“Cassie, sweetie, I know this is hard to comprehend right now, but, I swear, I’m not lying to you.” His lips brush the back of my knuckles, causing a shiver to run up my spine and not a good one. “Just stay calm, okay? I’ll answer any questions you have the best I can. Do you want anything?”
I want J, but I don’t say it out loud. I just can’t see J doing something like this.
“Some water please,” I whisper, still in shock by what Zack is telling me.
He nods and kisses my hand again. “I’ll just be a second.” He causally stands and disappears behind the door.
Zack never did answer my first question.
I glance down at my attire, noting that my clothes have been changed. Uneasiness settles in my stomach at the thought of Zack undressing me. I pat my chest, feeling for my secret phone, but it’s gone.
The door opens with a squeak to my left. Zack walks back in carrying a tray of food with my cup of water on it. He sets the tray on the bed and my eyes fall to the two white pills. Zack picks them up and thrusts his hand my way. I eye it warily.
“Here, it’s just Tylenol. I figured you might need it.”
I shake my head and push his hand away. “I don’t take pills.”
“Cassie, it’s just Tylenol.”
I sigh, noticing how my back is throbbing. Giving in, I take the pills and pop them into my mouth. I take a sip of water to wash them down.
Zack passes me the tray of food, but I refuse. “I’m not hungry.”
“Promise me you’ll eat later then?”
“Not until I get some answers, Zack,” I counter. He wants to play games then fine. Two can play this game.
He sets the tray aside then casually sits on the edge of the bed. “Okay, what do you want to know?”
“Where are we?”
“Just outside of Birmingham. A friend of my parents owns this place.”
“Are you taking me back to Brilliant today, tomorrow, I’m not even sure what day it is?”
He checks the watch on his wrist. “It’s going on midnight. You have only been out for a few hours, and no, I’m not taking you back to there so J can put his hands on you. Besides, you wouldn’t even have anywhere to live.”
J wouldn’t hurt me, I know that for a fact. “I can stay with Dan and Jane.”
He barks out a humorless laugh. “Yeah, okay, go live with the parents whose son killed your parents. Not over my dead body, Cassie. Dan and Jane are trying their best to cover it all up, make it look like their son wasn’t even there. No way would you be safe there either.”
I sit here stunned. The people Zack is describing are not the same people I’ve grown to know and love.
Either way, I still need answers.
“So you’re saying, J, the sweetest guy I’ve ever met, has turned into a raging lunatic?” I pause and shake my head. “I want to know everything from start to finish.”
Zack runs a hand through his messy hair, clearly uncomfortable.
“I don’t know how it all started since I wasn’t there, but your parents invited me over for dinner and when I arrived you were out cold on the floor next to his feet and he was aiming the gun right at your parents’ heads. I tried to calm him down, but instead he became enraged, firing two shots at each of them. I managed to tackle him and knock the gun out of his hand. We fought for a few minutes until he was weak enough for me to get you out of there.” Zack looks upset as he finishes the story, but something seems off. Through the sad eyes, I’m finding I have even more questions, like why doesn’t he look beat up if they got into a fight. If I know J, he wouldn’t have taken all the hits, he would reciprocate several.
I press my fingers to my temple. “None of this makes any sense, Zack. First of all, as I’ve already explained, that does not sound my J. Secondly, let’s say for instance it was J, why would he kill my parents?”
Am I sad my parents are gone? Not really, and that probably makes me look terrible, but I could care less. Had my parents not changed, I’d be bawling my eyes out. Over the last two years, I’ve grown to hate them.
Zack clenches his jaw. “Cassie, stopping referring to him as yours. How can you still want to be with him after what he did?!”
“I love him, Zack! I always will!”
“How can you love a murderer?”
I turn over on my side, my back to him. I’m tired of trying to convince him J is not a monster. I wipe away the tear rolling down my cheek. Zack’s story sounds believable sure, but I just can’t wrap my head around it.
The bed dips behind me as I feel Zack lie down. I stiffen when he wraps his arm around my middle. This feels so intimate and I have no feelings for Zack like that anymore.
“I’m so sorry, Cassie. I wish you’d believe me. I know you are hurting and I wish I knew how to make it better.”
I pull away out his hold and flip over on my other side. Looking Zack right in his dull eyes I say, “Only seeing J can make me feel better.”
His eyes close like he is in pain from me talking about J.
“Remember when you used to talk about me that way?”
“Don’t dig up the past, Zack.”
I slowly sit up and roll my arms, trying to smooth out my sore muscles.
“Let me ask you this, if you hadn’t of moved, would we still be together?”
“Honestly? I’d like to think so, but who knows what would have happened between us?”
“We can still be that couple, you know?”
Needing space, I scoot over to the opposite side of the bed and stand, turning toward Zack to answer him. “We will never be those two people again. Time has changed us both. Feelings change, Zack. How many more times do I need to say it?”
He gets up and walks around the end of the bed to me. I try to walk away, but his arm shoots out, his fingers latching around my arm.
“I would do anything for you, Cassie. Anything. I love you. Please, give us another chance.”
“No means no. Oh, and by the way, I don’t feel comfortable with you changing my clothes.”
