six #3
On the refrigerator, there is a whiteboard.
I read the message written in neat, bubbly handwriting. It almost looks feminine.
“Who’s Sully then?” I ask, pronouncing the name slowly because it feels strange on my lips. When Leo looks confused, I gesture toward the whiteboard on the refrigerator with the message: “Sully, you're a dickwad, but I love you.”
“Oh that. My last name is Sullivan. Sometimes, my friends call me that. And as for the message, Fletcher wrote that when we were drunk.” Leo shrugs, glancing over at the fridge again.
The image of Leo and his friends drinking and having fun seems strange. Makes them seem more… human. The message on the fridge has me wondering about the nature of Leo's relationship with Fletcher once again. I don't know why it’s bothering me so much, but it is.
“But yeah,” Leo continues, eyes finally meeting mine.
“Short for my last name, Sullivan. Leonardo Sullivan. Leo.”
I turn the new information over in my head, as if looking at a piece of artwork from different angles until it makes sense.
It doesn’t. Leonardo De Vinci is one of my favorite painters.
I was not expecting this criminal to share a name with one of the most influential artists in history.
“You just told me your full name?” My eyes reach my eyebrows, stunned. That has to be breaking some criminal code, right?
“It’s only fair since I know everything about you. What are you gonna do with it anyway? I have no need to hide my identity.”
“I could turn you into the police.” I leave off the ‘when my parents pay the ransom’ because I know they won’t.
“Most of the local police are on our payroll or being blackmailed. They aren’t gonna do shit.” Leo’s nonchalance about this grates on my nerves. I want to argue, but I know I can’t. I have no knowledge about the inner workings of a criminal organization. Having corrupt cops makes sense, though.
“Come on. I’ll show you around the rest of the house.” I follow him into the living room, finding similar decor to the kitchen, clean and simple.
The walls are painted a light gray, with dark blue curtains on the tall, thin windows.
The curtains have a hint of green to them.
The couch and chair are also gray, with large comfy cushions that look perfect for napping in front of the TV.
There is a beechwood coffee table, end table, and an entertainment center, situated on dark gray wood flooring, a green rug under the main pieces of furniture.
The TV is large with some sort of gaming system attached, four controllers strewn all around.
I have never been much of a video game player, but I find myself wanting to learn to play.
I wonder if Fletcher, Evan and Daron come over to play games as they snack on junk food and yell at each other.
My heart aches with my own loneliness, never having experienced a night like that.
A night to be with my friends, a part of the group, having fun and not caring about what others think.
“This is obviously the living room, and before you even try to think of ways to escape, I am going to go ahead and tell you it isn’t going to work. The windows are made of strong plexiglass, virtually unbreakable. They are also locked and alarmed. There are only two doors to this house,
both will be guarded 24/7. We are also surrounded by a tall fence with a locked gate, the closest neighbor being Daron who is at least 100 yards away. You don’t know where you are, so trying to escape would be a bad idea, and we both know I’d find you.”
Any hope I had evaporates like that. They have thought of everything, and I have never had to adapt to something in my life. I never imagined I would be in this sort of scenario, so thinking of alternatives is foreign to me.
The toilet seat was about the extent of my creativity, so I’m most definitely trapped.
Even if I could get a window open and manage to hop the fence, Leo’s right, I have no idea how to get anywhere after that.
I have no phone to call a car. I haven't seen any phones lying around.
I certainly can’t make it anywhere on foot. I’m doomed.
Leo heads up the stairs, and I have no choice but to follow. Together, we walk down a hallway, closed doors on both sides. I wonder which one is Leo’s. What does it look like? Does he have an ensuite, or will we be sharing a bathroom?
“This is the guest room you will be staying in.”
Leo opens the door and flicks on the light.
The bed is iron, the duvet clean and white with a variety of pillows on top.
There’s a light brown throw over the foot of the bed.
The floor is a simple white carpet, the walls an off-white with very little decoration.
“Across the hallway is the bathroom.” Leo gestures across the hall to the closed door then he gestures to another closed door.
“That’s my room. I have my own bathroom, so we don’t have to share or anything.”
That answers one of my questions, but I still can’t help being curious as to what his room looks like.
So far, I haven't seen any sort of personal items in the rest of the house. No pictures of family hanging on the walls. No trophies littering any sort of bookshelves or even bookshelves at all. Nothing that gives away a shred of understanding as to who Leo is as a person besides the gaming system.