Cold.
Wherever I was had no source of heat whatsoever. It was dark too. My heart started to race and I looked everywhere for any signs that I was back in the warehouse Colton held me a few weeks ago.
"Hello?" My voice croaked and I realized my head felt like it waa splitting open. I pushed away pain long enough for me to stand up. "Is anyone there?" My hand slid up and down the wall searching for a light switch.
Slowly, I took a step to my left and kept my hand on the wall. I kept heading that way and eventually the tip of my boot hit something solid.
Stairs.
There were stairs here wherever I was. I climbed them as quickly as I could, trying not to pass out from the pain in my head. "You can make it Daytona. Just. A bit. Farther." Finally I reached the top of stairs and turned the knob.
Please let it be unlocked.
By the blessing of the gods it was unlocked, but it was jammed. I shoved my shoulder against it and it moved a bit. I did it again and black spots crossed across my vision. I don't know how that was possible considering it was dark down here but I didn't question the science behind it.
I shoved one more time and it popped open. My eyes were assaulted by the bright lights on the other side of the door . It felt again like my skull was splitting open, this time it was a lot more painful and I crumbled to the ground moaning.
"Daytona!" A disembodied voice called out to me. My ears started to ring shortly after. "Hey, Daytona. Look at me!" The voice was closer now, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes.
I tried to back away but it was almost like I was moving through molasses. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." My voice was scratchy.
"Sorry. Sorry for what? It's me. Jordan. Makayla and I have been looking for you all night long."
I cracked my eyes open, but the light ignited my headache again. "Turn the lights off please." When I heard the switch flip, I opened my eyes.
Natural light still streamed in through the millions of windows surrounding me, but it was better than the bright led lights that were on a second ago.
"Jordan? What do you mean all night long?" I looked around and barely remembered where I was. "Is this Makayla's place? What happened last night?"
"What do you mean what happened? Do you not remember?" He offered me his hand and pulled me up, but I crumpled again so he scooped me up bridal style.
"I, I remember there being a surprise party and I vaguely remember doing body shots, but after that it's all blank. What I do know, is that I have a massive hangover."
I moved to rest my head against his chest, but thought against it and stayed where I was. "Care to inform me on the events of what happened last night?" I asked.
"Well you forgave me for the other night, we beat Mason and Jake at beer pong, you slept on the couch for about an hour, you ate a cupcake and then disappeared. No one knows what happened to you." He carried me to his car and carefully set me in the seat.
I watched as he walked over to his side and climbed in. "Here. Take some Advil." He tossed me a bottle and I shook two out dry swallowing them.
"How did no one see where I went?" I slipped a pair of sunglasses on and closed my eyes, leaning my head back against the head rest.
"According to everyone in the kitchen, you took off. Which I don't know how considering right before hand you could hardly even walk without my help." His black hair was messy like he had been running his fingers through it all night long.
"Can I put some music on?" I asked but didn't really wait for an answer. I grabbed his phone, which was conveniently sitting in a cup holder, and plugged in the aux cord. I swiped through his Spotify until I found something I liked and hit play.
"Black Veil Brides? Really?" He glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
"Have a problem with it?"
"Nope."
"You know-"
"I sound like the main guy?" A smirk was visible on his face and I rolled my eyes.
"No. I was going to say you missed the exit for the highway." I pointed my finger back to where the exit slowly faded into the distance.
"Dammit." He pounded his hands on the steering wheel. "We'll just get the next one."
As we continued driving, we started to near a Sonic. "Wait!" I yelled, "pull in here."
"What? The Sonic?" He turned his right blinker on and moved over into the right lane.
"Yes. Sonic." I realized yelling just a second ago might not have been the greatest idea. My head started to pound even more. "Please."
He turned in and pulled into a spot. "Alright. What do you want?"
"Just a cherry slush. With Nerds. Where's my bag? I have my wallet and phone in it." I looked around the car but didn't see it.
