He's Always Watching

Chapter Seventeen

Sorry, guys, I didn't have a whole lot to put into this one. We'll be lucky if I get two more chapters out of this, but don't get your hopes up for any more than one and maybe an epilogue. I have another story in the works for after I finish this one, but I need your opinions. Should I actually start it? I get that I'm really not that great of a writer, and I'm just not getting the kind of response I'd like to see out of these stories. Don't get me wrong, I love every one of you taking the time to read my stuff, but I'm honestly not sure if it's worth it to keep going with something that people don't even care about.

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            By that point, I’d completely lost sense of days and time. Hours meant nothing to me, and the idea of weeks passing by was almost implausible. Ralphie and Eddie continued to make daily appearances, and I continued to ignore Ralphie’s existence. I still couldn’t look him the eye without flinching. He would give me condescending little smirks, and Eddie would look at me with eyes full of pity. Colby, however, was a different story entirely. He only spoke to me when he felt it necessary, but I still caught him staring every time I dared to look up. The looks he gave me weren’t full of desire, or regret, but they penetrated me with hatred and disgust. I didn’t know what had changed, but I was eternally grateful for his newfound silence.

            In the back of my mind, I wondered what reason he could possibly have for keeping Ralphie around. He’d already beaten me to a point where I still had a hard time getting around, and since then, he just stood there. Occasionally, he’d make a crude remark, but other than that, he hadn’t so much as attempted to harm me. Honestly, I saw him as nothing more than a waste of space, but I guess Colby had to have something planned for him.

            “I have to get to school, boys. See you at three-thirty,” Colby told the twins as he slung his backpack over his shoulder and disappeared behind the Mount Everest of stacked boxes. I glared at the spot he’d just been standing in, cursing him silently. You figure he would’ve killed me by then, but he seemed to want someone to find me. We had been in that exact building for weeks. The longer he waited, the longer he stood the chance of someone finding him out. While that would be incredibly favorable for me, it just outlined the point that Colby was either: A. Stupider than I originally thought, or B. He really had grown to like me too much to murder me in cold blood. I’m guessing it was the first option.

            “Aw, you look bored, Princess,” Ralphie cooed, taking a step closer to me.

            “Come on, Ralph, just leave her alone. She’s still busted up pretty bad, can’t you give her a break?” Eddie stopped his brother’s next comment dead in its tracks.

            Ralphie rolled his eyes. “Can’t you be quiet for once in your life? Stop being such a wuss, I was just talking to her.”

            Eddie clamped his mouth shut and averted his gaze from me. Hey, at least he tried. He was way too nice to be in this business.

            “To be honest, cupcake, I don’t know why Colby has kept you around quite this long,” Ralph continued, eyeing me as he walked even closer. I sank further into my seat, not wanting to be so close to him. “Anyone else would’ve been done with you a week ago, but yet, he seems so reluctant to end it already. Could it be because he’s afraid of the consequences if he gets caught? Or maybe, just maybe, he has a soft spot for you. See, that would explain why he got so mad when I took your beating a little further than instructed.”

            I kept my eyes glued to the ground for the duration of the small rant he stemmed off into. He didn’t even seem to be talking to me anymore, but more to himself. I came to the conclusion he was slightly psychotic as he knelt down in front of me, his glare hot on the top of my bowed head.