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Right now, I need to figure out how to find her.
How to bring her home and never let my life tarnish us again.
8
Ginger
My fingertips tingle as I clench and unclench them, trying to keep blood flowing. The earphones taped onto my head spray white noise into my brain and I fight the disorientation of being in the dark, without reference to sound or light.
The vibration of the car beneath me tells me we are on a freeway or at least moving fast and without stopping for a long time.
I don’t know who this man is. All I know is he somehow knows me—and my family—and from the little he’s said he’s taking me to them.
In a way, that’s calming me a bit. If he just wanted to hurt me he could have just done that. But he hasn’t. I’m in the back seat of a car, this I know—and that he likes to hum. Before he cut off my contact with the earphones, if he wasn’t talking he was humming.
And smiling. Only it’s not the kind of smile that’s happy. Or endearing.
In the time from when he dragged me from my bedroom with the gun to my head, until the moment he put the blindfold on me, I memorized as much about him as possible.
Now, in the back of the car, I can’t be sure how long we’ve been driving. It’s long enough I have to pee, and with the duct tape over my mouth I can’t even scream.
It’s got to be at least a few hours, but I’m so disoriented and my thoughts so manic I can’t be sure. My muscles ache and cramp and I shift and wiggle, trying my best to ease the discomfort.
I can’t stop thinking about Daddy. George must have gotten home and called him when he couldn’t find me. My heart is thrumming in my chest and all I can think about is being back home.
The car shifts and turns, slowing and finally coming to a stop before a rush of heat covers me as I anticipate what could come next. I don’t know how long we’ll be driving and if it’s too much longer, there’s no way I won’t lose my hands or fingers if he keeps the duct tape so tight on them the entire time.
He removes the headphones and my ears ring from the constant white noise input.
An invisible hand tightens around my throat and my lungs burn as I fight to take a breath. The driver’s door opens and closes and next the sound of the door closest to me opens.
“There’s someone here to see you.”
A sting sends pain across my face as light blinds me. My senses are momentarily overloaded, and I struggle to orient myself again.
“Stephanie.” The terse voice turns what warmth I had left in my body to ice. “You always were a problem. Making us worry for so long. And here you are, living the high life. Always so selfish.”
I squint and focus on the black dress and gray hair standing just outside the open car door.
“You haven’t aged well, Granny.” I smack back. “You used to look older than dirt, now you look older than old dirt.”
I’m shocked at my own words. Back when I lived with my grandmother and parents I would have never spoken to her that way.
She tips her head to the side as her silver spectacles teeter on the end of her crooked nose. I eye her with defiance, surprising myself again as she steps forward and lays a sharp smack across my cheek.
“Smart ass girl. I’m not sure who you think you are talking to, but things are going to get back to normal.”
The man who took me comes into view, smiling and humming behind my grandmother.
“I take it you two know each other.” I smile back at them. “And by the way, unless you want my hands to fall off you need to take these ties off my wrists.”
My grandmother reaches forward for another smack, but I dodge her hand and give her a death glare.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” I reply to her attempt, staring her down.
“Excuse me.” The man taps my grandmother on the shoulder and shifts in front of the door, reaching into his trouser pocket and flicking open a switchblade.
“Wow, so gangster in your tailored suit.”
The smile situated on his lips doesn’t waiver as his free hand grips my shoulder, turning me just enough to expose my hands behind my back.
“Be a good girl or it can get a lot worse than this.” He whispers into my ear, making me shiver at hearing him call me a ‘good girl’ the way Daddy does. “What’s planned for you is a party trick compared to what I could conjure for a sweet little treat like yourself.”
