1. I went to school yesterday
2. I went to tutoring for math after school after telling my friends to go home without me.
3. I left school around five thirty pm from the South entrance
4. I made it to Candor street and then all the way to Abilene Road
5. I remember feeling like I was being followed or watched
6. I was in front of Mr. and Mrs. Hardocks house.
7. My head feels like it’s imploding
I can’t remember anything else… I know something happened. Someone did something to me… gave me something? Whatever it was messed with my memories. But how did I make it home? Did they let me out, did they take me home, did I escape? What’s going on.
~Syren
Dropping my pen on top of my journal, I decide I should probably look for a warmer spot to sit. At least until the wind died down enough I could head back to the school or home. I tuck my bag behind the mat and walked towards the locker rooms.
“Syren!” Jumping, I turn around and meet Mr. Hodge’s eyes. Relieved that it’s only him, I sigh and start walking towards him.
“Sorry Mr. Hodge, I-I didn’t know you were here… how long have you been here?”
“I’ve been here since you arrived, Syren. I was waiting for the best moment to approach you… seem’s my patience has paid off yet again.”
“Wh-what do you mean? Mr. Hodge why are you acting so weird…”
Mr. Hodge’s laughter makes my hairs stand up.
“Ha ha ha Syren, you sweet, naïve little thing… I think I’ll carry this out a little longer, hmm? Continue to play this little cat-and-mouse game we have going on. We both know I will win though, don’t we sweet heart.” Gulping, I back up slowly, cursing myself for leaving my phone in the other room. My entire body was yelling at me to run away but also do not look away.
I was terrified as he began to steadily approach me, almost mocking my slow backwards steps. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, I feel my hands hit the metal bar on the door. While definitely not ideal, the option to escape outside seemed infinitely better than to stay and become a sitting duck.
“Don’t even think about it, Syren. You will be a good girl, just like last night. Don’t you remember last night? All the fun we had before I took you home? No? Hmmm, well maybe that’s because you took those pills and drank all that wine. Actually, I’m sure that that sort of behavior deserves a punishment, don’t you?” With wide eyes, I shake my head no and grip the door harder.
“Well, sweetheart, it’s not up to you. No, no, no. You’ve been so bad, haven’t you? Drinking and taking drugs last night and then today skipping classes and morning practice to hide in the gym? Tch tch tch naughty naughty naughty.” I could feel Mr. Hodge’s breath on my left ear now as he began to whisper.
“Let go of the door, Syren. You know its better when you cooperate. It will only hurt more if you fight me and we both know how that ends. Not to mention you don’t want your siblings or friends to get hurt, do you? No, no, no, we can’t have that happen. And what would everyone think, hmmm? How do you think your mom will feel to find out how much of a dirty whore her daughter is?” Crying softly, I let go of the door and allow him to drag me into his office.
I can’t let him hurt them. They don’t deserve this… no one deserves this. But I would rather it be me than them. I hear the door lock and allow silent tears to fall down my face.
“Open.” Whimpering, I open my mouth and accept the balled up piece of fabric. I try not to choke, but the fabric is loose and keeps hitting the back of my throat. I see him roll his eyes before ripping off duct tape and taping the gag on my face. I watch him stand up and walk to his closet. There’re all sorts of things in there; ropes of all different types and sizes, knives, whips, sex toys. You name it, he probably has it. I watch silently sobbing as I see him grabs one of the ropes and a blindfold.
He makes quick work putting the blindfold on my head and taping it down. I also feel him shove two things into my ears. Ear plugs. He is taking away my senses… without my sight or hearing. Feeling him tie my body up in his desired position is even scarier than knowing what he is doing. I guess that’s part of my punishment. I can’t hear or see anything, nor can I move any of my limbs at this point I am completely at his mercy.
During his “playtime” as he calls it, I must have passed out. All I know is that one minute I was enduring some of the worst pain in my life and the next minute I am laying a block from my house in the snow wearing my soccer uniform.
Chapter Five
Standing up, I immediately sprint home. Getting to my porch, I begin my search for the spare key. I’m shaking from the cold and the fear. I need to get into the house. Home is safety. I can hear his laughter echoing in my head. I NEED TO GET IN. I bang on the door, screaming for someone to please open up, please let me in, please help me.
