None of these options contain peace. I am at fault for my family's mistakes. No matter what I do, I still have to make this right. I can't let them hurt Ward, or anyone, for my silly mistakes.
God help me.
Lost in my thoughts, a warm hand wraps around my mouth. My wrinkled fingers try to pry it off, but it doesn't work. I can't breathe. I manage to free my nose and inhale sharply. I've learned in movies that if you bite the person's hand, they will let go. I can't even do that, as they have my jaw clenched shut. My head is against the chest of a solid body. A familiar arm reaches around me and turns the shower off. I decide to make myself dead weight and drop to the floor. His hand never leaves my mouth, and he sinks with me. My wailing arms are being pinned down, once again.
"Stop. Stop. Just stop. Hayden, we're running out of time here!" He yells over my naked body.
"Get off of me!" I yell when he moves his hand from my mouth to my other hand.
"Stop. Listen. We are running out of time. We have to go. They're closing in on us. We have to leave now!" He whispers with his teeth gritted.
The only defense I had was to spit on him, so I did. He just wiped it off on his shoulder. He then proceeded to sit on me with all of his body weight. His back almost on my chest. His body is crushing mine with every breath. I'm trying to scream but cannot muster the lung capacity to do so. I'm getting lightheaded as I try to roll myself from under him. He takes my arm in front of him, and I do not know what he's doing. I feel he's taking something from his pocket. I feel him wrapping my arm with something rubber. Oh my God. He's going to drug me. To sedate me. What the actual hell does he think he's doing?
"Please don't do this," I beg him.
He turns around and looks at me with huge eyes, "Please forgive me."
I feel the needle penetrate my fragile skin. I have been defeated. I have been overpowered. I am being forced against my will to participate in a game that I didn't sign up for. I don't feel like fighting anymore. I don't feel anything. I feel numb. The only thing I feel is the absence of pressure from his body.
TWENTY.5
(Ward’s POV)
I feel her flailing body slowly calm down. Her eyes followed every move I made. I grabbed the pink towel, and wrapped her up in it, before picking her up on wobbly legs. I threw her arm over my shoulder and helped her walk. Her head slumped forward, and her legs gave out from underneath her. She’s out. I hoisted her over my shoulder and opened the shower door slowly. When I reached the foyer, I set her down beside the closet door. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few notes and two prepaid cell phones.
I start shaking. Probably because I’m not only trusting my life into the Brotherhood’s hands, I’m trusting my love’s life in their hands too. I don’t care if she hates me when she wakes up. I don’t care if she thinks I’m evil. I’m doing this for her own good. I’m doing this because her life is at stake. I know head HE said that she wouldn’t be harmed, but I don’t trust him after all he’s done. I’m done with being selfish. I don’t care if I go to prison for the rest of my life, or even die. As long as I know she’s safe, I don’t care what happens to me.
When we all left the meeting hall at Trevor’s the other night, the plan was laid out in front of me. I had to follow their directions perfectly for this to work. The table was moved from the room and replaced with a makeshift torture chair. The text messages were sent to my phone. Everything was laid out. I used that leverage to gain her trust. They are unaware of my hidden agenda. They have no idea that I’m using their plan as a way to get Hayden out safely. I’m pretty sure my life is over after this. So I’ve written an extra note, aside from the one I was instructed to write. I reach into the closet and pick up Hayden’s overnight bag and throw it over my shoulder. I see blonde hair out of the corner of my eye.
Hannah startles me as I whip around to meet a confused face. She takes in the scene. “Ward? What are you doing? Why is Hayden over there passed out? What are you doing?” She says loudly as she inches closer.
“Hannah, I’m asking you politely. Back the fuck off.”
“No, I won’t. You’re kidnapping Hayden?” She yells.
“You won’t understand.” I’ve subtly admitted by accident my intentions. She realizes this, and her eyes get wide.
“HELP!” She screams. I panic and pull out a pistol from my back pocket. The weight of it scares me. It’s loaded and was only supposed to be used in emergencies. I don’t think this counts as an emergency. Her breathing gets heavier and her hands fly up in the air like I’m going to rob her or something.
