by Nicole Adams
“I’ll see you there.” Dad replies, as he shows Wallace to the door.
“How are you doing, sweetheart?” Mom asks, placing a sausage and egg muffin in front of me before wrapping her arm around my shoulders. I tuck in, my stomach growling in pleasure.
“I’m okay. Just glad that it’s all getting sorted I guess,” I lie, mumbling between chews. The inner turmoil, churning my stomach, like a rotavator. Charlie’s grip on my hand tightens and he gives me a warm smile. The worry hasn’t dissipated, and I can’t shake the feeling it isn’t over.
“Well, Gilly has been calling all morning. I told her your phone was off and she insisted you call her back. She is very worried about you honey.” Mom smiles as she heads to the kitchen to pour another cup of coffee. With my Mother’s release, Charlie pulls me into his lap, burying his nose into the crook of my neck.
“How did you sleep?” he murmurs against my skin, sending tingles through my body.
“Better than you I presume. You slept in that tiny chair for me?” I ask, turning my head to look into his eyes.
“More for my peace of mind. I wanted to make sure you were alright,” he says, placing featherlike kisses on my shoulder. I return a chaste kiss on the nose.
“You two better cut that out. My rules still stand. Even under these circumstances,” Henry warns as he sits at the table.
“I should probably call Gilly back, anyway before she organises a man hunt,” I giggle, placing a quick kiss on Charlie’s lips and running from the room before Henry can retaliate.
I turn my phone on to a chorus of chimes letting me know I have 14 missed calls and 31 messages, mostly from Gilly. I hit speed dial and it doesn’t ring twice before she answers.
“Where the hell have you been? I’ve been worried sick!” she yells down the phone.
“Sorry Gilly, my phone died, and I have been talking to the sheriff this morning. I’m fine, seriously. Are you okay?”
“Me? I wasn’t the one being attacked by a delusional psychopath!” she screeches. “I wish Coach never got in the way of Charlie pummelling him!” she shouts.
“Gilly, have you been watching those crime shows again?” I ask.
“Of course, and I have also been reading a psychology book. If I am going to be a behavioural analyst for the FBI I need to be ahead of the game!” she says, her voice never lowering below a bellow. I roll my eyes. She has wanted to be one ever since she was a little girl and she would sneak downstairs after hours when her mom would watch ‘Criminal Minds’.
“Gilly! Stop yelling! The phone is next to my ear you know?” I shout.
“Well open the door then and let me in so we can have this conversation in person.” A knock sounds through the house and she hangs up the phone. I head over and open the door.
“You didn’t have to come all the way down here.”
“On the contrary, I needed to check on you, you wouldn’t answer your phone so here I am!” she says, raising her arms in the air, showboating. “Plus, I could do with a full day with my best friend seeing as I haven’t spent a hell of a lot of time with her these past few weeks.” She says accusingly.
“Sorry, I-” she cuts me off by raising a hand.
“I don’t need excuses! I know where you have been, loving it up with your new hunk! I understand completely. When I find my man, you won’t be seeing me for at least a month.” She winks, before moving past me and into the kitchen. “and speak of the devil. Charlie. Henry.” She nods at them both and gives them a smile. Placing her bag on the bottom of the stairs.
“What’s the bag for?”
“Oh yeah. I’m staying over, didn’t I mention that part?” I smile and shake my head.
“it’s nice to see you Gilly, can I get you a drink or something?” Mom asks. “Henry, be a dear and take her bag up to Faye’s room?”
“Sure, no problem.” He gets up to grab the bag. My jaw drops to the floor as I look at my brother wide eyed.
“What? No argument?” I ask, shocked.
“I was headed up anyway.” He says, glancing at Gilly, her cheeks reddened, taking a long gulp of her juice.
“Well, what job do we have first?” she asks, wiping away her orange moustache.
“I have to ride Ranger, then muck out the stalls and I think dad wants the cattle moving.’ I say, raising an questioning eyebrow at Charlie, which he returns with a nod.
“Great! We can go for a ride!” she shouts.
“Well me and Charlie were going to go for a ride.” Henry says re-entering the room.
“Do you want to join us?” Gilly asks.
“Sure, why not?” Henry smiles as he heads out the door with us all in tow. I raise my eyebrow and give Charlie a look, before giving the same look to Gilly. She shrugs in response.
I slow down so I can match her pace. “Is something going on?”
“No! Not that I know of!” She gives a faint smile before picking up the pace to catch up with the boys at the stable.
“Okay...” I murmur to myself. My brother has never liked our company and to agree so willingly? They have to be up to something. “Gilly you can ride Lunar. I’ll take Ranger,” I say, pointing Gilly over to her stall. She has ridden with us for years, ever since we have been friends. She used to help out a lot more at the farm, but after we started senior year, she didn’t come around that much anymore.
I hand her the saddle off the bench before grabbing Ranger’s. The kick of the stable door greets me. “Whoa there, boy. I’m going as fast as I can!”
