Angels & Sinners: The Motor City Edition (16 page)

The three of us have been inseparable ever since Austin, a hotshot third grader, stepped in to protect Ashley and me from the snot-nosed bully Pete Morse when we were in kindergarten. Now, I only hope the changes between Austin and me won’t affect our friendships. We’d been like the three musketeers for so long.

“You really think so?” I crinkle my nose, checking my reflection in the mirror. I do seem different, more grown up, really. I’m sure that the makeup Ashley put on me helped in that department. I rarely ever wear it any other time.

“Of course.” She bites down on her lip, looking away.

“Ash, are you sure you’re okay with me going out with Austin? I know you sort of had a thing for him.”

“Whatever,” she waves a hand at me, “that was like forever ago and I’m over it. Besides, he asked you out, which means he’s into you.” I watch her closely, trying to see if she’s just lying so she doesn’t hurt my feelings. She appears to be genuinely happy for me. “And, I have a hot ass date of my own tonight. Dane won’t know what hit him.” While this is my first date ever, Ashley is experienced when it comes to the dating world.

She runs her fingers through soft blonde curls that I’ve always been jealous of and then checks her own makeup in the mirror before grabbing her purse. “Okay, Em. I’m outta here, have fun and text me as soon as it’s over.”

“I will! We’re still on for breakfast tomorrow, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Oh, hey, Mrs. Riveria, I was just heading out.”

“Oh, I miss the days when you two would sit in your footie pajamas, gabbing about boys, and staying home with this old mom. You’re growing up way too fast.” She wipes at her eyes, probably to stop the onslaught of tears that I know is coming. My mom can get a little emotional.

“And with that, I’m definitely out of here.” Ashley waves, leaving me alone to deal with my mom. Not that I’m one of those brooding, I-hate-my-mom teenagers, but she definitely likes to treat me like I’m still her little girl, even though I’m practically an adult.

“You look gorgeous, Emmeline Marie. Is Austin picking you up?”

“Yup, is that going to be okay?”

My mom isn’t a big fan of me riding with other kids since I just turned sixteen and most of my friends are newly licensed. She definitely isn’t a big fan of me dating an older guy, even though she has known Austin for a long time and didn’t mind us being just friends. We had kind of a big argument over it, but in the end, she finally agreed that it was okay to go out with Austin. I have always been a good kid, so she said she was going to trust me.

“Well, I suppose that will be all right.” She huffs out a breath. “Just make sure you call me when you get wherever you’re going, and I expect you to check in every couple of hours.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes and shake my head. “Okay, will do.”

The doorbell ringing pulls my attention away from my mom and I wipe my sweaty hands on my dress, blow out a deep breath, and peek in the mirror one last time.

“Oh, sweetie, don’t be so nervous.” My mom laughs, patting my back as she follows me out to the living room.

Austin is waiting patiently for me on the other side of the door, an adorable grin working its way across his face when he spots me. His blue eyes twinkle as he hands me a single rose that’s ruby red and smells heavenly. Our hands touch for a split second and I bite back a grin when I realize that his palms are just as sweaty as mine. I’m glad. At least I’m not the only one that is nervous and this definitely isn’t his first date. Ashley and I watched a string of girls come and go over the years, but none of them ever seemed to stick around for long. They weren’t too happy that his best friends were girls.

“You look pretty.” He steps inside as I grab my purse, shuffling his feet and tucking one hand in his pocket, tugging the other through his blond hair that is a mess, but a hot one.

“Thank you, and for the flower, too.”

“Um . . . hey, Mrs. Riveria. I hope it’s all right that I take Emmeline out. I’ll have her home on time.”

“Okay, honey. How’s your mom doing?”

“Well, you know.” Austin looks down at his feet, clearly embarrassed. His mom is a sore subject and, really, my mom should know that. Austin has basically raised himself since his mom checked out after his dad died, and now he is on his own. I’m not sure how often he actually even sees her. “She’s doing okay.”

“That’s good, dear. You let me know if you ever need anything, though.”

