"You know, Jade..." he gritted, killing me with his gaze. "My partner is the more level-headed one but he's not here right now, so…this can go one of two ways." My fingers were losing all feeling from his grip, and I staggered back, but he stepped forward, swallowing all the light. "You behave and finally shut the fuck up or—”
And that’s when he did it—withdrew his secret weapon. My phone.
“I call Xavier and you can have a little chat with him. He’s been very persistent, hasn’t he? Would you like that instead?”
I felt it—the way my face drained of all color. I’d forgotten all about what happened at the house and how I lunged for my phone. I’d been disconnected from Xavier’s relentless calls and texts and I’d calmed down rather quickly. Too fast. I got too comfortable, and A. M. was going to rip it all away.
Tears spilled over and down my cheeks as I stared at him, noticing the way he pulled back at my uncalled-for reaction. “No.” I shook my head, his proposition sending goosebumps all over my skin. Over the scar gifted to me by Xavier. “Don’t call Xavier, okay?”
It seeped into me—that gut-wrenching understanding that this stranger felt safer than my ex-boyfriend. What a painful and pathetic reality.
“I’ll stop talking.” I nodded, doing my best to reassure the stranger that there was no need to follow through on his threat. “I’ll go pick my clothes right now. I won’t say another word.”
Relief washed over me when he let go and took a small step back, his expression indecipherable.
I wasted no time. I picked out some dresses, a few sandals and running shoes, two bathing suits, some lingerie, and a little summery purse. The seashells sewn onto the handle were grounding; I couldn’t stop touching them, like a constant reminder that it was all in the past. Everything with Xavier was in the past.
The hum of the kidnapper’s car engine droned out my dark thoughts, and I stared out of the window, counting down the minutes until we’d arrive at the little beach house. All I wanted was to climb into the soft bed and fall asleep. Hopefully forever.
But at some point, the growl of my stomach intruded on our now non-speaking terms.
"When did you last eat?" Of course, he asked.
"I dunno. Yesterday? At lunch, maybe."
He sighed, tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. "Fuck. Let's go eat and you can tell me why you're so petrified of your ex-boyfriend."
I didn't want to do that. I never wanted to speak about him again.
"It’s a long story.”
It was all silent again and I thought this was it, he’d given up, but then—
"I have time.”
5
Little Horror Story
Alex
Ifelt like I was free-falling. As soon as Jade sank her teeth into my skin last night, it all went to shit. My sanity, my control, my plan.
Did I even still have a plan? Because if I did, I wouldn't have been pulling into the no-parking zone on the side of the road. This place was basically a trailer, but it had my favorite Jamaican food, and here I was, sharing my coveted spot with the heathen.
While I ordered, I watched her sit at the picnic table. She was as still as a statue. The white pajamas were almost blinding in the sun, so she withdrew the sunglasses from the little purse adorned with seashells and slowly placed them on her face.
All her fire was extinguished as soon as she saw what she thought was her phone, and she finally closed her mouth, no more insults leaving her lips. But it was for all the wrong reasons.
I placed the tray of food in front of her and she looked down, assessing it for a long time. I was waiting for her to tell me that she didn’t like jerk chicken or that this place was a shithole, ormaybe even that she didn’t eat rice or human food, that she only dined on bats, but instead—
“Thank you.”
Wow.
It was foreign—to hear a pleasantry leave her lips. She stuck the plastic fork into the rice and placed a small amount on her tongue, chewing slowly. Then, she nodded. Hesitantly at first, but then she took another bite, confirming that she liked it. “This is really good. Thanks for buying lunch.”
I was speechless. She’d thanked me twice in the span of a minute, and I wondered where that girl went—the one who bit me and spat in my face last night. The one who dared me to shoot her today and then told me to get on my knees. The one who taunted me with Gianna. The heathen who had an answer to anything and everything—what happened to that Jade?