Gilly laughs. “I forgot how much you talk to the horses!” she giggled.
We prepped the horses before heading out towards the meadow. I take a deep breath, trying to suck in the serenity and make it my own.
“Race to the trail?” jetting off as she finishes. She doesn’t even know. Me and the boys set off straight after her. I bypass Charlie, with a wink before passing Henry and finally Gilly, eclipsing her and taking the lead.
“What the hell?” is all I hear as I pass her and keep going. Ranger is the fastest horse we have and the fact I’m riding him when he is used to my Dad and Charlie means he can run faster than he’s used to. As I reach the trail, I pull him back. “Whoa.” He carries on.” Whoa!” I shout and tug a little harder on the reins. He slows, to allow the others to catch up.
“So, what do I win?” I say to Gilly as they catch up?
“I didn’t know he was that fast!” she said, her unimpressed tone slipping through her words. We all burst out laughing at her.
∞∞∞
“Is it okay if I take a shower?” Charlie asks, rising from the sofa, leaving his controller.
“Of course. Can't have you smelling like the stable, now can we?” Mom jokes. Charlie leans down and kisses me on the forehead before heading upstairs.
“I'm still not okay with that.” Henry pipes up, not letting his eyes leave his game. I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head, Gilly giggles at my defiance.
“I have to check the horses for the night, anyway.” I stretch out my limbs before jumping up. “You coming?” I asked Gilly.
“Sure. What else do I have to do?” Following me out. I grab Charlie’s jacket on the way.
“How are you feeling?” Gilly asks when she catches up.
“Really good. How about you? You’ve been quiet.”
“I have something I want to ask you,” she says, quietly, ringing a hands together.
“Okay...” I drag out. Raising an eyebrow in suspicion. Where is this going?
“I was wondering if you would be okay with me maybe ... Asking out Henry?” she blurts out. I stopped before we entered stable. Dumb struck.
“Are you serious?” I ask. She stutters her eyes darting like she wants to make a run for it. Damn she is serious. “How come?” I asked softly, trying not to scare her.
“Well, don't be mad.” She holds her hands up. I hate it when people say that it almost instantly sets me on edge. “After that night with the fire, we kept in
touch. Not all the time! Just on and off since, but I really enjoy our talks, and find myself looking forward to them. If you say no, I completely understand. I won't-” I put my hands up to cut her off before she spirals.
“Gilly, It's fine. After stealing his best friend, I suppose he could steal mine. But I still want to see you and don't want any details. Also, if he breaks your heart, I'll kill him myself,” I say pounding my fist into my hand. She looks a little shocked, before she dives on me pulling me into a tight hug.
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank-” she goes limp in my arms. she fainted? Jesus Christ! Before I can try to rouse her, and arm wraps around my shoulders from behind and a cloth covers my face. I hold my breath. Dropping Gilly, before trying to fight to free myself. Kicking and elbowing anything I can.
“It's okay baby. Just take a deep breath. I got you now.” Cole whispers in my ear. I tried to scream, before drawing in a breath. I realised my mistake, as the darkness envelops me.
Chapter 16
Charlie
“She's gone!” I hear Henry shout from the bottom of the stairs. Still half dressed in my jeans and socks, I run down to see what's going on, clutching a clean white shirt. Henry is stood just inside the back door, clutching an unconscious Gilly, shaking her gently trying to wake her.
“What do you mean she's gone?” his father shouts, holding onto his temper by a thread.
“They both went to tend to the horses 20 minutes ago, when they didn't come back, I went to hurry them up. Gilly was out cold in the doorway and Faye’s just gone! I looked everywhere, all I found was this cloth next to Gilly.” He says frantically. His mother rushes over, to tend to Gilly. His father frantically paces whilst dialling the phone.
“Wallace! He has her! She's gone!” he yells down the phone. “Her friend is unconscious. We need to find that son of a bitch now!” He shouts. Henry's mom takes the cloth from his hand and smells it. Grimacing away.
“Chloroform.” she says, eyes wide. I clench my fists, trying to hold on to my temper.
“What? I'm putting you on loudspeaker,” he says before clicking the phone and placing it on the table.
“Peter, my guys have been looking into this Cole, and apart from social media, he doesn't exist.” Wallace crackles through the phone. “We used some of his images from social media, and did a face recognition search and you aren't going to like what we found.” He pauses.
“What?!” Peter shouts. Gilly stirs in Henrys arms as Faye’s mom examines her head.
“He is wanted in three other states for impersonating a student, kidnapping, battery of a minor among other things. His name is Jack Sanford and he is 22 years old.” The Miller family goes silent with the news. I slammed my fists on the table.
“What other things?” I ask through my gritted teeth.
“Rape and attempted murder.” Wallace replies, barely a whisper.
“Jesus Christ.” Henry lets out under his breath. Before another word is said I head for the door grabbing my keys.
