Dragging my feet across the floor, I dig around the cabinet to find my emergency tabs. The bottle shakes as my fingers struggle to remove the cursed cap.
Exhausted, I press one against my tongue. The artificial cherry taste dissolves instantly. I hate taking them because they make me so groggy.
I need to get my compact breather on and get at least a few minutes of that going, but even the idea of climbing the stairs to grab it from my room seems like an impossible task. Maybe if I just lie down on the couch for a second, I’ll gather enough strength to make the stairs. I have to be strong. I have to be ready for them when they come back, or at least to search again. I just need to close my eyes for just a second.
I swear I’ve barely closed my eyes when I hear a light knock on the door. My heart sprints as I lift my body. Before I can answer, Janelle’s head pokes in from the front door.
When she sees me, she beams at me and runs to give me a hug, climbing right on top of me. Ms. Skillings follows right after, mumbling her apologies.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Garret. Janelle kept telling me you were home and that you needed help and we needed to check on you. She wouldn’t take no for an answer. I didn’t think you’d actually be here, though.” She gives Janelle a concerned look. “Are you okay, Mr. Garret?”
My lungs betray me and a coughing fit ensues instead of the “I’m fine” reply I had planned.
Without my even asking, Janelle runs up the stairs and into my room. I have no idea how she knows I need my nebulizer, but her little hands have the bag and she’s dragging it down the stairs. I’ve never even used it in front of her before, never had the need to. How did she know I needed this?
Coughing, I sit up as Janelle plops the bag at my feet. Ms. Skillings rushes to my side and helps Janelle dig the machine out of the bag.
As soon as it’s plugged in and the mask encases my nose, I can feel the mist working its way down into my lungs. The cool tingle works almost at once, smothering the fire within.
Not daring to leave me alone, Ms. Skillings sits beside me, reassuring Janelle that I’ll be okay. I try to tell them both that I’m fine, but over the hum of the medicine, they can’t understand me.
Ms. Skillings swats my hand away when I try to remove the mask and pushes me back onto the couch. She grabs the quilt draped over the couch, my quilt, and tucks it under my chin. The effect of my pills is kicking in. My eyelids are getting heavy, despite my desire to stay awake. Without wanting to, I drift off into a deep and medicated sleep.
Jada
I’m able to keep my feet moving forward until we actually get to the campus. As we approach the gate, my pace slows and my muscles become tight with fear.
Weeds and tall grass have overtaken the property from years of neglect, leaving it almost hidden from the occasional cars that pass by.
Mentally, I begin to prepare myself for anything. I’ve been hit before, so I can take the abuse he can dish out. I’m a pro at shutting down my emotions, even though the thought of enduring it again makes me want to throw up.
Hawk walks to the iron gate that closes off the property to the public. He glances over his shoulder, checking out the non-existent traffic, before he pushes the gate open and pulls me inside.
When he closes the gate, I can see the remains of the chain that he must have cut his way through earlier. That one random detail makes me shiver. This isn’t just a lunatic on the loose; this is a man with a well thought out plan.
He pulls me inside. His grasp is so firm that my hand has lost all feeling in my fingertips. We walk in silence for what feels like hours, even though I know it’s only been a few minutes. When you’re counting down what may be your last moments, time seems to go a little slower. I can’t help but think about all the times I didn’t say I love you enough to my family. How I’ll never see my baby’s beautiful face again. How Tobias will never know how sorry I am for agreeing to go with Hawk in the first place. This whole thing is my fault.
All my limbs start to go numb as he drags me up the graveled driveway of what looks like a former frat house. He pulls out a large ring of old-school keys and opens a series of fresh locks on the door. I didn’t think they even made scan-free locks anymore.
Although it’s dark inside, I can make out a dingy couch that lines the far edge of the room. Stuffing is coming out of one of the arms and a large brown stain marks one of the cushions. Behind the couch, the windows have all been sealed up with what looks like black garbage bags. A small fireplace lies off in the corner. The smell of smoke still lingers from a fire recently burned. Cobwebs line the corners of the walls and between the newel posts lining a banister that leads upstairs.