“Stop,” I try to not look as afraid as I am, “Turn around, and go in the other room. Go tell someone in ten minutes.”
As soon as I said that, Janie walks in the other room and is immediately taken back from the black barrel that’s pointing at them. Her hands go up too. She’s speechless.
“Ward?” She says to me concerned. I hear a fear in her voice. I’ve never heard that before. She’s usually so strong. This is killing me inside. She’s the only person in the last ten years that I’ve ever considered family. I now realize why the gun is shaking in my hand, and there are tears flowing down my face. I can’t stop them.
“Listen, girls, I have to do what I have to do,” I kick the letters that are on the floor to Janie. She doesn’t move.
I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing. I took my focus off of the gun. I still had my finger on the trigger when I looked down to scoot the notes over. It went off. I pressed the trigger blindly. After the ringing in my ear stopped, I realized what I had done. I dropped the gun to my side. Everything was happening in slow motion.
Both of the girls were looking at me with stunned looks on their faces. Hannah’s hand shoots up to her shoulder. The bullet grazed her arm. After realizing what I did and who may have heard it, I picked the gun off the floor, turned the safety on, and put it in my back pocket. Hayden was looking up at me when I turned around to pick her up. Her eyes were glazed, and she couldn’t move anything but her mouth. She could barely speak when she mouthed “why?”
I hoisted Hayden up, as her body lay limp in my arms. I turned to Janie and whispered, “Please forgive me.” I hoped she heard the sorrow in my tone. I hope she caught on to the heart that I poured out in that one whisper.
I was closing the door behind me when I saw everybody else crowd around a barely wounded Hannah. Ms. Gar ran after me and she shouted something. The blood pumping in my ears made it hard for me to hear what she said. I reached the end of the driveway, where Trevor met me. He took Hayden and placed her in the backseat of the purposely placed black sedan. I threw the duffle bag in the passenger’s seat floor and took the gun out from my back pocket and into a secret compartment under the seat. Trevor ran around to the passenger’s side and got in, according to plan.
“I heard a shot go off man, what the fuck did you do?” He asked as we sped down the old road going east.
“It was an accident. I tried to get out as quiet as I could, but that nosey blonde bitch ruined everything. I left the notes, so that will pretty much explain a lot of it.” I said biting my nails.
About Five miles down the blacktop was a clearing in the woods. I parked at the mile marker, as instructed, and got everything. Trevor helped carry a very limp Hayden down into the bushes. There was a champagne-colored minivan parked just beyond the clearing. Trevor gave me the keys, and I unlocked it. I dressed Hayden from the clothes she had in the bag. I buckled her in the front seat and tilted her head back. I went around the back and lifted the hatch. The license plate said Pennsylvania.
The only thing left to do was to give Trevor the keys to the sedan, and drive away while he drives north and parks the car.
I hand him the keys and he says sternly, “You know what to do from here brother.” I give him a nod yes, and run to start the van. The back of the van was full of travel bags, towels, beach bags, and some boogie boards.
I roll towards the road with my lights off. Trevor has
already headed north. His tail lights bounce with the road. I turn back and head south as soon as I make sure the coast is clear. I turn my lights on and try to act natural while riding back through town. My heart sinks as I see two police cars coming behind me. I act as natural as I can and pull over to the side until they’ve passed me. Their wailing sirens fly beyond me, and I breathe a sigh of relief. When I turn, the house is in full view. I make it a point not to drive in front of the house, so I take a right and head down the road adjacent to the street of the blinking light. When I pass it, I see an ambulance and three patrol officers. It’s been an hour. She read my note. I get to the end of the road, and head down the newly paved road. East. I will have more instructions as I reach I-10.
The plan is to switch cars about three times every two hours. There will be someone there to take the last car and park it somewhere else. I’ve been given two fake licenses, and a gun hidden in each vehicle. In the Pennsylvania van, my name is James Kling, and my wife is Tasha Kling. We’re traveling all over Florida and touring different beaches. That’s the story of the first vehicle.