“Well, we should really get going,” I say, attempting to break apart the tension built up by the mention of his mom, and Austin visibly relaxes.

“Yeah, let’s get going.”

We quickly say goodbye to my mom and I thank my lucky stars that my dad is still at work or that would’ve been even worse.

Austin drives us into town, stopping at my favorite place to eat, and I am relieved that he doesn’t take me to some fancy restaurant in an effort to impress me, which would’ve been boring. I laugh the whole time as we eat burgers and fries and sip on chocolate milkshakes. Austin is my friend first so everything else is so comfortable and easy with him.

Afterward, we walk along the beach—one of my most favorite spots in the world—the dark night sky filled with twinkling stars as we talk and search for seashells dotting the shore.

He tugs on my hand, pulling my feet to a stop right near the pier, and takes a step closer. Looking down at me intently, he presses his lips together, and then he hoarsely whispers , “I need to kiss you. Is that all right?”

I about liquify on the spot, right into a puddle that would slowly sink into the sand beneath my toes. I thought I would be nervous for my first kiss, but I’m not. Not at all.

I have never wanted to kiss someone so badly.

With Austin everything is different. I’m comfortable around him, like I could tell him anything and everything and he would listen with that intense look he gets in his eyes, one that has always drawn me to him.

So, I agree to the kiss and it is everything and more that I had been imagining for a while.

The water swirls around our feet, the coolness causing goose bumps to break out across my skin, but I don’t care. I forget about everything when his fingers grip my chin, tilting my head up, but I’m not looking at the stars. I’m looking right into his eyes as his mouth lowers to meet mine, and he teases me with a brush of his lips. I sigh, thinking that was all I’m going to get but then his lips return, and this time, it definitely isn’t just a brush. This time his lips press into mine and I melt into him. My mouth opens all on its own as he swipes his tongue across my lips and then into my mouth. Our tongues do an awkward dance for a split second, but eventually find a steady rhythm as I wrap my hands around his neck, and his arms encircle my waist, tugging me against the lean body that I’d been admiring all night.

I didn’t remember how long the kiss lasted but I wished it could never end, even though it was one of many—probably thousands. I couldn’t go back and change the past, though, so I just had that kiss to hold on to, and I replayed every detail in my head that I could recollect.

Nothing really mattered anymore and new memories would not be made. The future had been stolen away from me and all I’d ever have was
then
.

But this is now.

CHAPTER 2

Now

Drip, drip, drip.

One hundred . . . wait, no, that was ninety-nine. Ninety-nine, one hundred. A sneeze, probably induced by all of the dust in this hellhole, interrupted my counting and I groaned, annoyed that my entertainment was cut off. I snorted as I shifted on the worn twin mattress, finding it funny that dripping water was now a form of entertainment. Who would have ever thought?

I’d been counting since I woke up this morning or afternoon, whatever time it was, but really, time didn’t exist anymore. All I could do was judge the amount of sun that was filtering in through the crack of plywood that covered the small window, a window that didn’t budge open. I tried, and even if it did, it wasn’t big enough for my head to fit through, let alone my body.

I pushed my fingers through my stringy brown hair, remembering when it used to feel so
alive
. Not that I ever really messed with it much, other than a quick blow dry. Still, what I would have given to be home primping for hours in front of the mirror?

The room didn’t even have a mirror. I’m sure I didn’t want to look in one anyway, even if I could.

The faded long-sleeved shirt I wore reached past my fingertips by several inches and hung well below my waist, leaving very little skin uncovered, which is how he liked it. What I had on when he brought me to this place was an abomination in his eyes. I loved that dress. It made me feel sexy and alive. I wouldn’t normally wear something like it because I hated my curves, but I was with Austin, and I loved the way he looked at me that night, whispering in my ear that I was the most beautiful girl there.

My lips turned upward, forming something that resembled a smile, something that I thought I’d forgotten how to do. They quickly turned downward a second later when I heard a click and the doorknob turning at the top of the stairs. I sat up straight, my shoulders rigid as I focused on a spot near the ceiling that I was convinced looked like a winking smiley face. I found it ironic that I had to look at that all day, like this was all some big joke. I kept waiting for someone to pop out and tell me that I was a part of some twisted reality show. It had yet to happen.