It looks like two rooms lead away from the living area. Both doors are closed.
Looking into the kitchen, I see a random assortment of nonperishable food that sits undisturbed on top of a table in the kitchen near the back of the house.
Hawk closes the door behind me and I hear three separate locks snap into place.
“Welcome home, baby.”
Chapter Eight
Jada
Welcome home? Is he out of his mind?
“Hawk, you can’t keep me here,” I say, trying, unsuccessfully to pull out of his grasp again.
“Wanna bet?” he says, wiggling his eyebrows. A lump forms in my throat. I’m gonna die here
Hawk
Finally! She’s here. She’s ours! Seth cackles in my mind.
I can’t focus on quieting him right now because Jada is currently trying my patience. She wasn’t supposed to resist me this much.
She doesn’t respect us yet. You need to show her you’re in charge. Then she won’t resist us.
I hate to think he may have a point.
Showing her who’s in charge, I drag her by her wrist across the room.
“Sit down,” I order.
Her face contorts and she spits at me.
I don’t need Seth for this. She’s not going to get away with that. Before she can even blink, I bring my knee up and sink it into her gut, effectively making her double over with pain and collapse onto the couch.
That’s more like it!
Charged, I bend down and grasp her hair, holding her still. “When I tell you to do something, you do it. Got it?”
The way she shrinks back from me is affirming.
You need to teach her how we expect her to behave.
I nod in agreement. She’ll learn. As she gasps for breath, I head into the kitchen. I’m glad I thought to pick up those ties now.
I told you you’d need them, Seth whispers.
Grabbing the package from out of the bag on the counter, I turn back to Jada.
“These should hold you still until I get you under control.” I wiggle the bag of plastic zip ties in front of her. The fear in her eyes is electrifying.
“Hawk,” she whispers. “What are you doing?”
I slowly pull out a handful of ties, oddly enjoying that I’m taunting her. She tries to escape from the couch, but I climb on top of her, straddling her petite frame. She’s not going anywhere. She bucks her hips hard against me, trying to push me off, but all she’s doing is turning me on.
“Shhh, baby. Relax. We’ll have time for that soon enough, but for now, I need you to stay put.”
With ease, I reach down and grab her arm. Jada continues to struggle against me, even trying to bite me, but her attempts are futile.
She’s no match for us.
In a mater of seconds I’ve laced the tie around her right hand. I slide a second one on her left hand, then lock the two together with a third.
Holding on to her bound writs like you would a dog on a leash, I drag her off the couch. She kicks and flails around like a wild animal. It’s amusing to watch.
“Calm down, baby. Save some of that energy for later.” With a swift motion, I scoop her off her feet and toss her over my shoulder. Her legs kick wildly until I hook my right arm over them, holding her still. I carry her into the room I’ve
prepped for her. I know it’s not much, but I didn’t have a lot of time once I got out. I managed to drag this worn mattress from one of the rooms upstairs. The stuffing is coming out on one of the corners, but I threw a sheet I found in one of the closets on it. It’s the only thing in the room, except for the radiator that she’ll be attached to. Can’t have her trying to escape, now can we?
I hadn’t wanted to tie her, but now I’m glad Seth suggested it. She’s far more resistant than I thought she’d be.
Give her time. She’ll learn who her master is.
Jada starts screaming when I throw her onto the bed. She probably thinks I’m gonna rape her. I’m not a monster. I’ll wait for her to come after me. Until then, she’ll have to be trained.
Grabbing another tie from my back pocket, I fasten her to the radiator. Her screams become more frantic.
“Scream all you want doll face. No one will hear you out here.” I push myself off the bed and wipe the sweat from my forehead.
“You’re wilder than I remember.” I smile down at her in the darkness. “It’s gonna be so much fun breaking you,” Seth’s voice says in place of my own.
