Over the last three days, Nikki stayed by his side, watching to see if he improved or not. She hadn't alerted anyone as she patiently waited and made sure everything was as if they hadn't been here. Schmitty could feel her presence throughout those days as she cared for him. There were numerous times he had heard her talking to him, asking him to open his eyes. He had tried but had failed. All he could do was see flashes of images that passed through his head, most from his childhood. Playing on the swings, soccer, studying, late nights and early mornings, graduations, and so many important things but they stopped when he reached most things concerning Nikki.

On the third day, he drifts back and forth between consciousness as if playing with a thin line that could crumble any second and send him tumbling down. He was able to make out blurry figures of the things that surrounded him but were unable to distinguish as his eyes closed again, sending him through his mind.

He opened his eyes, grudgingly as his shallow breaths filled the tiny room. He makes an effort to move his hand but groans in pain instead. He looks up to see a mirror and his eyes widen a bit as he sees the reflection. He sat tied to a chair, he couldn't see them but he knew he had bruises all over his body, his hair was all disheveled, and blood dripped from the side of his mouth forming into a tiny puddle beneath him.

There is a click from the door followed by the sound of a hum. His heartbeat is erratic but he is unable to look up to find who it was. It isn't long before the person comes into his line of vision. His heart plummets as his chin is lifted so he can see her face. He looks at the icy empty less blue eyes of the person he had fallen in love with and who now seemed to be the one he wanted to get away from as quickly as possible. "Nikki," he breaths out, his voice hoarse. "Please-"

"Please what?" she asks confused as she goes to the dresser and pours him a cup of water. "Drink," she lifts his head as he chugs the water. She takes out a pill and puts it in his mouth, "this is for the pain." He swallows it and watches her set down the glass and turn to give him her undivided attention. "You were saying?"

"Aaron, he lost consciousness and hasn't woken up in three days. I don't know what's happening. I've been waiting for him to wake up so we could go home," she pauses and listens to what he says. "He said my name and apologized," she yells into the phone and turns to see if Schmitty had woken up with her voice but he had already lost consciousness.

"I'll forget about you and won't come back, just let me go," he pleads, "please."

Nikki struts over to him, "I don't want you to forget me silly," she says and boops his nose as she gives him a wide grin.

"Why not?" he yells at her, making her retract her hands as if he was a wild beast.

"Isn't it obvious? I want you to join me."

"What?" his eyes begin to feel droopy as his body gets sleepier. "Your pills aren't just for pain," he yawns as they take effect, "are they?"

She shrugs at him, "they were created to make you rest and they are doing just that." As he slips from consciousness to unconsciousness, he can make out the tap of her heels on the marble floor, walking away from him and leaving him alone in the cold dark room again.

Nikki walks towards her bag and grabs it, "there are 3 missing. You don't think? No." She slams her hand against the dresser and yells, "I'm not ready to lose him, Aaron." There is a pause as she composes herself, "So fix it before I fix it- and we both know how I fix things."

He looks around for the reason that caused him to wake up. He sees the culprit, an alcohol bottle, and a piece of cotton on the side. He looks around the room to figure out the time or for any information that it would give him. There were no windows to tell him if it was day or night. There was no calendar that would let him know how long he had been here. It could have been hours, days, or even months. He exhales a breath as he shakes his head at the impossible thought. He couldn't have been here for long, he had a family who would look for him and know she was with him.

His eyebrows scrunch up in confusion as he realizes he is no longer tied, and the rope that once held him laid now laid on the floor beside the chair. As he stands up, his legs wobble like jello and he uses the dresser for support. Schmitty turns his attention toward the mirror and takes his appearance. He sees faded bruises and dried blood on his lower lip. He gently uses the cotton ball and cleans it off, groaning at the stinging sensation. He looks for the door and stumbles towards it and cautiously opens it.

The bright sun coming from the window blinds him for a few minutes before he regains himself. He hears laughter coming from up ahead and follows it.

Nikki sat on the floor with a checkerboard piece in front of her as she rocks back and forth. She was wearing a rainbow-colored dress, a golden chain around her black straight hair cut in a bob, and a rainbow lollipop in her hand. A revolver lay beside her on the cold concrete floor. She had her legs tucked underneath her and she licked her lollipop as she looked down at the checkerboard in front of her, making her look like a beautiful goddess, a beautiful queen. She looked up from the checkerboard and locked eyes with him, making him feel paralyzed and unable to move from where he was standing. She raises a finger and waves him over. His feet move on their own accord while his body trembles with fear.

"Schmitty. I'm glad you could join us," Nikki speaks in a sweet tone of voice as she bats her eyelashes at him. Schmitty gulps as he looks around the room. It was very spacious, 4 other guys stood besides Nikki, all dressed in black, giving him an intimidating look. "Will you play a game of chess with me," she says as she waves a hand over the board.

"Umm- I think I have to go-" Schmitty says but feels a push behind his back. He turns around to see one of the guys that stood moments ago beside her, now was the one pushing him towards her, and does as told. His eyes go wide as he sees her reaching for the revolver next to her.