He frowns disapprovingly. “It’s not like I haven’t seen you naked before. Plus, you needed clean clothes.”
“For what?”
“What’s the big deal, Cassie? I thought I was being nice.”
I jerk my arm free of his grip. “It is a big deal to me. Now, I’m going to the bathroom and then I’m going to sleep for a few hours. And then, you are going to drive me back to Brilliant.”
His nostrils flare. “You can’t go back there, Cassie!”
“You have no right to tell me what I can and can’t do!” I spin on my heels, heading to the bathroom. I’m not sure exactly where it is, but I’m not about to ask him where it is. I’ll find it myself. As for going back to my Home in Brilliant, I’ll walk or even hitchhike if I need to.
When I emerge from the bathroom, which, was diagonal from the bedroom, I see no sign of Zack. I half figured he would be standing right outside the bathroom door. To my luck, he is not waiting for me in the bedroom either.
I curl under the sheets, letting my eyes drift shut. Soon, I will be back in Brilliant with my J. I will see for myself if what Zack is saying is true.
Chapter Forty- One
Cassie
I bolt upright in the bed, breathing heavily. I remember. As I figured, everything Zack said last night was a lie, which I knew. So now I am wondering why he lied. Whatever the reason, I’m not going to stick around to ask because I know it can’t be a good reason. I hear Zack snoring softly beside me so I quietly flip back the covers. Making as little noise as I can, I tiptoe toward the bedroom door. I open the door just enough for me to slip through, forgetting it squeaks.
I silently curse when I hear Zack moving.
“Dammit!” he roars and I bolt down the hall. There is barely any lighting so I can’t really see much.
“Cassie! Get back here!”
I knew better than to answer him, although I wanted to reply with a big fat ‘Kiss my ass’.
I make it to a door, but it doesn’t budge. I shake it as hard as I possibly can, yet it still doesn’t open.
I freeze when I hear Zack behind me.
“Cassie, what the hell are you doing?!”
I decide to not tell him I remember. I don’t know how he will react to it. “I need to go home, Zack, and since you won’t take me I’ll just find a way myself.”
He groans and punches the nearest wall. His fist plummets through the plaster. “Why can’t you just do what I ask? Huh? Why do you need to go running back to him and that shithole of a town?”
“I love Brilliant! It has become my home. For two years, I didn’t have one, and at first I didn’t think I would like the small town life, but I was wrong.”
Zack is quiet for a long time like he is having an inner battle with himself. “Fine, you want to go back I’ll take you.”
Whoa…totally not the answer I expected him to say. Should I trust him? If I could sneak out without him noticing I could run to the nearest store and call J.
“Let’s go then.”
He grabs my hand and tugs me behind him. Crap, I didn’t plan for him to drag me with him wherever he goes. I follow him through the house for him to grab what he needs and then he shocks me again by throwing me over his shoulder.
“Zack, put me down!”
“Nope, sorry, Cassie. I can’t have you try and run away again.”
I squirm in his hold, trying to get kick him or inflict bodily harm somehow, but it is no use. My still aching body loses fight quickly.
My feet land on rocks when he finally puts me down. Dawn is breaking over the horizon, the is sun starting to rise.
I gaze at the car we are standing next to as he unlocks it. “Uh, Zack, who’s car is this?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he replies, his tone clipped. He opens the driver’s door and says, “Get in and scoot over.”
“It would be a lot easier if you would let go of my arm.”
“Nope.”
My plan is not working at all. I need to come up with a plan B and fast. I know Zack is not going to take me in the direction I want to go. I’d be stupid to think he will.
Seeing no other option, I do as he says and climb in the probably stolen car and climb over the console to the passenger seat. Zack slides in behind me and cranks the car, all with my hand still within his grip.
“J, I’m thirsty.” It’s not really a lie. I am just hoping if he goes back in I can make a run for it.
“Really, Cassie?” he asks, clearly frustrated. He reaches for the glove department in front of me, producing a pair of handcuffs.
“W-What are you doing with those?” I sputter, feeling scared.
“My parent’s friend is a cop.”
Like that makes me feel any better.
He cuffs my right wrist then attaches the other cuff to the handle above my head.
“After your little escape attempt I think this is a must. What do you want to drink?” he asks acting normal, like me being handcuffed to the car is an everyday thing.
“Just water.”
He nods then leaves me alone to go get it, but not before pressing his lips to the back of my hand. As soon as he is out of the car I rub the spot he kissed against the pants I am wearing.
There is a slight chill this autumn morning. I have no earthly idea what Zack’s plans or motives are so I’m a little scared. Okay, I’m more than scared, I’m freaked out. This is not the Zack I left behind. Something changed in him and I’m going to find out some more answers.
Zack is back and no sooner than he hands me my bottle of water we are off. I send up a silent plea we are going back down south to Brilliant, my new home.
I take a small sip of water as I watch which direction we are headed. I keep the bottle of water gripped tightly in my hand so Zack can’t hold my hand. He must have picked up on it because he removes the water and tries to replace it with his hand again. I move my hand as far away from him as possible, but he just reaches over and interlaces his fingers with mine anyway.