"Bag?" His blue eyes studied mine. "When I found you this morning you didn't have a bag with you. Matter of fact, you didn't have a bag with you for most of the night."
"Does that mean that someone has my phone and wallet? Jordan, my wallet has my license in it and my phone has everything on it." I held my head in my hands. "We have to get it back Jordan."
"Okay, we will Daytona, we will. But for now, let's get you your slush. You need to rest properly. I'll take you back to my place and then we can go look for your bag." He placed a hand on my shoulder and I started to calm down.
"Okay. I'll pay you back when we have my bag back." I closed my eyes and laid my head back again.
"Sounds good."
~~~~🌸~~~~
"Hey Mom, I'm home! Daytona is also with me." We were at Jordan's place and he carried into the house.
"Oh dear! Are you okay honey? What happened?" Jordan's mom regarded me with a worried mom's eye.
"She's fine Mom. Just a little, uh, hungover? I'm just going to take her upstairs. Alright?" He carefully walked upstairs with me in his arms. He set me down on his bed. "Alright here you go."
"Thanks." I turned on my side and snuggled into the blankets in his bed. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep. I fell slowly at first, but once I had got a bit of it, I was out like a light.
I was back in a dark place again, but I had never been here before. It was cold, and wet. Maybe it was drizzling? I turned around but it was dark everywhere. No source of light at all.
'Why do you think no one realized you went missing? They don't care about what happens to you. It was pretty convenient that Jordan left right before you disappeared, don't you think?' It was a female voice and it seemed to come from no where but everywhere all at once too.
"Who are you?" I called out into the void.
'Who do you think I am Daytona? '
"I don't know!" I sat on the floor and cradled my head in my hands. "I don't know who you are."
'You better start thinking because as you're sleeping, everyone is conspiring against you. Jordan is probably going to hand you over to Colton himself. Logan is going behind you're back, and Makayla is getting ready to stab you in the back. Mason hates you for putting his sister in danger and Jake hates you too because he loves Mason.'
I shook my head back and forth. "No. They would never do that to me. They are like my family."
A person manifested in front of me. A hand reached out an touched my forehead. 'If you really believe that they wouldn't betray you, remember last night.' It pushed harder and all the fuzziness in my head dissipated.
It felt like a million knives were stabbing my head and a painful scream tore out of my throat.
"Daytona! Wake up!" Jordan kneeled above me and was shaking my shoulders. "What's wrong? Are you hurt?"
I threw myself at him and cried into his shirt. "I remember.I know what happened last night Jordan."
He sat next to me, moving as little as possible so I could stay holding onto him. "Well that's good news right?"
"No. It's horrible Jordan." Balling my fists into his shirt I cried even harder. My head and body felt a lot better, like my hangover was completely gone.
Well I didn't have a hangover in the first place.
"Well do you want to talk about it? I know it helps to talk about things." He rubbed my back in circles, and this time it comforted me instead of making my skin crawl.
"I," breathe in, "I don't think I'm completely ready to say it out loud yet."
"Well that's okay too. I'll be waiting for you, whenever you're ready." He gave me a soft smile that made my stomach calm.
"Thanks Jordan. That means more to me than you know right now." I leaned my head on his shoulder and took deep breathes.
"No problem Daytona. I will always be here for you." He moved his hand up from my back and started to gently stroke my hair. "Well, what do you want to do?"
"Honestly, can we just go to the beach?" I closed my eyes and imagined how it would feel: the sun hitting my back as I laid against the warm sand, the sound of waves crashing against the shore. Seagulls cawing as they swooped down from the sky to snatch up any food they could find. Because if things went the way she said they were going to tomorrow, it might be my last time at the beach for awhile.
Jordan looked really confused for a minute. "May I ask why? Sure it is a little warmer then it has been the past few days, but it's still really cold for the beach."
"Please, Jordan. Even if you just drop me off, I just really want to go to the beach." I played with my tights.
Jordan studied me. His blue eyes gazing into the deepest parts of my soul. "Okay. Let's go, but we are not getting in the water."
