“Ugghh!” My head falls back against the chair as I squeeze my eyes shut. Why does this have to be so complicated?
“Uhh, you good?” The deep voice jolts me from my thoughts, my feet hit the ground with a smack, and I straighten in the chair.
“I’m fine,” I say dryly, taking another hit and holding it before exhaling. “Can I help you?”
He chuckles, “You wanna share that?” He nods towards my joint.
“Not particularly.”
Regardless of my ultimately saying no, Hayden walks up and snatches it from between my lips. “You know the rule, sweetheart, puff puff pass.” I roll my eyes in response. Suddenly remembering Ryder’s threat, I swallow, but it does no good in alleviating that knot.
“I, uh, should probably head inside.” I give him a tight-lipped smile that he doesn’t return.
As I stand up and walk towards the door, he stops me. “Are you okay? Like, actually okay?”
I’ve been asked that a million and one times since returning, but when he asks, my heart skips a beat and fillswith something akin to grief or maybe regret. But why? Oh yeah, I ruined his and Ry’s friendship for starters, and then I didn’t heed either of their warnings about how dangerous all of this is.
“Yeah. Yeah, I am.” I give a sad half-smile over my shoulder, before stepping inside.
Right before I close the door, he says, “I’m here for you. We don’t have to talk, it can just be silence, but if you ever need a friend to just sit with… I’m here.” My eyes sting with the threat of tears. Leave it to Hayden to know exactly what to say. I slowly shut the door with my back pressed against it. I didn’t know what to say to him. I guess a ‘thank you’ would’ve been better than closing the door on him.
“You ready?” Jessie startles me, causing me to jump back like a spooked kitten with my hand over my rapidly beating heart.
“Shit! Where did you come from?” I glance around aimlessly for where she was hiding.
“I’ve been standing here…” She answers slowly. “I was waiting for you to snap out of whatever daze you were in.”
Oh. How long had I been standing there? Has that been happening more often?
“Anyway, you ready? We have to hurry before Ryder gets back.” She grabs her keys from the wicker bowl on the counter.
Suddenly, I’m not so confident in seeing them anymore. Taking a deep breath, I exhale slowly, “Yeah.”
Perspiration coats my forehead and hands. I wipe my hands on my ripped jeans and try to hide my anxiety.
“Now, you have to be quick. I’ll deactivate the cameras as soon as we get to the door, and we’ll have exactly ten minutes to get in and out.”
“Okay.” I worry my bottom lip. I have to figure out what I will say to them, if anything. Wait, “Are they conscious?” My head snaps towards Jessie, and a devilish smile pulls at her mouth.
“Somewhat.”
“What do you mean?”
“Between the three of us, they haven’t had much of a break between torture.” I assume she means her, Ryder, and Hayden. “They’re in and out of consciousness, but they should be a little alert for your visit.”
I stare out the window, watching the trees speed by. We chose to ride in silence today. I don’t think any of us have been in the mood for music, except for maybe Hayden. Music fuels his soul. I feel immense guilt when it comes to Hayden. Ryder has given him shit ever since I was abducted. It wasn’t his fault. He tried to get me to go with him, but I insisted I was fine. However, how was I to know people were out specifically forme? Not to mention, nobody truly knows their motive for it, especially since Lilith now seems to be the root cause of it all.
The only way I might be able to find out who Lilith is is by talking to my parents, but how in the whole wide world of fucks do I initiate that conversation? “Oh, hey, Mom, so I was kidnapped last week by an alleged illegal racing mafia who happened to turn me over to Lilith. Who is that, by the way?”Yeah, I can’t see that boding well.
“You’re twirling your hair again, you okay?” Jess points out.
I immediately stop and clasp my hands together in my lap. “Yeah, I’m good.”
“So, what was it like when they had you?”
“Terrifying.” The one-word answer was more than enough. All I felt was fear, repulsion, and hatred the entire time. “I thought they’d kill me or auction me off to some sort of sex trafficking ring.” And that was the honest-to-God truth.
“I’m so sorry. I wish we could’ve stopped them sooner. Ryder immediately called in the whole squad once we realized, and Teegan hacked all the street cams he could to track their every move.”
