The room was unusually quiet, except the continuous sound of Ash’s pencil rubbing against paper. The ceiling fan spinned lazily above him. His desk, which had been an unorganized mess just an hour ago, was now neatly arranged, textbooks stacked on one side, his notebook spread open in front of him.

Ash sighed, resting his chin on his hand as he reviewed the problem he’d just solved. ‘Skipping school was a mistake,’ he thought, tapping his pencil against the edge of the desk. The homework which he hadn’t done before, was now the main reason he had to do it now.

There was no other choice. He could skip school again; the thought did cross his mind, but Jason’s continuous bickering made the thought impossible to put into action.

He glanced at the clock.

4:45 PM.

He’d been at this for two hours straight, and his back was beginning to ache. Still, the thought of not finishing his work didn’t sit right with him- not because he cared about the grades, which he didn’t really, since he’d been born smart, but because Jason would be on his case the moment he stepped into class tomorrow.

Ash smirked to himself. If I don’t do this stupid math today, Jason will surely Infiltrate my house.

The image of Jason climbing through his bedroom window, a pile of homework in hand, was both ridiculous and strangely plausible.

He leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms overhead and letting out a groan.

His dad had called a few minutes before- Noah’s excited shrieking told him even if he was sitting in his room upstairs. Which meant he’d be home before he’ll know it. He needed to complete his homework, so that his dad doesn’t assume he’s trying to get off his radar.

After all, his dad did say, no, warned him.

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Ash, when I get home tomorrow, you’re going to tell me everything. Do you hear me?

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Ash sighed, ‘Right,’ he thought, ‘I’ve to be ready to tell dad about it.’

He moved back, and the chair creaked in protest. His gaze wandered to the window, where the fading sunlight passed rays of orange and gold across the walls. It was tempting to call it a day and leave the rest of the homework for later, but he knew himself too well. ‘If I don’t finish now, I’m not finishing at all.’

With a resigned sigh, Ash leaned forward again, flipping to the next page of his workbook. Math. His least favorite. The numbers blurred together for a moment, and he rubbed his eyes, willing himself to focus.

No matter how much he hated it, he couldn’t just leave it be, could he? Math was important, and he knew it despite how much he hated to admit it. His hand moved in a horizontal manner, his hand-writing neat and decent.

He scribbled down another answer. ‘I wonder what’s for dinner. I suppose it must be special, since dad’s coming back and all-’

The quiet ding of his phone pulled him out of his thoughts. Ash froze, his pencil hovering mid-air.

‘Who could that be?’ He glanced at the device sitting on the edge of his desk, its screen glowing faintly. For a moment, he debated ignoring it. He was on a roll with his homework, and distractions would only make it harder to get back on track.

But curiosity won out. He dropped his pencil and reached for the phone, turning it over to check the notification.

Two new messages.

His brows furrowed. ‘Two? From who?’

The first notification was from Jason. Ash tapped it, the message popping up in an instant:

Jason: Can’t get Lucas to reply. If you manage to text him or see him, tell him to come to school tomorrow. Also, tell him to reply to me before 8 PM or I’ll kill him.

Ash let out a soft huff, half-amused, half-annoyed. Jason’s threats were rarely serious, but the fact that he was still blowing up his phone, and probably Lucas’s too, was kinda admirable.

‘So, Lucas still hasn’t answered him?’ he thought, tapping the screen thoughtfully.

Ash started typing out a quick response.

Asher: Fine.

Satisfied, he sent the message. The little "sent" bubble appeared instantly. Then his eyes drifted back to the second notification.

This one wasn’t from Jason. It was from Lucas.

Ash froze.

‘Lucas?’ His mind instantly jumped to Jason’s complaint. ‘Wait. If Jason can’t get Lucas to text him back, why is he texting me?’

He hesitated for a second before opening the message. It was short. Too short.

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“I’m sending you an address. Come here.”

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That was it. No greeting, no explanation. Just those seven words.

Ash stared at the screen, his thumb hovering over the reply box, but he didn’t type anything. ‘What the hell is this?’

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

His brain raced to connect the dots. Jason couldn’t get through to Lucas, but Lucas had messaged him instead? And for what? Some vague request to show up at an address with zero context?

The unease in his chest tightened.

‘Why not just explain? Why not tell me what’s going on? Is this some weird prank? Or…is something wrong?’

He read the message again, slower this time, as if that would unlock some hidden meaning. But it was just as cryptic on the second read.

‘This doesn’t make sense.’

His mind replayed their last conversation, Lucas’s voice clear as day in his memory.

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I’m done. I’ll quit. I’ll tell Blake to handle his crap himself.

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Ash had nodded along at the time. ‘But if he was so dead-set on quitting, why is he suddenly calling me over to some random address?’

The pieces didn’t fit.

Ash sighed, his thumb brushing over the screen. He didn’t reply- not yet. Instead, he waited for the second message Lucas mentioned.

The address.

After a few moments, the next notification buzzed through. It was the address Lucas mentioned. Ash opened it, squinting at the location.

‘Not far.’

He quickly mapped it out in his head. A bus ride would get him there in about half an hour. Convenient. But still, why here?

