The next morning I woke up on my own, no blaring alarm coming from my phone. I hadn't even opened my eyes yet and I could feel the headache coiling around my brain. Opening my eyes immediately made my head feel worse, like someone was stabbing at the back of my eyes.Propping myself up on my elbow, I reached over to the nightstand next to my bed and grabbed for the case holding my glasses and quickly put them on.
Laying back down in my bed I brought my blankets up to my chin, curling up in a ball. I let my eyes adjust to the light as I looked around at my room. My walls were painted lavender with a few shelves here and there displaying some plants and a couple of pictures I had painted ages ago. My dresser was against the opposite wall, atop it was a gold colored lamp, more plants and a picture from one of the only happy times spent with my Dad, step mother and Alex. We had spent a long weekend in Maine, visiting my grandparents who lived near Freeport. We did all of the touristy things like visit lighthouses, walked around all of the shops in Portland, ate our body weight in lobster.
My phone started to buzz, pulling me out of the memory. Reaching for it, I winced. What the hell did I do to my hand? My knuckles were all covered in cuts and bruises. All at once the events of last night came back to me. My chest tightened, it felt like all of the oxygen was sucked out of the room but before I could spiral my phone started to buzz again.
"Yea?" I answered, my voice trembling.
"Where are you?" Alex questioned.
"In my bed. Why?"
"Oh, okay cool. Well I'm here at the shop." He answered sarcastically. "Where you're supposed to be to help with inventory."
I shot up, nearly dropping my phone. "Oh fuck!"
"Yea." He said in a sing-song tone.
"Shut up, I don't think you ever showed up for a shift on time!" I snapped, rushing around my room grabbing any piece of clean clothes I could find.
Alex chuckled. "You want to cancel and do it next weekend?"
I threw the phone on my bed so I could change out of my sleep shirt and into a back v-neck shirt. New bruises littered my arms and torso making me grimace. "No, Uncle Will wants it done today. I'll be there in an hour. It's still early, I shouldn't hit traffic."
I ended the call before tugging on a pair of jeans, my converse and an oversized plaid flannel. I rushed to the kitchen to quickly make some coffee, grab a granola bar and left.
I managed to make it to work in a little over an hour. My blaring music helped to keep my mind from going to what happened last night. I was not ready to unpack that baggage especially not while driving. Alex gave me shit as soon as I walked in the shop, shoving the other scanner in my chest, he told me everything he scanned so far and where I should start.
"I'm going for a smoke." He grumbled, pulling the hood of his sweatshirt down to cover his face.
He was already through the door before I could come up with a snarky comment. We normally talk very sarcastically to each other but between yesterday and today it doesn't feel like our normal banter. Figuring I should just give him a couple of minutes to have a cigarette in peace, I got to work scanning barcodes.
We'd been at this for over an hour in complete silence and I could feel my self control slowly start to disintegrate.
"Why are you being such a prick? Have I done something?" I asked with a huff, crossing my arms.
Without turning to look at me, Alex hooked his finger around the chord that was attached to his earbud and ripped it from his ear. "What?"
"Did I do something to you?" I repeated slower and more sarcastic.
He sighed, putting the scanner down on the shelf. "No, you haven't."
"Well then what's going on? You were really weird yesterday and now today." I pressed as I finished scanning the last item. "You know you can talk to me about anything."
Finally he turned to look at me, though most of his face was still hidden with his hood. "Yea, I know. Sorry. I shouldn't have taken it out on you." He apologized.
"Taken what out on me?" Damn it, Alex stop being so vague.
"Nothing. I had a pretty shitty night last night, that's all."
"Mmm," I hummed. "Me too."
"Well what happened with you?" Alex questioned, changing the subject so it was no longer about him.
I immediately felt embarrassed, like last night was all my fault. I didn't even know how to explain. My mind started to spin out of control, between the memories and now feeling scared to tell Alex. What would he think? How would he look at me after I tell him what happened? I could feel the hot tears stinging my eyes and before I could blink them away they started to spill down my cheeks.
"Hey, hey," Alex took the few steps across the shop and pulled me into a hug. His hoodie smelled of cigarettes and campfire. "You can tell me anything."
"He... he," I was hyperventilating at this point, my face pressed into his chest. My words were choking me. "Jay tried to... to force himself on m-me."
Alex pulled me from his chest, his hands on my shoulders. Looking up at him I could barely make out the shape of my face, my tears were blinding me.
"What?! I'll fucking kill him!"
I shook my head no while I tried to catch my breath. "No," I squeaked out.
"No? What the hell do you mean "no"?"
"J-joe and Chris and S-sam beat him up pretty bad last night." I managed to explain. "They said they wouldn't let him come around anymore."
"Yea, I'm sure." He retorted, cocking his brow.
Wiping the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hand I took in a deep breath to calm myself down. "It's fine, I believe him."