“You need to stop fighting me, Cassie. By now you should realize it is getting you nowhere.”
“Why are you doing all of this? What happened to the Zack I knew?”
“I thought you didn’t want to dig up the past?”
“I didn’t, but now I think is a good time.”
“Fine, the Zack you knew was mostly a lie. You were so naive to everything going on around you, Cassie. I was doing meth with your parents before you guys split.”
“Meth?”
“Yep, and other things. Why do you think I was always invited over to dinner? I did love you, though, a lot. So, when you suddenly just up and left I was broken. I was like a zombie walking around. I knew I wouldn’t be with another girl like you so I had my parent’s friend, let’s call him, David, to start digging. My parents and I argued constantly about everything and as time passed, I started losing hope of finding you. The day David called me, I immediately ran away from home and came to live with him. He has a house just outside of Brilliant that I stayed in.”
“Why did you kill my parents?”
He shrugs like it is no big deal at all. “Out of revenge. They took you away from me. I was positive you had remembered when I noticed you were gone.”
“But why go to such lengths to break up J and I and frame him for murder? Why did you lie to me?”
“I will go to any length to get us back together again. You are mine, Cassie.”
Oh my God, he is insane. “What if I don’t want to be?”
“After spending some time with each other again, you will, I have no doubt about it.”
Zack slows to a stop at a red light and undoes the handcuffs, all while keeping a firm grip of my hand. He points to the glove box again. “There should be two hats and two pairs of sunglasses in there. We’ll need them.”
I open the compartment and pull out what he asks for, handing a set to him. Zack hands me the cuffs to place back in there. Once he has his on, he looks at me expectantly. The light turns green and he guns it, the force knocking me back against my seat.
“Put them on, Cassie. Now.”
A sudden chill creeps over my skin from his words so I one-handedly put them on.
As I feared, when Zack takes the ramp to interstate 65, he heads north. I slump back in my seat, feeling defeated. I know J is looking for me so I cling to the hope that he will find me.
After three hours riding in the car, I become hungry and I have to use the restroom again.
“Zack, I’m hungry.”
He looks at me out of the corner of his eye but doesn’t answer me.
For a minute, I thought he was going to make me starve until he exits the interstate. He pulls into the first fast food restaurant we come to and drives toward the drive thru.
“What do you want?”
I give him my order and he tells the girl our order.
When we get to the second window and the girl hands us our food, I immediately dig in. I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week.
“Thank you.” Being polite to him after he kidnapped me is not what I wanted to do, but I’m not sure what all Zack will do, and I’d like to eat again.
“You’re welcome, Cassie.”
Is it bad I am hoping he will turn back south on the interstate? Deep down, I know he won’t yet it doesn’t stop me from wishing I could go back home to Brilliant.
His phone rings just as we get back on I65 North.
“Yep,” he greets the caller.
I gaze out the window, pretending I’m not eavesdropping.
“What? No, of course not…Yeah, I’m heading back to Indiana now…because it’s a lost cause…No, I didn’t. When did this happen? You’re kidding me? Well if you need my help let me know…See ya.”
Zack ends the call, tossing the phone down in the console. His hands fist the steering wheel, obviously mad.
“Is everything okay?” I know it’s not, but I’m trying to be nice and not ta
ke a chance on getting strangled to death or whatever.
He doesn’t acknowledge my question, he just stares out at the road.
I sit quietly, taking note of my surroundings. I’ve been seeing signs for Nashville, Tennessee so we are close to it.
In Nashville, the interstate splits and Zack is heading in the wrong direction.
“Zack, I thought we were going to Indiana?”
“Nope, there has been a change of plans.”
I should have seen it coming. “Where are we going then?” Alarm bells are going off in my head. Whoever he was talking to a few minutes ago obviously isn’t someone he can trust anymore.
He ignores my question again as he veer onto Interstate 40 East towards Knoxville.
I scoot closer towards the door, resting my head against the cool glass. I need to come up with a way to get away from Zack. So far all the plans I’ve had, he has been a step ahead. I’m going to have to think long and hard about it as Zack drives us to our unknown destination.
Chapter Forty- Two
J
I’m lying awake in my bed, wide awake. I’ve got my jeans, shirt, and boots on in case something happens with Cassie. My phone is clutched tightly in my hand as I wait for a good night text or something positive from her. My guts telling me something is wrong.
As if on cue, I hear Dad’s police scanner go off. I’m up out of my bed in a flash. Cracking open my door, I listen for the page to come through. In the distance, I hear Dad on the phone. My worst fears are confirmed when I hear the page. Gunshots. Cassie’s address.
Bolting out of my room, I grab my keys off the hook, heading for the door.
“J! What do you think you’re doing?!” Dad yells as he rushes into the room, dressed in his uniform.
“I heard the page, Dad. I knew she shouldn’t have gone home tonight!”
“Son, you are not driving there. I’d rather you not go, but I don’t have time to argue with you. Put your keys away, you’re riding with me.”
I do as he says and we run to the squad car. Dad flips his lights on and guns it up the driveway.
Please let Cassie be okay!
Safe with You Page 24
