Chapter 11 Royce
ELEVEN
ROYCE
I spun around right as Ford and Connor faced the small hatch, both of them staring down inside it. For some reason my heart seemed to beat a thousand times a minute as both Rook and I slowly turned and approached them.
I didn’t want to know what was in that hole.
Whatever it was, I felt like it would have been better for all of us if we just didn’t know.
My mom sometimes talked about club secrets, and how once upon a time she had to see every single one of them, and how even now, years later, there were some things she couldn’t unsee.
She talked about how sometimes, it was just better not to know.
“What is it?” Ford asked, crouching once more to inspect the hole.
Connor seemed engrossed, which made my stomach churn with nervousness. He seemed too excited and not nearly afraid enough.
“I think it’s a tunnel,” Connor said, in awe.
Rook glanced over at me with the same expression that I knew I wore on my face. This wasn’t something we should even know about, much less be looking down into.
“It must connect to the main club,” Connor said, like he was adding up an equation.
So I offered my two cents. “Guys, we should close that and get back.”
Connor glanced back at me then down at the pack he’d brought. I knew what he was going to do, and I felt like I wanted to cry.
“Connor, don’t.” I started forward, but Ford caught me at the waist.
“If he wants to go, then let him.”
Connor gave me a big smile. “I just want to see if it connects.”
“But what if it was never finished, or it’s unstable. What if it caves in?” My voice was raspy as I tried to push forward again. If I could just grab his hand then I could talk sense into him.
“It’ll be fine. It’s deep enough that a cave-in isn’t a concern. If it’s not finished, I’ll just turn around and head back.”
Rook glared at where Ford was holding me and I knew he didn’t like it. No one really liked how Ford treated me, and while he wasn’t hurting me, he was stopping me from saving Connor from making a huge mistake.
“What about air? You won’t be able to breathe.”
Ford released me and pulled out a metal lighter from his back pocket, making my eyes narrow. Why would he even be carrying that?
He quickly climbed down the ladder and then slid his thumb over the starter, igniting the flame. It flickered as if a breeze was blowing through the tunnel.
“There’s got to be a vent somewhere, but air won’t be an issue,” he yelled back up at us.
Fear swelled like a balloon again, this time nearly suffocating me. Ford climbed back up and put his metal lighter back into his rear pocket.
“It’s dark down there.”
“Someone is going to have to be on the other side to open the hatch for you,” Rook finally said, after staring at the opening.
I walked over to Connor and pulled his wrist.
“Please don’t go. This is really dangerous, and I’m worried about you.”
I knew I was younger than Connor, and he looked at me like a baby sister, but I really hoped he’d hear the fear in my voice and choose to see me as a friend.
His blue eyes flickered, as if he felt remorse, but he blinked and it was gone.
“I’ll take my pack. It has a flashlight, glow sticks I can throw ahead and behind, and a walkie talkie.”
“Who has the other walkie?” I looked over to Rook, then Ford.
Ford raised his hand. “But it’s back at my house.”
“Great.” I crossed my arms. “So, no one can talk to you while you’re down there.”
Connor grabbed his pack and pulled out the flashlight.
I glanced down at the hole in the floor.
Below the floorboard was more wood that rounded as a border and a solid ledge for the ladder to attach to.
The rungs went down, deep into the packed dirt.
Whoever created this tunnel had taken an extraordinary amount of care in making sure it was done well.
“Toss one of your glow sticks down, so we can see how far down it goes,” I said, hoping the depth would discourage him. To my surprise once the light hit the bottom, it wasn’t that far, and it didn’t seem nearly as deep or intimidating.
“See, piece of cake.”
“Still, it’s dangerous, Connor,” I begged him to see reason.
His flashlight was out, and before I could say anything else, my best friend was crawling down inside the hole.
“Shut this hatch, then you guys get back to the club and help me out over there.”
My mind was racing nearly as fast as my heart. Everything about this situation was screaming at me to make him stop. This wasn’t a fun game; this was him going underground just to see where the tunnel went.
Right as I was about to open my mouth, Rook stepped forward.
“I’m going too.”
Some of the pacing eased as I swung my eyes over to his dark hair and light eyes.
Connor watched him, then flicked a gaze over at Ford.
“Cool, we’ll meet you guys there.”
Ford hesitated. “Maybe I should go too.”
“I need someone to help me lift the hatch in the cellar!” I cried, nearly hyperventilating over these idiots.
Ford gave out a sigh, like I was so irritating to him, but gave me a small nod.
Connor and Rook slowly made their way down into the hole, and once they were on the ground, they gave us a salute before walking forward and out of view. Ford slowly lowered the hatch until it was sealed closed.
Then he stood and looked at me, like he wasn’t sure what to do with me.
“We better get back in time to help them out. Without the snow down there, they’ll move faster.”
I moved behind him, exiting the cabin the same way we’d come in, and tucked my hands under my armpits. The air was frosty and cold as we started walking again. I didn’t want to walk all the way back when the air felt this cold against my face.
My knees felt too small to clear the snow, which was crazy because I couldn’t even remember the last time we’d had this much snow. Every Christmas was usually spent hoping for snow, but accepting a bit of frost that liked to coat the trees.
We walked for what felt like ten minutes before I finally broke the silence between us.
“How come you stopped me from reaching him?” I asked, keeping my eyes ahead and ignoring how red my nose was getting.
Ford glanced over, but kept walking.
“Didn’t want you to fall in.”
Liar. I rolled my eyes, knowing he couldn’t see me.
“I wouldn’t have fallen in.”
Ford scoffed. “You’re clumsy. I think you would have then we’d all get in trouble, and your dad would come down here and see that his perfect daughter was hurt. Then we’d be in trouble, just like we always got in trouble as kids.”
