Trapped

by Sally Mason

  The nausea hits me unexpectedly and I almost barf all over the floor. With a crooked grin, I spin around and head in the direction of the restrooms. Ignoring the snide remarks of the other girls waiting in line, I squeeze through an opening in the door just as someone is leaving.

  The strong scent of perfume and toilet bowl cleaner sends me over the edge. My insides rebel as I lunge into the stall, ignoring more angry mumbling from the other patrons. Before I can even lock the door, my stomach contents begin to leak into the toilet. When the retching stops, I lean back, my whole body shivering. Rapid changes of hot and cold flashes battle through me while I catch my breath. My throat is raw and on fire, the foul taste in my mouth almost making me gag again.

  I must have dozed off. When the stall door slams against my feet, I’m startled. A girl stands in front of me, her features blending in and out of focus. I squint, trying to figure out what she wants.

  “Hey, are you okay?” Her brows knit together in a critical frown.

  I feel judged.

  “Your boyfriend is out there, going nuts, because you’ve been in here like an hour,” she says. “Do you need help?”

  I have no clue what she’s talking about. I don’t even know how I got here. “I don’t have a boyfriend.” And then the truth hits me. It must be Jed or his friend, trying to recapture me. This terrible fear has been constantly in the back of my mind ever since I escaped.

  My arms wrap around the girl’s calf. “Please, don’t leave me. This guy is trying to kidnap me. You have to call the police.”

  She tries to free herself from my grip, but I hold onto her leg for my dear life. She is the only one who can save me.

  “Are you crazy?” she hisses when she finally gets out of my clutches. “Call the cops yourself. You’re totally wasted.”

  She storms out just as my eyes fall on the window. It’s wide enough for me to squeeze through. I fiddle with the handle until it finally pops open. A warm night breeze brushes over me. The sweetness of lavender in the air makes me sick again and my stomach heaves, but the fear and unrest that cause my heart to beat triple its speed drives me forward. I won’t allow them to drag me back to Jed’s cabin.

  I almost make it. My head is already hanging down, my arms stretched out to reach for safety. The sidewalk is close, only inches away, when someone pulls on my legs, inching me back toward danger.

  I squeal, kicking. “Leave me alone.”

  Colorful curses assault my eardrums when my feet find a soft target. The pulling stops, but my efforts prove too stringent on my body. Vomit spills from my mouth again. I end up a trembling mess, just as my assailant resumes hauling me back into the club, despite my growing protests.

  “HELP!” I scream at the top of my lungs. “HELP! He’s trying to abduct me.”

  A sharp “What’re you doing, dude?” makes my heart rejoice. Finally, someone is coming to my rescue.

  “My friend had too much to drink and is freaking out. I’m trying to get her inside. She doesn’t even realize she’s on the second floor and will get seriously hurt if she falls.”

  No, no, no—he’s totally lying. The sidewalk is right under my nose, even if it is a tad blurry. I start to kick again, but another set of hands comes to my attacker’s aid. They restrain my legs from causing any more damage and also bar my escape. I can’t fight them both. After one joint pull, I find myself back inside the bathroom.

  I immediately change strategy and punch the air in front of me. The room is spinning. I’m dizzy, but stand my ground until two strong arms wrap around me.

  “Kelsey, stop. It’s just me—Finn.”

  “NO,” I yell, my shrill voice almost splitting my eardrums. “You’re him. You’re Napoleon and you’re only nice to me because you want to rape me again.”

  “Hooo.” The guy next to Finn raises his palms, taking a step back. “That’s getting too heavy for me. I’m gonna call the cops and they can figure this out.”

  Finn releases me. “Hey, she’s totally high and doesn’t know what she’s talking about.” His hands run through his hair. He looks like he is about to cry. “I’m on probation, man. If you call the cops, they’ll arrest me. She’s underage and you’ll be in trouble as well for serving her alcohol.”

  I get sick again, throwing up right on the floor. Finn jumps back, but is still hit with a generous amount of half-digested food and tequila. Good.

