I Was Abducted

Chapter 19 Nadia

"Raymond was a heavy drinker..." Jackson says lost in his thoughts. Who's Raymond?

"Who's Raymond?" I walking over to him and sit next to him. The heatwaves off his body warms me immediately.

"M-my uncle," he says his a sad emptiness. Are they close? He's never mentioned him before.

"I hate when my dad gets drunk," I say with the same sadness.

We both sit on the edge of my tiny pink bed lost in our dark minds swirling in thought. I have no idea what he's thinking about and I wish I knew. Sad people always find each other.

I have this feeling in my bones that Jackson and I have this connection. A strange connection that I've always felt out of nowhere.

"Your uncle got drunk a lot too?" I ask quietly.

"Yeah, I can still smell the alcohol on his breath and it's been so long..." Jackson's face is covered in disgust like he's in the past. "He'd struggle to walk... I'd use that to my advantage to hide as far away as I could get."

"Hide far away?" I ask getting concerned. This doesn't sound good.

He nods before continuing. "For some reason, he was worse when he was sober..."

My shaky hand grabs his slender hand off his leg and hold it tightly. My heart feels like it's beating out of my chest.

His hand feels tough and large... comforting. I can feel my hair on my body standing up. I wouldn't be surprised if a UFO swooped down and sucked me up.

I stare at him like a crazy stalker as he examines our hands like it's an unknown specimen. "I don't need to be comforted Nadia," He says seriously and drops my hand. He never says my name, he usually says Blondie or something.

"S-sorry," I stutter and wipe the sweat off my palm.

"And I certainly don't want an apology," he says running his hand through his hair frustratedly.

"So-," his hand covers my mouth before I can finish the word sorry again. He still stares straight and takes his palm off my lips.

"Don't apologize to me ever. And don't pity me ever," he says monotone.

I nod as he pulls at his hair. "Words Nadia," he says sternly.

"Y-yes, okay," I spit out. Isn't that a little hypocritical if he barely talks, but tells me to use words?

"It may be hypocritical, but that's how the world works. It's not fair," he says reading my thoughts.

"How do you know what I was thinking?" I question, biting into my bottom lip.

"You're easy to read," he says turning to me and briefly looking and my lips before returning to my eyes. His pupils dilate consuming the green.

"And you're like a brick wall," I say giggling. His lips tug to one side forming a crooked smirk. "You know I'm right," I say nudging his shoulder with mine.

"True," he says letting a smile show before dropping it as soon as it appeared.

"You know it's okay to smile Jackson," I say laughing.

He nods and turns to me again. "Don't hide in there," I say poking at his head.

"No promises," he says pulling my hand from his head and points my finger at my own forehead. "We all have secrets."

"True," I mock him before breaking out into laughter again. His nose scrunches and he shakes his head.
~
The sun has set a few minutes ago and the grown men downstairs are only getting louder. Jackson and I have just been watching in comfortable silence. Occasionally he checks his phone. I can see the hundreds of missed calls, but I chose not to say anything.

"What was your life like back in Idaho?" I ask staring at the ceiling.

Jackson shifts next to me and takes a minute to respond. "Nightmare," he says honestly.

"How come?" I ask curiously.

"I had to adapt to strange things, and as I got older I stopped caring about everything." I slightly turn my head to take in his beauty. His jawline is sharp and he has prominent cheekbones.

"What do you mean by strange things?" I ask biting my lip.

"I was told stories about the boogeyman. How he preyed on and took misbehaving children. I always thought the stories were a load of shit. But he's real." Boogeyman? What is he talking about?

Jackson continues," He looks just like you and me. A man... Evil exists Nadia, they could be the closest people to us." I nod completely understanding him.

Aurelio was my evil. The closest person to me. I wonder who Jackson's evil was. Who's his boogeyman?

"You have to be careful Nadia. You understand?" Jackson asks sternly. His cold fingers latch onto my chin and turns my face. His eyes search mine for whatever he's looking for.

"I understand," I say breathlessly. It's like the wind has been knocked out of me when we have moments like these.