I scowl at myself for letting Seth take control. I’m in charge. Not him.
“I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere, okay?” I can’t help but laugh at my own joke.
Jada
His footsteps take him back out into the living room, and I fight against the tears that want to come. With my heart thundering inside my chest, I struggle against the plastic holding me prisoner, but there is no hope of escape. I know the attempt is futile, but my body still battles for release.
Soon, my voice grows hoarse and my muscles give out from sheer exhaustion. Unable to fight any longer, I let my arms fall limp.
I look around my makeshift prison and try to find a way out. The one window in the room has been covered with that same black plastic material that was in the living room. It manages to not only block out most of the light, but it’s also clearly limiting the supply of fresh air inside. I can practically taste the dust that’s sure to be coating my lungs. Tobias would not do well here.
Tobias. I begin to quietly sob thinking about him. He must be out of his mind with worry. Hot tears roll down my face as I try to hold on to what may be my last memories of my family.
I do my best to stop the tears when I hear Hawk coming back. I hate that I can’t even wipe them from my cheeks. He’ll see my tear-streaked face and probably be pleased that he caused my suffering.
When he enters the room, I see that he has a large bowl and a roll of paper towels.
“Your restroom, my lady,” he says, placing the bowl beside the bed.
I curse at him again and try kicking the bowl away with my legs. Faster than I can even blink, his hands have caged my legs against the bed. He’s so strong that I can’t make them budge from beneath his grasp.
“I don’t want to hurt you, Jada, so don’t make me.”
“If you don’t want me hurt, then let me go!”
He smiles. “I’ll let you go once you let him go. Until you realize Tobias is the one poisoning your mind, not me, you’ll be restrained. But don’t worry. I’ll help you forget him soon enough.” He traces his finger down my scar, and I’m helpless to move away from him. “Don’t forget, it was me who saved your life that night because Tobias was too much of a pansy to do it himself. I’m the one who sat in a cell for three years so that dick of a father couldn’t hurt you anymore.” I try to pull my face away, but he grabs my chin and locks it in place. “I saved you then, and I’ll save you from Tobias’s head games now. You and I are meant to be, Jada. And deep down, you know that too.”
He throws my legs out of his grasp and marches out of the room again, slamming the door behind him, leaving me alone.
After I’ve cried myself out, I lay in the darkness, chilled and spent. Time passes and Hawk doesn’t return. I can still hear him in the house, clomping from one room to the next—my heart flip-flops each time I think he’s coming back, but he doesn’t. He just leaves me here, tied up like an animal, scared out of my mind.
My eyes droop with exhaustion after a while and my arms ache from being held over my head for so long. The tingling in my hands left some time ago and now they just feel cold.
I’m just about to drift off into sleep when the bedroom door opens.
A beam of light hits me square in the eye, causing me to squint and casting an odd halo-like effect around Hawk’s body. He walks into the room, carrying a small bag. My heart begins to race wondering what he might have inside.
“I thought you might be hungry. I got you a turkey and Swiss.” He stands hovering above me as though waiting for me to take it from him.
“I’m not hungry,” I spit out, hoping my stomach doesn’t give me away.
He crouches down low so I can see his eyes drill into mine. “You’re a horrible liar.” He drops the bag to the floor and reaches into his back pocket and produces the knife.
I coil back in fear.
“Relax. I’m just cutting you free so you can eat.”
He stands up, digs into his back pocket again, and grabs another tie, holding it between his teeth. With the knife, he slices through the tie connecting my hands to the radiator. My arms fall limp at my sides. I still have a tie holding my wrists together, but at least now my hands are in my lap instead of over my head. The blood rushes back into my fingers so fast that it feels like they are on fire. Before I can try to rub the feeling back into them, Hawk has secured the tie that was in his teeth to himself and then to my remaining tie, effectively chaining me to him.
“There,” he says, plopping down onto the mattress with me. “Lunchtime.”