“WHAT THE HELL SYREN?! ARE YOU TRYING TO GET THE COPS CALLED? GET INSIDE NOW!” Sobbing, I run into the house and straight to the bathroom. I immediately begin violently getting sick in the toilet. I can hear my mom follow me into the room before picking up my hair and holding it back.
After what felt like an hour but was actually closer to five minutes, I stop vomiting and dry heaving. She thrusts a wet washcloth in my face and I weakly take it and wipe my face with it.
“Sy, what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird since last night. You yelled at me, yelled at Taurus, skipped soccer, and now skipped school? Not to mention last night I found you half drunk in the front yard. What has gotten into you? And why are you just in your soccer clothes? Where’s your bag?” I look away, tears silently falling down my face.
“Nothing mom… I just went to a party and made some poor decisions. I skipped because I didn’t want to face Jordyn and Marina and explain to them what I’d done. I was wondering around the park when I slipped and fell getting my clothes all wet… so I-I changed into my soccer uniform. But I left my bag outside of the port-a-poty and when I came out, it was gone… I panicked, mom. I’m so sorry.” I couldn’t look even look her in the face.
I could feel the dissapointed look seeping into my body. I had failed her. He was right… it would kill my mom if she knew what a whore I was. What I was allowing this man to do to me. I can’t let her or anyone else find out what’s going on. It’s not only too dangerous, but it will break them. They shouldn’t have to live knowing that their daughter, best friend, or sister was a druggy, alcoholic whore who allowed her teachers to use her. It was from that point on I vowed to let no one find out what was going on.
Standing up, I flush the toilet and head into my bedroom. It’s officially winter break… or, well Christmas break for me. I need to be strong. I need to be normal. Not for myself, but for them. I can’t be the reason their holidays are ruined. I walk to my drawer and find some of my warmest pajamas, and head to my bathroom to shower. I don’t even go down to dinner. I just lay in bed, whimpering.
“Syren… mom say’s we are going shopping in an hour if you want to come.” Opening my eyes, I look towards my door and see Taurus looking ready to bolt at the first sign of trouble.
“Okay… I’ll be down shortly. Also, uhm Taur… I’m sorry. For yesterday, I mean. I was just really upset and took it out on you. It wasn’t right and I’m just I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine Syren. I get it… I just wish you would let me in. I’m supposed to be your best friend, your sibling, and yet its like you’re living a secret life. I don’t even know what to say to you lately… mom’s worried too. She thinks she did something wrong. Something to cause this.”
“She didn’t! No one did! I promise I just made some bad choices, but it’s fine! I’m fine now, see,” I stand up, walk to my dresser and grab some clothes. “See I’m fine.” Taurus raises their eyebrow before walking away.
“You do not have to deal with whatever you’re dealing with alone, Sy.” I could barely hear Taurus as they walked away.
“I wish it was that
simple Taur…” I whisper before changing clothes and throwing my hair into a mess bun. I was just going to put a hat on over it, so there was no need to look all fancy. I grab my coat and boots on my way out of my room, not noticing the note on my window seal.
“Ah, Taurus said you were joining us, but to say I am shocked that you actually are is an understatement.” I immediately look down at the floor, suddenly finding the carpet interesting.
“I-I know mom. I messed up and I’m sorry. I really really am.” I hope she can hear me I’m not sure I could even get it all out. I just want things to be good. Between all of us. I can’t shake off the feeling that I don’t have long… it’s a terrifying thought. But, I’d rather deal with this alone than worry everyone else. Heck, Allie is only four and Whitley is still in elementary school. They are way too young to deal with this. Taurus has enough going on in their life. And mom… mom was just trying to do the best she could. Dad, well, dad was hardly ever home. He was always working… or so he said. Taurus and I secretly thought he was cheating on mom but we had no solid proof, so we kept quiet.
No. I needed to keep this to myself. Why add more pain, anxiety, and worry on them? They definitely don’t need it. And in the girl’s case, their lives were barely starting. They needed to stay innocent for as long as possible.