“Whoa there, Son. we need more information.” Peter put his hand on my shoulder before I can leave.
“What more information do we need? We need to catch him before he can hurt her! She was meant to be safe here. I told her she was safe.” I shout, my face flushed with heat.
“Son, we sent a squad car over to where he was meant to be staying, but the place is empty. We have people out looking for his truck. I will put in a request for an Amber Alert on his truck and their descriptions. Hopefully that will lead us somewhere,” Wallace says.
“You just want us to wait here? That's not good enough!” I shout, pushing past Peter and heading to my truck. I hop in and before I turn the key, Henry is in the passenger seat.
“So, what's the plan?” He asks.
“Drive around, find them, kill him!” I growl, knuckles turning white against the steering wheel.
“Great. Where do we start?” he asks.
“You call everyone. Let them know what happened and see if they know anything. We need as many people looking for her as possible, tell them to be discreet though. We don't want to spook him. Just spread the word and keep an eye out.”
“Got it.” Henry says, whipping out his phone and dialing. My heart is pounding out of my chest as I tear after the drive. I'm coming Faye.
Chapter 17
Faye
I peel my eyelids open, the blur of colors slowly becoming clearer. The damp smell of disuse fills my nostrils. Where the hell am I? The light of a new day pours through the small overhead window. I'm on a camping cot that creaks with any movement, with a wool blanket over me. Other than the cot, the basement room is empty. The creak of the door has me rolling and closing my eyes tight.
“Are you awake yet, baby?” Cole whispers. What happened at the barn comes back to me. Shit. He kidnapped me. I tried to keep my breathing steady, so he thinks i'm still asleep. How long have I been here? The door creaks shut and I slowly shift on the bed to look for something to defend myself. Not a thing is in this basement, not even a crumb.
“I thought you were awake.” He sneers from the top step. I jump backwards on the bed. Shit. He didn't leave. “Shh shh shh, it's OK baby, I won't hurt you.” He says hurrying down the stairs, before kneeling in front of me.
“How long have I been here?” I hoarsely get out, my throat gritty and dry.
“Almost 14 hours. I'm sorry. I didn't know if I could trust you yesterday, with him being so close. I had to put you to sleep so you wouldn't scream.” He says stroking my hair. I try to to paint a plain face on, not to make him mad with my grimace. I nod slowly, fighting back a sob.
“Can I use the bathroom?” I ask in my sweetest voice, hoping it will work.
“Of course, baby. Let me take you.” He stands and holds out his hand, before sharply pulling back. “I can trust you, can't I? You won't scream, or try to run away?” he asks, growling. I shake my head, big and puppy dog like. His smile replaces his scowl and sticks out his hand for me again. I inwardly sighed with relief. I hesitate slightly, before taking his hand. I internally grimace at the feel of his clammy hands in mine, as he leads me up the stairs. As we enter the kitchen, I see that the whole house is barren. No furniture, wires hanging out of the walls, no appliances. No fridge.
He shows me to a small bathroom that clearly has no running water And I smile and go to shut the door, as he snaps his hand between the door and the frame.
“Keep this open!” he shouts.
“I can't go if you're watching. Please, I'm desperate. I'll be right back a promise,” I plead, my voice soft and submitting, my eyes cast to the floor. He hesitates before moving his hand , his eyes never leaving mine, his searing gaze boring holes into my head.
“OK, but quickly,” he replies sheepishly.
I inwardly sigh and shut the door. I do my business quickly, before looking at the window. It looks like we’re a mile or so outside of town, just passed the high school. I quickly look around for anything to write on, feeling through my pocket and Charlie’s jacket pocket. A receipt! Bingo. I feel around for a pen or pencil but no luck. I placed the receipt back in my pocket for future use. I run through my plan in my head, before Cole bursts through the door, angry.
“I'm sorry. I was trying to clean myself up, but the water wasn't working.” I say, combing my fingers through my hair, which was filled with knots.
“Hurry up.” He growls before closing the door again. I look around for another weapon of some kind but there's nothing. So I leave, begrudgingly. Plan A is about to begin.
I plaster a vulnerable look on my face. “Cole, do you have anything to eat or drink?” putting on my damsel in distress voice. “I think whatever you gave me has made me feel a little faint.” I stagger a little. He reaches out to steady me. A guilty look on his face. Sucker. I should get an award for this performance.
“I'll go out and get us something.” He says, stepping closer. It takes everything in me not to move away. His face is uncertain.
&nb
sp; “Could I come? I don't really want to be alone.” Letting the fear seep into my voice. His face turns cold.
“This better not be a game,” he growls.
“No! I just don't want to faint and you not be here to help me.” The indecision is plastered across his face as he contemplates his response.
“Well, we can't be long, I just need one more thing and we can hit the road.” He pulls me into a hug and I stiffen at the contact. He pulls away to look at me and I smile sweetly, placing my hand on his forearm.