"Deal!" I jumped off his bed and tripped, falling onto the floor with a thud.
"Um," Jordan peered over the edge of the bed at me. "you okay down there?"
My nose was squished painfully on the floor. "Peachy." I rolled over so I was laying on my back now. "Can I borrow some clothes? I don't think this is exactly appropriate apparel for beaching."
With a chuckle, he swung his legs over the edge and helped me up. "Sure thing Daytona."
I followed him to his closet. "Anything in particular you would like to wear? I've got it all."
"Maybe a sweatshirt and joggers?"
"Help yourself to whatever you want." He walked out of the room, whistling to the tune of an unknown song.
Focusing my attention back onto the clothes in front of me, I looked through what he had and picked just a plain gray hoodie and black Adidas joggers. We're both so basic, I thought to myself. Once I was changed I walked out of his room and into the kitchen.
His mom sat at the dining room table, drinking coffee and eating breakfast. "Uh, hey Linda, sorry to bother you while you are eating." For some reason I couldn't meet her eyes and I kept playing with the sleeves of Jordan's hoodie.
Linda took one look at me and switched into Mom™ mode. "Sit down Dear. What's wrong?"
"I," my throat got scratchy and I could tell I was getting ready to cry, "I just am so tired." I placed my head in my hands again and started to cry. "I hate crying in front of people."
"It's okay to cry my Dear. It's not healthy to bottle so much up." She ran her hand up and down my back in a soothing manner. "Now, why don't you tell me what's on your mind?"
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you what was going on in my life right now." A dry laugh came from somewhere in the kitchen and I realized it was from me. "My life is so screwed up."
"You can never know if I would believe you until you tell me."
A few more tears slipped out and I quickly wiped them away with my, or really Jordan's, sleeve. "I made friends with this guy in my school and he has rocked my world. I was head over heels for him, but it seems like ever since we ran into each other, literally I might add, my life did a complete 180. I've been raced over, almost raped, I've started drinking again, I was kidnapped, and the cherry on top is this girl who I bullied into attempted suicide visited me last night to let me know that my friend Jake, who I trusted by the way, drugged me last night so I wouldn't remember our conversation, and the only reason I do is because while I was dreaming, some person wrapped in shadows visited me and basically used some type of magic to clear all the side effects of the drugs out of my system.
"And my boyfriend has been acting really shady since I caught him in his dead parents room with another girl. I've tried to contact him but he hasn't read any of my texts or returned any of my calls. Hell, on Christmas I got a text from his brother saying 'Merry Christmas' but nothing from him. What am I supposed to make of his silence?" Tears were flowing freely now and I couldn't bring myself to look at her face.
She let out a sigh,"Twenty-five years ago I married the love of my life. I first met him when I was dating his best friend. Together we broke into a Target and stole over $1,000 worth of stuff. He was supposed to be our getaway driver, and, well, he and my boyfriend at the time got away. I, on the other hand, was left standing in front of the store, with a couple hundred dollars of stolen stuff in my hands while the police pulled up."
I stared slack jawed at her. "Well did either one bail you out?"
"Nope. My older sister bailed me out." She had the ghost of a smile on her face as she remembered meeting her husband.
"Well what happened next?" I realized my tears had stopped now and I waited in awe of what was going to happen.
"The car that was used to make their escape was my boyfriends, so I keyed into the side the words, 'WE'RE THROUGH'. After that I headed down the street to my now husbands house, knocked on the door, and when he opened it I socked him in the face." She now had a full blown smile on her face. "I broke his jaw too."
"That's crazy Linda! Now I know where Jordan and Marissa get their spunk from."
"Really Mom? Out of all the stories you have, you had to tell her that one? Now Daytona probably thinks she's living in a house full of criminals." Jordan rolled his eyes and grabbed a banana off the counter.
Linda stuck her tongue out at Jordan and hugged me tightly. "You can always talk to me you know Dear? I may be an adult, but I'm a cool adult."
