OBSESSED | Tanner X Reader (Scrutinized)

Chapter Thirteen - Switched Off

I haven't eaten anything for about two days. I've had way too much going on, and to much stress on my brain, so food was the last thing on my mind. Also, I might have been too anxious about asking Tanner if he had food, which was both reasonable and unreasonable at the same time.

I crept down the stairs and peeked into the kitchen, deciding to finally get something to eat before my body shuts down on me. I saw a couple of apples in a bowl on the counter, so I took two and sat down on the couch, biting into one of them.

When I was about through with the first apple, I heard Tanner's footsteps come down the stairs. I moved to peek over the edge of the couch, fixing my eyes on him. He looked tense. His usually relaxed and smiling face was replaced with a slight frown, like he was in intense, deep thought. The expression unnerved me, but brought me relief at the same time. There was no way someone could smile constantly like that, even if they were a bit loco.

I hadn't realized I had been staring at him so hard until he broke the silence, "I'm going to take you to meet someone I know, so you should go upstairs and get ready. I'll be waiting for you here." Hesitation was clear in his voice. It was almost like he was unsure about taking me wherever he intended to. I raised an eyebrow and climbed over the edge of the couch, jogging up the staircase, my second apple still in my right hand.

Once I had reached my room, I walked into my closet, and after being overwhelmed by all of the choices I had, I decided to settle on something simple. A pair of stretchy black leggings and a (F/C) shirt with an image of (F/C/S/C) plastered in the middle. I grabbed a simple black zip-up hoodie, just in case. I can't go anywhere without a hoodie on me, it's just a reflex I can't get rid of. I also decided to slip on my running shoes instead of the converse, because I had a feeling that I might need some extra mobility. I hope I'm wrong about that.

After doing the basics of hygiene, I traveled back down the stairs and towards Tanner, who was leaning against the wall, that look of uncertainty more intense now. He opened the front door and held it open for me, closing and locking it once I passed through.

The silence was heavy, and the car ride dragged on and on. I felt the need to ask about where we were going and who I was going to meet, but I decided to find out for myself. I was a bit confused when we pulled up to a bar, which had a good amount of people in it. It was decently sized, and 'Jimmy's Bar' was displayed in neon blue letters in the front window.

Tanner placed his hands on my shoulders and gently led me through the bar and around the counter. He looked at the bartender while we were walking by, and they seemed to have an entire silent conversation. The man nodded at us and went back to cleaning a glass with the white cloth that was in his hand. Tanner continued to guide me through what looked to be a storage room. Walking behind a bookshelf, Tanner proceeded to move a giant box to the side, revealing a hatch that blended in with the floor. I hesitated when he opened it, but eventually went through and down the set of concrete stairs, a feeling of dread setting itself in my stomach.

With nowhere else to go, I pushed open the door in front of me, revealing what looked to be another bar, less populated. The few people that inhabited the bar all went completely silent at my arrival and averted their gaze to me. Everyone looked tense and unfriendly. I froze, hating to have so much attention. Tanner, who was behind me, placed his hand on my shoulder and pushed me slightly forward, closing the door to the staircase behind him. Once Tanner stepped into the light, it was like nothing had ever happened, and everyone went back to whatever they were doing, leaving me to wonder what exactly had just happened.

Tanner guided me to another table where a man was sitting by himself. Assuming this was who I was to meet with, I sat in front of him, Tanner following suite. The man in front of me had dark chocolate brown skin and playful dark brown eyes. He had short curly hair atop his head, and stubble covered his chin.

I mumbled out a nervous hello, not knowing what else to do or say.

"What's poppin' baby girl?" He responded with a playful smile, and I couldn't help but giggle nervously out of habit.

The atmosphere became visibly tense, so I decided to try and break the silence by asking questions.

"So - are you two friends or something?" Tanner shook his head, and the man across from me responded, "I don't know shit about his guy. I'm just doing my job. Collecting for Adam. I'm Micheal by the way. You?"

"Yeah, I'm (Y/N) - what do you mean by collecting for Adam?"

Tanner and Micheal seemed to do that silent conversation thing, which made me even more unsettled than I was before.

"You're gonna meet this guy named Adam. If you're gonna ask why, it's 'cause everybody who comes to this bar has to meet this dude if they haven't already," Micheal explained to me. I nodded warily, and Micheal rose from his seat.

"We're going right now?" I asked as I got up from my seat as well, nervousness prominent in my voice.

Micheal hummed, "What other time would we go?"

I realized that Tanner was silent during that entire conversation, which was extremely unlike him. He would usually interrupt you mid-sentence whenever he got the chance. I only grew more and more suspicious as we retreated back through the hatch and left Jimmy's Bar. We stopped in front of an intimidating black jeep with tinted windows. Tanner opened the door for me and I climbed hesitantly into the passenger seat, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. Micheal jumped into the driver's seat as Tanner closed the car door behind me before stepping back onto the sidewalk.

"He's not coming?" I was just straight-up scared out of my mind at this point.

"You're out of his hands. You belong to Adam now."

I yelled petrified, "What? No!" I pushed myself up to look through the window directly at Tanner, screaming his name in frustration as we started to drive away. All he did was wince and turn on his heel, walking in the opposite direction.

I sprang into action, trying my door handle and the window, and when that didn't work, I climbed into the empty backseat, doing the same to both doors, to no avail. I was trapped, and it was too late.

I sat there in the middle of the backseat, gripping the leather beneath me. I only clawed at it harder and harder as my breathing became heavy and quick. As my hyperventilating progressively got worse, Micheal spoke up, "You might wanna calm down. You don't wanna be passed out while we're there. Who knows what'll happen to ya," he joked, laughing a small bit before bringing the car to a stop.

(OH NO! :0 What's gonna happen to miss (Y/N)? We will seeeeee ;). Please vote and comment to help the story! THANK YOU FOR READING!)

(P.S - Yes, that was a reference to Detroit Become Human :). I will be writing a Connor X Reader after finishing this book, so be sure to follow me for announcements and updates!)