Page 72 of Pretty Broken Things

“How is it you didn’t turn out to be a power hungry megalomaniac? Every man in our world is, except for you.”

“Because of my mom. I saw the way my dad treated her, and the last thing I ever want to be is him.” He grabs my hands, and looks straight into my eyes. “I will help you. Just promise me you won’t go run off and do something stupid.”

“I swear, but I’ve got a bad feeling. I thought I was being paranoid, but I swear someone has been watching me the last few days.”

He leans back against the headboard and pulls me closer. “Why can’t we catch a break? Maybe it was our talk the other day that got me thinking about us, but I feel like things are changing. We could be on the verge of something amazing if the world would butt the fuck out of our lives.”

I hold him tighter. “Don’t let them pull us apart. I can’t shake this creepy paranoid feeling. I will never willingly leave you.”

He pulls back to look me in the face. “What do you think is going to happen? You’re over a thousand miles from Playa. You’re safe here.”

“You’d come for me if I just disappeared, won’t you?” I don’t know why I need to ask, but it seems vital he promises me.

“I’ll go to the ends of the earth if you needed me to,” he swears.

* * *

Benji triesto talk me into calling in sick to work, but I work at one of the few independent coffee houses, and my boss doesn’t have a lot of employees. I know it will put someone out if I can’t come in, probably her.

I have to admit, I feel pretty silly for my paranoia before. Half of my shift is over, and nothing has happened. That feeling of being watched is gone. I don’t know why I put so much stock in it in the first place, it’s not like I’m clairvoyant or anything.

I’m comfortable enough to step out from behind the counter after the midmorning rush to bus the tables. The only person who even comes close to me is a tall, redhaired woman. I don’t know if it’s the hair, but she reminds me of Jess.

She’s standing in my way, but I go to step around her she moves in front of me again. “I need to get past you to clean those tables. Did you need a refill or something?”

Her hands are in the pockets of her long jacket. She pulls up one hand just enough to show me she has a gun. “I think it’s time for you to take a break, don’t you?”

I drop the bus tub, breaking some ceramic mugs and splattering coffee everywhere. I try and make it back to the counter, but she pulls the gun completely out of her jacket. “Tracy and Lydia are going to have a really bad day if you don’t do as you’re told.”

My boss comes out from the back, sees me standing with my hands up in front of me, and the bus tub on the ground. “Tessa, are you okay?”

The girl with the gun hisses, “Make one wrong move and I’ll shoot her.”

I nod, letting her know I understood. I can’t just let myself be taken though. I look at my boss and say, “Tell Benji to remember his promise.”

Psycho chick pushes me toward the door. “Walk or I will start shooting.”

My feet feel heavy every step I take, because I know things are going to get really bad. She pushes me into a car that’s idling in front of the shop. Jesse Wilson is behind the wheel. He hands her some zip ties, which she immediately uses to bind my hands together.

“Good job, Poppy. I got you a treat for the ride back to Cali.” He hands her a small brown vial which she immediately starts snorting up her nose.

* * *

My hands are going numb,I need to pee, and my stomach is consuming itself, but Jesse won’t stop to let me out of the car. I got one bathroom break at an empty rest stop. He wasn’t about to risk giving me the chance to talk to anyone.

Hopefully Benji got my message. I wrote down the address Tracy gave me. He knows where I keep everything. He’s my last hope since Ford and Shane wouldn’t even let me tell them what is going on.

It’s early the next morning when he pulls his car into the garage at the house off campus. Jesse yanks me out of the car, drags me through the house, and throws me on the floor in the living room.

“Tessa,” Tracy practically shrieks and runs for me.

Jesse points at her. “Show her why she’s going to do as she’s told.”

Tracy nods, and keeps her head down. She seems meek and submissive, two words I’d have never used to describe her before.

Jesse hands her a pair of scissors and she cuts the ties off my hands. As soon as she’s done he snatches them back. “Don’t want you getting any ideas.”

She can see I’m about to say something sarcastic, and grabs my elbow to drag me up the stairs. We go up to the third floor, where there’s an attic bedroom. Lydia lays motionless on a bed. At first she appears lifeless, but I can see her chest move subtly up and down.

---