"Thanks Ms. Linda. For that and for always being so welcoming and open to me." I hugged her back and stood up facing Jordan. "Well are you ready or what?"
He threw an apple at me. "Let's hit the road."
And we did just that.
~~~~🌸~~~~
Together, we sat on the beach huddled in our own little blankets. The sun was out and shining, but the air surrounding us was still cold and dry. Today, the ocean was calm. Little waves would crash up on the shore, but there weren't a million crashing at once. Maybe one or two, then a break for a few seconds, then a couple more. Only a few seagulls were out today and they would hover over Jordan and I almost as if we would magically have food we didn't have five minutes ago.
Overall it was nice.
But of course, I had to shatter the serenity that had been engulfing us.
"How much of my conversation with your mom did you hear?" I held my gaze on the water in front of me.
Jordan let out a troubled sigh. "I walked in on the part about us racing over you. And I heard every word after that too."
I refocused my gaze on to the sand right near my feet. "According to Sophia, Jake spiked my drink with some type of depressant. That's why I was acting the way I was last night at the party."
"Guess I gave the wrong guy a broken nose." he paused for a brief second before continuing, "Do you at least know why he did what he did?"
I nodded my head. "A few years ago he ran into some trouble with some kids here and so Colton seeked him out. Told Jake he would clear everything up, only if he would join his gang though. Apparently, whatever kind of trouble Jake had found himself in was bad enough that he had accepted Colton's offer without a second thought."
"And he's threatening Tyler's life. That's why he can't leave and why he had to spike your drink. If he didn't Tyler would most likely be dead."
Again, I just stared off into the distance.
"And the part about Logan?" I could tell Jordan was walking on eggshells right now. "Has he really not, you know, talked to you at all?"
"I haven't heard a single thing from him. Gods I hate him! All of this has happened since he ran into me and he can't be bothered to give me a straight answer on anything I ask him. It's always, 'Oh I'll tell you later Daytona' or 'Soon Daytona, soon'. Do you have any idea how irritating to not get a straight answer out of someone?" I turned to face Jordan for the first time since I got to the beach.
"I'll tell you the answer soon. Once I think over if I should be honest or lie."
"Not funny idiot." But even as I said it, I found myself smiling.
He turned to look at me with a smirk on his face. "Yet you're smiling. Like I said before Daytona. You have a contagious smile. I love it."
My cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "Um, thanks. Do you know what time it is?"
"Almost noon, why?" Where the sun, hit his hair made it shine perfectly. His blue eyes studied me intensely again.
"Do you think you can run me by my house real quick?" I crossed my fingers under the blanket.
He started to stand up, shaking the sand off from his blanket. "Sure. What do you need?"
"I just need to grab a few things." I stood up with him, watching as the grains of sand fell back done onto the beach. Last night Sophia told me something really important to their plans, and I dont think she intended on me remembering it. Hopefully it would be helpful "I shouldn't be very long."
We packed the blankets into the back of his car and headed over to my house.
As we pulled up into the driveway, something felt off right away, but I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Noticing my unease, Jordan asked, "Do you want me to come with you?"
I set aside my weariness for now and put my brave mask back on. "No. I'm fine, i literally am just running in and running right back out. If I'm not back in five minutes though, come searching."
Jordan's face remained deadly still.
"It was a joke. I'll be fine. Don't worry." I turned to walk into my house, amd then turned around again real quick. Bending down into his car, I placed a quick kiss on Jordan's cheek. "Thanks for being there Jordan."
Walking towards the house, I shoved my hands into my pockets to keep them from falling off. I grabbed the spare from the plant pot and walked in.
The air was different right now, then it had been the last time I was here. It was more still. More dangerous.
Quickly, I headed into the kitchen and grabbed a notepad and Sharpie.
'Dear Mom,
I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I had to leave the city. I don't know when it will be okay for me to come back. It may never be. I'm taking Mason and Ashton with me and we are leaving the city tonight. Whoever else wants to come can come, but it's safer for everyone if I leave now. It's also safer for you if I don't tell you where I am going.