Alex let it slide but I could tell that he was still angry from the way he was pacing around. For the first time today I finally caught a glimpse of his face that he was trying so hard to conceal.
"Alex, what the hell happened to your face?" I reached out and pulled his hood down revealing all of the cuts on his face along with his black eye. "Who did this to you?!."
He pushed my hand away so he could pull his hood back up in hopes I wouldn't see what looked like a nasty burn on the back of his neck.
"Don't ignore me, I saw your face. Why are you being so secretive? Alex please-"
"Let it go, Scars!" He stepped toward me so that his chest was almost touching mine while he glared down at me. My blood ran cold. This was so unlike him, he was never violent or intimidating and for as long as we've known each other we've never kept secrets.
Finally backing away from me, his hand rose to rub at the back of his neck. I crossed my arms over my chest, rubbing my arms to try and calm my racing heart. I could feel the tears threatening to fall all over again.
Alex must have seen how his actions had effected me because he finally took down his hood. He gave me tight hug before holding me at arms length, tilting my chin to look up at him. "Look, I'm sorry. Like I said, I crashed my bike yesterday. I got messed up pretty bad, that's all."
I nodded, accepting his answer and backed away from him. Not knowing what else to do, I grabbed the scanner and got back to what had to be done. Alex sighed loudly behind me and before long I heard the beeping of his scanner.
Again we were trapped in an awkward silence, apart from the beeping of the guns and the relentless dings of Alex's phone. The moment I was done with my half of the shop, I practically ran to my computer to upload the numbers onto our system. Now all that was left was to wait for Alex to be done and then see if there are any variances. I prayed there was none. The past 24 hours have been a whirlwind of shit and honestly, I just want to be left alone.
My phone vibrated in my pocket making me mentally laugh. I unlocked my phone and saw a text from an unknown number.
Unknown: Hello Scarlett, this is Detective Nick from the Portland PD.
"Oh great," I sighed to myself.
Me: Hey Detective. How can I help you?
Immediately I saw him starting typing. I really hope this was just him making sure he ha the right number. I am in no mental state to be answering questions. Can I say that to a detective that I'm not up for questioning. Would that somehow make me look guilty?
Unknown: My apologies if this is not appropriate but I was wondering if you were available this afternoon for coffee?
I bit my lip as soon as I read the message. He was inviting me to coffee? I immediately scolded myself. He's probably trying to meet up in a neutral place for questioning, don't be an idiot, Scarlett.
"Who's got you smiling?" Alex questioned, making me jump. Nearly dropping my phone, I quickly locked the screen and put my phone screen down on the desk.
"Oh, um, yea. That was the detective from yesterday, the one who was asking for all of the shipping logs."
If I didn't know any better, I could have sworn I saw his face pale. His sly smile dropped the moment I said the word detective but he quickly played it off.
"All done. Let's get this variance shit done so we can get the hell out of here." Alex took a cigarette from his crushed pack and placed it between his lips before he made his way to the front doors. As soon as the doors closed behind him he took his phone from his hoodie pocket and brought it up to his ear.
When he was out of sight I quickly grabbed for mine.
Unknown: I'm sorry if that was forward of me.
Me: No, not at all! I'm sorry. I'm at the lot today doing inventory. I'm not sure when I will be done.
Unknown: I have no plans for today. Text me when you are done.
I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face or the flutter of butterflies in my belly. My inner voice tried her hardest to squash it by saying this was just for questioning and I'm an idiot to think this was somehow a date but I argued that if it was for questioning I'm sure he would have mentioned it. Before I could dissect the brief conversation Alex stormed back inside. Clearly his conversation with whoever wasn't a good one.
By the time we had everything done and accounted for, the street lights were already starting to turn on. My step brother was barely any help, he spent most of the time pacing outside on the phone or texting.
I said goodbye to Alex, reassuring him that I would be okay by myself tonight. He reassured me that no part of what happened was my fault, Jay is a scumbag and it is all his fault. Thanking him, I pulled out my keys from my purse and headed towards my car while he locked up.
I hadn't told him that I had plans to meet up with the detective. He was acting strange enough as it is, I didn't want to add fuel to that fire.
When I was in my car I texted Nick that I just had to stop at the gas station down the street and that I should be at the coffee shop we agreed to meet at in about fifteen minutes.
He replied within minutes that he was already there and had a table. Again, I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face while I pulled out onto the street. I hope I'm not being a fool and making this into something it's not. Regardless, at least it will be something to do, I won't be sitting in my apartment wallowing in self pity.
The parking lot of the gas station was empty. I pulled into the spot closest to the building, shut off my car and grabbed for my bag. After hanging out with the guys last night, my craving for cigarettes has come back full force.
The store was empty except for the employee behind the counter who was all too happy that I was in here. I bought a pack of camels and lighter and hurried to my car, locking the doors as soon as I got inside.