Each vehicle also has one syringe with enough “medicine” to last Hayden until she passes out again. They said the drug is not at a dangerous level, but I check her to make sure she’s okay. I don’t want to keep sedating her. She’s quite small, and I know they’re doing a number on her. She has a right to know what is going on. But having her awake is dangerous too. If she doesn’t want to do this, she will try anything to get back. She’ll be afraid and won’t know the severe consequences of her actions if we fail this task.
After what seems like forever, I see signs for I-75. I pull in at the truck stop as I’ve been told to do. I gas up, and a man parks behind me with a green and black polo shirt on. He waves at me as I’m gassing up. It’s a three finger wave, and it’s who I’m supposed to meet. After I’ve finished gassing up, I pull out of the truck stop and around the side and through a back road named Blacknose Way. We park and exchange vehicles without a word. As soon as I drive away, dawn peeks over the horizon. I make sure Hayden is buckled, and as I do that, she starts to stir.
TWENTY-ONE
The light hurt my burning eyes as I opened them. My body is weak, my mouth is dry. I cannot move my neck. It hurts. I feel like my head has been in this very uncomfortable position for a very long time. My empty stomach feels ill, and I feel my heavy eyes bounce with the motion of the car. Why am I in a car? The last thing I remembered was being in the shower. And then Ward. He drugged me. How am I here? Whose car is this? It takes all of my strength to hold my head up. When I swing my head around, my droopy eyes take in a very nervous Ward, who is sporting sunglasses and a black baseball cap. He is so lost in thought, he doesn’t see me staring at him.
When he does, his eyes go wide. “I-I-I need you to stay as calm as possible and let me explain,” He starts. You can tell he’s been putting this story together, by the way his words are jumbled and loose, “You see, I knew you weren’t going to go. I knew you weren’t going to leave somewhere safe. Especially since all of the changes in the house were going on. I knew you’d back out and you weren’t going to go. At least without feeling guilty about abandoning everyone when you think they needed you most. I know this is hard to understand right now, but I’m using the brotherhood’s plan to our advantage. I don’t know how else to put it except I kidnaped you to make it look like I was the bad guy, and you didn’t have to worry about what everyone else thought.”
It took me a minute to realize what he was saying. He thinks he’s my knight and shining armor because he kidnapped me and that automatically takes my guilt away? I don’t think so. He swallows hard, waiting for my response. It takes a while to process, “So, you’re saying you weren’t even going to give me a choice. I was going and that’s that. I don’t like that. I don’t even have a say in anything anymore. I didn’t want to go. I don’t want to be here, and you forcefully drugged me and took me against my will. That’s not what I wanted at all. I don’t know what kind of shit you’re on Ward, but if one needle made me lose consciousness for almost an entire night, what the hell does a full one do to you?”
“I don’t think you fully understand, Hay. I think you’re in la-la-land, and everything is always going to be your way. Not with the brotherhood. Definitely not with head HE, or Officer Perry. Whoever. They kill people for less than this, do you realize that? They will savagely beat you over a missing quarter. They have people in all states, in all cities. They are ruthless. They tore apart your family, Hay. Do you realize that?”
“I do realize that. Apparently, they put my family together. So they feel like they can just take it all apart. If they want to play God, I guess then we will play Lucifer. Let the games begin, then.”
Although I’m angry that I was taken forcefully, I realize the meaning behind Ward’s words. He struck my weakness. My family.
“Okay, I didn’t think you were going to agree so easily. I had a whole other speech planned out and everything. Anyways, we have to play along with their game, you have to do everything I say in order for this to work. In about an hour and a half, we will be making our final vehicle swap. No one has noticed us so far, and the amber alerts are looking for you in Georgia.”
“Amber alerts?” I asked, concerned.
“Yeah, about that. I was caught sneaking you down the stairs by Hannah and accidentally shot at her, missing her arm with just a tiny scratch,” he says breathlessly.
“Oh my God, is she okay?” I asked, concerned.
“Yeah, she fainted. I left two-“
“You have a gun?” I nearly shout, interrupting him.
“Yeah, it’s supposed to be used for emergencies. I panicked,” He shrugs his shoulders.
“Ward, where is it?” I ask sternly.
“There’s one under my seat in a secret compartment.”
“Oh, okay. Emergencies, right?” I ask. He nods yes.
