Charlie

They know.

No they don't.

Yes they do. There is now way people as smart as that believe I went out just to get some snacks. They aren't that stupid. I could hear them talking right now, bickering amongst themselves on what they should do next

"We should call Adam", Marino said in a shushed voice but their voices were loud as the walls were thin. 

"And say what? Charlie is acting weird because he left to get some snacks", Raymond replied in the same hushed voice, however he was harsher and had a hard tone.

"Oh come on, the kid is up to something! He had mud down his trousers but there isn't mud on the way to the store, it's all concrete. So, where the hell did he get muddy?", Marino asked Raymond before it went silent.

"Well, why don't we ask him now, see what he has to say", Raymond replied harshly, as though he was on my side, sticking up for me despite the fact I don't deserve it whatsoever. 

"Charlie, can you come here a minute", Marino yelled through the door.

Crap.

 What do I say? Fell down a hill? A kid threw some mud on me? Say I got lost on the way? Went for a walk afterwards to eat the snacks.

Yes. I went on a walk afterwards. That makes a lot of sense, I saw a park on the way home from here and it had mud.

"Charlie?", Raymond yelled a little louder before I replied with a sharp "One sec". Okay, all I had to do is keep my cool, lie just as Sam would. The difference being is that Sam doesn't see the harm in lying if it's for a good reason, I don't like lying in general. It always comes back to bite you in the future. 

I headed out of my room with my head held up high as though I was confident, though I was scared out of my mind. I didn't know what they would do if they found out I had told complete strangers to them everything about their business, who they are, and exactly what their weaknesses are. 

"Whatsup?", I said nonchalantly, going to the fridge and casually opening it, taking out a bottle of crisp water and slowly turning the cap. They watched me in confusion, looking me up and down then looking at each other.

"So, where did you go on your little adventure?", Marino asked me as Raymond gave him a harsh stare.  I shrugged my shoulder, trying to give myself a few seconds to find my cool and lie easily. 

"You don't want to tell us?", Raymond asked me in a confused tone before I shook my head in disagreement. I stopped drinking the water and put it on the table, trying to throw them off by being so unbothered. 

"Sorry, I was so thirsty, I went to the store as I was hungry and I didn't want to touch anything I shouldn't in here. Just in case you know", I said with a small wink, trying to make a stupid joke as they looked at each other and rolled their eyes. Marino motioned for me to continue with his hand as I took another sip of water. 

It truly helped to cool my nerves. 

"Then I went on a walk", I said quietly, sipping the water. They both furrowed their eyebrows at me.

"A walk?", Marino questioned me as I nodded. His face was all scrunched up like he was trying to read my mind or something. Raymond however looked annoyed, as though it was my fault I didn't tell him where I was.

"Yep", I replied with a smile, putting the now empty water bottle into the bin. 

"Where?", They both asked at the same time, taking a step closer to me. They were stood on the other side of the kitchen island, staring at me intensely, looking for any sign of a lie. 

"The park down the end of the road, I fancied to be alone for a while as there is always people around us, watching us", I said, trying to gain their sympathy. I hated this much lying, the manipulation, this is something Max or Aiden would do, not me.

"Why didn't you just tell us?", Marino asked me as I turned away, attempting to be dramatic but I think I just looked stupid.

"I thought you guys would be mad at me for leaving, I know we have a ton of trouble at the moment but I'm not used to all of this, I need my own time and space to myself", I said with a sad smile as they both nodded in an understanding way. I was shocked, they bought the lies.

"I get that Charlie but please be careful next time, we don't know what could of happened. If the meeting wasn't cut short, we wouldn't of even known you were gone", Raymond said with a straight face although his nose wrinkled. 

Who was the liar now? Fondly enough, that was Sam's tell for when she was lying as well.  

"Okay, I'm sorry guys, next time I will tell you", I said in a sad tone, although now they made me suspicious. Who the hell did they meet?

"Fine, and don't worry, we won't tell Adam about this", Raymond said with a small smile as Marino turned to him quickly in confusion before Ray gave him a sharp look.

"Yes, we won't tell Adam", Marino said with a forced smile before giving a very quick good night once more and rushing into his room. I could hear small mumbles under his breathe as he cursed out Raymond. 

"Ignore him, he has this need to impress Adam", Raymond said before heading to his room.

"Why?", I asked him, stopping him in his tracks. He turned to me with a sigh and gave me a grin.

"Because, what he says goes. Even Grandpa does not like to mess with him", Ray replied with a sad smile before entering his room, not looking back as I shouted a small good night. 

I returned back to my own room and got into the shower, hoping to wipe off the liar taste I had in my mouth right now. My mother forbade lying, and if you ever did lie, she used to yell for ages, using the story of the "Boy who cried wolf" to scare me, pretending to chomp away at my feet. 

When I was younger it terrified me, but now I'm older, I realise it was just a stupid bedtime story. But the wolf still scared me, and in this case, it was Adam. As I finished in the shower I heard something smash in the kitchen. A glass of some kind. Yelling. Shouting. I heard a gun shot.

"Get down!", I heard Raymond yell before someone kicked the door down in my room. I quickly shoved my clothes on, nearly falling over my own feet as I put my trousers on, trying not to be afraid of the screaming outside. It sounded like a woman, maybe a maid or a housekeeper. But why they would be here right now I don't know. 

"Get the kid first, leave the other two alive, and boys, not a scratch on the kid", I heard a sharp voice say before three or four men replied with a sharp yes.

Shit.

I quickly grabbed my phone from my bed before the door slammed open, rattling on the wall as it did. I rushed back into the bathroom as my breathe quickened, terrified out my mind. I quickly dialled Adams number, praying he would pick up.

Ring,

Ring,

Ring,

Ring,

RING,

"Hello?",  I heard a ruffled voice on the other side of the phone, it cracked up as he spoke.

"Adam?", I whispered, my voice trembling with fear as the men started to smash against the door itself, asking me, begging me to open the door if I wanted this the easy way or the hard way. 

"Charlie, what the hell is going on? What is that in the background?", He asked all at once before the door itself started to shake. They were going to tear off that door any second now and I will be a taken. 

"I don't know, we are in the hotel, there are guns, yelling, men are here. They want to take me somewhere. I don't know what to do so I called you", I quickly replied as more gun shots were fired off into the air. I knelt down and put my hands to my head, making sure the speaker was still next to my ear.

"Can you escape anywhere? Don't worry, backup is on it's way now but you have to keep them busy", He said quietly and seriously. He sounded angry, extremely angry. I heard him yelling through the house as more voices started to pipe up in the call.

"Charlie just relax", I heard Grandpa on the other side.

"I wi-", I started to reply before a shard of wood stuck into my cheek. They had managed to smash the door open as it slammed onto the ground, shattering from the pure force. 

I felt hands grab me with both my arms, dragging me up towards them before something hard was stuck into my neck. A man dressed in black with only his pupils showing picked up the phone on the floor.

"Sorry old man, he's busy right now", He said, hanging up the phone before leaving the room. We followed them as the men dragged me to the front door, I could barely walk as my head started to spin. I felt nausea before everything I could see started to fade slowly out of view.

Then suddenly, everything went black.