Piece of My Heart

by Layce Gardner

  Jenna smiled. “We could. We will. I’ve got to keep track of my successes. I learned a lot with you ladies.”

  “I hope we’ll always have a special place in your heart,” Melody said.

  Jenna looked at their happy, smiling faces. “Oh, you will. Definitely.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jenna was asleep. She was dreaming that she was no longer human. She was an eggroll. Or maybe a cannelloni. No, she was definitely a burrito.

  She tried to move. She was paralyzed.

  Obviously, being a burrito meant she couldn’t move.

  She tried to kick. And that’s when she saw that she wasn’t dreaming at all. She wasn’t a burrito either. She was tied up in a sheet and only her head was free. She tried to wiggle out of the sheet, but she was seriously stuck.

  Her bedside table lamp clicked on.

  “What the hell?” she mumbled, blinking rapidly. She looked down to find herself rolled in a sheet and tied up with every belt she owned.

  Lee sat on the corner of her bed and patted her leg. “You always looked so peaceful when you were sleeping. I used to wake up in the morning and just stare at you, and think I was so lucky to have you in my bed.”

  “What the hell is going on?” Jenna yelled. “How’d you get in here?”

  “I still have a key. You really should change your locks when your girlfriend moves out. It’s the carnal rule of break ups.”

  “Cardinal rule, not carnal,” Jenna corrected.

  “It’s a mute point now anyway.”

  “Moot, not mute.”

  “Whatever. You think you’re so smart? Well, who’s the one who’s hogtied?”

  Jenna tried to calm her breathing. She didn’t want to give Lee the satisfaction of seeing her hyperventilate and faint. Once she was sure she could keep her voice calm, she asked, “Exactly why am I tied up?”

  Lee cocked her head like a puppy hearing a squeaky noise. “Because I’m kidnapping you, silly.”

  “Have you lost your mind?”

  Lee laughed like Jenna had told the world’s funniest joke. “I guess you could say that. Lost my mind over you, that is. I’ve discovered that love does strange things to a person.”

  “Like kidnapping your ex-girlfriend?” Jenna thrashed, but the only thing that truly thrashed was her head. She was trussed up tighter than a Thanksgiving turkey.

  “Don’t worry, baby. I won’t kidnap you forever. Just until you see the error of your ways,” Lee said.

  “Error? My ways?” This was bad, Jenna thought. Really, really bad. Lee wasn’t dealing with a full deck.

  “I want you to see sense, to reconsider what happened between us. I love you more now than I did when we were together. I can’t let you go. I just can’t. What’s that old saying, ‘abstinence makes the heart grow fonder?’”

  “It’s ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder.’”

  “No. I meant to say abstinence.”

  “Oh.”

  Lee gazed at her. Incredibly, it looked as if her eyes were misting over. “You are so beautiful, Jenna,” she breathed.

  “This needs to stop here. Go fuck Margot and get over it,” Jenna said harshly, hoping to jerk Lee back to reality.

  “See, that’s the thing. Fucking Margot made me see the error of my ways. I realized that I’ve only ever loved you.”

  “You. Are. Crazy.”

  “Yep, crazy in love.” Lee patted Jenna’s thigh. “Now, we’ve got to get going before that soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend of yours comes over. It was her own bad luck that she had to go to that out-of-town DIY seminar. That was her downfall. She lost you because she needed to learn how to tile a shower. Tsk, tsk, tsk.”

  Jenna did her best not to panic; instead she tried reasoning with Lee. “Why don’t you untie me and we can forget this ever happened? I promise I won’t press charges.”

  “I took the liberty of packing you a bag.”

  “I’m not going anywhere with you,” Jenna said through gritted teeth. She kicked and struggled.

  “I’d say, looking at the current situation, you have no choice.”

  “What are you going to do, carry me down the stairs all wrapped up like this?”

  “Yep, and then we’re going to do that cabin in the woods thing like in the lesbian romance novels. We’ll stay there until you love me again. Proximity always works.”

  “What cabin?”

  “Margot has one up by Lake Victoria. It’s remote and difficult to find—a perfect place to rekindle the fires of our love affair.”

