I don’t know how long we sat before I saw the driver glance at me through the rearview mirror. Since I hadn’t moved an inch, he opened his door and slid off the seat. I held my breath as I watched him look back at the truck, then forward, before walking closer to the brick building we were parked behind. When I saw him begin to unbuckle his pants, I knew this was my chance to run.
I discreetly pulled at the door, but it wouldn’t open.Fuck... child lock!I almost gave up hope until I remembered the driver’s door was still open. In a split second, I decided to risk it all and hopped across the center console. When I got in the driver’s seat, I slammed the door closed, then jerked the truck into drive all in one motion.
The tires squealed loudly as I took off down the alley. I had no clue where I was, but when I got to the end, I made a right and pressed the gas with every pound in my body. The truck barreledinto an urban neighborhood of apartments. The layout was a maze, but eventually, I made it to a street lined with traffic lights.
I tried to read the sign when I heard a roaring engine behind me. I didn’t need superpowers to know I was being pursued. I took a left and violated every traffic law I had been taught. It was hard maneuvering through traffic in such a large vehicle, but I managed to navigate it. My freedom was on the line, and I wasn’t giving that up.
Every time I thought I’d lost them, they gained on me again. I wasn’t sure if it was because I wasn’t familiar with the area and they were or what, but I started to lose hope until a call came through on the screen. It got my brain juices flowing, and something told me that they were probably tracking this big bitch, so I needed to get on foot.
I approached another apartment complex. I figured it would be easier to get lost there than to be exposed in this truck. Glancing in my rearview mirror, I didn’t see any lights, so I whipped along the curb, not even caring that the front tires were on the sidewalk. Placing the truck in park, I pushed the door open, hopped out, and sprinted toward the back of the apartments.
Because it was early in the morning, there wasn’t anyone outside but me. I heard that same roaring engine as I disappeared behind the last building. My heart was beating out of my chest as I sprinted with no destination in mind. I just knew I had to get away. When I heard yelling in the distance, I accelerated faster than I even knew possible.
One minute I was running for my life, and the next I was being snatched backward by an arm around my waist. I began screaming bloody murder, too afraid of what would happen if I were taken back to the stranger in the truck. A hand was slammed over my mouth, muffling my screams. I was certain this was the end, not even caring that I was crying hysterically.
“Shh... shh... I got you, baby girl. Chill out, they’re coming.” A deep, low voice vibrated every nerve ending in my body when it exploded through my eardrums.
Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, I heard feet thumping against the pavement. I tensed and tried to remain calm as two men raced past where this stranger had me tucked around a corner. He held us in place until they were gone. Slowly, his head lowered, and I knew he was looking down at me. I couldn’t see his eyes, though, because a black hood covered them.
“They’re gone, so I’m going to remove my hand now.” He paused as if he were waiting for me to acknowledge what he’d said. I nodded my head once, letting him know I understood. He released his hand from my mouth and stepped back at least six feet. “You should be good now.”
I began shaking my head, feeling the adrenaline in my body begin to decrease, and the laziness of the drugs return. It was like I lost control of my body as I started pacing and scratching my skin from the stress.
“No, no. They’re going to find me. He sold me. That man wanted to hurt me. I can’t go back there. I need to run. I don’t know where I am. Where am I? I’m scared. Help me, please. Where am I?” It was like once I started talking, I couldn’t stop rambling, trying to make sense of everything. I bent over, feeling so out of control, continuing to cry.
“Yo, what the fuck is wrong with her?” someone asked from somewhere beyond the haze of my eyes.
“I’on know. You good, baby girl?” It was that voice that sounded like a quiet, stormy night. The kinda voice that would put you straight to bed. I wanted to focus on it, but I wasn’t myself. I had no control over what was happening to me.
The pacing began again. “Oh my God… Oh my God… Help me, please. Don’t let them take me. I don’t know them. Mybrother... He… Please help me. Where am I? I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.” I kept rambling and eventually stopped pacing and dropped to my knees, trying to make sense of my jumbled thoughts. Nothing made sense. It didn’t even feel like I was in my body anymore.
“Bro, what the fuck are you doing? Leave her ass out here. This is a bad idea.”
My body rocked from side to side as someone lifted me. “Shut that shit up and get the door, Jah. I can’t leave her out here like this. Something ain’t right.”
“Ain’t right... ain’t right... ain’t right...” I mumbled, repeating what was said until the world faded to darkness for a second time.
Her chest roseand fell at a steady pace while the softest snore escaped from between her juicy lips. I didn’t know this woman from a can of paint, yet I couldn’t take my eyes off her for even a second. The instant I heard her screaming, it was like my body went into autopilot. I had no clue what she was mixed up in, but when I heard her rambling coupled with the genuine fear in her eyes, I knew I had to do something.
For now, that something was sitting and watching her sleep peacefully. Shawty was five-foot-seven with a full figure. I’m talking rolls, curves, breasts, and plenty of pockets of fat to hold on to with thick ass thighs. I liked that shit though. Her skin was a toasty brown color with honey-gold undertones that I was sure glowed in the sun. Her face was round with the plumpest cheeks.Her hair was in thick curls I could hook my fingers into easily. She hadn’t stirred since being here, but she had almond-shaped, deep brown eyes that were very expressive. I also noticed a tiny birthmark near her right cheekbone that I swore was in the shape of a half note when I was lying her on my bed.
Remembering the look in her eyes sent chills down my spine. I hadn’t seen hopelessness and fear like that in a long time. One day, someone saw that same look in my eyes and saved my life. I couldn’t imagine where I would be if they’d looked at me and turned away. Even though this was a stranger, I knew I couldn’t do that to her.
I remained frozen in place, even after she began to wake up. Like magic, her eyes fluttered open and landed on me. She hopped up and scurried into the corner of the room. The only thing to follow her were my eyes.
“Who are you? Where am I?”
“You’re safe,” I spoke calmly and slowly. “You needed time to sleep the drugs off.”
Her eyes darted all over as if they would give her the answers to her questions. She pulled at her matted, thick tresses. “Dr-drugs? I don’t do drugs.”
I tapped my fingers on the arm of the desk chair I sat in. “You did two nights ago.”
She shook her hand. “No... I was at the lounge and then Ry...” She abruptly stopped talking and dropped her head into her hands. “He did this,” she whispered.
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I asked the one question I wanted an answer to more than anything else. “What’s your name?”
She slowly dropped her hands and looked up at me. Her gaze seized me up. Her eyes couldn’t hide a damn thing. She would do terribly in poker because I knew she was debating whether or not she could trust me. I remained quiet, having no desire toconvince her. I was confident that my aura would speak for me, and she’d feel what my presence offered—safety.
