Mistakes and Misunderstandings

Bang, bang, bang.

“Rylii, open the goddamn door right now!” More pounding. “I know you’re in there. Now get your ass up and let me in.”

For close to twenty minutes, Max stood out there. When the noise finally stopped, I heard several other voices outside, too quiet for me to hear what they were saying. I had both keycards on the table in my room. I sat in the middle of the bed, the tv off. The silver in my hands flashed in the light as I turned it over and over. The muffled voices stopped.

“Rylii, let me in. Please,” Max pleaded. Everything was quiet. “Alright, I get it; I’ll find somewhere else to sleep.” I heard footsteps in the hall, but I knew there were still at least two people outside my door.

I listened as Monte tried to get me to open the door. Robert, Craig, Aaron, Jason, Blake, Sam, Matt, the other Craig, Andy, Jinxx, Chris, Balz, Angelo. Everyone I talked to, everyone I spent time with, took their turn. But I didn’t respond to any of them.

Ricky’s POV

This was our first night in almost a while that we got to stay in a hotel, and I was enjoying it. I’d already taken a long shower, lasting until the water turned cold, and was now laying in bed reading. I was sharing the room with Chris, but he’d run out not too long ago after getting a text.

Of course, I had just found the perfect spot in the bed when my phone rang. “Get out here now. Something’s happened with Max and Ry and she won’t let anyone in the room,” Chris said in a rush, not even giving me a chance to say hello.

“Wait, say that again?”

Chirs sighed before starting again, slower this time. “Something happened between Max and Rylii, and now she’s locked herself in her room and isn’t responding to anyone trying to get in.” With that, I was off the bed and down the hall.

I was surprised to find only Chris and Craig by the door. “Where’d everyone else go?” I asked.

“We sent them back to their rooms,” Craig said. “And Max left, probably back to the bus.”

“So what’s going on?” I asked. Chris made this sound urgent, but he and Craig hadn’t told me anything yet.

“When Max finally got back from wherever he went at the rest stop, Ry went to talk to him in the back of the bus about why he’d been acting so weird the past few weeks. We left them alone when we got here, and found our own rooms. Next thing I heard was Max pounding on the door, yelling at Ry to let him in,” Craig explained.

“We’ve all tried talking to her, but she won’t open the door and she’s not responding to any of us,” Chris said. “You’re the only person left.”

I agreed to help. And once I did this, I was going to find Max and find out what the hell was wrong with him. But that was later. I walked up to the door, testing the knob to be sure it was locked. “Hey Ry, it’s me, Ricky. Can you let me in? Everyone’s worried about you, and we want to know you’re ok. Just open the door. Please Ry, I promise I’ll be the only one to come in; I won’t let anyone else unless you want them.” I continued pleading with her, but all for nothing. I apologized to Craig, before going to find Max.

I’d only gone a few steps when I heard the two men calling me back. When I turned around, Craig was holding up a keycard. “Rylii just slid it out under the door,” he said. His face was a mixture of excitement and hurt.

“Are you going to go in?” I asked, wondering why he was still standing here.

Craig shook his head, holding the card out to me. “No, you were the last to try talking to her. This was obviously meant for you.” That explained his face. I took the card slowly, turning it over in my hands.

“I meant what I said about being the only one to go in,” I told him and Chris. “I’ll let you guys know what’s going on later.” I made sure I had my phone to keep them posted before inserting the card in the slot.

Rylii was sitting in the middle of the single bed, her back to the door. She didn’t move when the door opened, or when I made my way towards the bed. This was the firs time I’d seen her in a t-shirt. These past few weeks I’ve known her, Ry was always wearing something that covered her arms. And now I understood why. Both arms were covered with scars. I could tell that some were self-inflicted, but there was no way the rest could have been. But that wasn’t what scared me.

What scared me was the look on her face and the blade she had in her hands.