I slipped into the brand new cheer leading uniform, the polyester short skirt came up to my belly button, and the top came down to a little below that. i looked in the mirror. Yes, green was my color. It brought out my blue eyes. Made them pop, Kait would say. I put on the matching shoes, and carefully put my long straw-colored hair up into a high ponytail with the black, green and white ribbon. and then stood in front of the full length mirror on the back of my door. I looked like a different girl, no longer just shy, quiet me. I looked almost confident. I smiled at the reflection, and it seemed to make my eyes look an even brighter shade of blue. After a few more minutes of looking at the new girl in the mirror, i heard a horn beep outside, it was Kait, here to pick me up.
But it wasn't. In my driveway was a man. He looked vaguely familiar. His eyes were a piercing blue, and the stubble on he chin and his cheeks was a dark brown that matched his curly, long-ish hair. The look on his face was one of fear. "Who are you?" it wasn't a question, as much as a demand to know. Maybe it was the fear in his eyes, but suddenly, i felt afraid, too.
"I'm charlie." he said, his voice smooth, musical, almost hypnotic . "i work with your dad, he's hurt. Bad. You need to come with me" as i hurriedly got into the car i noticed something. the look in eyes, that i had thought was fear, was gone, replaced by a sort of sick hunger. "Whats wrong with him?" i asked my voice shaking, "is he going to be okay?" we pulled out of the driveway. i looked up at him, waiting for an answer. nothing. He just looked straight ahead. "answer me!" i yelled, i was frantic. what was wrong with dad? was he okay? was he going to die?
i heard a click. he had locked the doors. that was when i realized what a mistake i had made. I knew every single one of dad's co workers. i had never before even heard dad mention someone named charlie. i yanked at the handle. to scared to cry out, to make a sound.
"They all try to get away at first" he said in that musical voice, seeming to be talking more to himself than to me. "but they never can." in a pathetic shaky voice that i had never used before i asked "who are you?" the minute the words came out of my mouth, i instantly regretted them. i sounded so weak. i was letting him win. win? win at what? what was i thinking? i needed to get out. get out. get out. run. leave. get out. now."i told you. im charlie"
"what do you want?"
"i want you. i chose you. I've been watching you for a long time. you're special. so im going to take you away for awhile. have you all to myself" i want to say that i yelled and screamed, scratched him, kicked him, put up a fight. but i didn't. i just sat in the back seat, sniffling, crying, whining, waiting. i did nothing. and i hate myself for it.
when i began to cry louder, he looked at me with those piercing blue eyes in the rear view mirror. "hush now, i wont hurt you, love. don't cry. don't fight. you'll loose." each one of his words felt like a knife cutting into me. i swear i felt physical pain. they tell me now that it was all in my mind. words cant hurt me like that. but his did. i know they did. i felt it.
After what seemed like days, although im sure it was only a few hours, it began to get dark. we were still driving. charlie had been talking to me. at first i thought he might be insane, and maybe he was, but this was a man who knew exactly what he was doing. i didn't dare answer back. i couldn't even if i had wanted to, i was paralyzed by fear. i tried so hard to imagine, what would Kait do if she were here? Kait was my best friend, the smartest, bravest, strongest person i had ever known. my other half. but i couldn't imagine what she would do. i didn't want to. thinking of her made me start crying again. quietly at first, and then i began to wail. he pulled the car over sharply. he shouted. screamed. he told me that all the time he had been watching me i had never seemed weak. i was strong. i needed to be strong. then he said the thing that scared me the most. "be strong. be strong for your Kait" hearing her name out loud made me stop crying. but not because i was strong. because i was angry. he couldn't talk about her like that. he was fucking garbage, what gave him the right to say her name?! i screamed then. long, and loud. not because i thought anyone would hear me. hours earlier i had given up on escape from the car. i screamed so i could let everything out. the anger and frustration at myself for being so stupid, and my fear, and confusion at charlie. i didn't know any of that then. but now i do.