Chapter Six
Mom piled us all into our minivan and drove towards our absolute favorite store. Target! I swear it is the equivalent to those Greek things that make you lose track of time and keep basically hold you hostage… LOTUS FLOWERS! That! That’s what it reminds me of. We laughed and sang obnoxiously to all the Christmas music. It was so normal. So familiar. It was almost like I hadn’t been changed… like the world still looked so-beautiful? No… well, yes, but beautiful and full of possibilities.
I soaked in every moment of this. I don’t know how long I will get to have this. Okay, no Syren bad. No thinking about THAT focus on the now. How would I explain randomly crying? I can’t well, at least not in a way that doesn’t make them any more suspicious. Thankfully, we pulled into Target soon after my almost breakdown and I nearly threw myself out of the car.
“I’M GOING TO GET A CART! WHO KNOWS HOW MANY ARE INSIDE STILL.” I yell back as a flimsy excuse for my escape attempt. But luck was on my side today. I slid in through the automatic doors and snagged the last cart before an angry-looking woman with bleached hair could. I even walked away from her, ignoring her yelling at me, saying that I stole her cart blah blah blah.
Okay, so that’s a total lie. I tried to be the bigger person, but then she went too far.
“THAT WAS MY CART YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE WHORE! NOW HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE LIVING MY DAY…” and I didn’t even let her finish.
“LADY! IT’S A CART. THERE’S MORE OUTSIDE JUST GO GRAB ONE OF THOSE. NOT TO MENTION IT IS AN OBJECT THAT YOU USE FOR A SMALL FRACTION OF TIME! IN NO WAY WILL NOT HAVE THIS PARTICULAR CART KILL YOU! GROW UP AND LOOK AROUND YOU. NO ONE IS THRILLED WITH YOUR ACTIONS. IN FACT CHANCES ARE PEOPLE CRINGE WHEN THEY SEE YOU COME IN BECAUSE THEY KNOW YOU’LL FIND SOME STUPID REASON TO COMPLAIN. YOU ARE NOT ENTITLED TO THIS CART OR TO HAVE EVERYONE WAIT ON YOU HAND AND FOOT!”
“Syren?” I look over and see Whitley looking at me with giant eyes, holding someone’s hand. Following the hand up, I pale considerably. It was him. How dare he touch her! The look in his eyes told me everything I needed to know. Do not make a scene or I will hurt her. I plaster my best fake smile and push my cart towards them.
“Hey Whit… where’s mom and the others?” I ask while attempting to ignore his stares.
“Allie had to go to the bathroom, so Taurus took her. Mom went to Starbucks to get us all drinks… why were you yelling?”
“Yes, Syren dear. Why were you yelling? That poor woman looked positively furious by the end of your confrontation.” I shoot him a glare before gritting my teeth.
“She was attempting to steal my cart and then was making a huge scene. I merely said what everyone was thinking. Whitley, why don’t you and I go look for that thing you’ve been wanting to show me?”
“OH YEAH!” Whitley realised his hand and grabbed the cart. Letting out a bunch of air that I wasn’t aware I was holding, I start to walk away, only to be stopped by a hand around my stomach.
I feel him lean forward, and I can’t suppress the terrified shiver that shook my body. “Remember, sweetheart, you say anything and they will be the ones hurting, not just you. I’ll see you in five days dear.” and with that he was gone.
“Syren? Sy are you okay? Whitley, what happened?”
“I-I don’t know your teacher found me watching Syren by the carts and then he walked me over and Syren looked scared. Then he hugged her, and this happened.”
“He hugged her?”
“Uhm… I think so? Or he was just standing behind her. I don’t know I was looking at these Christmas socks.”
I felt someone shake my shoulder and could hear a conversation. It sounded worlds away, though.
“Here you are, girls!” I gasped as I felt something cold touch my hand. Looking around, I noticed it was just my mom. I was okay. Whitley, more importantly was okay. The cold was just the iced coffee my mom was trying to hand me.
“Syren, what happened? Whitley wasn’t really paying attention and what she thought she saw honestly makes no sense.”
