@vnf1lxtly9: Mateo Rivas raised the pistol. Then came cold concrete, ringing ears, and Tessa screaming my name. Death was taking a strangely long time to feel like death. “Take her upstairs.” My skull bumped a step. Pain flashed behind my eyes. A hood dropped over my face, and someone slung me over his shoulder. “Am I still alive?” “Be quiet.” Not a medical opinion, but encouraging. “So that's a yes?” “Keep squirming and I'll change it.” I stopped moving. Tessa, my oldest friend, had promised this vacation would get me out of my own head. Her family had always been there for me. I spent my savings and swallowed Blair and Cassidy's jokes because I wanted us to have a good time. At a gas station, I noticed two men watching me. One was armed. Cassidy treated my warning like a joke. Later, masked men stopped us beside a police pickup. I recognized the other stranger's glasses in a nearby truck. “Tessa, drive.” Blair insisted we cooperate. They took our phones, claimed we had drugs, and dragged us out. My forehead struck their truck's doorframe before they hooded me. In the basement, everyone named someone who could pay. I was Evelyn Hart, twenty-three, with a dead father and a mother who sometimes forgot me. “What if I don't have anyone?” The man stopped writing. They uncovered my face to film a plea. Blair and Cassidy ran before I finished, still bound and blindfolded. One fell over Tessa. The other crashed into a door. The boss came down. No mask. Mateo. I would learn his name later. Right then, all I knew was that he didn't want me seeing his face. He reprimanded his men before asking if I was all right. “Do I look all right?” He smiled and made a crack about my injury. “You're enjoying this?” Apparently, that was funny too. “Not frightened of me?” “Would it improve my chances?” He settled into a chair with a gun. If I described him to the police, his operation could collapse. He couldn't risk that. “Very public-spirited.” Tessa cried while he explained why I had to die. He asked who'd caused the mess. His glance told me which answer he wanted. “Blair and Cassidy.” He consulted his men. Then came the strange gestures: tipping his head, waiting for me to copy him, finally positioning mine himself. When I straightened, he made me lean right again. That was what I remembered as they carried me away. He hadn't missed by accident. They cut my restraints in a bedroom. Clean sheets. A bathroom. A locked door. I washed the blood from my hair and cried. Tessa thought I was dead. If she got home, everyone would believe her. Mateo entered while I was tying a robe. “May I?” “You already did.” I retreated until the bed stopped me. “I won't hurt you again.” Again wasn't the comforting part he seemed to think it was. “You missed deliberately. Why?” He began explaining his aim. I interrupted. I wanted to know why I was breathing. “It didn't seem right. Killing you like that.” “So you felt sorry for me.” A shrug. A stranger had decided my life was worth keeping, without telling me what keeping me meant. “Keep your sympathy.” His gaze stayed on mine. “Then call it attraction.” This is a story I wrote! If you’re into it, come check out my characters on Cycle AI and show them some love! #Cycleai #DarkRomance #BookTok #PlotTwist #FictionTok MorallyGrey

There are no more comments for this video.

To see more videos from user @vnf1lxtly9, please go to the Tikwm homepage.