There's so much you don't know and I'm sorry for keeping so many secrets from you, but you have to believe me when I say it was in your best interest that I did so. I love you with all my heart and that's why I'm doing what I'm doing. Promise me you'll stay strong and maybe eventually leave Dad. He's no good for you anyway. You deserve so much better. I have left roughly $2,300 dollars in a shoebox on top of my closet. Use that money however you see fit.
Again Mom, I love you and I don't wish to hurt you, but this is something I need to do. I'm leaving the bike behind. Sell it if you want.
Oh and one more thing: DO NOT TRY TO FIND ME.
Love, Your Dearest Daytona.'
I hadn't realized I was crying until I saw the tear stains on the yellow sheet of paper.
Wiping my eyes, I ran upstairs to my room. Luckily, I had learned to half my winnings incase my wallet or phone ever got stolen so I still had about seven thousand dollars wedged between my mattresses. I counted out $2,500 dollars and threw it in a shoe box and then threw that on top of my closet.
I grabbed my duffle bag and started to stuff anything I thought I might need into it. Lastly, I grabbed my car keys and headed for my door. Taking one last look around, I closed my bedroom door and headed downstairs.
If my plan works out the way I want it to, tomorrow morning, we can stop at a department store in Phoenix and get whatever anyone else needed. First things first though, I probably have to get a new phone.
As I ran down the stairs I started to remember all the good times and good memories I had in this house. Grwoing up as kids with Coop, messing around with Mason when we were younger and even now, kissing Logan. This house held some many good memories it was going to be hard leaving it behind.
But this was something I needed to do.
I was so caught up in my own mind, I didn't even see the person waiting at the bottom of the stairs for me.
"Going somewhere?" Colton asked.
Think Daytona. Think!
"Um. Yeah, I was planning on staying at my friends house tonight. Not that it's any of your damn business though." I adjusted my grip on the duffle bag and squeezed my keys tighter. Maybe if I sound the alarm on the car Jordan will get the hint.
Colton took a drag of his cigarette and let out a puff of smoke. "You mean pretty boy sitting out front, waiting for you to come back to him? That friend?"
"Please don't do anything to him. He has no part in this." My voice wavered between strong and completely loosing it.
He took another puff, stood up and walked a circle around me. "I won't touch him as long as you tell me the truth about where you are going."
"I already told you where I am going." A crack in my composure started to form. "I'm staying the night at a friends. Pretty boy just dropped me off here." The crack started to deepen.
"Really?" It sounded like he was pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolding it. "Dear Mom. I'm sorry you had to find out this way, but I had to leave the city. I don't know when it will be okay for me to come back. It may never be. I'm taking Mason and Ashton with me and we are leaving the city tonight. Blah, blah, blah, Love Your Dearest Daytona. How touching."
My hands started to shake and my breaths came quicker.
He grabbed my hair and yanked my head back. "Now tell me where you really are going or I'll have all four of my ex-military men shoot your boy Jordan's brains out."
"How do you have four ex-military contractors?"
"That's not important. Now answer. My. Question." he yanked my hair back and the smell of mint and smoke washed over me.
"Promise me you won't hurt him. And that includes emotional hurt too. Leave his life alone, and I'll tell you where I really was going to go." He seemed to dwell over it for a minute, then he let my hair go.
"I give you my word. I'll leave him and his family alone. In return, you have to tell me where you planned on going and who all knew."
Another crack.
Colton sat down on the stairs behind me. "Well. I'm waiting."
Think fast Daytona. "I was planning on driving north. Maybe to Washington or somewhere like that. I was going to drive until the sun set and then do it again." I turned to face him, trying to calm my nerves down. "Satisfied?"
"Not yet. Out of all nights to ditch town, why now?"
"Your sister told me last night. She had someone spike my drink in hopes I wouldn't remember what happened." The bag hanging from my shoulder seemed to gain ten pounds with every passing second.
