Cherry Locked (Book One)

19

A box in the high corner above her displays the Uber app icon. "Speaking of following, the LAPD is still chasing air with no new leads. The Uber attack involving a rider, Madison Hart." An old picture of me, which I'm sure is from Facebook, shows on the entire screen. "It has been ruled a kidnapping attempt. The young woman suffers injuries from the traumatic event. She was forced to jump out of the car to save herself from a monster. We all hope justice is served and wish Madison a speedy recovery."

I glower at the tv, bitter about the fake sympathy of the newscaster and the old photo. It's ugly, both her and the picture of me with bangs. "Could you turn it off?"

Brad switches off the tv and concentrates on me. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"This is bad timing."

"I need to know."

I huff and stare out the window. My eyes gloss up. My heart rocks in my chest. "Ask me some other time, okay?"

"Tell me...I don't want to find out from the news."

"Just drop it..." My voice trembles.

The door opens. Lil comes in with a case of doughnuts with coffee cups balanced atop it. Brad goes to assist her, taking the tray of cups in case they tumble over. "Thanks," Lil says, relieved. "You wouldn't believe how crowded the parking lot is. Jess couldn't find a spot."

"Wow, it's that busy?" I ask.

"Yes! There are news trucks. People are outside with candles." She opens the box and turns it so I can view the treats. "Which ones do you want? Have as many as you like, fuck that diet."

"Chocolate, please."

My bestie places four fudge-covered doughnuts on a napkin and hands them to me. Brad takes a cup out of the tray and comes my way. I chew on the sweet bread and accept the coffee. The hotness of the beverage as it goes down my throat is so soothing. The chocolate melts on my tongue. "Oh, this is so good!" I say with a full mouth.

"I bet...you haven't eaten anything in a day." Brad smiles at how I obsess over the food.

"Wow...I guess I haven't."

"You might eat the whole box, and you can. I'll allow stress eating." Lil's eyes go to the blank tv. "Is there an update?"

"No...it's the same." Brad sounds disheartened.

"Are you still going on the hunt tonight?"

"Yeah."

I shake my head. "The cops can handle it."

"I want to...we've been over this. I need to do more than sit here."

Lily gazes between us. I know I look irritated by the tightness of my forehead. Brad is unyielding. "Extra help is good. Jess is going too."

"Are you going?" I ask Lil.

"No, you shouldn't be here alone."

"We can take shifts; all of us should join," Brad states.

"We could do that."

I don't get why they'd go searching when the police can do it. Maybe Lil and Jessica feel useless, like Brad does. Nothing will change if they go combing through the city....through the forest. The driver had hours to flee and is most likely out of the state.

I hate that. I hate the fact that such a horrible human can get away that easily. I wish I had a gun...or pepper spray, something to disable him. If I had, I wouldn't be here in critical condition. The demon would have been handcuffed If I had a weapon.

A few minutes after eating, I drift off. This time I dream about the car ride.

The chilling presence of the red-haired man, his dark eyes and strange tone. The panic and fear are so severe that it thickens the air. The doors lock, and the car goes into turbo speed. Outside is entirely black...no houses are around as they were on the night. It's a void. It's what I think death would look like.

"No," I whisper. Suddenly, I have a gun. I don't know the type. It's too dark to make out. I point the weapon at the driver and scream. "NO!!" The gun blasts out white flashes. The driver yells. A bullet goes through the back of his car seat, to where his heart is. "NOO!!" A white light brightens the car...another shot blazes out.

"MADDY?!" Lil's voice comes from far away. "Wake up!" I open my eyes. It's dark out now, and the tv is on at a low volume. The monitor has my heart rate at 155. It beeps more than five times a second. "It's okay..." She holds my hand.

My eyes sting, and my face stream with never-ending tears. "No...it's not." I cry. "I should have done something. Why didn't I?"

"You need to stop." Lil summons the energy of a stern parent. "You did what you could."

"I didn't...I froze. I had no control."

"That's normal, Maddy. You went into shock, that's normal."

The sight of the bandages and the strain on my muscles make me sob. "Why did this happen to me?!!" I breakdown.

Lil hugs me and rubs the back of my head. "I don't know...it shouldn't have happened." She cries too.

"Brad asked me to stay. If I had, none of this would have-"

"Don't think that way... this wasn't your fault."

"It was..." I whimper.

Lily pulls out from the hug and eyes me hard. "No, it's not."

"I went too far messing around with Brad and had to leave. I should've been smarter than that. The guy smelled me. I cleaned myself up the best I could. I had nothing else to wear. I should have spent the night with Brad...but I got into the car and caused all of this." I confess woefully.

"That's no excuse for what that trash did."

"I feel like it is." I wail.

"It's not." Lil holds me under her chin and wraps her arms across my back. "Don't give that piece of shit an excuse." I wipe my eyes and glance at the heart monitor. It decreases from 155 to 143. I wiggle my head into her neck and slow my breathing. "It's okay." I close my eyes when the beeping is stable and fall asleep against her.

The same dream is repeated. Only this time, the driver is a manifestation of a horned devil flooring the gas pedal. I don't have a weapon, and the door won't open. No matter how hard I slam my body against it, it doesn't budge. "You're a little tease, aren't you?" The devil man sings. His eyes are jet black; there's no sign of white. "This is what you wanted, isn't it? To have fun?"

#Romance
#Love