Switchblade

Chapter 72: Return to Sender

Killian was leaving his post gym shower and began to get ready for work.

As he did, he received a phone call.

"Yea?" he answered.
"You gotta make a pit stop on your way over here." Kolson stated.
"Why?" Killian asked as he slid on a dress shirt.
Kolson paused for a moment. Then he ripped the bandaid off.
"The girl's mother got all the money."
Killian stood there, completely still after the new information. He stared at the wall while in the midst of fixing his shirt cuffs.
"She said she wants to give it to you today and obviously...she wants her daughter back in return."
Kolson added.
He heard that it was quiet on the other line.
"You alright?"
Killian snapped back to reality and continued fixing his cuffs. "Yea. Deal's a deal. I'll stop over there with Tati before I get to work."
"Alright."
Killian hung up the call then finished getting dressed.

Tati was in the kitchen finishing the french toast she'd been making.

She happily made the plates how she wanted to without any interruptions.

"Go get your stuff." She heard and turned around with a flinch.
"Please make a sound when you walk through this house. Step on a creaky floor board or something!" Tati joked.
She saw his face was straight.
"What did I do?" she wondered.
"Nothing." he responded. "You're going home. Your mom gathered the money."
Tati smiled. "REALLY?!"
"Yea." he replied.
She squealed then hurried to her room.

Killian stood there as he stared at the floor.

Tati only grabbed the hoodie she liked and noticed the perfume on the nightstand. It made her remember the dress as well. She grabbed them both and stuffed it all in a bag. But she decided to leave the rest of her things there. She hurried to the front of the house and noticed Killian was already outside. She went to her slippers and slid them on before rushing to the car.
Killian started it while he smoked a cigarette.

Tati had a smile on her face while she buckled her seatbelt.

"You seem happy." Killian spoke up as he left the driveway.
"Why wouldn't I be? I've gone two and a half months without seeing my mom. That's the longest ever. I'm excited for her to see that I'm okay. She was probably worried sick. It's why she worked so fast to get it. But that's probably what you hoped for, right?"
"Mm." He took another hit of his cigarette while he drove.
Tati looked at him.

She noticed his face was fallen. Low eyes, no smirk or smile, he just smoked and drove.

She realized what else going home meant.
She wouldn't see him anymore.
She took a deep breath and looked at her lap.
She wondered what happened to her to make her upset that she wouldn't be able to see her kidnapper anymore.
Was it giving him her virginity? Did it start at giving him her first kiss?
Was it that he'd practically been the only company she had for months?
Sleeping in his house? In his bed? On his body? In his arms? What was it?
All of the above?

She didn't even know what to say. They just sat in silence.

The drive was around twenty minutes. Twenty minutes of complete silence and them just staring out of the window. Tati looked at her house as Killian parallel parked in front of it.

She got an idea.

"Give me your phone." she instructed.
"Why?" he asked.
She saw it and took it from him. He stretched his arm out to take it back but she just moved closer to the door so he couldn't.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
She went to his contacts and started typing.
He just sat and waited impatiently.

She finished and scrolled to find something else.
She clicked on Kolson's contact and read the number.
She thought it was a funny coincidence that his number was only one number off from her mom's. She left it and turned off the phone before handing it back to Killian.
He took it.
He turned the device on while the other hand rested against her headrest.
She looked at him.
"What'd you do?" he asked and looked back at her.
"I put in my number." she stated. "Because I knew you'd miss me."
He looked at her lips.
She opened her door and got out with her things.
Killian scoffed with a smile in her absence before getting out as well.

Tati knocked on the door.

Denise hurried with the bag of money in her hand and opened the door. Her first sight was Tati and she wrapped her daughter in her arms ecstatically. Tati hugged back with a smile on her face as Denise held her tightly.
Killian walked up the house steps and saw the embrace.
Denise shook the bag for him to take. "Take it. Please, just take it."
Killian took the thick bag from her and looked at it. She'd even stuck together the bills that were all the same so it would be easy to count.

He looked back at the two and saw Denise holding her daughter's face in her hands.
"Are you alright?! Did they hurt you?!" she asked frantically.
"I'm okay, I promise."
Killian took the bag in his hand and started walking down the stairs. Denise hugged her daughter one more time.

He got in the car and went through his phone.

He scrolled to find her contact. Then read 'Tati' with an emoji of a kiss. He scoffed and drove off. Planning to bother the contact sometime in the evening.

Tati and Denise walked inside the house.

"Are you hungry? Were they feeding you? You smell clean, so I know they let you shower." Denise panicked.
"Yes, I'm okay. He had a motto."
"A motto?"
"He doesn't hurt anyone that doesn't deserve it. He said I didn't deserve it. He fed me three times a day, let me shower, gave me a bedroom." She obviously wouldn't disclose all of the fun stuff she did like playing pool or swimming in one. She thought it would make her mother's stress sound like it was for nothing.
"Oh. Well...good. I'm glad you weren't being tortured while you were there." Denise accepted.
"Yea. They did enough that I wouldn't die or get sick while I was there but it was no resort."
"Yea, I bet. I'm so sorry, angel. I went everyday wishing I'd never taken that loan. I was worried sick about you."
"It's okay, you didn't know. You did what you thought you had to. And loan sharks are some very sneaky people. I don't blame you at all."
Denise nodded. "Are you hungry? I closed the restaurant for the day but I'm willing to make a meal."
"A little bit. I didn't get breakfast today."
"What're you in the mood for?"

~•~

Killian made it to work and went into the lounge.
It was empty at the moment because everyone else was busy doing their job.

He sat at the bar and opened his phone.

He just stared at the contact.

Looking at the number long enough, he practically already had it memorized.

He heard the door to the lounge open and he turned his phone off.