  “Goddammit,” the guy cusses. “You better get her out of here. I swear if you’re not gone in the next five minutes, I’ll have the bouncers beat the crap out of you.” He extends his hand. “And before you get any ideas, gimme your car keys.”

  Finn’s eyes go wide. “Are you crazy? How’m I supposed to get her home?”

  “Not my problem. You’re both drunk and you’ll probably kill someone if you get behind the wheel. The club will be sued and I’ll lose my job on top of all this.” He adamantly shakes his head. “No, dude, not happening. And I swear if I find out you touched her tonight, I’ll personally crack your skull. Now get out of my sight and don’t think of ever coming back here again.”

  “Please, I don’t want to go with him,” I whimper.

  The guy just shoots me a nasty look and leaves. A large group of girls gawks at me, but no one even lifts a finger. Each and every one of them lowers their gaze when my begging eyes meet theirs.

  Finn’s hand gets ahold of my wrist. “Come on, Kelsey. We’ve to go or we’ll both be in trouble.”

  I tear my arm away from him. “NO.”

  He grabs my shoulders and shakes me violently. “What’s wrong with you? I’m not Napoleon. I don’t even know who the hell that is!”

  Tears roll down my cheeks. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  He catches me just as my knees buckle. I stagger through the club, hanging onto his neck. I can’t fight him anymore. My head swims and a jackhammer is moving in. Thirst burns in my throat while I desperately fight the nausea. The sound of the music explodes painfully in my skull as we seem to crawl over the dance floor toward the exit.

  We finally make it outside, and as the cool night air hits me, I barf again in a corner next to a dumpster. When I’m done, I pant, too weak to remain on my feet without support. I double over and sink to the ground, cradling into a ball. My eyes twitch from exhaustion.

  Finn squats next to me. “Kelsey, you have to get up.”

  I grunt, tiredness slowly luring me under its spell. The humming of my blood in my ears is soothing. My eyelids become heavy.

  “Luke,” I mumble. “I want Luke.”

  “Okay, I might as well call him to pick us up since I can’t get ahold of anyone else. What’s his number?”