Throwing my bag onto the passenger seat I quickly locked my doors. I decided to hold off on smoking until after whatever this was about to be with Nick. Good first impressions and all, I didn't want to smell like an ashtray. I put my foot on the breaks and pressed the ignition button on my car but instead of the normal sound of the engine turning over I was met with a weird dinging noise. A warning message popped up on the screen of my center console saying that my key was not located.
Thinking I left my keys in the convenience store, I rummaged through my bag. I found them instantly, pulling them out to examine them. "Strange," I mumbled, putting my foot back on the break pedal and again pressed the ignition. More dinging and now more warning signs appeared.
"What the hell?"
Before I could grab my phone to call someone I heard screeching tires behind me. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw a black SUV speeding into the parking lot then jerking to a stop behind me.
Fear consumed me. I heard my doors unlock on their own while I watched, motionless, as the driver of the vehicle and another figure, both masked and clad in all black, came towards my door. My door was swung open and I felt hands grab a hold of the front of my coat before being pulled out of my car.
"No, please!" I screamed as if somehow that would stop him.
The moment I was outside of my car I was pushed back against it, the pain radiating up my back making me suck in air through clenched teeth. I grabbed a hold of the gloved hands that still held my coat and tried desperately to pry their fingers off of me.
I went to scream, to try to bring attention to what was happening but the moment I opened my mouth a cloth material was shoved into my mouth and wrapped tightly around my head. This made me even more frantic, I began to thrash, kick and claw at my attacker who had me pinned. He grabbed my wrists, holding them firmly in place while the other quickly zip tied my wrists.
Tears were streaming down my face making it almost impossible for me to see while I begged from behind the gag for them to please let me go.
"Get her in the truck," He ordered. His voice sounded calm despite it being distorted by some sort of machine.
He pulled me to his chest, my cheek hit against the scratchy wool of his peacoat. I looked up at him wide-eyed in terror. The hazel eyes looking down at me from behind the mask also had a strange calm to them, as if this were a totally normal thing. I watched his eyes look over me before he whirled me to the right and pushed me towards the SUV.
The one who was the driver grabbed my arm while I stumbled forward, his other hand clutched the hair at the top of my head so he could force my head down before he shoved me in, pushing me across the leather bench seat to the other side.
"Let's go!" The driver called out, his voice also distorted while he got into the drivers seat.
Blinking away my tears the best I could I watched as the one who ordered me be taken to the car had reached in to grab my belongings from my car before he closed the door. Digging through my bag, he found my keys and held them while he pressed the button making the lights flash on my car. He barely had time to close the door of the SUV before we were speeding out of the parking lot. The truck violently jerked as it drove off of the curb and onto the street.
My head exploded in pain when it collided with the window next to me. My vision went black before bright bursts of color danced across my closed eyelids. I gasped trying to catch my breath from behind the gag, the erratic driving added to the intense dizziness. I whimpered, bringing my hands up to rub at the now throbbing lump on my head.
"Mm, lease" I tried begging from behind the gag. "Et ee go!"
He ignored me and kept looking through my bag until he pulled out my phone. He pressed the lock button but was met with my passcode. He grabbed my wrists and pulled me closer to him so that he could force me to put in the numeric code.
I shook my head no, silently rebelling but it only earned me a distorted growl as he twisted my wrist bringing more tears to my eyes. I yelped and obeyed, touching the numbers on the screen. Once my phone was unlocked he let go and started to tap at the screen.
I could feel something warm trailing slowly down my forehead and start to pool at my eyebrow. Whatever it was dropped down onto my cheek and continued down my face. I brought my bound hands up and whipped the back of my hand across my cheek to see blood smeared on my pale skin. I whimpered at the sight, a new wave of panic taking over me.
Breaking glass took my attention away from my blood stained hand. I looked over to see my kidnapper had used his black combat boot to break my phone he had put on the floor. My heart sank further in my chest. How was anybody going to be able to find me now?
"Did you bring it?" He asked.
Without answering, the driver reached into the pocket of his jacket. The truck swerved in the lane, almost running into oncoming traffic.
He quickly grabbed the passenger seat to stop himself from falling forward. The sleeve of his coat and the hoodie he wore under it rose up his arm just enough for me to see the tattoos covering his skin.
The driver grunted, finally taking his hand from his pocket, producing a wadded up bit of black material. The other grabbed it from his hand and then turned towards me.
"No, no!" I screamed, pushing myself as far away from them as I could. My back hit against the door. I turned and fumbled to try and find the handle. I didn't care how fast we were driving. I had to get away from them. I started to jerk on the handle of the door, hoping that somehow it would open.
He slid himself over to me, boxing me in against the door. I tried to hit his face but he grabbed my tied hands and forced them down. With his other hand he unfolded the material and then forced it down over my head. My entire world was shrouded in black.
"Shh, relax." His warped voice said quietly in my ear.
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