On the edge of the sink, there are a couple of toothbrushes still in the package and a brand-new tube of toothpaste. I’ve never been so happy to see toiletry items in my entire life. I waste no time cranking up the hot water and jumping inside.
Nothing can make you feel human again like a hot shower and clean teeth. I hate having to put on the same clothes again, but they’re my only option.
Thomas leads me back to our room and I quickly glance at the hole in the wall. It doesn’t look as noticeable as I thought it would. With the big piece of plaster missing above it, the hole seems rather insignificant.
It takes a few minutes to convince Teeny that it’ll be okay to go with Thomas, and promises of clean teeth and non-greasy hair seem to do the trick.
Once Thomas is gone, I scurry to the hole in the wall.
“Noah.”
Nothing.
I peek into the hole but can’t really see anything.
“Noah,” I say a little louder.
A big brown eye appears in the opening.
“You’re back. That other girl wouldn’t come to the wall.”
That doesn’t surprise me. She’s chewed her fingernails down to the quick and now she’s doing that thing where she ties a small section of her hair in a knot then unties it…over and over. Teeny looks fine on the outside, but I know she’s hanging on by a thread.
“Look, I’ve got some questions. Did the guy in the ski mask ask about your grandfather or anything about his work?”
He shakes his head. “No. He barely talks to me. He only comes in once a day to bring me more food and change out the bucket.”
“Bucket?”
His eye wanders off to the side. “Yeah, you know. The bucket you use the bathroom in.”
Oh, man. That’s disgusting.
“We have a bathroom in here. You don’t?”
“No! I’ve been going in that bucket for days,” he says. “You have a regular toilet? This sucks.” I feel the vibration when he hits his side of the wall and a small amount of plaster dust falls on my newly clean hair.
“How long have you been here?” I ask.
As his head drops down out of sight, Noah mumbles something.
“You have to talk through the hole or I can’t hear you.”
His head pops back up. “I’m not sure. I think four days.”
I’m pretty sure this is our second day. If he’s been here for four days, then Thomas got him about a day or so before he came for us.
“Do you remember the ride here? Or how long it took you?” Maybe if it didn’t take long, that means we’re in Texas somewhere.
“No, I was knocked out. I barely remember leaving my house. It was late and I was coming home from a friend’s house. I felt something prick me, like a shot, then I woke up here.”
There’s no way for me to know how long Ethan and I were out, but we still spent a lot of time awake in that van. If Noah was knocked out for his entire ride, then we have to be closer to El Paso than Arkansas.
Oh God, what if we’re in Mexico? That would make escaping that much harder.
“Noah, do you have any idea where we are?”
“No.”
