The bedroom door flew open and my mom walked out with a large briefcase, “So what are we supposed to do?!” My eyes widened when she sat the briefcase next to the couch then walked back to her room for another one.
“Where are we going?” I asked. No one answered.
“We can go to another country for a little while,” my dad said. “Rose would love it out there-”
“Another country!?” Mom yelled, “With what money!? The money you owe that-” my mom stopped and took a deep breath when she saw the worried look on my face, “go play outside baby.”
“Okay,” I slowly got off of the couch and then walked to the door. Before I stepped out I looked back at my parents one more time and smiled, “It’ll be okay. Once we get to the park, everything will be better.”
My mother put up a fake smile, “Yeah, we’ll go in a minute.”
I looked down at the briefcase, and I knew that the park wasn’t where we were going. Once I got outside, the door was pushed behind me, but was cracked. I walked to the front of the house to try and see through the blinds, but I couldn’t. Now that I was outside, I tried to think of something that would keep my mind off of moving to a whole different country.
“Rose!” my friend Cassidy was playing with her bubbles in her front yard across the street, “Can you come over!?”
I looked back at my house one last time and nodded. Usually, I would go ask if I could cross the street, but I didn’t want to bother them while they were blowing out their vocal cords. I walked towards the street while looking to my right and made sure no cars were coming. I heard a car zooming in from my left so I knew not to cross just yet.
A white van screeched to a stop in front of me and I fell backwards. The van door flew open and someone with a black ski mask jumped out of the van to grab me. I turned over as fast as I could to get to my feet and run back to the house, but the man got me before I could get up.
I was relieved when I saw the front door to my house open and my parents come running to save me. I reached for their hands, but they were too far away, “Mommy!” I screamed. She was running for me with my dad right behind her, “Mommy!” I cried, “Help!” I tugged at the guy’s arm around my waist as he pulled me into the truck. Once I saw the van door closing I knew my parents wouldn’t have been able to get me back, “Help!”
The door closed in front of me, and since there were no windows, I couldn’t see them as we drove away.
Chapter 35
The next day, I called my aunt and told her about what had happened yesterday. At first she was mad that I didn’t call her earlier, but then she started freaking out about moving again, or getting me under protection.
“Just get home, okay, baby? I’ll be here all day, just get home and we’ll figure something out.”
“Okay-”
“I’ll call Detective Roy. He’s going to want to hear about this, you don’t even worry about it.”
“Okay Shan-”
“Please, you and Lorena just get back here safely. I need to see you- do you need to go to the hospital?”
“No, I’m fine. Lorena took care-”
“Okay, then hurry and get home. I’ll be here.”
“Okay, Shannon. Be there soon.”
“Okay, baby.”
I hung up the phone and smiled at Lorena, and oddly, she smiled back. This wasn’t even a funny situation, but my aunt knew how to make it one.
“You ready to head back?” Lorena asked.
“Yeah, I don’t want Shannon having a heart attack,” I said, trying to stand. Lorena got to her feet and helped me to mine, then she grabbed her keys and helped me outside to the car.
The sun shined brighter than it did yesterday, and it was a lot warmer out. I got the feeling that this was almost over.
Before I got into the car, I looked around for any suspicious vehicles or people, and then when we pulled out of the parking lot, I made sure that no one was following us.
My phone rang and I answered, “Hello?”
“Hey Rose,” It was Cameron, “how are you feeling?”
“I’m fine. Heading back home now,” I answered.
“Oh, you spent the night? That means you and Lorena are okay now?” he tried to sound happy about it.
I looked over at Lorena. “Yeah, we’re okay now.”
“Well, that’s good. You talk to the police?”
“No, not yet. The police can’t really be trusted. There’s someone that can be though, so don’t worry.”
“Okay,” Cameron sighed with relief.
“Cameron?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t tell anyone about what you saw yesterday. Those people are dangerous.”
“I know. Don’t worry.”
“Thanks. Don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”
Cameron didn’t respond right away, “Well, I’ll call you later to check up on you.”
“Okay,” I said, “talk to you later.”
“Yeah,” he hung up.
I put my phone away and rested my head back on the head rest.
“He likes you,” Lorena said with a slight smile.
“I know,” I looked over at her, “but my mind isn’t on that right now,” because my mind was on her.
When we got to my aunt’s house, she ran out and gave me a very painful hug, “Come inside, you too Lorena. Detective Roy wants you both to stay together. “
Lorena looked at me, “Does he know who I am?”
Aunt Shannon frowned in confusion. “Know who you are?” She closed the front door and shut the curtains, “He knows you were with Rose and that Arnold saw you....” She looked from me to Lorena, “What’s going on?”
I slowly sat down on the couch, and Lorena sat down at the kitchen table, “Me and Rose...”
I sighed, “Arnold didn’t just take me. He took Lorena too.”
Aunt Shannon flopped onto the couch next to me, “I don’t understand. You two didn’t even know each other when you met. Or did you?”
“Sort of...” Lorena said, “I had only a small memory of her, and she thought that I was gone.”
