"Wake up, sleeping beauty."
Oh God. That voice. I recognized that voice. I heard it more times than I cared to admit.
"I know you're awake. I can see your eyelids fluttering."
I wanted to scream that it was an involuntary muscle spasm. I wasn't purposely moving them. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to know I was waking up. Not when I didn't know whatthe hell was happening. Based on that voice, I knew it couldn't be good.
Where the hell was Parker when I needed him?
Things slowly started to come back to me. Parker texting that he was leaving Vegas. Elle rushing from the school because Savannah was sick. Me using the Uber app to get a ride back to her place. The voices arguing in the school. Something hard hitting my head.
Slowly each memory clicked into place unlike when I married Parker. I wished things were opposite. I wanted the memories of my wedding, and I wanted nothing more than to forget this nightmare I was currently living in.
"Wake the fuck up!" The words were followed by a hard slap to my cheek.
I couldn't stop the scream from tearing out of my throat even though I knew it was best to stay quiet.
"I knew you were only pretending to sleep," Ben hissed.
Yes, Ben. The asshole gym teacher who started to give me the creeps. The man who didn't tamper with my car but probably had something to do with it anyway.
"Where am I?"
I was lying down on what I felt was a mattress. There wasn't anything binding my wrists or feet. I wasn't sure what that meant. Either Ben was sure I wouldn't run, or he was the stupidest kidnapper known to man. The jury was probably still out on that one.
"My house. My closet to be precise. Don't bother trying to escape. There are no windows in here, and I'm sitting with a knife in front of the only door."
Okay, so maybe not completely stupid. Although not binding me meant I could wrestle him for the knife. Just as soon as my head stopped swimming, and my vision cleared.
I did my best to scooch back until I was in a seated position. The first thing I noticed was Ben sitting directly across from me. There was in fact a butcher knife in his hand, and he was seated in front of a door.
The closet was maybe ten feet deep. The mattress I was on couldn't be more than a twin size, and it looked almost new. No stains or yellowing, but it was what was on the walls that concerned me.
Thousands of pictures of me filled the space. Most of them were taken from far away. Me entering my house, getting in or out of my vehicle. A few were from school. Mostly when I was on the playground with kids. But it was the ones of my face cut out and glued onto wedding dresses that completely freaked me out.
"What is all this?" I couldn't take my eyes off them long enough to look at him. A small part of me was scared of what I would find on his face.
"You like?" Ben sounded almost giddy. "It's our life together."
I honestly didn't know what to say to that. Pissing him off didn't sound like a good idea, and everything I wanted to say would definitely do that. Changing the topic was a better option.
"I thought Jacob Bronson was after me."
It didn't make sense. Or my brain was taking too long to catch up after I was whacked in the head.
"That loser was nothing more than a pawn for me to use. I overheard you telling him that he needs to do better as a big brother and realized he would be the perfect distraction for my plan."
"And what plan was that?"
I had to keep him talking until I felt better enough to rush him. That was the only way I was getting out of here.
"To marry you of course. I was going to swoop in and be your knight in shining armor, but you ruined it by marrying that asshole. He took what was mine."
Things started to fall into place. The tampered car. Ben showing up in the teachers’ lounge more frequently or rushing to catch up to me in the parking lot.
"It was you I heard yelling in the hallway."
"Jacob had the nerve to call me and bitch about him being arrested. He said he was going to confess that I paid him to sabotage your car if I didn't come bail him out. The kid's a fool. Like anyone would believe a lowlife dropout over a respected teacher."