With his unbound right hand, he grabs the bag and pulls out the sandwich. My stomach lurches at the thought of eating, but something about the way he looks at me when he unwraps the sandwich tells me I’ll be eating this thing one way or the other.
I take the offered first bite and swallow it down. It sinks into my stomach like a rock. How many more meals will I have to eat strapped next to him?
Hawk
Once she’s asleep, I realize the hard part is over. I got her here. She’s safe now. It was easy. Too easy.
You couldn’t have done it without me, Seth’s voice whispers.
“Like hell I couldn’t,” I toss back.
Pacing, I walk the floor of the frat house, unable to sleep yet. Jada practically passed out at eleven. Poor thing is worn out. I’ll make it up to her. When we get out of here, I’ll make sure she never has to lift a finger.
We should leave now! The child will only slow us down.
“Be quiet!” I say to the darkness. I’m not leaving without my kid; having her here too is the only way this plan is going down. I will have the family I was denied. I’ll be an amazing father. I’ll show Janelle everything there is to know about hunting. And I’ll love her. I show her what real love is. I’ll show them both.
Before I can go get her, though, I need to unload the pills I have and get some cash. Then we can get out of here.
Seth does have a point, as much as I hate to admit it. We could just leave now and hide out in the woods and live off the land, but I’m being smart about this. I want a safety net first. I’ll need to get some hunting gear too so I can keep us fed.
See, Seth doesn’t understand. There’s a method to my madness. Not that I’m mad, ‘cause I’m not.
Stop wasting time. Get ready for tomorrow.
“That’s the best idea you’ve had all day.”
Walking into the kitchen, I light a small candle so I can see what the hell I’m doing. In the dim light, I slip out a small handful of my pills. Grabbing two spoons, I place the pills between them and crush them into a fine powder, just like the druggies do, before I boil it down in the spoon by holding it over the flame. But I’m not gonna be injecting this into my veins. Oh no.
Reaching into my duffle bag, I pull out the one purchase, aside from the knife, that I made be
fore I crossed the border: a bottle of Ralph Lauren Polo. Ricardo’s favorite cologne. It was all I had around to experiment on while in prison. One of the other inmates taught me this trick. Confessed that’s how he got all his women to obey him.
Twisting off the cover, I pour the liquefied meds inside the cologne and replace the cap. A few quick shakes and tomorrow’s plan is ready.
Chapter Nine
Tobias
I feel like I’m swimming. Well, not so much swimming as drowning. All around me it’s cool and peaceful, but an odd heaviness is pulling inside my chest, pulling me down, away from the light. Away from her.
Frail hands grasp my shoulders, pushing me further into the deep.
“Mr. Garret?” a voice calls out.
I rip myself from a dead sleep to find Ms. Skillings bent over me, shaking me awake.
“I’m sorry to wake you, Mr. Garret, but I really need to check on Fluffy.”
“Fluffy?” I say. My voice is muffled and I can’t figure out why.
“My cat, Mr. Garrett. She’s not used to me being gone so long.”
I pry my lids open, suddenly remembering where I am. I rip the medicated mask off my face.
“What time is it?” I shout, my heart thundering. How much time have I lost?
Ms. Skillings smiles gently. “It’s morning, darling. I stayed here with Janelle last night. I used what I think is your spare bedroom.” She gestures past the living room to Ma’s old room. A room we haven’t used since she passed. “I hope you don’t mind,” she says, seeing my face contort. “You just looked so tired. I didn’t have the heart to wake you.”
What?
I bolt upright, a cold sweat forming on my skin. I only have one thought in my mind at the moment.
“Did Jada come back?”
“Jada? Well, no, Mr. Garret. Was she supposed to return?” Worry causes her skin, already lined with age, to crease even more.
Beside her on the floor, Janelle has lifted her head to catch my answer. The poor kid still doesn’t know why her mom isn’t home yet.
“Um, no. She should be back soon though,” I say, more toward Janelle than Ms. Skillings. Janelle juts out her lower lip and I can tell she wants her mama right now.
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