“Gone? Gone how? Like dea...” when she saw the looks on our faces she was lost for words.
“I thought I killed her,” I said.
Aunt Shannon grabbed my hand, “Goodness,” She hugged me, “I had no idea you were holding onto that all this time. You went through so much.”
“I know,” I sighed, “I can’t wait until it’s all over.”
“Oh it will be soon,” She pulled away, “Roy is on the next flight back with his own personal team. He’s going to have you two under protection by his best cops, and now that he knows Arnold is here, he’s going to hunt him down,” Aunt Shannon stood up, “until then, Lorena, stay here until you can be escorted back. I’m going to cook us something to eat.”
“Okay,” Lorena answered. She left the kitchen and sat down on the couch next to me.
That night, we laid down in my room together talking about the past and the few good times we had together, then Lorena fell asleep. I was right behind her, but not until after I sent Arnold one last text: I’m never coming back.
I blocked his number before he could reply, and then I fell asleep.
* * *
I spent the entire morning looking out the window, making sure that Arnold didn’t come by before Detective Roy could get here. He called at six in the morning saying that he’s back in Ohio and that he’s on his way from the airport.
Lorena came in to the living room with her hair all over her head while rubbing her eyes, “Good morning,” She said.
“Morning,” I figured nothing crazy was going to happen right now and backed away from the window.
“How do you feel?” She asked.
“I’m fine now. Just waiting on Roy. He’s on his way.”
We both sat down on the couch and I turned on the TV. Lorena rested her head on my shoulder, “So, Roy was the one who saved you?”
“Hmm? Yeah,” I remembered the day the front doors flew open and a whole team came in with guns and masks, “He saved me.”
“You really think he can end all of this?”
“....I hope so. Arnold keeps clear of Roy because he’s the only person that was able to get close enough to put him behind bars. Roy is one of those very determined detectives.”
“I just can’t wait until Arnold is gone for good.”
“Believe me, once they catch him they’ll make sure to get him behind bars forever.”
Lorena and I waited in the living room until Roy came knocking. I was dozing off when I heard a loud banging on the door.
Aunt Shannon rushed into the living room, “What the hell?”
“Its Detectives Roy and Carter!” Detective Roy yelled.
I got to my feet and put my finger over my lips for them to be quiet, then I looked through the peep hole and saw the detectives standing tiredly at the front door. I opened it up and the two men walked inside.
Detective Roy frowned at Shannon, then looked to Lorena and me. “So, you two okay?”
“We’re fine,” I answered. “You need some water or something?” I asked. He and Carter looked like they haven’t slept for days, and water was the only thing I could think to offer them right now.
“Yes, please,” Carter said.
“I’m fine,” Roy said.
I went back to get a cold glass of water for Detective Carte, and then handed it to him. “So, what’s going on?” I sat back down next to Lorena.
“Yeah, what’s the plan, Roy?” My aunt asked, folding her arms.
Roy sighed, “Well, I’ve been thinking this over all night. Lorena, you live alone, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Lorena nodded.
“Ok, I think it would be better if I have two of my men escorting and keeping surveillance on the two of you together. So, Lorena, I’ll need you to stay here with Rose for a little while, and I can have Carter take you back home to get a few things. The rest of my guys and myself will be out getting leads, and finding any clues that would lead us to Arnold.”
“What about Cameron?” I asked. Arnold had seen Cameron’s face, and now could be plotting to hurt him to get to me.
“Cameron?” Roy wrote down in his pad.
“Yeah, he saw what was happening and helped me out. Arnold saw him.”
“OK, I’ll have someone watching him as well. Anything else?”
“Oh, Arnold drives a black car,” I thought that might have helped.
“What kind?”
“I don’t know, but it has bullet proof windows that you can’t even see into. Kind of like a limo.”
Roy quickly wrote into his notepad, “Anything else you want to give me?”
I told him about the text messages and showed him the number. It belonged to a disposable phone.
“So, I just stay here?” Lorena asked.
“Just until we catch that bastard. Continue going to school and whatnot. It might lead him out.”
“You can’t make these girls decoys, Roy!” Aunt Shannon yelled.
“It’s okay,” I said, “I blocked his number, so he has no way of contacting me, but to either send someone, or come out himself, and either way, we’ll have an escort or something.”
“Yeah, it’s fine, Mrs. Shannon,” Lorena said.
Aunt Shannon sighed. “They better not get hurt, Roy,” she said, shaking her head.
“Don’t worry. I actually plan on keeping them from harm,” Roy closed his notepad and tucked it away in his pocket. “Alright girls, I’m going to head back to the station and get my boys.”
“Trustworthy?” Shannon asked.
“Every single one of them. Carter, take Lorena to get her things and then come back to the station.”
“Alright,” Carter nodded towards Lorena to go with him.
“Be right back,” Lorena said.
I watched as the three of them walked out of the house and hoped that everything would be okay. I really hoped that Roy would get him this time.
My aunt came and gave me a hug, resting her head on my shoulder. “It’s going to be okay. Things will get better soon, and I won’t let anything happen to you. Not again.”
