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“Can you roll down the window?” she asks when we start moving, and I nod, obliging her. I finally see a hint of a smile as she leans her head against the frame and closes her eyes.
“It feels like I haven’t seen the sun in years,” she says before opening her eyes with a frown and looking at me.
“What’s the date?”
I startle a bit at the question, but of course, how would she have known how long she was there?
“It’s August 22nd,” I inform her, and she freezes in shock.
“I didn’t think it had been so long.” She doesn’t say anything for the rest of the trip.
I pull around the back of my warehouse, not wanting to bring her through the front where she was taken. I debated the wisdom of bringing her here, period, but there’s someone I wanted her to see before I took her to my home.
She looks up at the building and then at me questioningly.
“Come on.”
I’msurprised to find her silent along the way, and she hasn’t made a move to bolt yet. Either she’s too dumb, too scared, or simply just that submissive. I’m not sure which yet.
We step into the warehouse and she looks around with interest, making me wonder if she recognizes it. Empty as it is now, it’s completely different from the nights when we have fights.
“This way,” I tell her, leading her toward one of the backrooms. Before we get there, a figure steps out.
“Girl!” Jason cries out, rushing over to her. For the first time today, I see her grin, returning his hug with tears in her eyes.
“Jay,” she replies. “You’re here!”
My old friend hugs her, and I shift uncomfortably.
“I’ll go get you something to eat,” I tell her, stalking off to leave them to catch up.
28
Kinsey
She Will Be Loved
Tears springto my eyes at the sight of a familiar face and I don’t hesitate to hug the older man whom I call friend. He looks better than he did last time I saw him. Not nearly as dirty or as thin.
“Jay, you’re here!”
“I’ll go get you something to eat,” I hear Atlas say behind me and I turn to thank him but he’s already walking off. I frown after him. I don’t like how uncomfortable I feel around him now, but I haven’t figured out how to bring it up yet.
“You okay?” Jay says, bringing my attention back. He holds me at arm’s length, looking me up and down, and I nod with a small smile.
“As okay as I can be,” I tell him honestly. He gives me a sympathetic smile.
“Come on, we can sit back here.”
I follow him through the large area and into a side room that has a few couches and a card table with chairs. It looks like some type of break room you might find at any office, minus the cheesy quotes on the walls and the burned coffee smell.
“What happened to you?” Jay asks. “How did you miss that last audition and end up in this mess? I was worried sick about ya, you know.”
I give him a small smile and look down. “Stupid mistake,” I mumble, not particularly wanting to revisit the night I was taken. I look around the room and back into the huge one behind us.
“What is this place?” I ask, frowning. I recognized the area from the night I was taken and am pretty sure this was the place, but not positive. Not that it matters now. What I can’t figure out is how or why a place like this exists.
“It’s what it needs to be,” Jay tells me, his eyes steady on mine.