“We’re still kids,” I offered, huffing out a breath.
“You’re a kid. I’m almost a teenager.” I saw him pointing at his chest out of the corner of my eye.
“You’re not almost a teen, you’re like ten, Ford.”
“I’ll be eleven in a few months,” he argued back, stepping closer to my side of the field. Our tracks were nearly matching, our strides too. Even though he was much taller.
“Connor will be eleven sooner than you.” I wasn’t sure why I said it.
It didn’t matter, and it wasn’t like the two of them were in a competition.
I just hated how bossy and prideful he got over being older.
It drove me nuts. Especially when he didn’t even act his age half the time.
I acted older and definitely more mature.
Ford stared ahead, not saying anything until finally his shoulder bumped mine but not in a friendly way. “And how old are you, Royce, not even ten years old yet.”
“I’m—”
He sneered, getting closer to my face. “But it really doesn’t matter, does it? Because you could be older, or younger, like Ellie and Taryn, it wouldn’t make a difference because of who your parents are.”
I stopped walking, freezing in place as tears fought for a way to emerge.
“What difference does it make who my parents are? Your mom and mine are best friends; we see each other more than even the other kids do. We’ve had more sleepovers, more family outings, more vacations. Why are you so mean to me?”
A hiccup nearly had my voice cracking, but I slammed my mouth closed as my body shook with rage. Connor was the nice one, the one who was always kind, always considerate, always making sure Ford wasn’t being a jerk.
Snow fell against Ford’s lashes, his hazel eyes moved, as if he were searching for something on my face.
“My dad was the president before yours. My grandpa started this club. My mom was raised in it. By rights, it should fall to me, but because your dad runs it, it’s not going to stay in the Stone family.”
My eyes narrowed in frustration as I shouldered past him, moving closer to the door. “You’re not the Stone family. You’re the Ryan family, and you’re an idiot. My dad was raised by your grandpa, we’re practically cousins, you moron.”
We were nearly to the door when Ford let out a scoff. “We are not cousins.”
I sneered back, “I said practically.”
His cheeks flushed red as he shook his head, then pulled open the door to the back of the club. Heat rushed to my face as we made our way into the separate kitchen area, where just a washer and dryer were. The door leading into the main part of the kitchen was closed, so no one saw us enter.
I kicked off my boots and slid out of my jacket; Ford did too.
“Do you think they’re okay?” I asked, hoping he would be nice for once with his reply.
He shrugged, then quickly moved to the door, watching through the crack to see if it was clear.
Once it was, we moved silently to the pantry.
The small light flickered on, and then Ford pulled on the cellar door.
“I should have gone with them,” Ford murmured from ahead of me. I crossed my arms over my chest to ward off the chill of the cold room. I was in my socks, which felt like nothing at all because of the cold basement floor.
“Well, I needed help pulling the door.”
Ford scoffed, but I let it go. He could make fun of me all he wanted, but, deep down, he knew I was right.
We were both at the small wooden hatch, staring down at it. Ford moved to a crouch and began pulling, but the door wouldn’t budge.
He glanced at me once, and then pulled again, groaning as he pulled yet again, but nothing happened. Breathing heavily, he sat next to the hatch when suddenly there was knocking from underneath it and a muffled yell from Connor.
“You guys up there?” I managed to make out from Connor yelling.
I rushed to place my mouth down near the door. “We’re here!”
Ford was right next to me, our faces merely inches apart. “We can’t pull it, can you try shoving your shoulder up against it?”
We were both breathing heavily waiting for Connor to reply.
“Yeah, count to three!”
Ford got to his knees, then gave me a stern look. “I need your help.”
I nodded, knowing we couldn’t argue about it. “How?”
“Put your hands over mine, and then we pull together.”
I waited for him to get his hands in place, and then moved, so mine covered his. It placed us directly next to each other, so close I could feel his breath on my neck. We didn’t move, or do anything, so I turned my face to see what he was waiting on.
“Should I count?”
Ford just stared at me, his mouth parted, like he’d been struck dumb. If I wasn’t holding the latch with him, I’d wave my hand in front of his face to make sure he was awake.
“Ford, should I count?”
Those hazel eyes searched my face again, and I wished so badly that I knew what he was looking for, just so I could make it stop. Because his look made me feel something warm in my chest, like a hot coal from a fire had been placed there, but it didn’t burn, it was just warm and safe.
“Ford?”
He finally blinked then nodded.
I turned my face back toward the door and started counting.
“One.”
Ford moved so his face was practically next to mine.
“Two.”
I tightened my hand over his to get ready, and I could hear Ford intake a sharp breath.
“Three!” I yelled, heaving my arms up, right as Ford did, but as our arms raised, Ford’s mouth was next to my face, and suddenly I felt his lips press into my cheek.
I froze, then heard him whisper, “I wish I could really hate you. It would be easier.”
I let go of the handle, mostly out of shock, but Ford took my place, and with another heavy pull, the hatch lifted and Connor’s face appeared.
“You’re alive!” I smiled at my friends, trying to ignore what had just happened with Ford.
Ford moved back and pulled on my elbow, so they had more space to crawl through. Both Rook and him had dirt smudges on their faces and in their hair.
“So, find anything crazy?” Ford asked, as they both climbed through the tunnel.
Rook let out a heavy sigh as he fell to the floor and stared up at the ceiling.
“Yeah.”
I waited for him to finish, but he just kept breathing.
Ford asked, “So, what was down there?”
Connor finally replied, glancing over at Rook like he wasn’t sure he should say anything.
“More tunnels.”