February thirteenth
Girls agreed to go to rest early in the evening, but Leah tossed and turned the entire night. It seemed hard to relax and drift to sleep when the most exciting event in her life will start in the early morning.
When Leah's alarm clock rang at three a.m., she felt fully awake, staring at the white ceiling. Her thoughts swirled about the event from two days ago. She shook her head, chasing those images from her head. Now felt not a good time to think about Mark, Leah turned on her bedside lamp, looking around her room. She scratched her left eye, noticing yellow crushing on her finger, she wiped her finger on the sheets and looked to the left side.
Leah smiled at the framed photo, which stood on her nightstand. She and Oliver were posing at his university graduation, Oliver dressed in a black cap and gown and Leah in a simple white dress. She always liked the picture, as it reminded her of simpler times. Oliver seemed less broody back then. Perhaps coming back to Dover for Oliver felt bittersweet, she thought.
Leah got out of bed and soaked in the view of her beloved room. She made the bed, since her white sheets seemed ruffled up. She barely remembered making the bed. The habit felt mundane, even though she couldn't remember when it became a routine.
While she still lived with her father, making a bed seemed foreign to her. Leah felt like a homemaker most of the time, laundry, cooking, and house cleaning barely left any time for studies. That seemed the main reason to move out of James' house.
Her bed seemed decent enough so she moved toward the door. Leah winced as her feet stumbled on her bag, completely forgetting about the luggage on the wooden floor. To avoid other obstacles she turned on the ceiling light and took the silk robe from the chair.
The silk glided through her naked arms as Leah lifted her brown curly hair into a messy bun. Hearing muffled voices in the apartment, and soon she opened her bedroom door. She peered around the living room and it seemed dull, the only light source remained the open kitchen door.
The voices increased as Leah reached the opening of the kitchen. Noticing both her friends have already awakened.
"I hinted to him that we could do it with no commitment, but he refused. What an asshole." Cassie continued, telling the story in a snarky tone.
"Who is an asshole?" Leah questioned, placing her hand on her hip.
Cassie stood behind the kitchen island, pouring coffee into black mugs. Lily sat on the stool, her black loose hair moving on her back as she turned to see Leah.
"Your brother, who else?" Cassie laughed.
"I told you, he won't be interested." Leah lifted her eyebrow and joined Lily, sitting down next to her. "And good morning, by the way." She smiled.
"Well, I still took my chance. He is so mysterious," Cassie said, looking at Lily. "I think it's his eyes, I could just stare at them all day." She bit her bottom lip, staring into the ceiling.
"Stop dreaming." Leah giggled, rolling her eyes.
"Drink up." Cassie divided the coffee cups. "I'm going to get dressed. And dream about Oliver."
Leah lifted her cup, inhaling the rich smell. "You don't need coffee?" She looked up at Cassie.
"I already got mine." She tapped her belly and smiled.
Cassie stepped out of the kitchen, leaving Leah and Lily alone. The girls sat in silence for a moment, enjoying a hot drink. They could detect Cassie's room door closed with a hushed thud.
"Does she know about your brother?" Lily whispered into a mug.
Leah shook her head. "No. Since he doesn't do that anymore, I didn't tell her." She took a sip of coffee. "And you know how difficult it is to explain everything."
Lily nodded, "Yeah," She nudged Leah's shoulder. "I got lucky with you." She smiled before taking another sip of her coffee.
"You're not mad, right?" Leah furrowed her eyebrows. "About the party?"
"No, Leah. I understand. Maybe one day, I will meet him." Lily lifted her eyebrow.
"Maybe," Leah murmured into her mug.
After getting ready and transporting their luggage to the car, the girls left the apartment and started on their drive to Portland. The vehicle quickly filled with warmth as Cassie increased the speed on the heater. Leah blinked a few times, realizing one cup of coffee wasn't enough to keep her awake. The consequences of the unrestful night felt more present as the car reached city limits.
"Maybe turn off the heat, Cassie. I feel sleepy," Leah spoke in a lazy voice.
"Me too," Lily agreed, barely containing a yawn.
"So, sleep." Cassie shrank her shoulders, tapping her finger against the car wheel. "I feel fine, and we still have forty miles to go."
Leah barely heard what her friend said as she couldn't keep her eyes open, drifting to sleep. She slumped to the side, supporting her head against the window of the passenger door.
Leah cracked her eyes open, feeling pressuring pain in her temples. She observed her surroundings. Realizing she remained in Cassie's car, silent music played on the radio, but the car's heater blowing full speed emitted a more noticeable sound than the radio tune. Leah bent down and turned off the heat. The vehicle's engine worked, but the car stood in place.