  With a last-ditch effort, the numbers slur from my mouth before my mind goes totally blank.

  ~~~~

  I awake when the car swerves and I’m almost tossed off my seat. It takes me a minute to realize that I’m squeezed in the back of a moving vehicle. The slight scent of coconut suggests it’s Luke’s truck. He’s always been a fan of those air fresheners you hang from the rearview mirror and coconut is the flavor of the month.

  “What the hell were you thinking of taking her from the hospital?” Luke’s voice trembles with fury. “That was totally irresponsible.”

  “Look, all I wanted was for her to have a break for one night. I never thought she would freak out like this.” Finn’s words are whiny, reminding me of a small child.

  Luke huffs. “What did you give her?”

  “We had a few joints and some shots.”

  Luke clicks his tongue and the temperature in the truck drops by a few notches. “That’s just great. Mixing shit like this is fucking genius.” The sarcasm oozes from his voice. “No wonder she freaked out. If you paid any attention in class, you would’ve known that mixing alcohol and weed can cause anxiety attacks and paranoia. You were just lucky that she didn’t try to cut herself.”

  Finn’s head hits the back of his seat. “God, that would have been awful.”

 
; Heavy silence falls over the truck. I almost drift back to sleep from the even humming of the engine when Finn clears his throat.

  “Who’s Napoleon? She thought I was him.”

  Luke sucks in a deep breath. “That’s Jed’s friend who also abducted her.”

  “I thought his name was Drake something.”

  “Well, yeah, that’s what everyone thinks.” The car makes a left turn before speeding up. “But there was never any real evidence that it was him. It could have been anybody. Napoleon was what Jed called him.”

  “That’s stupid.”

  “Oh yeah, and why is that, genius?”

  “Napoleon’s character was highly influenced by his height. He was very insecure because of that, which made him so vicious. I doubt the abductor was really short, so the nickname isn’t really fitting.”

  Luke snorts. “I guess you do pay attention in class when you want to. And yes, I agree. It was a stupid nickname, but then, Jed isn’t really smart. The few brain cells he had were destroyed in the boxing ring. He’s dumber than a brick.”

  The nausea crawls up my throat again when the car makes another turn. “Hey, I’m really sick.”

  Finn peeks over the passenger seat. “Do you need us to stop?”

  “Uhum,” I mumble before my hand clutches my mouth.

  The car slows. I jump out before it has fully stopped. My stomach heaves and I gag. Finn holds my hair back as my ordeal continues while Luke strokes my back. In that moment, I swear I will never touch another drop of alcohol—or smoke a joint for that matter.

  Luke produces a bottle of water which I down in one go before climbing back into the truck. My throat is still raw, my head pounding. The water settles my stomach, but I’m still not convinced I will be able to keep it down. The humming of the engine soon lulls my mind as we continue our journey in silence.

  “Luke,” I whisper just before drifting back to dreamland.

  “Hm,” he grumbles.

  “Please don’t tell anyone about tonight. I don’t want Finn to get into trouble.”

  He lets out an exasperated gasp. “Kels, I can’t just ignore—”

  “Luke, please. Do it for me. He’s my friend.”

  An annoyed sigh escapes his lips. “Okay, as long as this stays a one-time thing. I won’t cover for you guys again.”

  “Thanks.” A small smile tugs on my lips when the Sandman knocks on my door. Luke really is the best big brother any girl could ask for.

  There are three more stops until we finally get back to the hospital. Finn shows Luke the back entrance, and while cursing, my brother commits a misdemeanor to end our little adventure. A sweep of Finn’s employee card allows us access to the building, which is covered in total silence. I’m snuggled into Luke’s arms while he carries me upstairs to my room and tucks me into bed.

  He kisses my forehead. “Good night, sis. You’ll feel worse tomorrow morning, but that’ll be a good punishment.”

  “Thanks for coming to my rescue, bro.”

  There are tears in his eyes. “Nothing will ever make up for me not coming to get you that night of the party. If I had only picked you up, you would never have been kidnapped. It’s all my fault. I will never forgive myself.”

  “Hey.” I grab his hand. “Don’t beat yourself up. If it hadn’t happened that night, it would have been some other time. Jed and Napoleon planned for months—he told me so himself.”

  He gave me a crooked smile. “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Tonight you were there for me and that’s the most important thing. I’m sorry I messed up.”

  “I guess we’re both experts when it comes to that.”

  I close my eyes, battling more nausea. “Yes, I guess we are.”

  “Sleep now.” He tucks the blankets closer around me. “I’ll take your friend home and make sure he gets his truck back tomorrow.”

  “Thanks.” My eyelids flutter. “I love you, Luke.”

  “I love you, too, sis.”

  CHAPTER 10

  For the rest of the summer, there are no more excursions outside the hospital—it is one of Luke’s imposed conditions to keep his mouth shut. At first, he also insists Finn stay away from me, but that sanction is lifted after a few days when he realizes how miserable I am. Though Luke hates to admit it, Finn gets me to open up to him. Since both Finn and I went through a traumatic experience others can’t relate to, I feel connected to him. He empathizes with my vulnerability without judging me and that is the one thing Luke doesn’t get. It upsets him, but is something he grudgingly learns to accept. He even agrees that this is the first big step I have taken toward my recovery.

