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The R.E.M Chronicles: Lucid.

Issabelle Woods, or as she prefers, Issa, a struggling freshman in college, is taken at a party and awakens to see an unknown man there, George Jackson, watching over her, seemingly as her kidnapper. But is he really as bad as he seems? Is anything really as it seems? Issa is going through some abnormal stuff that a normal person would call her crazy for. That these kinds of things she is experiencing could only possibly happen in one's dreams. Right? The madness begins when she awakens at an abandoned school, unaware of how she got there. No memories of her night prior, leaving her to wonder how and why she got there. Just when things start to seem normal, at least for her, everything begins to change in her life yet again. She doesn't know how she even got to be in the position she is in or how to stop it from happening again, but she does know there's no way she'll ever forget. She couldn't possibly forget this lucid nightmare.

JrHathaway · LGBT+
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46 Chs

Chapter 41: Mistakes.

Wednesday.

Day 18.

George.

It wasn't even five minutes after Issa and Blake had left from my room that Cam shared with me the news. The terrible, heart retching news that Issa would be helping Cam with bringing new unsuspecting victims here to the school.

As pissed as I was about Blake, she didn't deserve this. Not a single soul alive deserved this kind of punishment.

It was the next day, the very day that Cam spoke about training Issa for the new job. Neither one of us knew what to say or do about it. The one thing that came easily was to sit and stay silent in our many, many thoughts.

I couldn't believe Issa had totally failed to inform me about her new job any chance she had at the house. It only told me that she must be having far too much on her plate right now, and that it was clearly taking a tole out on her and her memory.

"Why, out of everyone here, does it have to be Issa that I have to train?" Cam was sitting at the foot of my bed, looking unbelievably annoyed as we discussed what was to eventually come. All his comment did was make the anger that had surrounded me not long ago come right back instantly.

"Oh, sorry it couldn't be someone more convenient for you, your highness, but I don't think Issa wants it any more than you do." Cam doesn't do much besides give me a strained look, clearly holding back on what it was he wanted to say.

"What is it?" Cam finally rises off my bed with a hearty groan, then smoothly strides over to me at my desk. Giving me nothing but an authentically sincere glare, Cam manages to let out;

"This has nothing to do with me not liking her George. I don't want Issa to come along because-what if she does something to screw up and gets punished for it?" I can barely hold back my look of amazement at Cam.

"Since when do you care?" Cam just rolls his sage eyes. It was strange seeing Cam caring for Issa, just like at home. Almost, at least. It almost made me want to tell Cam that him and Issa were connected more than he'd ever know here. But I couldn't tell him. It was too much.

"I already said, I don't care about her. It's you I care about. If she gets hurt, you'll be just as affected. I can't just stand here and watch all that happen."

"Then make sure none of that happens Cam. Help her, ignore how she makes you feel and try to feel something different for at least those short times together outside the school, for my sake." I could catch briefly as Cam turned away in retaliation that he had rolled his eyes again, obviously not in favor of the idea at all.

"You understand that your hate for her comes from jealousy, you even said it yourself once. Let go of that jealousy for me. I can't see either one of you get hurt because of it Cam, please." I hated how much convincing it was taking for Cam to just simply do the right thing. I also hated how much of my own advice I needed to be taking.

I'm taking a long step forward and gently placing a hand along his own when suddenly there was a loud vibration coming from between us. I watch as Cam takes his free hand and reaches for his back pocket, pulling out his ringing phone. Instantly I was releasing our touch as he answered it with a pale face.

"Sir?-Yes-I will head to her room right away. Everything will go perfectly, Sir-Bye." Swiftly Cam was returning his phone to its original spot in his pocket. Then it was slowly that Cam turned to face me.

"The Boss wants me to begin my training-right now. I can't do this George." Just as my name leaves his mouth, I see Cams lip quiver then instantly tears were waterfalling down his face. It was a new sight to even me, and it wasn't something I ever wanted to see out of Cam. Sure, it showed just how vulnerable and emotional he really was, but this wasn't how I wanted to firstly experience it.

It took me only a moment to spring forward and to be hugging Cam closely. Only Cam didn't hug me back, his arms layed limp around my sides awkwardly.

"You've gotten this far doing everything else just fine. You can handle Issa too."

"I know I can handle it, it's her that can't. She's too fragile and innocent for it. I mean, shit, it's kidnapping George." It may not have been appropriate for the timing, or at all, but I somehow let out a laugh from Cams words. It wasn't funny, not even a little, but hearing it reminded me just how fucked up this whole situation really was.

Cam ignored the sound and simply asked;

"Am I overreacting?"

"Maybe. This is all sorta crazy, and it's making us all sorta crazy with it. So maybe not." I let my hands finally fall from holding Cam, still not feeling him hugging back, but it was then that he slips his arms onto my sides and squeezed me back. That was all that we did for awhile, just hugging eachother like it would somehow be our last.

"Will you come with me? At least until we get to her room?" Cams voice is muffled inside my neck but his words still hit me with enough force that if he wasn't holding me hard, I maybe would have needed to scan his face for any source of a joke. I knew from the soft sniffles still coming from him that he was dead serious.

"Sure, I'll come with." That was when he gave way to our hug and pulled away from me, then he promptly darted his eyes around until finally he found my door, as if forgetting where we were.

"We should hurry then." I only nod at Cam then follow him out my door as we make our short, yet torturous trip down the hall to Issa's room.

--Issa--

The Boss was inside my room not long ago without me knowing it, without anyone noticing him at all, and I understandably didn't sleep even an hour last night. All I could think of was the email, him being inside my room, and even what he might have also done in it besides just messing with my computer.

It was even more clear how much of an obsession the Boss had on me, even if it wasn't clear already. Being called 'darling' and even 'my love' had never been more disgusting to read before in my life. And now I was expected to come up with my own little customized name for the damn beast?