He put his cigarette out on the stairs and stood up, circling me again. Like a predator circles it's prey.
"And how do you remember? Did whoever spiked your drink not fulfill his duties properly?" He bent down and whispered in my ear, "Cause that can be taken cared of."
"No. Trust me I was pretty drugged up. I forced myself to remember. Something about wanting to know if everyone I care about had betrayed me." Shut up Daytona!
"I knew you were pretty headstrong. Now, let's see where that gets you right now. As you know, I have four guys outside, each aiming a Tracking Point Rifle at your second little boy toy's head, and if you answer this question correctly, they won't paint the inside of his car with red. Answer wrong however, and well," He made a gun shape with his fingers and raised it to his head.
I dropped my bag and keys and sunk to my knees.
Again I had put someone I cared about in danger. When would the constant cycle to hurt and pain stop. What would I have to do to make it stop forever?
I wanted to voice these thoughts but instead I asked a useless question , "How do you own four Tracking Point Rifle's? I thought they were still under trial."
Colton just laughed. "You underestimate my power dear Daytona. I could rule this world if I wanted to, but for now controlling San Francisco is good enough."
"Why San Francisco?"
He shook his head. I guess I ran out of time to ask questions.
"My turn to ask the questions. Question one. Are you aware that Jake Teller is apart of The Loaded Guns and has been for several years and also he was the one who drugged you last night." He wore his stupid devilish smirk with pride.
Tears pooled in the bottom of my eyes. "Yes," I whispered.
"Alright. He lives so far. Second question: Do you know why Logan has been ignoring you?"
"No. I don't know why." A tear slipped down my face.
'Pathetic. That's all you are. How many times have you cried today? Not to mention each time has been in front of someone too. You're such a burden to Jordan and his family. You should just disappear. Leave their lives.'
"Shut up." I mumbled under my breath.
Colton's face twisted up in a mix of confusion and disbelief. "Excuse me? Did you just tell me to shut up?"
"No," I yelled, "I didn't say anything."
He eyed me with suspicion but continued on. "Question three. If I told you to come with me right at this moment, what would you say?"
"Hell to the no."
"Don't forget his life is on the line." Colton pointed a long finger towards the front door. "Let's add a bit of pressure onto that question. What if your brother was sitting at gun point and the only way to save him was to surrender yourself to me right here. Right now." His smirk had transformed into a full blown smile, showing off his disgustingly perfect teeth.
Was my heart even beating anymore? I had no clue.
Hardening my eyes, I stared him down, willing myself to seem strong. "I would do it in a heartbeat."
"Perfect!" He clapped his hands together. "I knew that would get you to cooperate. Now. I'm going to set this paper back on the counter so your mom doesn't question why you've gone off the grid." His smile fell replaced by a cold, featureless expression only psychopaths could perfect. "Let's go. Ditch your bag in the bushes and hand be your keys."
He gripped my arm tightly and dragged me outside.
I didn't put up a fight and did exactly as he asked. Once my bag was hidden to his liking, he grabbed me by the arm again and walked me through our back gate where an unmarked black SUV sat waiting for us.
He knocked twice on the back door and it slid open, revealing Micah sitting there with a bored expression on his face. "Well that went a lot quicker than expected. And would you look at that. You didn't even need to knock her out. Sophia owes me five bucks."
"Shut up Micah. Just keep an eye on her. If she pulls anything," he tossed a gun inside and waited for Micah to pick it up. "well you know what to do."
"Yes sir."
Quickly Colton pulled zipties out of his pocket and tied my hands together. "I don't think she'll talk much, but if she does get annoying, gag her." He tossed Micah a bandana.
At least it looks clean.
Without warning, Colton tossed me into the back like I weighed no more than a sack of potatoes, and shut the door.
"Well don't you look cute in your buddies little clothes. Did you get tired of Logan already? Or did he get tired of you? I told you that he would leave you for the next shiny thing he saw. But I won't say I told you so. Well I guess I kind of just did." Micah smiled at me and I could not tell what I had found so charming in that smile the very first time I met him.
