Darkness in the Neon Lights (H2OVanoss)

Chapter 4

"Come on, we're almost home," Ryan laughs as he jogs ahead of me. I only manage to go a couple more feet before I have to stop to try to catch my breath.

When I realized that Ryan only lived around the corner from the park, I figured it wouldn't have been a long run. I didn't think that the place he bought the breakfast sandwiches from were a two and a half miles away though! This is causing me to regret skipping gym so many times.

"Come on," Ryan laughs as he jogs in place. "We just have to cut through the park and we'll be home."

"Shut it, you show off " I say as I try to catch my breath. Once I've catch my breath however, I start jogging with him until we get back to the apartments. "I'm just a little out of shape."

"I wouldn't put it that way. You're just not use to running for that long. After all, you did start off pretty strong."

"Thanks," I laugh as we walk around the corner.

We both then look over to the opposite side of the complex and I see someone looking into one of the glass doors. I look up to Ryan, who is already in the middle of throwing his water bottle. I watch as the bottle fly up to the second floor of the building across from us, and it hits the door above the man. Within seconds, that door flies open and I see the same man from the club last night, Marcel, run out. He goes to the railing and looks down to us, and Ryan just points to the man below Marcel.

Marcel rolls his eyes and carefully crawls over the railing before he slowly lowers himself down to the first floor. He jumps into the grass to make his landing as quiet as he possibly could, before he walks up behind the man. My eyes widen and I gasp as I watch Marcel then grab the back of the man's head and slam it against the door before throwing him onto the ground.

"I told you to stay the hell away from here," Marcel yells at the man. "You've already been banned from the club, and we've already called the police on you three times! If you don't get the fuck out of my face right now, I swear to god, I'll beat you into the ground!"

I blink and by the time I had opened my eyes, the man was running around the corner to get away. Marcel turns to the door and rips the door open before he yells, "Are you fucking serious?!"

Ryan turns me to him and hands me the keys to the apartment. "Go wait for me in the apartment. You can take a shower if you want, you can watch TV, or play on the pole, whatever. It doesn't matter. Just go wait in there and make sure to lock the door behind you."

I take the keys and nod, having a feeling that now isn't the time to ask any questions. As I walk to the apartment door, I look over my shoulder and watch as Ryan runs across the courtyard and goes through the door Marcel ran through.

I go into the apartment and do as I was told, making sure to lock the door behind me before I put the key into a bowl next to the TV. I decide to take a shower first, so I walk to the bedroom and open a drawer in their dresser, taking out a clean shirt, pants, and boxers for me. It's been three days since I met Panda, and Ryan and Bryce have been pushing to make sure that I follow the rules he made for me.

They cleared out one of the drawers for me to have my clothes in, I have to work out multiple times a day, and they've made sure to have pre made meals for me, which I have to eat throughout the day. Although my body has been sore from that, I know it's for the best. I need to get this job.

Once I grab my clothes, I walk into the bathroom and turn on the water in the shower, sticking my hand in to test the temperature. As soon as I think that it is just right, I slip out of my sweatshirt and pants and get into the shower, allowing the warm water to hit my body. I then shut my eyes before I take a bottle of shampoo and start massaging it into my hair.