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“Anansi.” I tried not to laugh as the tips of Antonio’s fingers tickled my skin and made me warm. “Anyway, the story or fable is about a West African god that was a trickster and often took the shape of a spider.”
“Oh, well, he doesn’t sound like a great guy.”
“He’s portrayed as selfish, mean-spirited, and a liar.” My voice was cutting. I knew I shouldn’t put all my cards on the table, but I wanted him to know I saw through him.
“Oh wow.” There was a subdued tone to his voice. “So you think I’m selfish.”
“Maybe not selfish, but a liar, yes, mean-spirited, yes.” I tried to sound joking so he wouldn’t think I was seething inside.Think about your dad and your want for the truth, Callie,I reminded myself internally. I needed the whole truth about everything. I needed to know how Don Roberto knew my mother’s song. There were so many questions that went unanswered, and I knew I couldn’t live the rest of my life without some answers. And if I had to pretend to be a stupid fool, I would pretend to be. “I mean, you did lie to me when we first met.” I made myself giggle like I thought it was all in the past. “But at least I have you here to protect me now.” I shivered. “I’m not sure what I would do if you weren’t here with me.”Gag me with a spoon, Callie.I wanted to roll my eyes at how pathetic I sounded. If I were a fly on the wall observing me sitting here, I would likely fall off the wall in disgust.
“I will not let you come to any harm, Callie. I don’t know what’s going on right now, but I will get to the bottom of it, and I will take care of all those responsible.”
“I know, Antonio.”You’re going to take care of yourself, asshole?
“I think I’ve got the knot,” he said softly. “Shift your body to the left as much as you can.”
“What?” I frowned, my body feeling heavy. “How am I supposed to do that?”
“Lean into me… just shift slightly to the left. Push back into me, Callie. You’re not going to hurt me. Put all your weight on me… a little bit more.” His voice was hoarse as his nails and fingers worked with the rope. “Nearly there.” He grunted, and within a few seconds, I felt my hands were free.
“Oh my gosh, you did it!” I exclaimed excitedly. “I guess you really do know your way around a rope.”
“You ain’t seen nothing yet.” He chuckled. “Try and untie the rope around my wrists if you can. It’s not a difficult knot. They weren’t experts.” My fingers fumbled around, trying to untie the knot around his wrists, and I started to feel frustrated. I just couldn’t get it undone. “Take a couple of breaths, Callie,” he said softly. “Be patient. It’s not going to give way right away, but you will get it. There’s an art to knots, and there is no knot that can’t be undone. None.”
“Well, that makes me feel better. Not,” I said sarcastically, feeling frustrated. “I just can’t seem to get it undone.”
“Callie, repeat after me. No knot can outdo me. I can conquer anything. I am a—”
“I’m not saying any of that.” I groaned. “Who are you, Dr. Phil?”
“I hope not.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “I have a full head of hair.”
“I suppose.” I tried to concentrate on the rope. My fingers felt tight and aching, and nothing seemed to give way. I shifted slightly, and then I decided to try and use my fingernails more. I gasped as I felt a slight give in the rope. It was moving apart. Slowly but surely, I was getting it. “Oh my gosh, I think it’s coming,” I said excitedly. I couldn’t believe it.
“You can do it, Callie.” Antonio’s voice was encouraging, but I could hear the anxiety in his tone, almost as if he was feeling slightly panicked as well. Maybe he’d get an Oscar and a Golden Globe.
“Shh,” I hissed as I tried to focus on the rope. “I’m trying to concentrate.” I slipped my pinkie down and tried to insert it into the small gap I’d made in the rope, and then I felt it giving way. “I think I got it.” My heart raced now.
“Wait,” Antonio exclaimed, his fingers moving deftly. “I got it from here.” And he was right. Within a few seconds, he had the rope off. And that was all he needed to get everything else in motion. In what felt like a few moments, Antonio had untied himself and was getting to work on my ropes and blindfolds. I blinked in the dark, but it wasn’t as dark as it had been in the van. I stared at him as we sat there, free of our bindings. “We can see each other again.” Antonio’s fingers reached up, and he touched the side of my face and then my lips. “Are you okay?”
“I guess so.” I nodded. I felt shy for some reason. Almost like this was the first time we were seeing each other in a long time. “You?”
“I’m fine.” He jumped up and walked around the periphery of the small room. “Where the fuck are we?”
“You tell me.” I tried not to sound accusatory as I stood up slowly. My head felt woozy, and my stomach grumbled.
“Sit down, Callie. You need to preserve your energy for now,” he commanded, and I rolled my eyes. He really was far too bossy. It was annoying.
“I’m fine,” I grumbled as I ran my fingers along the side of the wall, seeing if I could find a door or window. I trembled slightly at the cobwebs I felt on the somewhat moist wall. Where the hell were we? And if there were cobwebs, did it mean there were a lot of spiders in the room alongside us? I hated spiders. If I felt one on me, I would scream. Not that it would do anything. Or would it? I let out a bloodcurdling scream and banged my hands against the wall. “Let us out, help, help!”
“Callie.” Antonio made his way over to me. “Stop.”
“I don’t want to be in here anymore. I want to get out,” I shouted and banged my hands against the wall again. “I want to go home. Imogen is going to be worried about me. People care about me. They’re going to call the police, Antonio.” I didn’t know if that was meant to be a threat or not, but I wanted to get out of there. I didn’t do spiders, or cockroaches, or rats, or anything. And I was hungry and needed the restroom. And I think that was what I was most worried about. Where the hell was I going to go to the bathroom in this room? I knew I wasn’t going to be able to hold it in for much longer.
“Callie.” Antonio rubbed the small of my back. “No one is coming. Listen. There’s no sounds outside of this room. We’re alone. I would assume we’re here for the night unless we can figure out a way to escape.”
“I don’t want to be here for the night.” I brushed past him, running my fingers up and down the wall erratically. “There has to be an exit.” I stumbled forward as I tripped over something. “Ow.” I leaned down and felt around to see what I’d tripped over. There was a bottle of water, a plate with a couple of apples, something in plastic wrappers, and a Ziploc bag of something. I unzipped it and reached my hand in. I screamed as I felt something wiggling back and forth.
“What is it?”
