Falling Up

49. Hole in the Wall

It took her a while to move again as she stared at the door that Vincent exited, trying to gather her emotions and thoughts together. Anger. Fear. Surprise. Disgust. She couldn't tell which one resonated with her the most. In the span of what was no more than an hour, her life had gone from happy to completely fucked up again.

She turned around, resting her forehead on the wall behind her before slamming her fist down hard on the drywall. Of course, she wasn't strong enough to even dent the wall, but it made her feel better, letting out her frustrations as she wiped the back of her hand against her mouth again in disgust. A few moments passed before she turned back around, leaning back against the wall as she let out a sigh.

For the first time since she entered the room, she looked around, noticing her surroundings, and wondered if there was anything in here that might help her get out of this mess. With Jason and Kain stuck next door and Vincent returning at any moment, she was struck with a sudden sense of urgency, which spurred her to do anything to get her out of this situation.

The room she was in was a storeroom of sorts, with boxes stacked high around her and paper spilling out onto the floor. The room had a musky smell to it, like it hadn't been used in years. There were some slight modifications to the room, including the bars on the windows, which were too high for her to look out of, but she could appreciate the natural light they let in. The heavy steel door also seemed out of place and a likely replacement of what was once a wooden door. They had converted the room into a temporary prison.

On a positive note, there was an attached bathroom with a simple toilet and sink. As she walked into the small room, she turned on the tap and was thankful when she saw the running water disappear into the basin. She leaned down, cupping her hand under the water to take a long gulp. It wasn't even remotely refreshing, but it helped to wash out the vile taste in her mouth as she spit the liquid back into the sink before downing another mouthful.

There was no nearby hand towel, so she wiped her now wet hands on her jeans to remove the excess water as she looked back into the cracked mirror in front of her. She still looked the same from the outside as far as she could tell. The only thing she could notice if looking closely would be the slight tremble of her hand as it gripped the edge of the basin sink. A sign of the terror and fear swirling up inside of her.

Shaking off her thoughts, she stood up straight, trying to outwardly project some sort of confidence as she moved back out into the main room. The main storage area, or in this case jail cell, was quite spacious, and she moved to the wall closest to Jason and Kain. She had no idea if this would even work, but she moved some boxes in her pathway and made a clearing towards the wall.

Leaning her ear to the wall, she strained to hear even the smallest of noises, anything that would notify her that they were there. And luckily she was granted with a small mumbling sound from the other side. Excited, her fist reached up to the wall, and she pounded hard against the surface three times before placing her ear on the wall and eagerly waiting for any response.

"Riley?!" She heard a muffled sound from the other side.

"Jason?" she called back in excitement and worry. "Jason, is that you?"

Scrambling to get closer to the muffled sounds of her brother on the other side of the wall, she pushed away the boxes against the wall, following the sound of his muted voice as papers and boxes fell to the floor in a mess behind her.

At last, as she pushed away yet another box against the floor, she came upon an opening in the bottom of the wall. It was small and well hidden behind the mess in this room that she had to get down on her hands and knees to reach it and as she did, she heard her brother's voice come across clearer as she called back to him.

"Jason." She scrambled as she poked her head closer to the floor, looking through the hole, which was not much larger than the size of her fist.

She lay down on the floor, getting a better angle, and placed her head up to the hole as her eyes peered into a cracked and jagged opening just enough for her to see light at the other end. The light soon faded, though, when Jason's head came into view.

"Riley!" Jason called back with relief. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

He sounded worried, yet all she could do was smile back at him. The sight of him, even though he looked battered and bruised from what she could see, was enough to ease her worries. Even though he was in the same dangerous situation as her, it brought her comfort knowing that she wasn't alone in this.

"I'm fine. He left, but I don't know when he'll be back. Are you okay? Is Kain there with you?"

"I'm right here Riley," came Kain's voice as smooth as ever, and from the volume she assumed he was right next to Jason, just out of reach on the other side of the wall.

"And I'm okay," added Jason. "We'll figure this out. I'm going to get you out of here, Riley."

Riley moved her head away from the hole in the wall, reaching her tiny arm through the opening. She was desperate to just reach out and touch him and when her hand went all the way through the opening, Jason gripped it in his, offering a comforting squeeze as she sighed and leaned her forehead against the wall.

They maintained their positions for a long time as Jason gently stroked his thumb over her knuckles before eventually her arm became too sore to hold its position anymore and she reluctantly let go.

"How did this happen Jason?" asked Riley, her curiosity finally finding its way to the forefront of her mind as she peaked her eyes back through the opening. "I thought Vincent was in prison? I thought you were on vacation with Tyrus? And the next thing I know, I'm here and he's here and you're here. I'm so confused."

"Vacation?" questioned Jason as she saw his eyebrows furrow together before they snapped back in understanding. "Is that what Noah told you?"

She nodded in response, hoping he would see the slight action in the small space they shared as she now came to the realisation that she had been lied to.

"I'm sorry Riley. I knew Vincent was out of prison and I knew he was hanging around, but I just couldn't bring myself to tell you. You were doing so well with everything and I didn't want you..."

He paused when she knew exactly what he was going to say. He didn't want her reverting back to her old self. The old self who dug herself in a hole so deep that she had to struggle and claw her way back to the surface again. Her old actions that caused her to hurt herself and almost take her own life. He didn't want to see her like that again, and it was understandable why. She didn't want to end up down that path again, either. It was so hard to recover from that she was unsure she would make it back again if she spiralled down the same path again.

"You had no right to keep this from me, Jason. I should have been told. And Noah shouldn't have hidden this from me, either. You've been missing for days and you've been stuck here with Vincent while I've been thinking you're off on some grand adventure with the love of your life."

She noticed the internal cringe coming from Jason at her last choice of words before he interrupted her. "It was for your own good."

"And how exactly does that help me now? I should have been prepared for this."

Riley pulled away from the hole, getting up from her position on the floor and sat with her back against the wall. She was mad at Jason and Noah for keeping this from her, but there wasn't much she could do about it now. They were all stuck here, in his grasp. And although she wanted to think that she didn't know what was coming, she knew all too well what Vincent wanted with her.

Drawing her knees to her chest, she was thankful that Jason was on the side of the wall, unable to witness as her body started to shake and tremble.

Vincent was coming for her, and now all she could do was wait.