  “That is so not happening.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid it is.”

  “I’ll scream.”

  “I’ve considered that.” Lee bent over and picked up a pair of Jenna’s panties. Before she knew what was happening, Lee shoved them in her mouth. “Time to go bye-bye.”

  Jenna screamed, but only muffled sounds came out. Lee stood and picked Jenna up like a sack of potatoes. “You’ll be happy to know that I watered your plants.”

  Jenna struggled, but Lee only held her tighter. “Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.”

  Lee carried Jenna out the bedroom, down the hallway, and into the kitchen. She spied the car keys on the kitchen counter and grabbed them. She took Jenna out of the apartment, down the stairs, and to Jenna’s car. She unceremoniously chucked Jenna in the back seat.

  Jenna could not believe this was happening. Lee turned around. “Seeing as it’s the middle of night, I’ll take the gag out, but I’d appreciate it if you didn’t scream. I don’t want to have to hit you over the head and knock you out, but I will if you make any noise. Now, promise you’ll be good?”

  Jenna nodded. Being gagged with your own panties was no picnic.

  “Good girl,” Lee said. She plucked the panties out of Jenna’s mouth.

  “You have to give up this insane plan, Lee. Kidnapping is a federal offence. A big one.”

  “You’re not going to turn me in. Especially after we spend some time up in the beautiful woods surrounded by birdsong, pine cones, and blossoming love.”

  “You’ve gone batshit.”

  “You’ll come to see it my way soon enough. Besides, Brooklyn will get over you. I took the liberty of sending her an email telling her that you’ve changed your mind about your relationship because you’re still in love with me.” Lee laughed. “You were quite poetic.”

  “She won’t believe you.”

  “Oh, but I think she will.”

  Lee started the car. She pulled out of the complex’s parking lot and soon they were on the highway heading out of town.

  Jenna had never felt more helpless in her life. She couldn’t even wipe away the tears streaming down her cheeks.

  ***

  “Have you heard from her?” Brooklyn asked. She’d gone out to Dale and Taylor’s house after trying to call Jenna about four hundred times. “She’s not at her apartment because her car is gone and I knocked so many times my knuckles are raw.”

  “It’s not like her at all to go off like that,” Dale said, her brow crinkling with worry.

  “Hold on, I’ve got a friend. We’ll see if we can track her cell phone,” Taylor said. “Be right back.”

  It was midmorning and already getting warm. Dale and Brooklyn were sitting out on the deck. Dale poured them more tea. Brooklyn tried to sit still, but she was so nervous about Jenna her knees were bouncing.

  They both spoke at once, “You don’t think…”

  They looked at each other and Brooklyn dared to voice what they both were thinking, “Lee?”

  “No, I don’t think she went off with Lee—not willingly.”

  “It’s not like Lee would kidnap her,” Brooklyn said. It came out sounding more like a question than a statement.

  Dale raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know Lee. She doesn’t like to lose.”

  “This whole thing is weird,” Brooklyn said shaking her head. “I really love her, you know that?”

  “I know you do. There�
��s probably some perfectly logical reason for this,” Dale said.

  They watched the hummingbirds come up to the feeders positioned along the length of the deck. Brooklyn slowly breathed in and out, trying to keep her heart rate under control.

  Taylor came back out. “Her cell phone is at her apartment. You have a key, right?”

  “Yes,” Dale said.

  “Then let’s go check it out. She might have hit her head or something. I’m glad she doesn’t have a cat,” Taylor said.

  “Why?” Brooklyn asked, and then realized what Taylor was getting at. “Never mind.”

  Dale smacked Taylor in the arm. “Don’t be gruesome.”

  They got in Taylor’s Land Rover and drove into town. “She never sent a text or an email?” Taylor asked.

  “I don’t know. I only check my email once a week or so just to clear stuff off.”

  “Well, check it,” Taylor said. She was smiling.

  “Don’t enjoy this,” Dale said.

  “Why not? I love mysteries and now I’ve got my very own,” Taylor said.

  It was quiet in the back seat for several long minutes. Then Brooklyn let out a muffled sob.