"You're scared- how cute," she bellows in laughter. "You have nothing to be scared of love. I wouldn't hurt you- at least- not intentionally. If an accident were to happen, well- that's another story," she grins at him while he tenses at her word. "Do you know how to play chess, Schmitty?"

"No-" he says as he vigorously shakes his head.

"I'll teach you," she says as she signals for him to take a seat on the floor.

"So I'll explain the basics. The pawns-" she points at the metal piece in the front row, "can move 2 spaces the first time but 1 space after that. The rooks-" she points at a metal castle piece, "can move in a line forward, backward, and side to side. The knights-" she points at a horse-shaped piece, "can jump 2 spaces forwards, backward, side to side, and then 1 to the right. In an L shape. The bishops-" she points to a piece that looks like a priest, " can move diagonally in any direction it wants. The queen-" she points to a piece next to the largest one on the board, "can move in any direction she chooses. Now, the most important piece is the king-" she points at the largest piece on the board with a little cross on top, " every other piece in the board is meant to protect it. The king only moves once in any direction it chooses. Now, we can take each other pieces and the way you win is by getting your opponent's king in checkmate. In other words, trapping him without any way out."

Schmitty nods at her words, confused with what was going on here. "Nikki-" he speaks as she makes the first move and waits for him to do the same.

"Yes?"

"What are we doing here?"

"We're playing a game," she tells him in an obvious tone.

"That's not what I meant. You had me tied to a chair and then just let me go to play a stupid game of chess with you," he says, getting agitated.

"Schmitty-" she starts with a soft warning tone.

"This is ludicrous Nikki-" he says and accidentally knocks over the game pieces. Nikki sits up straight at that, her eyes filling with anger.

"You know, I'm bored with chess. Let's play a different game then." Her smile widens as she reaches for the revolver next to her. "Have you ever played Russian Roulette," she asks as she places 1 bullet inside the 6 places of the gun. "I put 1 bullet, We take turns pressing the trigger, while the gun is pointed at ourselves." With that, she spins the opening and closes it.

"I don't want-" Schmitty whimpers as tears threaten to spill. He looks around at the 4 other guys for some kind of help but they all avoid eye contact with him.

"I'll go first," she says as she opens her mouth and puts the revolver on her lips, clicking the trigger. Schmitty finds himself closing his eyes, afraid of what the outcome will be.

"BOOM," the gun sounds through the large spacious room, echoing. Schmitty carefully opens his eyes and looks up at a smiling Nikki. She claps her hands together and giggles, "Your turn."

He gulps as she places the gun in between his color drained lips. He could feel his heartbeat quicken in pace as the fear finally lets itself be known.

"BOOM," the sound resonates through the room again. The silence is penetrated by her laughter. He lifts one eye and notices that he is hyperventilating, but is unable to stop himself from calming down with 4 more to go.

"Isn't this fun?" Nikki speaks up as she quickly puts it once again in between her pink painted lips and clicks the trigger without batting an eye.

"I just want to go home," Schmitty whispers.

"Schmitty, I want you to see this place as your home."

"Home? I'm being kept here against my will after killing someone which you seemed unfazed by. You should have been afraid, like me, but yet you're delusional."

"Delusional?" Nikki is confused by his statement, "how so?"

"How so? Nikki- you had me tied up and now I'm playing Russian roulette where I could die any seconds."

"Are you saying you don't want to play this game anymore?" Nikki asks with a pout. "Okay-" she shrugs and aims the gun at one of the guys. She pulls the trigger releasing the bullet, where it goes through the guy's chest. He clutches his heart before his body gives in and he falls forward, dead.

Schmitty gasps at this and tucks his face inside his hands. He feels a gentle hand on his shoulder and starts rocking back and forth as he whispers to himself, "I just want this to stop- please."

Nikki huffs out a breath of annoyance as she yells, "Aaron- bring me the whiskey."

"Here you go," the voice tells her.

"Okay, Schmitty- you can go. I'm not going to force you to stay but you are welcome to come back when you are ready to join me. Be part of my world. You could be the king and I can be your queen." Schmitty looked up only to see her reloading the gun, but this time all 6 bullets went inside.

"I can go?" Schmitty asks as he slowly stands up.

"Will you have a drink with me before you leave?" Nikki asks as she takes two cups from the tray that Aaron outheld for her. Knowing he didn't have a choice, he grabs the cup and brings it toward his lips. Nikki places a finger under his cup and tilts it towards his mouth as she drinks her own without a problem.

"Can I go now?"

"Of course," Nikki says as she outstretches the gun in front of her and smirks as Schmitty stands there, paralyzed with fear.

"I thought you said I could go," he tells her.

"I might have lied," she says and pulls the trigger. Schmitty closes his eyes, a silent prayer leaving his lips. There is a moment of silence before her laugh enters his ears and he opens his eyes to be met with a red flag from the end of the revolver with the world BOOM written over it.

"One thing's for sure," Nikki says as she turns to look at Schmitty who stares at her with his light green eyes, "Schmitty's back."