Stay (2 page)

I shook my head and turned back to Lynn and my sister, making lazy conversation and enjoying the sun. I was hot by the time the distant music and cheering from the parade floated down the block, and I had already drained my water bottle. I stood, told Arianna and Lynn I’d be right back, and dashed across the street to use the bathroom. I pushed my way through the crowded coffee shop and impatiently waited in line for the single stall bathroom.

When I was done, I left the ladies room and held my purse close to my body, prepared to side-step my way through the crowded cafe once again. But then I saw the back door. I looked at the crowded cafe and decided I’d rather go through the alley than wade my way through all the people. I put my hand on the knob and twisted, hoping an emergency alarm wouldn’t sound. Luckily it didn’t, and I emerged into the alley behind the coffee shop.

Then I saw her, the crying girl who almost got hit by a car, slumped over next to a dumpster. I froze, unsure of what to do. I knew it wasn't any of my business. She probably didn't want to be bothered anyway. But then I noticed the blood.

My heart pounded and my breath rushed out of me. “Are you okay?” I asked, my voice meek. I doubted the crying girl even heard me. I swallowed and asked again.

Slowly, she lifted her head, revealing a black eye and a fat lip. “Go,” she croaked and wiped her bloody nose.

“Oh my God,” I blurted and assumed she had been mugged. “I’ll help you,” I said and started to move in her direction. “I'll call the police." Just then, someone walked down the alley. I jerked my head up, heart racing. The young man slowed his gait when he saw me. Despite my fear, I couldn’t help but notice his extreme attractiveness. A black t-shirt stretched over his broad shoulders, tight enough to show off his muscular chest and arms. The perfect amount of stubble covered his face from his defined cheekbones to his strong jaw. Carefully tousled hair fell just above his beautiful blue eyes.

“Help!” I said. “I...I think she’s been mugged.” I shook my head, hands shaking. “ I don’t know what happened but she’s bleeding. She needs help!”

Another guy stopped short, staying behind the guy with the blue eyes. He was tall and robust with a head full of wavy, black hair that fell an inch below his ears. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown, and his full lips were pulled into a frown. His dark eyes flicked from me, to the girl, and then to the guy in front of him. They widened with fear, and he opened his mouth as if in warning when Blue Eyes elbowed him in the ribs.

 
“It’s okay,” Blue Eyes said and held up his hands, flashing me a smile. “I’m going to help her, don’t worry.” He took a step forward, and the crying girl picked up a handful of gravel and sprang to her feet.

"Go!" she yelled and threw it at Blue Eyes. His handsome face twisted into something hateful, and he lunged forward with alarming speed. His hands struck the girl on the shoulders, shoving her back into the dumpster. Her head hit, resounding against the metal, and she slid back down onto the ground. My fear turned into terror. Those guys weren’t going to help her. They were the ones who hurt her.

My pulse rose, and I scrambled to stick my hand into my purse, feeling around for my phone. I whirled around at the same time in a desperate attempt to get back inside the safety of the crowded coffee shop and call the police. I diverted my eyes when I felt the familiar rectangle of my phone, needing to look at the screen to unlock it.

I put my phone to my ear and reached for the door handle. My fingers graced the worn knob when he grabbed my wrist. His nails dug into my flesh as he jerked me forward. My feet caught on themselves and I toppled over, cutting my knees on the dirty alley ground. The phone flew from my grip and clattered on the pavement.
 

I caught a glimpse of the guy with the dark hair holding onto the crying girl. His body was rigid and his brown eyes were opened wide as he watched my struggle. The muffled voice of the 911 operator floated into the air.

"Help!" I screamed.

Blue Eyes kicked me in the side, causing me to fall flat on my face. Music from the parade began to grow louder. "Help me!" I called again. My cries were drowned out by the roaring cheers coming from the crowd. I stretched out my arm, frantically slapping at the ground in a desperate attempt to reach my phone. Bits of glass and tiny pieces of asphalt stuck to my palm. I drew my legs up underneath me and pushed myself forward and away from Blue Eyes. I planted my feet on the ground and sprang up, only to be knocked down again.

Blue Eyes laughed and walked around me. His intense eyes met mine before his foot came crashing down on my phone. The case cracked from the force. The screen shattered and little rhinestones popped off and rolled away. He stomped on it once more before picking up the broken device and throwing it into the dumpster.
 