  “What?” Dale asked, alarmed. Brooklyn only whimpered in response. “Let me see it,” Dale ordered, putting out her hand for the phone.

  Brooklyn handed it to her.

  “What’s happening?” Taylor said. She swerved, trying to look in the back seat.

  “Eyes on the road!” Dale said.

  Dale studied the phone for what seemed like a long, long time. When she finally looked up, she said, “She didn’t write this.”

  “What makes you say that?” Taylor asked, her eagerness showing as she leaned over, then sat back and put her hands at ten and two on the steering wheel.

  “Jenna doesn’t write like this. She read out loud: ‘After careful consideration I have come to the conclusion that…’ blah, blah, blah. It’s like a form letter. Jenna is much too emotional to come up with this, and she’s the worst when it comes to dangling participles,” Dale said.

  “Really?” Brooklyn said, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “Are you sure?”

  Dale pulled a packet of Kleenex out of the glove compartment and handed it to her.

  “Thank you. I’m not usually like this,” Brooklyn said. “But I’ve never had a girlfriend who just disappeared, and I don’t know how to handle it. I should never have gone to that seminar. Then we’d be together and whatever happened wouldn’t have happened.”

  “Do not go there,” Dale said. “This is not about Jenna leaving you. She is such a processer. If she were even thinking about it, we would have spent days going over it.”

  “That’s true, Brooklyn. I’ve been through a few of Jenna’s bad relationship issues. She’s a processer all right,” Taylor said. She turned into Jenna’s apartment complex.

  They walked up to Jenna’s door and Dale knocked three times and called out Jenna’s name. When there was no answer, she unlocked the door with her key, and called again. There was no answer. “Okay, I think we can ascertain that she’s not here.”

  “Or conscious,” Taylor said. “Let’s go poke around. There’s got to be a clue.”

  “You need to be more sensitive. We’re talking about a serious relationship clusterfuck not a murder mystery novel,” Dale scolded Taylor.

  “Sorry,” Taylor said. “It’s just that girlfriends don’t usually disappear. With the exception of Lee,” she amended.

  “I hope it’s not a murder mystery,” Brooklyn said. They stared at each other as the thought traveled through their minds.

  “It’s not,” Dale said firmly.

  Taylor stuck a finger in one of the plants on the windowsill. “They’ve been watered. That looks like a premeditated exit.”

  “It could just be coincidental. Maybe yesterday was their scheduled water day,” Dale said. “Let’s go check out her closet.”

  “I feel weird poking around her apartment when she’s not here,” Brooklyn said.

  “I don’t,” Taylor said.

  “We know you don’t, Miss Nosey,” Dale said. “Brooklyn, why don’t you sit on the couch and use your phone to go through social media sites. Something may have been posted by Lee. Or Margot. Especially Margot—life doesn’t exist for her unless it’s been documented online.”

  “Okay, that’s a good idea,” Brooklyn said.

  Dale and Taylor went into Jenna’s bedroom. Things didn’t look out of the ordinary at first.

  “No signs of a struggle,” Taylor said.

  “She didn’t make her bed and it’s missing a top sheet,” Dale said. “That’s odd.”

  Taylor went through the closet. “Jenna wears belts a lot, right. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her without one.”

  “She thinks they finish off an outfit,” Dale said, looking at the belt rack where one lone belt hung. It was a casual red canvas belt. She picked it off the rack and studied it.

  “Let me see that,” Taylor said. She slipped it around her waist and gave it a good tug one way and then the other. “Too easy to get off.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It tightens but not like a belt with holes. This one you could wiggle out of.” She held the belt and studied it. “Brooklyn,” she called out.

  “Yeah,” she called back from the living room.

  “Are you wearing a belt?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “Take it off and bring it here,” Taylor said.

  Brooklyn came in the bedroom carrying her belt. “I have to wear a belt at work to hold up my tool kit. It’s a habit now,” she said as if apologizing for being a belt wearer.

  Taylor took hers off her khaki shorts. “I have to have one because I’m in between sizes.”

  “You all don’t have to justify wearing belts, you know. They are an acceptable fashion accessory,” Dale said.

