"She talked to you?" whispered Lee's voice. Jordan muttered a yes. "What did she say?"
"She wanted to go home." Jordan sounded uncomfortable. I just pretended to be sleeping. I didn't want them to stop their conversation because of me. I felt something moving and put the pieces together. I was in a car.
"We have to talk to her and make sure that she won't tell anyone."
"We can sit down and talk to her. I'm sure she'll understand." Vegan sounded tired.
"We can't just expect her not to tell anyone." Matt's tone was angry. I felt myself involuntarily stiffen. I hoped no one would notice. "I mean, look at the facts. Accident or not, we killed that man."
"I agree with Matt..." Oli sighed. "We did kill him. Not to mention, we kidnapped her."
"We can't keep her forever." Jordan scolded.
"We can't just let her go either." Oli replied. "So what can we do?"
They fell into silence again. I slowly felt around for a hand. I knew Jordan was sitting next to me. I fell asleep on him. I gently opened his hand up a little bit. He jumped a little bit and looked down at me, cautious. I slowly signed in his palm. His eyes stared at my hands.
Are you going to kill me?
Jordan shook his head slowly and leaned down, whispering in my ear. "No. Why would we do that?"
I started to sign some more. Do you like me?
"What's not to like?" he grinned.
Funny. If you like me, you'll help me escape. I looked up to see his reaction. He looked like he stopped breathing for a minute. He sighed at me and rubbed his head. The others were not paying attention to our conversation. Lucky us. He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes.
"How am I supposed to do that? Why should I? You're going home."
I felt like crying. You and I know that's not true. I watched him looked sadly at me. I know you're not going to let me go. There's no way you all can agree. I'll end up hurt...or disabled. Please. I want to go home. I leaned up to his ear. "I want to go home."
Jordan sighed and kissed my cheek. If I help you...you can't tell anyone. I trust you, but they don't trust you. You can't tell anyone. Promise me?
I nodded and started signing again. I promise.
Jordan groaned loudly and threw his arm around me. Four days. Okay? Four days and I'll help you.
I nodded and sank back into an uneasy sleep.
❶❷❸❹❺❻❼❽❾❿
"Wake up." said a new voice. It sounded gruff and angry. I opened my eyes and saw Matt. He was rubbing his eyes slightly. "C'mon, I'm to bring you in. The others are getting settled."
I nodded and walked in front of Matt, his hand on my shoulder. I closed my eyes and let him lead me around. Four days. Four days and Jordan would help me escape. Trust. I trust him.
"Why don't you talk?" Matt asked, opening a door for me. I walked into the small house and saw some people passed out on the couch. As I got closer, I realized that they were Lee and Vegan. Oli was in the kitchen doing something with Jordan.
I turned and faced Matt. I could talk to him, but I'd have to be quiet. Could I talk to him?
No. I would not. I shrugged instead and decided to go to the bathroom.
"Right there," Matt said, nodding to the door at the end of the hallway. I nodded and walked away slowly. I swallowed hard and locked the door behind me. I want to go home. Home...home. It sounded so sweet and so far away. Now because I fell asleep, I had no idea where I was. No idea. I turned on the faucet and sat on the closed toilet. God. I could pretend. I'm a good pretender. I sat there and began to think about Alaric, my older brother. We were in the car together, listening to music.
I was eight. Eight so that means he was seventeen. Nine year difference.
"Jasey, do you want to change the channel?" he asked, looking to me. I shook my head and started to talk to him.
"Today Billy made fun of me." I sighed, folding my hands over my chest. "He told me I had a big nose."
Alaric turned to me because we were at a red light. He rolled a little bit over the white line, but it wasn't enough to get in the way of any drivers.
"Do you have a big nose?" He asked me, seriously. I shrugged, tears threatening to fall.
"No."
"So why should you think that? You know he's wrong." Alaric said, smiling and ruffling my hair. "Anyways, hurting is flirting."
"What does flirting mean?" I asked, smiling at him.
"It means to joke around for affections." Alaric winked at me. "To make you like him back."
"That's stupid." I snapped. "I would never like him."
Alaric leaned over and kissed my cheek and stared into my eyes.
"Jasey, you're perfect. Your nose is perfect. Your smile, your heart. You're beautiful." He winked at me. "You're-"
My eyes widened as the car came speeding towards us. I closed my eyes and screamed: "RICK!"
I felt the impact of the car, my head smashing into the window, but I don't remember much after that. I remember looking over and seeing Alaric, his arms bent awkwardly, his mouth in a grimace, blood everywhere.
"Rick?" I whispered. I got no response. He was dead.
"Jasey, are you okay?" asked a soft voice. I blinked and sighed. I turned off the taps and opened the door. Oli stood there, holding an apple. He sighed in relief as he saw me. "I thought you were..."
I held up a hand and walked past him. I made my way to Jordan and poked him in the chest.
I'm tired. I told him. I want to rest.
You were sleeping in the car the whole way. Jordan replied back. You can't be tired now, can you?
JORDAN. I glared angrily at him. I want to sleep. Let me sleep. I don't want to be around all of you.
Jordan looked slightly offended, but reluctantly led me to my room. It wasn't much of a room. There was a bed and a glass of water on the bedside table. Matt began to talk to Oli when I left with Jordan. I heard him say something about getting rid of me. Jordan closed the door behind us and allowed me to sit on the bed. I shifted uncomfortably and he leaned over, cuffing one of my hands to the bedpost.
Is that necessary? I asked with my eyebrow raised. Jordan nodded and rolled his eyes.
They think so. He looked me up and down and sighed. Can you please tell me why you won't talk? I won't tell the others if you don't want me to.
I don't care if you tell them. I closed my eyes and turned on my side so I could sign easier. Where do you want me to begin?
The beginning. Jordan sat on the edge of the bed, his pale eyes on me. I sighed loudly and felt my stomach twist.
I was in the car with my brother. He was my hero and role model. I complained to him about a boy making fun of me. He didn't pay attention to the road because I was in a conversation with him. I looked away from Jordan and felt my lip begin to tremble. We were hit by a drunk driver. He died. In the car. I left with barely a scratch. They say he got the worst of it because he was hit first. If I never distracted him, he would still be here. It was my- I broke off and started crying. Jordan tried to comfort me. I leaned into his arm and started to sob.
"My fault...it was all my fault..." I moaned. He pulled back a little bit and brushed the hair from my face.
"It's not your fault. I promise you. It's not." He closed his eyes and looked down at his hands. I followed his lead. You're going to escape tomorrow. Four days is too far away. Your family needs you.
How? I questioned, wiping my tears.
Follow my lead. Jordan signed. He kissed my forehead and smiled grimly. But you'll have to speak. Okay?
I nodded. I'd have to face my biggest fear. What do I do?
You're going to threaten me with my life. Force me into the car with you. Threaten to kill me. I'll play along. You can hurt me. I deserve it. We need to be quick about it. I'll bring in breakfast. You'll break the cup and make a weapon out of it. Then we'll make a run for it.
I nodded at him and he smiled weakly. "Tomorrow." He whispered. I nodded. Tomorrow never seemed so far away.