“Anyway,” He continued, “Like I was saying, I left two notes behind. One note explained why and to call the police in thirty minutes, and the other note was the note was the note Janie was supposed to give to the police. It just said that I’m sorry my love for you was so strong, and no one is to be alarmed, and I just wanted to be with you.”
“Oh, okay,” I say. I’m trying to put all of this together in my head. About thirty minutes pass, “Can we stop? I have to use the restroom, I’m very thirsty, and very hungry.”
“That’s another problem. The brotherhood only gave us enough money for gas. They left out everything else.” He says.
“I wish I had my bag. In the side of it, I kind of stole Chase’s wheelchair money, with every intention of giving it back after my shower.” I say.
“I got it, it’s in the trunk.” We pass a sign that says, GAINSVILLE 20. We pull over at the next rest area. “Hold on, before you get out around all of these people,” He says pulling out a phone. It’s not his phone, it’s a different one. “I want to make sure the Amber alerts are leading you away from here.” He pulls up the app, and let me read it.
AMBER ALERT: MISSING ENDANGERED CHILD. HAYDEN GREENE 17 YO FEMALE 5’2 110 POUNDS BROWN CURLY HAIR BROWN EYES. LAST SEEN WITH AVEREY “WARD” JENKINS. 17 YO MALE 5’9 175 POUNDS. LAST SEEN IN BLACK SEDAN TRAVELING NORTH. AVEREY JENKINS IS CONSIDERED ARMED AND VERY DANGEROUS. DO NOT APPROACH, CALL LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT. UPDATE 6:15 AM: ABANDONED SEDAN FOUND TWO MILES FROM GEORGIA STATE LINE IN DARSEY FLORIDA OFF OF RT 27/63 NEAR WILLIAMS PARK IN GADSDEN COUNTY ALL GEORGIA STATE POLICE BE ON LOOK OUT FOR UNKNOWN VEHICLE TRAVELING NORTH WITH TWO PASSENGERS WITH DESCRIPTION LISTED. BE ADVISED DRIVER IS ARMED AND VERY DANGEROUS USE ALL PRECAUTIONS.
That was written about an hour ago. No updates since. I get out, stretch and feel the pressure in my bladder. I motion to Ward that I’m going to use the restroom, and he follows. It feels so nice to pee. As I empty my bladder, I look at my beaten arms. They are bruised, and I look horrible. Probably from him tossing me around from car to car. I finish, an
d meet Ward at the entrance. I pull my hair up in a bun and fit a blue cap over my hair. He hands me sunglasses, and I tug on a light black sweater.
We get my bag in the trunk and I pull out the jar. It’s mostly dollar bills with a few quarters and dimes at the bottom. I take the wadded cash out and start to count.
“Six hundred and ten dollars, and change,” I finish.
“Let’s get something to eat, we have twenty minutes until we meet the next car. When we meet the next car, they expect you to be sedated. So, you need to pretend to be out cold. There’s a syringe in the glove box in a little compartment above the light. When we get on the main road, you have to empty it and put it back. When I tell you to, get back in the same position you were in when you woke up. Lay your head against the side. Don’t say or do anything until you hear my voice say wake up, okay?”
“Okay,” I say. I follow his orders after we stop for something quick to eat. He makes sure all of the evidence is out, and the money is put back in my duffle bag. I take the hat and glasses off and put them in there too, along with my jacket. As we pull into the truck stop, I rest my head on the side of the door. We pull in and he parks at the gas station and begins to fuel up. About five minutes later, he hops back into the car and makes a few lefts and a right. I feel the gravel under us and it feels like we’re on a dirt road.
I feel him open the door, and I let my head hang there with the locked seat belt holding me up. I feel him unhook the seat belt and now I’m being carried. The same spot that was bruised is now hurting. I’m trying everything in my power not to move. I feel like I’m being sat down on a chair, and my seatbelt clasp over my lap. He throws something at my feet and walks away. I feel the vehicle shift as he gets in. His door slams, and I feel us driving away. He waits about ten minutes before he says anything. I almost give up and look at him.
Hot & Cold: Toxic Love Page 18
