The Life I Want to Live ~Sequel to On The Run~

Chapter 18

"Oh man, ouch." I grumbled as I sat up from my position on the floor. I rubbed my neck and massaged it as best as I could to relieve the pain. Last night once Ryan left I grabbed a pillow from the bed and a blanket from the closet and slept in the corner next to my basket full of clothes. I half expected Ryan to pick me up and carry me to the bed like Harry always did, but as I was still sleeping here this morning I see that didn't happen. I looked up and saw Ryan stirring awake in the bed indicating that he did in fact come up here and see me in the corner, but left me here.

"Shit. 9:30 already?!" Ryan said as he looked over at the clock. "I got to go to the store!" He said as he pulled up a pair of pants on the ground and a sweatshirt. "Stay here with Sharna. I have some stuff for you to do today. She'll tell you what it is."

"Oh...great." I grumbled as I stretched my now-sore back.

"We'll be back in a couple of hours. Have some breakfast and get to it. Bye Maddie!" He yelled as he shut the door and ran down the stairs calling the other boys. I slowly stood up and bent back over to rummage through the clothes basket but my back hurt so much that I gave up and just went downstairs in the clothes I was already in.  After I went to the bathroom and fixed my hair I met up with Sharna in the kitchen.

"Ready for today?!" She said with lots of enthusiasm.

"How are you so energetic in the morning?" I asked my eyes still adjusting to the light.

"Mornings are great! A start to a new day! A new job to complete!" She said as I made myself a piece of toast with cinnamon sugar. "Come and sit down I have a list to show you." She said as I grabbed a water bottle and sat down across from her. "Ok so Ryan is getting all the stuff today at the store and we just have to make sure the house is ready."

"Ready for what?"

"The party silly!"

"Wait he's hosting a party? Here? Does he not realize that I'm still considered a hostage?"

"You'll be fine and I'll be here still it's not like I'm leaving! We can party together! Maybe meet some guys!" She winked as I rolled my eyes. "You must've been quite lonely with having to live with all those guys for so long and no girl to talk to. I'm glad you're here, I don't know if I could've made it."

"It's nicer than you think." I mumbled as I took bite out of my piece of toast wanting her to be quiet and stop rambling on.

"Ryan said we need to clear out the liquor cabinet, make a playlist for music, clean the bathrooms, and lock the bedroom closets."

"Wait why do we need to lock the closets?"

"I dunno. Probably some artillery or something he doesn't want people getting their hands on. Let's get started!" She said as she got up and went immediately towards the booze.

•

"I think we're finally done." I breathed as Sharna and I slumped down the living room wall.

"Yep. I've got everything checked off. That dusting killed me. I don't think I've cleaned so much in my life."

"And it's just going to get dirty all again tonight. So we cleaned for nothing." I said as the front door was unlocked and the boys came in, bottles of vodka in each hand.

"Oh look. The maids are finally finished." Tyler said as Sharna shot him a glare.

"Maddie come here." Ryan said as he set three grocery bags down and headed towards the stairs. He beckoned me to follow him and we ended up in the bathroom.

"What?" I asked as I peeked my head in.

"We need to dye your hair darker." He said bluntly making my eyes go wide.

"What?! Why?!" I asked incredulously.

"We can't have you being recognized at the party tonight! C'mon I thought you'd be even smart enough to realize that."

"Ryan! I've never dyed my hair before! That damages your hair! Why can't I just stay in the bedroom or something? I don't even really like parties!"

"Nonsense. I need you to help me get answers from these guys anyways. They always spill stuff to girls when they're drunk."

"So not am I only being forced to dye my hair but I am being forced to interact with drunken perverts?!"

"They won't hurt you. They're harmless, and if anything happens I'll be here with you." He said as he pulled the gloves and dye out of the box. "Now let's dye your hair."

"I don't want to!"

"It's either dye it or cut it. Your pick." Ryan said as he crossed his arms and cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Fine, I'll dye it." I grumbled reluctantly as I took my long hair out of my bun.

"Alright, step one: brush hair with a tooth comb. What the fuck is a tooth comb?" Ryan asked as I shrugged my shoulders hoping to stall the process longer. "We're going to need Sharna, she'll know how to do this. I'll be right back"

"Oooh! Yay! A makeover!" I heard her squeal as she ran up the stairs obviously hearing the news.

"Oh great." I groaned as I looked in the mirror at my normal self one last time.