Leah looked around once more. Lily seemed to have collapsed down in the backseat, her seatbelt barely keeping her in place. Leah couldn't detect Cassie, as she was not in the driver's seat. She squinted her eyes while looking through the windshield. The headlights stayed turned on and two silhouettes remained visible in front of the lights.
Blinking a few times, Leah assumed one profile in the lights was Cassie, as her short, spiky hair gave a very distinctive view of one silhouette. Other contours resembled a tall man. He gestured his hands to the sides, motioning toward Cassie's car.
"Lily." Leah tried to reach her friend.
Leah unbuckled her seat belt and moved towards the back seat. "Lily, wake up," she said, nudging her friend. "Wake up!" She shook her friend's knee once more.
A silent gasp left Lily's lips, but she stayed unconscious. Leah understood that she can't wake up her friend. She turned back, looking at the windshield once more.
Slowly opening the car door, she stepped out of the vehicle. A chilly breeze reached her face, forcing her to take a few deeper breaths. The air from Leah's mouth came out as a cloud of smoke diminishing the headlights for a moment.
Right away, she heard a manly voice, and soon Cassie's noisy laughter followed. Leah's heart pounded fast, she felt dizzy; her vision seemed blurred. Placing her hand on the roof of the car, Leah tried to keep her balance steady. Loud thuds filled her ears as she blinked a few more times, trying to regain visibility.
Suddenly Leah felt two muscular hands grabbing her from behind, making her flinch. A painful hold on her biceps made her head twist to the side, but she barely could see who held her. From the shadowy figure Leah understood, the guy grabbed her.
Frigid air stirred under her knitted sweater, forcing her to shiver in the man's grip. The man walked, pushing Leah in front of him. In a few brief steps, they reached the front of Cassie's car. The sound of the truck's engine echoed through the mountainous space.
"This one is awake," the guy spoke in a harsh voice, making Leah flinch.
The fresh angle of the view made everything more visible to Leah. There stood an enormous truck parked in front of Cassie's vehicle. The car's headlights gave enough visibility to see that the truck's back door held fully lifted. Cassie and the tall man stood between a car and a truck. Foggy air swirled against the lights as the man pushed Leah further down the gravel road.
"Cassie, what is happening?" Leah's voice trembled.
Cassie didn't look at her friend as she stared at the man in front of her. "Looks like the small talk is over, Tiny."
"Cassie—"
"Shut up, bitch," the man behind Leah shouted, squeezing her arms painfully.
"Pay up." Cassie waved her palm at the tall guy.
The tall guy, seemingly nicknamed Tiny, gave Cassie a small duffle bag and, without another look at Leah, she moved toward the car driver's door.
"Cassie," Leah whimpered.
"I told you to shut up." The man pushed Leah further toward the truck.
Leah's feet felt slippery as she tried to stand her ground. Brown dusty speckles floated with the wind as her sneakers slipped through the gritted space as the man pushed her further into the truck.
"Put her in, I will get another one," Tiny spoke in a scolding voice.
Leah heard the driver's door open and close with the loud noise. She glanced at Cassie's car. The windshield seemed black and all Leah could see was the blinding headlights. The man shoved Leah more toward the truck.
"Don't touch me!" Leah's voice came out as a gasp when her stomach hit the metal edge of the truck.
Leah remained bent as her upper body stayed at the back of the truck and her feet still on the gravel road. She lifted herself and stood straight once more.
"Get in," the man said as Leah glanced over her shoulder.
Leah turned around, facing her perpetrator. He seemed older and appeared bulky, his shaved head and large forehead held sweat drops. Her eyes became more extended as she noticed Tiny carrying Lily hastily. He huffed and a gust of warm air came from his mouth as he quickened his steps toward the truck.
"Why are you doing this? Cassie!" Leah tried to move but felt quickly stopped when the bulky man pointed a gun at her.
"I told you to get in!" he shouted. "Do it or I will blow your brains out." He moved his gun inches away from Leah's head.
Leah closed her eyes for a moment, feeling another guy's presence nearby as she opened her gray orbs. The gun was still pointed at her, and the guy's dark eyes seemed vile. Tiny laid down Lily at the back of the truck as the bulky guy swirled his gun toward the black space.
Leah felt she didn't have any other choice but to climb into the truck. She sat down near her lifeless friend, and the man closed the back door. Leah breathed heavily as the light left her eyesight and they left her in the darkness.