhere alone. Agree?"
"I'm staying with Sofi; count me out." Jeremy said and cleaned the nearby bench with his palm for Sofia to sit.
.
I don't know what's gotten into me, but
"You're coming with me." I tightened my grip on Camilla's hand and ordered her. It was so unlike me, but the heat of anger only triggered my possessiveness.
I am possessive but not ordering. I respect people's choices before pressuring them for anything, but I somehow know that Camilla would never break her walls and—
I want to not let her stay in.
.
I pulled Camilla inside the haunted house when Dahlia kicked the door open. Camilla was quiet, but I can see anger hidden in her eyes.
Dark. Dirty and Quiet.
We could barely see anything inside.
Spider webs, the smell of dust, and silence all around.
Still, we were able to see the front way since the moonlight coming from the closed windows brightened up the few parts of the haunted house.
"It isn't even scary." Dahlia walked further as she explored the place with her eyes. She was walking alone in the dark, and not even a single hint of fear was on her face.
"It is because we haven't yet met the serial killer lurking in the dark." I uttered, and Dahlia giggled. Dahlia and I have no fear of serial killers. Rather, we would enjoy fighting him if he really came.
"You better not wish for a serial killer right now." Dahlia said while going into some room. "Camilla is yours to take responsibility for."
"Yes. Camilla is all mine," I affirmed, and Camilla's eyes widened at me. Those big grey eyes and pink parted lips watched me with surprise. "To take responsibility for." I completed the sentence.
Of course.
She is a princess, and her safety matters more than many lives.
And even if she wasn't a princess, her safety matters more than any lives.
Many fucking lives.
.
I pulled Camilla with me while we followed Dahlia inside, but in one of the darkest passages, we lost her. We lost Dahlia and entered somewhere other than where Dahlia is.
The door behind us closed, and Camilla flinched with the thud sound of the door. Her fragile palm tangled around my bicep as we could see anything but black.
Not even the moonlight enters inside the room. We were blind technically. I pulled Camilla closer to my body and held her by the waist. I couldn't see her, but I can sense her movements.
Her trembling and afraid movements.
"Niko?" She squeezed her palm on my sweatshirt again as we tried to find the knob of the door. But it technically disappeared.
"Lia?" I called out Lia for help since the door behind us fucking disappeared. It fucking disappeared...
Camilla's hands hold onto my bicep as I slide them on my shoulders by pulling her even closer to my torso.
My chin touched the top of her head as I searched for the doorknob by keeping her between my arms. Her hair feels softer than cotton and lighter than the clouds against my skin.
.
I truly don't want a serial killer lurking here now.
I don't fucking care about myself, but Camilla is with me. I promised to keep her safe.
.
"Goofy? Cami? Where the hell are you guys?" Dahlia's voice reached inside the room, but I still couldn't find the knob. All I could sense on my hands was glass...
Glass?
"Lia! Open the door from outside!" I shout. I shout for Dahlia's response.
"Wait! I saw the buttons!" Dahlia said as she slammed her fist on the wall. I couldn't understand where she is or what exactly she is doing, but it looks like we're in some interconnected rooms but apart.
Dahlia slammed her fists once again, and in a second,
Bright yellow lights surrounded us...
Bright yellow lights that almost blinded our eyes for a second...
Bright yellow lights that revealed the room we were standing in...
.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The room of mirrors.
Write a comment ...