Little droplets of blood pooled around the torn skin on my hands. Blue Eyes stepped over to me again, though when he kicked me, I grabbed his ankle and pulled. I imagined he'd fall, we'd struggle, and I'd get away.
 

But he was strong, so much stronger than me. He yanked his foot up and out of my grasp. Grit fell from his shoes onto my face and into my eyes. Involuntarily blinking, I recoiled. I pressed my blood-covered hands onto the hot pavement and pushed myself up. I opened my watering eyes. My vision was blurry. Then something struck my head, right above my left eye. The clanging of cymbals echoed from the street. The sun was suddenly sickeningly hot. An instant wave of dizziness coursed through me. Gravel crunched under the soles of Blue Eyes' shoes. The last thing I remembered was his fist making contact with my face.

CHAPTER TWO

SOMETHING SLAMMED SHUT above me, clicking into place. The noise brought me back to consciousness, waking me up into an instant panic. My eyes flew open and my breath came out in ragged huffs. I was lying on my side, and it was dark. Too dark to see anything. My heart hammered with fear, and I felt like I was going to get sick. Beads of sweat rolled down my face and the hard surface I was lying on hurt my hip. Where the hell was I? What was going on?
 

Rough carpet rubbed against my cheek, irritating my skin. I reached up above me, stretching my stiff arm. My hand hit the ceiling. I pressed my palm against it. It was solid. I pushed, straining my muscles. The air was hot and stale.
No
. This wasn’t happening, it couldn’t be happening.
This isn’t real
, I told myself. I was in the trunk of a car. I flipped over onto my back and began banging on the roof of the trunk.
 

“Help!” I pushed against the roof. I balled my hands into fists and pounded. Frantic, I banged on the roof until my hands hurt. “Please, help me!” There had to be a way out. I rolled back onto my side and began to madly search for a release. I reached out in front of me, feeling for the metal latch. “Please,” I cried. “Somebody, help me!”

My fingers fastened around something hard. My eyes widened, and I sucked in a deep breath. Was it the trunk release? There was no way to tell, but I pulled it back anyway. Nothing happened. I curled my fingers around it and yanked it back with all my strength. My sweaty hands slipped off the little piece of metal and flew back. The top of my hand hit the roof of the trunk. White pain webbed across the bones in my hand, tingling along my fingers. I cradled my hand against my body, waiting for the sting to pass.

I was going to die. I knew it. I would swelter and die in this trunk. I kicked my legs against the side of the trunk and screamed.
Oh, God.
I would suffocate. The air was going to run out, and I was going to suffocate and die. It would be a slow horrible death. I swallowed a sob and clamped my mouth shut. I needed to save the little oxygen I had left.

As soon as I was still, I heard muffled voices coming from outside the car. My muscles ached as I struggled to keep calm while everything inside of me wanted to scream for help. Whoever was outside the car would have heard me, and they hadn’t helped me. And they wouldn’t. They had to be the two guys who put me in here. I moved my trembling hands over my mouth, pressing then against my lips to silence my chattering teeth. Hot tears silently rolled down my face, soaking the rough carpet beneath me. I moved to the end of the trunk, pressing my ear to the side to listen.

“Bitch saw the whole thing and called the cops. What the hell was I supposed to do?” he spoke. I recognized his voice right away. Terror turned my blood cold, and his face flashed through my mind. Eyes as blue as the summer sky. High cheekbones covered in day-old stubble. Tousled brown hair and full lips. I had been so taken aback by his good looks that I hadn’t suspected him of being anything but helpful. I was so fucking dumb.
 

“You could have left her,” a deep voice responded. I had yet to hear him speak but I was certain that voice belonged to the man with the dark eyes. “There’s no way she could have turned us in.”

“And that’s a risk you’re willing to take? I don’t think Nate would be too happy with that.”

“N-no,” he nervously stammered. “But bringing her with? She’ll slow us down. W-we could have…” he trailed off. “There are other ways.”

The guy with the blue eyes laughed. “Other ways?” His voice got louder as he leaned on the car. “You’re a fucking idiot, Jackson. Killing her on the street is too obvious and messy.”