That was exactly what he was, a beast, and I knew it wouldn't take me long to pick something, as hard as it was to put a name on the faceless man keeping me hostage.

Lectra had been the thing to finally break me out of my thoughts when she came back to the room super late that night. I knew she thought I was sleeping, it was the first thing she checked when she first arrived. Of course I wasn't, only pretending, and what I saw was even more disturbing knowing where she was all day.

The first to happen was her pulling out a very crumpled up green, much too glittery bow out of her pocket, and hiding it away inside a box of many others I knew to be her collection. That wasn't what surprised me the most, but instead it was when she took off the gold and green braclett hanging off her wrist and hid that away inside a small box for rings, of which she had zero of. In fact she didn't have any jewelry at all.

I felt a little too overprotective of whatever Lectra was hiding from me about Wes, but maybe she was hiding it from me for the same reason I was hiding that me and Cam slept together back at the house from her. She just wouldn't understand, and maybe she thought I wouldn't understand why she was giving Wes another chance too. I wasn't sure how to feel, I just wanted my happy best friend back.

Now me and Lectra were walking back from the cafeteria after a pleasant breakfast this morning together. Neither one of us said anything about what we were hiding. As much as I wanted to call her out for it, I couldn't, knowing I was doing the same.

"You got lucky again with the blueberry pancakes today. I swear you're bribing the cooks or something." Lectra was smacking her lips together as she applied some sparkly lip gloss atop them, maybe overdoing it a little as she layered over it for probably the third time within a minute. I was smiling at her frighteningly bright lips when I noticed the green glitter scattered around her hands.

I knew too well that this was the glitter from the mysterious bow. I couldn't hold back the next words that left my mouth the instant I saw the small sparkles along her pale skin.

"Wow, so much glitter. What's that about?" Lectra looks over at me as we walk down the hall to our room, then down at where I was gesturing on her hands. Instantly she attempts to hide them behind her back, wiping them off rapidly.

"Oh, that. Blake got me a present yesterday when I went to see him. You know how I collect bows? There was a big green one with glitter all over it. Guess I forgot glitter was kinda annoying." She was lying again.

"I should go clean it off. It's shower day anyway." I felt the burn of her lying to me, even though I shouldn't have, I was a damn hypocrite, but it was all I could feel as I nodded an okay at Lectra then watched her walk off to the showers.

On my way back to my room, all I could think about was all of the problems stemming in my life from all the secrets I was hiding from the people I cared about. Lectra and me lying about the existence of the Boss. It was for good reason, but I know well that if it were me, I would hate to not be informed.

Then there was George.

He still had it in mind that I was with Blake, and now Blake really had feelings for me, so it might as well be the truth. Only I didn't return those feelings back to him. Who I really wanted was myself right now, and nobody else. Just me. Or, maybe realistically, I just wanted George and Cam to comfort me, even if I couldn't admit it out loud.

I would have to sort out this whole lying issue. I'd confront Lectra about Wes, then I would start being honest to everyone too. Lectra, Blake, even George and-

"Issa? It's Cam. Open up-please." Okay, maybe not him, just yet. 

"It's George too." Well shit. It takes everything in me to get over to the door, then even more for me to turn the handle to open it. Instantly I was watching Cam and George just as expected, standing beside eachother awkwardly.

"Uh, come in-" I barely finish speaking and they were doing exactly that. George makes his way past me first, then was Cams turn to slowly move around me, avoiding eye contact as he did. I shut the door behind me then stood there at my door, unsure of what to say or do next. The sight of the two of them inside my room was something I wasn't used to.

Snapping me out of my mind, Cam takes the floor and finally begins explaining;

"You know why I'm here of course?" I nod while sneering a look at him. I knew it was only a harmless question, but all I could think of then was 'of course I knew, I was the one who got myself into this mess'. I knew why Cam was here at least, George on the other hand, I had no idea why he was needed.

"Why is he here?" I am reminded instantly by our fight with Blake just yesterday and can't hold back my attitude. I knew it was just Georges way of being protective of me then, but at the time it was just incredibly annoying. And now anger was my only way of coping with the embarrassment. As usual with my hothead.

"He only wanted to walk me here. He's leaving now." Cam steps forward before George gets the chance to tell me off, grabbing his hand softly. They share a look I can easily pinpoint to be reassurance between the two. I tinge of jealousy hits me.

"I'll see you later then?" Cam smiles a nod at George then he begins to leave, but before he can even make it a step to my door, Cam grabs his hand again and George was being pulled into a giant kiss. All I can do is stand there and watch as George hesitantly kisses Cam right back.

The sight of them in the middle of my room, kissing, hands moving around eachother lovingly with so much need wasn't something I ever imagined to be seeing. It was shocking at the very least, and definitely stung like hell to witness. It pained me even more to watch as George finally relaxed into the kiss.

Cam was the first to pull away and immediately look over at me.

"See you later then, George." He wasn't even watching the man he just kissed, but instead me, like I was supposed to say something in response. I was utterly speechless, as was George, who just stood there next to Cam, only staring him down. To spare myself of anymore awkward silence filling the small space, I move backwards and yank open my door then quickly add;

"Goodbye George." This was enough to finally snap him out of his trance and to be walking over to me, and out the door. He stops just for a moment before turning and saying;

"You can do this." I wasn't quite sure who he was talking to, it really could have been either one of us as his brown dialated eyes darted back and forth between me and Cam. I didn't spend another second trying to figure it out, because instantly I was shutting my door and turning back to Cam. As much as I wondered if the kiss was all for show or genuine, that didn't matter as much as the real issue at hand.

My training with Cam, and how the hell I would be able to kidnap innocent people.