It was the smile of a sadistic man. Some one who gets off causing others pain.
This time I didn't have to fake the emotions behind my eyes. The anger I had previously bottled up, seemed to boil and explode with in me.
Four feet at most was the space between Micah and me. I let the anger fester inside of me for a bit longer before I rocked backwards and pushed my legs out, kicking Micah square in the face. The feeling of his nose breaking underneath my shoe was the most satisfying thing I had experienced in awhile.
"MOTHER-" Micah cursed. He held a hand over his nose to try and stop the bleeding, but it did no good. A dark and thick red liquid poured down his face, spilling through his fingers, staining his hands and his clothes.
If my hands weren't ziptied together, I would've crossed my arms. But the problem on my hands didn't stop me from wearing a smug expression.
"You little- you're going to pay for that. Once I stop the bleeding that is." Micah tilted his head back and placed the bandana on his nose and held it there. The gun Colton had tossed Micah bounced on his thigh while we drove. I pretended that it didn't bother me, but it did. More than likely, once he got the bleeding under control, he probably was going to shoot me.
"Why don't you shoot me Micah? Take that shiny little gun on your lap, point it straight at my head, and pull the trigger. Would that make it better? Here I'll even give you a hand. I lent forward and picked the gun up, turning it around so it faced me.
I have no clue where this was coming from. Sure I would willingly give my life up to save my friends, but this was not the same thing. Now I was purposely pushing Micah's buttons. Maybe if he saw how eager I was to die, he wouldn't kill me just yet. "Point the barrel right between my eyes and pull the trigger."
Colton snatched the gun out of my hand. "You're such a pain in my ass. I'm not going to kill you. Colton gave me strict orders not to. But shooting you in the foot is a totally different situation." He switched hands so he could get a better grip on the gun and pulled the trigger.
At first I didn't feel any pain. My ears were ringing, but that was just about it.
Then it hit all at once. The white hot searing pain sent black dots dancing across my vision. My mouth gaped open to scream, but nothing came out. It took my breath away. Imagine a pro baseball player hits your foot with a metal bat as hard as he possibly could, that's what it felt like. On top of that, I could feel the hot metal sitting inside my foot. Looking down, I lost it and slumped forward, passing out.
"What the hell Micah? I didn't actually mean shoot her! I gave you the gun just to scare her. Well this is a real inconvenience."
Colton's voice sounded far away and it took a couple of blinks until my vision refocused.
"She broke my nose. What did you expect me to do? Sit idly by?" Micah's voice was a bit more clear and it caused the base of my skull to throb with a headache.
"Yeah I did. She's going to need to be able to stand idiot. How's she supposed to do that with a shot foot?" There was movement in the back of the car and suddenly I wasn't on the ground anymore.
"Let. Me down. Please." There was a painful throbbing in my foot from where I had been shot, but I ignored it. I was going to get into this warehouse, get Cooper and leave. Or that was the plan at least.
"Sure thing, Dear." Colton didn't even try being gentle. He just dropped me on the ground.
I clenched my jaw to keep a groan of pain inside. Pushing myself up onto my knees, I placed my left foot on the ground and shifted all my weight onto it. It was heard, but I was able to keep my balance on my left leg.
"Every time I think I've found your breaking point, you surprise me Daytona." Colton smiled at me and walked away. "I don't care what she says, carry her to her room."
Some guy I had never seen before walked up to me and in one swoop, threw me over his shoulder.
"Hey! Let me go!" I pounded on his back with my fists and kicked my legs everywhere, but the man didn't budge. While he carried me into the building I realized for the first time: "This isn't the same Warehouse as last time."
"I'm afraid not Dear. This is my main base of operation, Victoria. Named after the Victorian architecture of the place. The last time I held you hostage, it was at our third base. You know incase anything like this happened, it would've been to easy for everyone to find you. Now they're back to square one."
