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Turning my attention to the phone, I stare at it, my mind a complete blank.
Motherfucking, stupid, piece of shit, dependent on a cell phone, millennial ass. Why don’t you know a single person’s phone number?
I glare at the plastic lifeline, mentally berating myself while racking my brain for a phone number. Any number.
I close my eyes and try to picture the screen when I pull up contacts. It’s got to be in there somewhere.
Come on Paige. Your life literally depends on you remembering ten digits. Don’t let yourself get chained up in your own piss and shit because you can’t recall-
My eyes fly open in triumph and I quickly dial the number, slamming the phone against my ear. I’m gripping it so tightly my fingers scream at me. Pleading under my breath for the call to pick up, a sob leaves me as I hear a tentative, “Hello?”
“Taylor!” I scream, making the poor woman in front of me jump. I give her an apologetic look before returning to my call.
“Oh my god, is that you Paige? Where have you been? Everyone has been so worried.” I can hear the panic in her tone laced with a twinge of frustration. I feel guilty for worrying her but I’m so grateful to hear her voice that the feeling overpowers any others.
I sob again and try to pull myself together enough to answer. “Tay-Taylor. He kidnapped me.” Another sob. “I was at work and he chased me. I was so close to getting away but he was too fast. And then I was tied to a bed. And there was blood, so much blood. And he...he…” I can’t get the words to come out of my mouth.
I can hear Taylor’s horrified gasp on the other end of the line and her whispering something hurriedly to someone else. “Where are you babe? Beau and I are going to come get you but we need to know where you are.”
I glance at the woman again and mouth the question. She responds and I relay it to my friend, more tears falling as she promises they will be here as quickly as possible. With shaky hands, I hang up the phone and fall into the stool next to me.
“Thank you.” I whisper, dropping my head into my hands as I break down. “Thank you.” I repeat over and over, sobbing the words.
The kind woman pats my back reassuringly, murmuring that I’m safe now. I want to believe her, I want to believe that I’m safe but my ears keep ringing with his words.
“Yes, you are, little bird. You are mine and now that I've caught you, I won’t ever let you go.”
Taylor and Beau pull up to the diner about forty minutes later and I run into her arms the moment I see her. Tears flowing down both of our faces as we cling to each other.
Beau looks around the small diner, protectively hovering near us. His lanky stature wouldn’t fare well against Mick but the rigid tension in his muscles gives hope he’d at least put up a decent fight.
I’ve never been so thankful for my friend having a steady and stable boyfriend. I’m usually all for being a strong woman and needing no man, but in this moment, when I’ve been stripped of all my power, I’m grateful to have someone else to lean on.
Pulling back from the embrace, Taylor runs her hands over my hair and frames my face, peering into my eyes. “Babe, we need to get out of here. And, know how much this pains me because you know how I feel about them, and I know how you do too. But…I think we need to call the police.” I’m already shaking my head furiously.No way.She sighs and places a tender kiss on my forehead. “Okay, let’s at least get you home, yeah?”
I look back at her, sniffling. “Can, can I come stay with you guys?” Her eyes soften and I quickly continue in a hushed tone. “He knows where I live, Tay. He broke into my apartment. I know it was him because he left another card for me when I was at his house, it was the same black card with a cryptic handwritten note on it. I can’t…I can’t go back there and be alone. I can’t…” I start crying again and she shushes me, rubbing her hands down my back.
“Of course, P. You can stay with me and Beau for as long as you need.” She promises. I see her glance at her boyfriend and feel a twinge of guilt at the concern in her eyes. I wish I didn’t need to put them in danger, but I don’t have anywhere else to turn.
We stand there for a few moments longer before she ushers me to the door toward their car. I call a thank you to the woman who helped to save me. She smiles back at me with kind eyes and waves me on.
The drive back to their place is quiet. I stare silently out the window while Taylor and Beau have a hushed conversation in the front. Tuning them out, I run over everything that’s happened again and cringe. The space between my thighs throbs, an unwelcome memory of all the ways Mick claimed my body last night. I screw my eyes shut and try to will away the memories of how my body claimed him back.
A throat clearing brings my attention back to the present and I turn my head toward my friend. She offers me a soft smile. “Hey, we thought you might be a little hungry, do you feel up to eating if we swing through somewhere and pick up some food?” I nod mutely and her smile widens a little. “Okay. What do you think? I feel like this calls for our hangover cure. It might not be liquor that caused it but I have a feeling you’re going to have one hell of a headache.” She winks at me and I feel a weak smile spread across my face.
“That sounds great.” I whisper, tears pricking my eyes again. I blink them away and wipe the back of my hand against my eyes. The movement causes me to glance down and I realize I’m still wearing Mick’s clothes. A choked sob rushes out as I start clawing at the clothing, desperate to get it off my skin.
I faintly hear Taylor calling my name but I can’t respond. I can’t do anything except get this man off of me. Rough hands gently cover mine and I swing around violently, screaming. The hands retreat and I blink a few times before my eyes focus and disheveled auburn hair fills my vision. Shaking my head to clear away the haze of panic, I meet Beau’s worried russet brown eyes. Concern creases his forehead as they dart between Taylor and me, his hands fluttering helplessly, uncertain what to do.
“I’m s-sorry.” I sob, rubbing my hands aggressively against my face. “I thought…I thought you were him.” I glance up and meet Beau’s worried gaze again. “I’m okay. I just, I need to change.” I look away again and worry my bottom lip, willing myself to pull it together.
Taylor reaches back and squeezes my knee. “Of course babe, we’ll get you home first and then Beau can run for our food while you and I find you something of mine to wear. That sound okay?” I look toward my friend and give her a grateful smile, nodding my head. She glances at her boyfriend and he nods before closing my door and sliding back into the driver’s seat. Pulling back onto the road, he speeds up.
The rest of the drive, Taylor speaks softly to me, telling me about nothing and everything. A funny moment at her work, the newest celebrity gossip, a restaurant that is going to be opening in a few months that’s been all the talk over social media. I relax into the seat and listen to her voice, letting it lull me into a sense of security. At least for now, I’m safe.
The next few days are filled with phone calls and gestures of sympathy and concern. My boss reached out after Taylor left her a message with a brief explanation on what had happened.
Brandi was concerned when she had come into work the next day and found my bag still in the building, the alley door open, and the trash abandoned a few feet from the garbage bin. She had tried to reach out to me but said my phone kept going straight to voicemail. I had Taylor listed as my emergency contact and when she didn’t have any answers either, Brandi grew more concerned and contacted the police. Much to my annoyance.