“What happened?”
“Allie and I walked over and Syren was super pale, her eyes were glazed, and it was like she was here but not here?”
“Syren?”
Blinking, I look at my now very concerned family. “Oh. It was nothing, just one of my old teachers who reminded me about a funny time in middle school. I-I must have zoned out. She was behind me looking at the…,” I glance down and see candles “… the candles. She had to reach around me to grab some so that may be what Whitley saw.”
“OH YEAH! It was Mrs. Peterson! I remember now!” Rolling my eyes, I thank the lord that children are so gullible and oblivious. Looking towards Taurus, though, I could see that they did not believe me. That might be a problem… especially if I have to meet up with him in five days. I can’t just not meet up with him. Then he’ll come looking for me and might actually hurt my family. No. I had to throw Taurus off of my scent.
Failing was NOT an option. For the rest of the trip I try to act as normal as possible… or well old Syren normal. I even made it through lunch with no more incidents. I just needed to monitor my time with them and in public. This way, my chances of having a repeat of today were exponentially lower.
I missed the concerned glances coming from three different people at the table during lunch. I know I was quiet, but that in itself wasn’t too weird. I could have just been thinking about what I should buy Ardent for Christmas… or no Hanukkah. How many days was Hanukkah again? Seven? I think it was seven… or was it eight? I should probably look that up. I mean, I know you are supposed to gift small things and things that matter?
Once home I help bring everything in snag my gift purchases, tape, scissors, and wrapping paper. I run up to my room and turn on my Christmas playlist on iTunes. Turning up the volume, I grab some ribbon from my desk and settle on the floor. “Oh, Santa’s gon’ come and make you mine this Christmas!” I’m not the best singer by far but at this point I don’t care who hears my horrendous singing. I’m happy. And how can you not sing to a Mariah Carey Christmas song?! She is the Queen of Christmas, right?
I take extra care to wrap all of my material gifts this year. I wan’t them to be perfect, beautiful, and to show how much I love them. I know you can’t really do that with a gift, but… it makes me feel better. I even make fancy bows to place on top of each gift.
Chapter Seven
I finish just as mom yells that dinner is ready. I make my way downstairs and just enjoy dinner. I enjoy mom’s cooking; the laughter floating through the air. This was home. My family. My everything. And I will do everything possible to keep this alive. I have five days… just five days left befo
re I may never see them again. I don’t know what will happen to me. I don’t know if he’ll just use me and bring me home like he has been.
Or maybe he will keep me… I don’t know where, but I bet he has somewhere he could hide me. Then he could use me whenever he wanted. Or… he could kill me… okay, no Syren. Good thoughts, focus on family. You have five days… each day I will dedicate towards one person I care about. Well, Jordyn and Marina will have to share a day. Ardent… well, I do like him and I want him to have a good life. I don’t feel the need to dedicate one of my possibly very few days to him. He is just a high school fling. A crush.
He had been important to me. Still is… kinda. I guess I grew up and see what’s more important now. Kyle say’s that happens. I trust him. He is one of the first people I met here. Once everyone finished, I excused myself with the excuse that I have more Christmas wrapping to do. Which, technically, isn’t a lie. I did… just not what they’re thinking.
I was going to write notes to them. All of them. Sitting at my desk, I grab my papers and pens. I guess I will start with dad… he’s the easiest.
Dear Dad,
Remember when I used to call you Daddy? I do… I never see you anymore. It’s almost like we don’t exist. I don’t buy the whole ‘I’m working extra hours’ excuse. Tell mom. Think of it as my last request. Tell mom and get a divorce. She deserves the truth and the chance to move on. Relinquish all right to Allie, Whitley, and Taurus. Give mom full custody. You’re never around as it is, so it’s not like you’ll be missing out on anything. PAY CHILD SUPPORT. Mom needs it. If you do nothing else for them, pay the damn child support. In fact, pay it and more for all the suffering you’ve put them through. Don’t act like you care because we all know damn well you don’t anymore. Maybe you never did. None of that matters, though.
Vanished (Syren Nova Series Book 1) Page 2
