Owned by 4

Chapter 63

Hello, again c:

Thank you all for your kind words, those in the comments, and those who messaged me privately. It means so much to me guys, I really appreciate it and I really appreciate you <3

Enjoy!

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You could hear a pin drop in the silent room where the four boys resided, tired, worried, and frustrated. So it was no wonder that the sound of a sniffle didn't miss their ears. All eyes shifted towards the source of the sound; Kruz. The boy, seemingly coming out of his state of shock, had tears running down his cheeks. His hands were shackled behind his back; a few men had come to chan him up hours ago, assuming he'd come out of his state of shock soon. 

They weren't wrong.

"Kruz, look at me" Dennis whispered in the direction of the dazed boy who'd been staring at a speck of air ever since he had been placed there. Yet Kruz remained unresponsive. Dennis tried again, calling his name a few more times before finally getting an answer. 

"She's gone" the boy croaked. Tears soaked and reddened his cheeks, his face stiff with salt as he barely moved his lips. "Sh-she's dead...she's gone, they killed her"

The boys pursed their lips as they shared a look with each other. Ryder decided to speak next. "D-did you...did you see her Kruz? Did you see her die?" He knew it was a bit insensitive to ask such a question given Kruz's state, he didn't want him to have to relive such a terrible memory, but he wanted to know. He needed to know if she truly was dead.  

Kruz didn't answer for a while. A few minutes passed before the broken boy lifted his head slowly, tears falling from his chin. He looked at Ryder, eyes wide and dull as if he was still in a daze. "No"

It took a second for Ryder to realize that he was answering the question he had asked minutes before. "No? You didn't see her?" He questioned. No answer. "Kruz did you see her body?" He was more persistent this time. He needed an answer.

Kruz squeezed his eyes shut. "I-I...I heard it. I heard her-I heard the shot...they shot her"

"But you didn't see her body"

"N-no but I heard- I heard the shot, they shot her...she-she was shot...they-"

"Kruz" Ryder interrupted, his voice gentle but firm. "I need you to listen to me okay? We need to get out of here. Your mom, she-she might still be alive" He tried. "You didn't see her die so-"

"B-but she did...she did d-die"

"We don't know that, okay? Ryder reasoned that "they didn't let you see her, which means they were probably just using it as a scare tactic" Ryder reasoned. "They probably just wanted you to think she was dead because they knew it would render you useless. What other reason would they have to not let you see the body? These men aren't the type to kill behind your back to make a point. They'd want to shove it in your face-"

"You're wrong" Kruz shook his head, a never-ending stream of tears marrying his face. "They k-killed her, wha-what reason would they have to keep her alive?" his voice cracked, along with the hearts of his friends as they saw the grief-stricken look on his face. 

"Kruz-"

"Stop" he whimpered painfully, his eyes squeezed shut. "Pl-please don't give me f-false hope. I c-can't handle it" He didn't need to hear it from Ryder. He knew that John hadn't been bluffing. He knew that his mother was dead. "Not everyone is like your father"

Kruz was right. Growing up, his father had always taught them to always be true about their intentions and to always be honest with their kills. Killing someone as a threat only makes sense if the other party is aware of the fact that the person is dead, which means they'd have to see the body. If you can't show the body, it's only safe to assume that there is none. But his father wasn't like most other gang leaders, and even though the tactic was basically common sense, he shouldn't expect that everyone else did their business the same way.