I took a deep breath and pulled away, “Thanks, Shannon.” Mentally, I was exhausted and just needed some sleep, but I couldn’t help but worry about Lorena while she was out of my sight. I guess my imagination could get the best of me sometimes, or I just watched way too many movies.
While sitting by the window, once again, I found myself waiting on Lorena’s return instead of making sure that Arnold wouldn’t be making another attack. I thought that after seeing him, I would be traumatized and jumping at my own shadow, but I wasn’t. I actually felt good about Roy being back and on the hunt, and I felt even better that Lorena would be safe by my side the entire time. If she could just get home now.
Once we were finally at the end of all of this, we could return to our old lives- our better lives, and I could finally be like any other person in the world. My worries could be about stupid things, or my grades-what to do with my hair-just unimportant stuff.
I felt a gentle touch on my shoulder, and woke up to see that it was Lorena. She had come in a few minutes ago, and Detective Carter had already brought her bags inside.
“Why are you sleeping by the window?” Lorena laughed.
“Waiting for you,” I said, rubbing my eyes. I stood to my feet and looked back out the window. There was a black car parked outside of the house and I quickly shut the curtains.
“Don’t worry,” Lorena opened them a little and waved, “they’re with Roy.”
“You sure?” I peeked out to look and they waved back at us.
“Yeah, a white and black police car would be too obvious.”
I felt a little stupid after she said that, and headed to my bedroom. Today flew by quicker than usual, and all I wanted to do was go to sleep. Just for a little while, I needed to stop thinking.
Lorena followed behind me, and we got into the bed together.
My body felt heavy, but I couldn’t seem to fall asleep anymore. Not with Lorena, who fell right to sleep, shifting around right next to me. I didn’t feel this way sleeping at her house, I guess it’s just because we’re closer.
Lorena shifted one last time, sliding her arm around me and tucking her head into my back. I looked down at her hand that dangled over my side and smiled. She was just as tired as I was.
Chapter 36
The next couple of days were better than I’d imagined. Me and Lorena stayed in the house the entire time, ordered our favorite foods every night, watched my movie collection, played board games, and baked all sorts of cupcakes and cookies. It got to the point where my aunt had to go back out and buy groceries just so that we could bake more sweets.
Cameron called a few times to make sure that I was okay, but I avoided talking on the phone with him for too long, because it was starting to get awkward. I could tell that Cameron had feelings for me a long time ago, but back then it was easy to ignore. Now, he shows it pretty clearly, since me and Lorena have gotten close again.
When Abigale called, she was completely unaware of the attack, which made it a lot easier to talk to her. I invited her over so that we could just have a girl’s night and chill out for a while.
“Ok, ok, where do I go next?” Lorena laughed, playing on Abigale’s game system.
“Go left!” I yelled.
“No right! Right! It’s too many zombies that way!” Abigale laughed.
“Oh, shoot- I went left,” Lorena laughed. “Dammit, Rose.”
“Ahhh, shoot em!” I laughed, “They’re eating you!”
“Oh my gosh, you’re killing my high score,” Abigale shook her head.
“What is going on?” Aunt Shannon asked walking into the living room.
“Lorena died,” Abigale said.
“Yes, I died,” Lorena sat the remote control down on the floor.
“You s
uck,” I said picking up the controller.
“You’re the one who told me to go left!”
“That didn’t mean you had to listen,” I laughed.
Aunt Shannon shook her head. “Ya’ll and your games,” she walked back to her room after getting a glass of water.
I restarted the game and started playing, while Lorena and Abigale munched on the cookies we baked.
“So do you like, live here now?” Abigale asked.
“No, not living, just....having a really long sleepover,” Lorena answered.
“Riiiiight,” Abigale nodded.
“I’m serious. I still have my apartment.”
“Ok, I believe you,” Abigale said sarcastically.
“Although, I wouldn’t mind living here. It’s nice. I’m not alone all the time.”
I smiled, but left no comment.
“So, when are you coming back to school? You should have like one hundred tardies by now,” Abigale asked.
“Oh, I talked to the school already. We have an understanding.”
“Miss Shy has been worried. She definitely won’t stop asking about you,” she nodded in my direction.
“How is she?” I asked. I tried not to feel guilty about just leaving and not saying goodbye. Miss Shy was the only person I talked to for a while, and she honestly did help me through a few things. I hoped she didn’t worry about me too much.
“Same old, same old. Just annoying. You should call her or something.”
“I don’t know-”
“I think if she doesn’t hear from you soon enough, she will be at your doorstep.”
“That wouldn’t be bad,” Lorena said. “We should meet up with her.”
“Yeah, it would be nice to see her again,” I said. Luckily, I didn’t delete her number out of my phone. She gave it to me for emergencies, in case I felt suicidal or incredibly depressed.
We played the game a little longer, and then gave Abigale our hugs goodbye. “You should keep in contact more often,” I said.
“You’re telling me that?” Abigale laughed as she backed out of the house.
“Ok, I’ll keep in touch. Better?”
“Good,” Abigale looked back at the black car. “You guys be safe out there.”
Caged (Caged series Book 1) Page 23