"You're a bastard." Venom dripped in my words. I couldn't see his face, but I could practically feel his aura of arrogance radiating out from his smirk.
"Such nasty words shouldn't come from a mouth as pretty as yours."
"Oh I have plenty more where that came from. I'm just saving it for a more appropriate time."
"Good. You'll need that energy if you want to survive. Which I don't care what happens to you, but I'd prefer if you lived. That ways you can carry the guilt with you for the rest of your life."
My fists stopped beating on the guys back. What did he mean by that? Carry the guilt with me for the rest of my life. What was he planning and why would I feel guilty.
"Well, it looks like this is your stop. Take her down."
When we turned left I caught a glimpse of Colton's smile. It was the smile of a devil.
I descended down a set of stairs and was thrown into a pitch black room. "Don't leave me in the dark! Please!" Begging this guy to not leave me down here took every last bit of my pride, but I couldn't bear to be stuck in the dark again.
The man walked back up the stairs, closing the metal door behind him. My breath caught in my throat. Then the lights came on and a small bit of my stress left.
I backed myself up on to a cold metal wall, rested my head against it and let myself cry freely. The pain in my foot was terrible now, I couldn't take it any longer. I bit down on my hand hard hoping the pain I was creating would be enough to distract me from the pain in my foot long enough so I could stand.
Repeating what I did outside, I stood up and made my way across the room to the door. I grabbed the handle and tried to twist it, but it was locked. Figures. I took a step back and rammed my shoulder into it.
All that accomplished was bruising my shoulder.
"That's not going to get you anywhere Daytona. That is a metal door you're trying to break down." His voice seemed to come from somewhere in the ceiling. An intercom maybe?
"Fuck you!" I stepped back, getting ready to do it again. Somehow I had forgotten about my injured foot and stepped on it. I fell down with a yelp of pain.
A sigh was audible from wherever he was speaking to me. "If you quit being a brat, I'll send someone down there to fix your foot."
With mixed feelings on the idea, I slowly lowered myself onto the ground.
Out of the blue, my stomach rumbled. When was the last time I had eaten? I guess it was probably Christmas.
Again he spoke to me. "I guess I'll also send someone down with food for you. You're lucky that I'm in a generous mood."
I didn't reply, just stared at the wall infront of me.
~~~~🌸~~~~
Hours had passed before anyone even came to fix my foot. I should've known Colton wasn't really feeling generous. He was just giving me false hope.
When the doctor did finally show up, he removed the bullet from my foot and wrapped it up. Leaving without saying a word. Then the same guy who threw me down here showed up with foor. But that didn't quite go as expected either. Instead of giving me the apple and water bottle Colton had generously supplied (note the sarcasm), he dragged me back to the wall farthest from the door and chained my hands.
The chains were attached to the wall, so they allowed me to move my hands around a bit, but my reach was limited. And just outside of my limits were the water and apple. "Asshole!" I yelled, hoping Colton was listening and could hear my vulgar mouth.
Resting my head against the wall, I willed myself to keep my eyes opened. I needed to get Cooper and I needed to get out of here. I will make sure Cooper stays safe, even if I go mad doing so.
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Hey, Hey, Hey!
It's only been like three or fours days since my last update! Can you believe it? Me, May Conner, updating so quickly?!
I know. Me neither.
So far we have Jakeson for Mason and Jake, Daylan for Daytona and Logan, Chen for Char and Ben, Chooper for Char and Cooper, and Mayler for Marissa and Tyler.
What's the shipname for Daytona and Jordan 🤔
I know you guys are out there! Speak up!
1 more chapter until TGGB finale!!!!
I can't wait to get it out for you guys! I started writing it a few weeks ago because I was just too excited!
Hopefully you guys enjoyed this UNEDITED chapter. It probably is a bit more choppy in some areas because I would start writing, get in a flow, and then stop. But hopefully it's still enjoyable for you guys.
There was a little bit of (insert Jordans and Daytonas ship name here) action for you guys ;))
Again, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Lover you all!
~May 😘❤