Page 54 of Abandoned

Come on, Zara. How many times have you closed that door while you were in here and never thought anything of it? But this was different. She was trapped. Completely trapped.

The screwdriver zipped screw after screw into the door and frame. A few screws even came all the way through the door.

That meant the screws had to be at least four inches long. She’d never be able to break out.

She backed up until she was once again against the wall where her towel hung between the tub and the toilet.

The screwdriver continued to buzz. Screw after screw. Board after board. She was trapped.

She slid down the wall and pulled the towel down. Hugging the towel to her chest, she tried to slow her breaths. But she couldn’t.

Her breathing was quick and shallow. Take a deep breath, Zara.

She fought the narrowing of her vision and managed to get a solid enough breath in, but her lungs ached.

The room felt smaller than it had ever felt before. The walls seemed to close in, threatening to crush her.

Breathe, Zara. She’d helped other people out of these attacks. Five things you can see.

She forced her eyes to look around the room. The blue rug on the floor. Her hairbrush on the counter. A sticky note that held a Bible verse on the mirror. The flowered shower curtain with its one missing ring.

She got her breathing under control, but her stomach churned and cramped.

Flashes of memory of the sun coming in through the slats of her closet door bombarded her mind. She’d felt so helpless when locked in that closet, and once again she was in that same position.

Alone.

At least this time, she had water and a toilet. But no one would know she was stuck in here. No one lived in the apartment above her, and she’d have to be really loud for her neighbor on the other side to hear her. And her throat was tight—her voice had already been fading earlier in the evening. She wouldn’t be able to yell enough.

She wasn’t expected at work for four days. Would anyone notice she was missing before that? Why would they? Will would probably think she got scared and was avoiding him.

Alone.

Why did it have to be like this? Why was she so afraid of relationships that she always kept people at arm’s length? Maybe if she was connected with more people, there would be a better chance of someone checking in on her, but that wasn’t going to happen.

She was alone.

Utterly alone.

Chapter Fifteen

As Will walked through the church parking lot, he scanned it for Zara’s car. She wasn’t here yet. Not that he was surprised. She almost always was a few minutes late.

He walked through the doors and into the church lobby. AJ caught his eye. What was she doing here? He’d heard that she went to first service, but she was always long gone before he showed up and, more importantly, before Logan did.

She noticed him looking and waved him over.

He sighed and moved in her direction. “AJ.”

“Hey, Will. Where’s Zara? I have some books for her.” AJ held up three paperbacks.

“Probably not here yet. I can give them to her if you’d like.”

“Nah. That’s okay. I’ll wait.” She looked past him, and her eyes widened.

Will glanced over his shoulder but didn’t need to. Logan walked through the door.

“But I’ll do it in here.” She stepped out of Logan’s view.