  “These are not fashion accessories,” Taylor said, shaking the belts in their faces. “They are necessities.”

  “Whatever you say, sweetie,” Dale said.

  “Let me try something,” Taylor said. She pulled up the corners of the bottom sheet and plopped down in the middle of the bed. She rolled back and forth, wrapping herself up in the sheet.

  “What are you doing?” Dale asked.

  “You’ll see. Now tie me up with the belts,” Taylor said.

  “Do what?” Brooklyn asked.

  Dale’s face lit up in understanding. “Oh, I get it. Let’s try it. Brooklyn put your belt around her ankles,” she said. Then she took Taylor’s belt and wrapped it around her arms.

  Taylor waited until the belts were buckled, then she squirmed. She strained, kicked, and bucked. There was no way she could get out. “I can’t do it! And that’s with only two belts. How many belts do you think Jenna owns?”

  Dale shrugged. “A lot. She even has a special belt holder.”

  “So, you think someone tied her up in a sheet and carted her off?” Brooklyn asked.

  “It’s plausible, you have to admit. No belts. No top sheet,” Taylor said.

  “Omigod!” Dale said from inside the closet. She poked her head back out and looked at them. “She’s missing a duffle bag too.”

  “How do you know?” Brooklyn asked.

  “She had a matched set and the duffle bag is gone,” Dale said.

  “It looks like to me like she got trussed up in her sheet and carried off to some unknown location. Now, who would benefit from doing such a thing?” Taylor asked, already knowing the answer.

  “A crazy ex-girlfriend?” Brooklyn ventured.

  “Bingo,” Taylor said. “Next stop, Margot’s.”

  ***

  When Lee said remote, she meant it. They took the freeway north then got on a two-lane road that took them into a heavily wooded area somewhere around Parksville. Then they climbed up a windy dirt road until Lake Victoria came into sight. It was not a popular tourist destination. It was so deep that it didn’t get warm enough to
swim in and the fishing was meager compared to the other lakes that surrounded Merrell.

  The lake was surrounded by pine trees, and Jenna knew that they could get lost in those woods and nobody would find them for hours. Hell, days, or even—gulp!—months.

  The bumpy dirt road they’d turned onto took one last fork and the road finally ended at a rustic log cabin. The weeds and wildflowers competed with each other, threatening to overtake the front deck.

  “Nice,” Jenna said, sourly.

  Lee turned off the engine. “I admit it leaves a little to be desired, but with some old-fashioned elbow grease we’ll have ourselves a nice, cozy love nest. You’ll see.”

  “No, I won’t see because there will be no love and no nesting. And no way I’m having sex with you.”

  “That’s what you say now,” Lee said. She got out and opened the back door of the car. She sat on the seat next to Jenna. “I’m going to let you go, but you should know that running off is not a good idea. First off, there’s the wild animals, which includes rabid raccoons, mountain lions, and bears.”

  “Raccoons, lions, and bears, oh my,” Jenna said, sarcastically.

  “Secondly, you are miles from anywhere. And if you did follow the road back the way we came, I’d just come and get you. That means you’d have to go bushwhacking through the woods. We both know you have a poor sense of direction. Bushwhacking leads us right back to your being a snack for a wild animal. You’re only getting out one way, and that’s with me. And I decide when we’re going back.”

  Jenna’s tummy growled loudly. She hadn’t even known how hungry she was until then. “Speaking about snacks, what’re we going to do about food?”

  “All taken care of,” Lee said proudly. “I came up here yesterday and stocked the cupboards. I swept the place out and I even dusted. I left the outside looking forlorn so no one would be interested in the place if anyone did come this way. No one will, so don’t get your hopes up.”

  “I’m hungry and I have to pee,” Jenna said. She forced her voice to sound small and helpless. If Lee thought she was weak and vulnerable maybe she would make a mistake. One mistake was all Jenna needed. She just needed Lee to look the other way for a moment, one small moment, and Jenna could… Well, she didn’t know what she’d do, but whatever it was, she’d do it. She wouldn’t even think twice, she’d do it.