Killing her on the street? A painful stab of horror pierced my heart. What kind of people were they? Cold fear crept over me at a dizzying rate. They wanted to kill me? Fuck the lack of oxygen. I needed out. Now. I pushed off the side of the trunk and started kicking, blindly aiming for the brake lights.
 

“Help me!” I screamed as loud as I could. “Help! Get me out of here! Help!”

Someone hit the car. “Shut up, you stupid whore!” Blue Eyes yelled. “No one can hear you!” he taunted. Panting, I became still. I sucked in a gulp of hot air. Nausea twisted in the pit of my stomach. How far was I from the city? What kind of a place were we in? It had to be secluded if no one could hear me screaming. Then again, he could be lying.

I took in another breath, coughing from the hot air, and screamed. I extended my arms and desperately clawed at the top of the trunk.

 
Blue Eyes hit the car again, though this time he began rocking it. “I said SHUT THE FUCK UP!” he screamed.
 

“Zane!” the guy called Jackson yelled. “Stop it!”

Zane must have taken his hands off the car, for it suddenly stopped moving. I heard shoes scuffle on loose gravel. I took in a ragged breath and listened. “Don’t tell me what to do, you worthless piece of shit!” Then I heard the sound of a fist smacking flesh. A second later someone huffed in pain.

“This is your mess,” Jackson muttered before making a strangled noise of pain. “If you hadn't roughed up Phoebe in the alley this all could have been avoided!”

“Goddamn it!” Zane started. “I swear to God I’m going to—” he cut off when a phone rang. I swallowed hard and realized that I was shaking uncontrollably. I pulled my arms to my chest. I couldn't see a way out of this. I was stuck in the trunk. Zane and Jackson were not going to let me out in time. I was going to die.

More gravel crunched as Zane walked away, his voice fading. “Yes, sir. We ran into a complication. It’s been taken care of. We are picking her up now. Yes, sir, we will.”
 

I thought of the girl in the alley. What did they want from her? And why were they so mad at her? I remembered the look in Jackson’s eyes before I hit the ground. He was angry, so angry, as if having to deal with me was the last thing he wanted to do. My thoughts switched to Lynn and my sister. What was going through their minds? Had they come looking for me? Did they assume I wandered off and would be back? Fear audibly bubbled in my stomach, and I hoped that they were okay. They were smart, both of them. It wouldn’t take long before they realized I was missing. The police would be looking for me soon. And they’d find me. They’d have to. Everything was going to be okay.
 

Suddenly the trunk opened. I was momentarily stunned by the bright sunlight. I gulped in a breath of fresh air. Blinking in the harsh light, adrenaline surged through me. I pushed myself up, prepared to make a mad run for it, but someone grabbed my arms.

“Going somewhere?” Zane sneered. His fingers dug into my skin. He smiled and twisted my flesh.

“Get off me!” I screamed and struggled. I turned my body to the side and twisted my arm, breaking free from his grasp. I curled my fingers into a fist and hit him as hard as I could in the temple. My blow was strong, but not strong enough. The pain it caused only fueled his rage.
 

In a swift movement he brought his hand back and smacked me across the face. Hurt stung the corner of my eye. Still, I didn’t give up. I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and pressed my nails into his skin before dragging them down. He grunted in pain and head butted me. My ears rang, and I felt disoriented. He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me down.
 

My arms buckled and I fell back into the trunk. I pushed myself back up, but Zane was right there, reaching for me. I opened my mouth to scream as his fingers wrapped around my neck. My voice died and my throat burned as he tightened his grip. My pulse pounded against his fingers. I brought my hands up and grasped his arms in a desperate attempt to break away. I squeezed my hands around his forearms, which were tight with hard muscle.

My vision blurred, and I lost the strength in my hands. My arms flopped down to my sides, the back of my hands smacking against the car. My body shuddered, and I strained for a breath I couldn’t take. The blurriness darkened. My eyes darted to Jackson. He was standing a few yards back. His arms were tightly crossed across his chest and his dark eyes conveyed nothing but pure rage. I hated him for just standing there, watching. I knew he would not help me.
 

Just when I thought I was about to pass out, Zane released one hand and reached behind him, pulling a needle from his back pocket. He used his teeth to pull the cap off and jammed it into my arm.