Ash leaned back in his chair, his fingers gripping the edge of his phone. ‘Should I go?’ The logical part of his mind screamed no. No context, no warning- it was like walking into a trap again.

But another part of him, quieter but persistent, whispered that Lucas wouldn’t message him out of the blue for nothing.

And if Lucas really wasn’t answering Jason…

Ash typed out a reply, pausing midway. His fingers hovered over the words.

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Why?

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No immediate response came, but Ash had already made up his mind. His fingers moved before his brain could stop them.

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I’m coming over. But if this is a stupid joke, you’re doing my homework.

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He smirked, imagining Lucas’s reaction. ‘The look on his face when I dump that mountain of algebra on him will be priceless.’

But the smirk didn’t last long.

It wasn’t a question of whether he would go or not, hell, he was already out of the room, shoving his phone in his pocket. It was a question of why?

Why did Lucas ask him to come? He knew if Lucas was in trouble, he’d have asked someone else to show up, someone who could actually do something- fight or something like that.

Ash was no better with that kind of stuff, he knew it. So even if Lucas had asked him to come, then that meant he was not in trouble. That’s what Ash told himself anyway.

‘This better not be anything serious,’ he thought, about to turn the doorknob, when a voice cut through.

“Ash?” her voice interrupted, and she emerged from the kitchen, wiping her hands off on the apron. “Where are you going, honey? Your dad will be here soon.”

‘Great. What should I say?’

“Uh…Mom, I’ve to go…Lucas asked me to. I won’t take long.” He managed out, and his mother nodded.

“Okay, but is everything okay?”

‘...I don’t know.’

“Yeah, nothing serious. I’ll be back before you know it.” He said, opening the door.

“Okay. Take care!”

Ash didn’t look back as he stepped out, his mom’s voice fading behind him. The air outside was cool. He slid his hands into his hoodie pocket, gripping his phone tightly as he headed toward the bus stop.

By the time he reached the stop, a bus had just pulled up. He climbed on, swiping his card and heading straight to the back. The bus jolted forward, and Ash glanced at the time on his phone.

5:00 PM.

‘Half an hour,’ he thought, leaning back against the seat. He didn’t want to think about what waited for him at the end of this ride.

But how could he not?

Why would Lucas ask him, specifically him? The guy had friends, plenty of them. Why not ask Jason? Yet, it was Ash who got the message. He tried convincing himself it wasn’t a big deal. ‘Maybe it’s just some stupid errand he didn’t want to do alone,’ Ash reasoned.

His leg bounced as the bus rattled on.

‘Stop overthinking,’ he told himself. ‘Just…go, see what’s up, and get back home before Mom flips.’

But every passing minute on that bus made his stomach twist.

Finally, the bus hissed to a stop, and Ash stepped out. The area was quieter than he expected, unnervingly so. He glanced at his phone again to double-check the address.

‘This is it.’

He shoved his phone back into his pocket and started walking. The streets narrowed as he followed the directions, buildings looking taller on either side. Soon, he found himself turning into an alleyway.

It was dark.

Only one thought came to mind. Lucas wouldn’t call me here for no reason.

Taking a breath, he kept moving. The alley opened up into a small, abandoned lot, where a single building stood. Its exterior was worn, windows shattered, some of them glued with wooden boards, so no one from outside guessed what’s going on inside, graffiti scrawled across the walls.

‘What the hell is this place?’

Ash swallowed hard. It looked like the kind of hideout he’d see in movies, the kind where bad things always happened. His instincts screamed at him to turn back, but his feet didn’t listen.

Without thinking too much, he pushed the door open.

The creak echoed loudly, and the first thing he noticed was how dim the light was inside. The room was dimly lit by a single flickering bulb. His eyes adjusted quickly, and that’s when he saw it.

His breath hitched.

‘...Lucas?’

There he was, sitting in the middle of the room, on the cold, hard floor, arms and legs bound tightly. His head snapped to Ash, his eyes- red eyes, boring into Ash’s.

He looked…sorry, so sorry.

Ash could see the bruises forming along his jawline, the blood staining his lip.

Lucas blinked slowly, his jaw tightening as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t. Blood trailed from the corner of his mouth.

‘W-What…?’

Lucas’s gaze didn’t waver, though. It stayed locked on Ash, unblinking, as if he were trying to say everything he couldn’t with just a look.

It wasn’t just the bruises, the blood, or the ropes cutting into Lucas’ skin. It was the way Lucas looked at him- like he hadn’t expected Ash to come. Like he hated that Ash came.

Blake and his lackeys smirked. Blake sneered, “Gosh, took you long enough.”

Ash’s eyes flicked back to Lucas, searching for answers, but he only stared back with that same apologetic, almost furious look.

Then Lucas’s expression shifted. His lips parted, and when he spoke, his voice wasn’t a rasp of pain- it was sharp and cutting.

“ARE YOU DUMB?!”

The sudden shout made Ash flinch.

“I-” Ash stammered.

Lucas’s face contorted with anger, his crimson eyes blazing.

It hit him then- Lucas hadn’t texted him in the first place.

Ash’s blood ran cold as the realization settled.

He had walked straight into a trap, again.

‘My life is so funny,’ Ash thought bitterly. ‘It takes so many ridiculous turns, I think I might actually die from one of them.’