  I meet my obligations and attend group and individual therapy but only go through the motions. I don’t like Dr. Malcolm, the psychiatrist, and talking in front of a group has always terrified me. Yet, according to the clinic, I’m making progress. As a sign of goodwill, I even allow my mom and Roy to visit me in the beginning of August. After all, I can’t hold a grudge forever. It’s an awkward situation when they also drag my dad along, and for an hour, we sit under a tree, making small talk. I’m thrilled when they finally leave.

  I expect for Luke to stop by afterward to smooth over the waters, but he is busy with his summer job in his dad’s law firm and his visits have become a rare treat. It’s irritating since he has always been there for me, no matter what. Now it almost seems he is excluding me from his life, especially since Finn has been coming around.

  My sulking is cut short when Finn pulls his truck next to the garden a couple of hours later. He was finishing a project for summer school in the last few days and I’m dying to catch up with him. When I join him by the flowerbeds, he is just starting to fumble with the garden hose.

  His face lights up when he sees me. “Hey, Kelsey. What’s up?”

  “Not much.” I lean against the truck. “How did your project go?”

  “I’m sure I aced it. It was history, something I particularly like.” He turns on the water, spraying the flowers that we planted a little over a month ago. They are flourishing. “Just my finals left in two weeks and I will have officially graduated high school.”

  In many ways, I envy him. It has always bothered me that I just quit before the end of my junior year. After the kidnapping, I dragged myself to classes every day for a few months but could not stomach the stares and whispers behind my back. When Justin broke it off after I had refused to be affectionate with him, I stopped going altogether. The pain of losing him was the final straw and I felt punished all over again. That’s when the cutting started.

  “I’m glad you don’t have to repeat your senior year again,” I say.

  “It’s not that I had that much of a choice.” He grimaces. “My probation officer was going to violate my probation if I didn’t get my act together. After the summer, I’ll work in my uncle’s shop, which will hopefully shut him up.”

  “What about college?”

  He chuckles. “College isn’t for someone like me. No one in my family has ever even graduated high school. My mom is third-generation welfare.”

  “So the way it was at Tyrone’s house, that’s how you grew up?”

  His face darkens. “No, Tyrone’s place is like paradise in comparison. There’s always enough money for food and he doesn’t allow any of the hard stuff in the house. My mom’s a major crackhead and would sell her kids for a fix. Luckily, I don’t have any sisters or that boyfriend of hers would have probably sent them hooking.”

  “That must have been tough. How do you even know Tyrone?”

  His forehead wrinkles. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I flush, shuffling my feet. “I thought he was your drug supplier.”

  For a second, I fear I offended him, but he laughs instead. “I was never into drugs and only smoke weed from time to time. I bunked with Marcel’s nephew in juvenile lockup. When I came to Maine, he helped me out with money a few times. I met Tyrone through him.”

  “Oh.” I can’t believe he li
kes to hang around people like that. “So Marcel is your friend? I felt he was a little creepy.” I grimace, once again not sure if I put my foot in my mouth. All this talk about shady characters is new to me. People like Tyrone and Marcel don’t tend to walk around in places like Stonehenge.

  Finn is a good sport about it. “Marcel just looks scary, but all in all, he’s a nice guy.” He turns off the water. “Tyrone is the dangerous one—he has connections to the Colombian cartels and is not someone to double-cross.”

  I wrinkle my nose, glad I got out of that house alive. Truthfully, I wouldn’t mind if I never have to see any of them again.

  When I am just about to ask Finn what he has planned next, a nurse approaches us, an Amazon package in hand.

  “Here, Kelsey, this was delivered for you. It’s a book.”

  A small smile automatically appears on my lips. It’s probably from my mom. She told me earlier that she had ordered me a few novels.

  “Thanks.”

  When I pull the book from the package, it takes a few seconds for the title to register in my brain. It’s Messenger of Fear by Michael Grant.

  The book goes flying and I shriek as hundreds of little legs run across my skin. I try to shoo them away, but my lungs are crushed at the same time. I gasp for air, my voice shrill as I slap my body, trying to get rid of the crawling feeling.

  Two strong arms enclose me. I punch my assailant, my screams so loud that they almost split my eardrums. I struggle as tears run down my face. The tingling sensation is everywhere on my skin, my breath caught in my throat.

  “Kelsey, concentrate on your breathing. You can get through this.” Finn’s voice is muffled through the heavy fog surrounding my mind that has stolen all sense of reason.

  I fight harder as the small legs continue their assault until a piercing pain in my upper arm takes me away into darkness.