Agony

26

I woke up, still keeping my eyes closed, trying to fall back asleep.

After our little discussion in the kitchen, Ellie and I joined the boys out in the backyard.

We made s'mores, Kyle talked mainly to Ellie and me, the boys ignoring him for most of the time. He explained that his parents bought him the house, expecting him to get married soon and wanting him to have a place to himself. He gave half of his salary each month to pay off his parents so he didn't feel indebted and pressured to get married because of them.

He'd heard of Ace, knew he was a wrestler. Dallas and Ellie were new to him. Ellie with her flirty persona, charmed him immediately, but Dallas persisted to act like a distrusting boyfriend.

I told Kyle we would only need to stay at his place for a week. That would give us ample enough time to figure out somewhere else to stay. He was fine with it, just a bit wary of Dallas.

Kyle went to his room after, Dallas in one, Ace in another, and Ellie and I shared the last room. All of them were on the top floor.

I turned over trying to get into a more comfortable position. It was dark still, so I wanted sleep to consume me. Accidentally kicking Ellie, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me.

My eyes flew open and I found Kyle with a gun in his hands. A gun that was one trigger away from killing me.

"What the hell are you doing, Kyle?" I gasped.

Ellie was still asleep beside me.

Kyle raised a finger to his lips, not wanting to wake her up.

"I read the news." He spoke quietly. "I know what you and the guys did."

I shook my head. "I swear, we're innocent, Kyle."

"Then why are you running away? Why are you hiding from the cops?" He asked, lowering the gun.

I breathed a bit, sitting up. "It's complicated." There was no way I could explain all of Venom to him, not to forget my childhood, nor where I went when I stopped coming to his training sessions.

"ELLIE!" I yelled, hoping to both wake her up and alert the boys. Kyle probably didn't think Ellie was a problem, at least not a threat, considering she hadn't been on the news.

Her eyes flew open and she sat up. "What are you doing?" She protested, looking between Kyle and me.

"I have reason to believe she murdered a major in Los Angeles."

"It wasn't them!" Ellie exclaimed, scooting in front of me, trying to shield me in her sleepy state.

Kyle was about to speak but it was then that Dallas and Ace barged into the room, frantic. One look at the situation and all they could see was red.

The two of them didn't hesitate to grab Kyle. They had him disarmed and held in a chokehold within seconds. Ace lifted the gun that was only moments before aimed at me and pressed it into Kyle's skull.

Kyle breathed out. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry."

"Are you really?" Ace snapped, pushing the gun harder against his forehead.

Kyle nodded frantically. "Please, don't kill me."

"Doesn't feel nice having a gun to your head, does it?" Dallas spat from behind. "Who are you working for?"

"Dallas, let him go," I warned, standing up. "He's not working for anyone."

He looked at me in disbelief. "He pulled a gun on you!"