Romance Collision ✔

ღChapter Six: No Prisoners

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She wasn't sure how exactly she managed to get herself into this situation.

This was something she was totally against since... well, forever. This was not what she wanted to be doing right now, and yet here she was, pinning herself against the light colored wallpaper. Every wall had a plastic covering pinned for protecting the paint on the walls. Even the floors were covered with black foam that had been rolled out everywhere for extra precautionary measures. 

Charlie was now with her fingers spread wide to the sides of the plastic covered wall. She was squatting to keep from flashing anyone with her small skirt.Now that she thought about it, Charlie was regretting taking up the boys on borrowing one of the protective pants that would have made squatting so much easier. It was difficult enough already to hide away with this heavy protective vest she was given. The face mask didn't help either---it actually took away her looking cute at all and instead Charlie now had the upper part of her body covered while her legs were completely exposed. 

Why didn't she listen to Eve's insistent advice to just wear the pants? Even Bea wore the gear.

Charlie sucked in a breath, trying to listen out while needing to keep still. Moving would only cause noise against the plastic behind her. And noise... would attract trouble.

Charlie squeezed her eyes shut, taking in slow breaths through her nose to calm the spike in her heart rate. She could hear it pulsing through her eardrums; blocking out any other noise around her if there was any.

The entire house was quiet. Too quiet.

When Charlie had first escaped up the stairs to hide, she had lost sight of the girls. Bea had been right behind her, and Charlie had kept whispering over her shoulder, "Do you see anyone?"

But Bea shook her head, frantically scanning her surroundings as they tiptoed up the rest of the stairs. At the top, Charlie turned the first corner and leaned up against the wall, sliding across it until the very end.

She turned asking Bea, "Do you see any---?" Charlie's eyes widened to find Bea gone. Alone! She was alone!

First Eve had vanished on her and now Bea was gone too!

Charlie hated this! She hated having to be alone! She needed Gabriel with her! He would have protected her. He would have defended her honor like the Prince Charming she knew he was, but Gabriel had been one of the first to disappear when this whole thing started.

Charlie scowled, her eyes glancing in every direction with caution. Why couldn't they just be normal teenagers and watch TV like decent human beings or soak in the sun outside by the pool?

A better question probably would be how this whole act of cruelty began in the first place. But Charlie couldn't win anyone over when she had pleaded, along with Bea, that this wasn't a good idea. Her friend seated beside her nodded, her bottom lip pouting and giving Greg big puppy eyes.

There was a slight moment Greg was willing to give in and call the whole thing off. Charlie knew he would have from the way his face scrunched seeing how anxious Bea was. But then Gabriel tweaked his little brother's ear, making Greg yelp and clamp his hand over his throbbing ear.

Gabriel shot his brother a look ordering the younger McNeil to 'Man up'.

When Greg glanced back at the two girls, shrugging his shoulders in silent defeat, Charlie groaned. Her escape now gone. Unless... Charlie had turned to seek some sort of help from Eve.