She stepped into the room and stopped, frozen on the spot. In front of her a gruesome scene took place: a strange young woman, bloody and covered in bruises and cuts, sat tied up in a chair in the middle of the room, Mark and Seán stood right next to her, a knife in the latter’s hand. Amy sat on the couch, seemingly unbothered, watching what was happening in front of her almost bored, Tyler, Ethan and Evelien sitting around the coffee table, playing what looked like cards against humanity.
But they all looked up and stared at Ellie for a moment, and before anyone could say anything about the sobbing girl, screaming through her gag for help, the brown haired one hold up her hand. “So… I’m gonna assume that this is just a very well planned, very realistic scene for a video, apparently the final rehearsal since I can’t see any cameras. You should have told me, so I could have stayed with a friend.”, she said, swallowing at the dark look in Mark’s eyes and the manic grin on Seán’s face. “I’m… gonna leave, write me when it’s safe to come home and make sure that all that…fake blood is not leaving any stains on the carpet.”
With that she turned around, her heels from work clacking on the floor as she walked to the front door, but before she could leave, she was pressed against the wall, any breath leaving her chest. “Why… Love, you don’t have to leave, just go up to your room. Maybe do some work, your manuscript still needs some polishing, yes?” Normally she loved how deep and velvety Mark’s voice sounded, but right now there was something cold and dangerous in his tone, something that told her to not go against his… suggestion.
So Ellie nodded, a small, unsure smile on her lips and swallowed again, before admitting with a small tremble in her voice: “Yeah, I keep putting it off, I’m kind of frustrated with how some part isn’t working out.” A little, slightly scared laugh left her throat and Mark slowly lifted his weight from her back, allowing her to breath again and she stepped back from the wall, turning around to look at him. His eyes, normally a warm dark brown, now seemed black, his smile unnerving and the way he cocked his head reminded her of… “Dark.”
Annie didn’t realize she had said that out loud until she heard him chuckle, the sound making her shudder a bit, but not only in fear. “Clever girl. Now go, we still have some business to finish.” He slowly brushed a strand of her hair back and cupped her cheek, before pressing a soft, gentle kiss on her lips. And even though she was terrified at the moment, Ellie couldn’t help herself but kiss him back, slowly melting and suddenly feeling a little bit better about everything. Like there wasn’t anything to be worried about, as long as she was still loved.
So her smile was more sincere after they pulled apart and Ellie stood up on her toes to peck Mark – no, Dark – on the cheek, before turning around and walk up the stairs, trying to ignore the sounds of the sobbing girl.