“Are you okay?” a gruff voice says.
I blink because my eyes are having trouble adjusting to the harsh glow.
“Looks like you did a number on your forehead,” the voice says.
I see now that I’m not in a room. I’m in a very small bunk.
Oh-my-God—they’ve already trafficked me onto a ship!
Fight or flight takes over, and I claw at my captor, raking my nails out at him.
“Hey, take it easy. I’m just trying to see if you’re okay.”
His voice sounds familiar. Like I’ve heard it before.
“Would you like something to drink?”
I turn my head and see a beefcake of a man holding out a bottle of water to me.
Toxic. He’s Toxic. The plumber.
No—not the plumber. The Hunk.
“Where am I?” I blurt.
“The Hunks tour bus. If you’d like, I’ll call you an Uber.”
The night slowly returns to me.
“Can you move out of the way?” I ask him.
“Sure.” He moves to the side, allowing me to exit the bunk.
Once I’m standing, I look down to see that I’m in a white undershirt. To make matters worse, I can tell I’m not wearing panties and wetness coats my thighs.
I grab the water from Toxic and take a long sip.
“Oh! This is yours. Wouldn’t want you to forget it.” He digs in his pocket and brings out my necklace.
I say a silent prayer of thanks that this Hunk isn’t a criminal because the necklace is easily worth fifty thousand dollars.
“Thank you,” I say again, forcing a smile to my lips.
“Oh, and Vanessa said I could give you these. They’re worn, but should get you home.” He hands me a stack of clothes. “Your dress is in a bag on the sofa down the hall.”
“Is there a place I can get dressed?”
“Follow me.”
I follow him upstairs to a small bathroom and hustle into the old band tee-shirt and sweatpants that the woman Vanessa donated to me. Then, I look at my phone.
Bianca:Everyone knows what you’re doing in the bathroom…GROSS…anyway, we’re going home. Call yourself an Uber.
I’ll never live this down.
There’s a text thread with eight people on it that was started by Paisley. I open it, ready to bite their heads off for daring to mock me.
But it’s not me they’re talking about. My grand plan took flight.