Here, I didn’t have a name. Here, all I was known as was
The Whore
. I began to think that he was right. Even though in the farthest corner of my mind, something nagged at me, telling me that he was wrong. Surely, psychologists would slap some sort of label on that, explaining why I was beginning to believe what he had been saying to me since the night he took me.

I had no idea how long I had been gone. I tried to keep count, praying over and over that my time would come to an end. The days began to pile up and I lost count, trying to focus on finding a way out, but he always seemed to be two steps ahead of me.

I could tell he was twisted, no matter what kind of perfect picture he tried to paint for himself in society. I didn’t understand why he’d brought me here. I couldn’t tell you where exactly here was, either. The ride had been fuzzy as I faded in and out of reality. At one point, I thought I heard sirens blaring, but if someone had tried to save me, they failed.

I was trying to remember who I was but every day that I remained locked away with no escape in sight, part of
me
slowly started to slip away. My once vibrant life had become as gray as the concrete walls that surrounded me, closing in and suffocating me.

Sleep was the only place that I could find some sort of happiness. Memories of my life before would replay repeatedly in my head. Like a movie reel full of images that reminded me of what I had before I ended up in limbo.

But they were just dreams.

I doubted I’d ever see any of my family or friends again, and the thought made me want to give up, but I had no idea how. He made sure of that. There weren’t any tools available that I could use to end my time in purgatory. I looked. After what seemed like months, I had come to the conclusion that no one was coming to my rescue and he wasn’t going to let me go. I was a toy to him, though mainly mentally, not physically. Sometimes I think that was worse.

So, I decided playtime was over. I searched every nook and cranny for something, anything, that would work, but as I said, he was always two steps ahead. It’s like he had prepared the place for his “cleansing,” as he liked to call it, he just needed to find someone and that someone was me.

Heavy footsteps on the stairs brought me back to my reality, and a throat clearing snapped my attention forward. I’d learned my lesson early on that I was not to ignore him. I was to show him respect or I wouldn’t like the consequences. He had a book in his left hand and I quelled the need to roll my eyes. It was time for my daily lesson.

He read aloud and I hung onto every word, knowing that he would be quizzing me afterward, making sure I had paid attention. I’d never been much of a churchgoer and it showed, but now, I could probably recite that thing word for word.

Not that anyone would care.

I answered all of his questions correctly and a ghost of a smile lifted his lips beneath his graying beard, his bushy brows rising slightly, before he straightened himself. “All right, then. It seems as if you’re learning, whore.”

I used to cringe every time that word left his mouth, the way he spat it out as if even saying it was a sin, but I’d grown used to it.

I nodded my head in reply. I talked as little as possible to him. I learned that I wouldn’t get in as much trouble as long as I kept my mouth shut. I also learned not to ask when he was going to let me go. I found that out the hard way.

No, he didn’t physically abuse me, other than when I first arrived here, though after that my body seemed to take a long time to heal. Instead, he messed with my head. If I were to talk back or get out of line whatsoever, he would leave me alone down here for days at a time. Without any food or water, I was right on the brink of death from starvation. Then he would show up again, scolding me for my actions, and pushing a small glass of water and a bowlful of something unrecognizable toward me. By that point, I didn’t care.

Once he turned off all power to the basement, and that was the worst form of punishment so far. I didn’t realize how much I depended on that sole fluorescent light until it was gone. The dark shadows that formed when my precious crack of sunlight disappeared at night closed in on me, suffocating me, the darkness wrapping around my neck and leaving me gasping for whatever sweet, precious air I could inhale.

“Let’s go.” He yanked me up by my arm and I realized it must be the day of the week that I was able to leave this hellhole. Upstairs wasn’t much better. I hung limply as he dragged me up the steps, every bone in my legs aching as they bent for each stair. My body and strength were slowly diminishing every day. I didn’t need a mirror to notice that.