Page 12 of Encounter

The playful, devilish spark in his eyes made my stomach flutter in a weird way.

“Have you ever kidnapped someone? Like they... like they did to me?”

“Yeah. Though I would’ve done amuchbetter job at covering my tracks than those idiots,” he mumbled to himself. Even though my cheeks burned from the strange mix of curiosity, fear, and excitement, I was glad that at least, someone like him was on my side.

The images of the dead body flashed in front of me, so I closed my eyes briefly and quickly looked out of the window again while trying to distract myself by imagining the place deep inside my mind—a dreamy version of my music room, bathed in blue light that made the walls look like everything was underwater. A woman with long, black hair sat in front of the piano, always with her back to me, but I knew it washer. Her music calmed me, hypnotized me in a good way.

“We’re here. You with me?”

Startled, I blinked and brought myself back to reality. “Y-Yeah. Do I—” Grabbing the door handle and pausing, I looked at Chast, waiting for instructions.

Tilting his head at me like he was wholly amused by my awkwardness—at least that’s what my anxiety told me—he turned off the engine.

“You stay here. I won’t be long.” Before he stepped out of the car, Chast reached toward me, but instead of whatever impromptu attack I expected, he opened the glove compartment. I jumped when a small handgun landed in my lap. “Here ya go. Should help you to feel safe, but don’t worry... No one’s comin’ after you.”

Before I could process what happened, Chast was already disappearing behind the heavy front door of the building we parked in front of. Touching the gun cautiously, I put it back in the storage space and carefully slammed it shut.

I would probably shoot myself by accident.

Turning around, I made sure no one was watching. Why would he leave me with a gun?! Surely, he knew how useless I would be with it—and even if I wasn’t, I wouldn't have the courage to use it.

Watching the rear-view mirror with the abrupt sense of tension washing over me, I pressed my lips together and tried to calm down. This part of the city... I never came anywhere near here. Though I kind of zoned out on our way, I knew we must have been somewhere south. Grubby buildings with inconsistent, budget architecture, peeling walls and fallen cables everywhere surrounded me. There was no place in sight where I would feel comfortable sitting down without getting dirty or mugged.

After playing with my cold hands for a while, I leaned against the door and pressed my face against the window in an attempt to look up at the three-story apartment building Chast went into.

Is this his home? Is this the sort of area people like him live?

I wondered how it looked inside. Cozy, or all spray-painted and falling apart? Did he have a family? Children?I doubt that very much.It was be hard to imagine him surrounded by kids. Could someone doing this line of work even have a relationship? A stable life?

When the main door slammed shut, I moved away from the window.

As expected, Chast’s brown eyes already fixated on me as he walked around the car. “Had fun in here?” He was already joking as soon as he opened the car door. “Told you it wouldn’t take long.”

Without an answer, I examined the clear shift in his demeanor. Not that he wasn’t strangely approachable before, but now there was this spark. He seemed more chipper. Happy. “Yeah, I’m great,” I mumbled, locking my hands together in my lap. “The gun’s in the compartment.”

“Didn’t need it? Shocking.”

Probably used to my shyness by now, Chast didn’t press further and kept quiet while he put his seatbelt on and started the engine. Even with my gaze boring into the side of Chast’s face, he ignored me, backing out of the spot.

We had to get the LP.

I had to ask him, but... the more I thought about it, the faster my courage fizzled out. Words slipped down the sides of my tongue; my heart rate kept rising, making it impossible to do it.

It took me a few minutes before I finally managed to ask. “The spot where they— Where they picked me up...” I paused in an attempt to keep the prickly memories at bay.

Chast glanced at me, narrowing his eyes. “What?”

“Do you know where it was? Near the Conservatory—my school.” This was my only chance. Surely, it would be nothing to him. It was on the way back, nothing more than a brief stop.

“Yeah. Yeah, I have an idea. Why?” Now sounding more interested, he seemed hellbent on figuring out what it was about. “Look at me and speak.” Chast’s voice got deeper, louder, forcing me to swallow the lump in my throat and finally face him.

“I know this isn’t your job, but I was wondering if, since we’re going around there anyway, could we... go and look for something?” I kept tripping over my words and couldn’t make my voice sound firm. “My school bag, that I lost when—”

His frown silenced me.Oh no. Is he angry?

“Your bag? There wasn’t anythin’ like that there last time I checked—when I was looking for you, trackin’ their location. Doubt it would’ve stayed there long, anyway. Not to mention— Hey, it probably isn’t the best for you to see that place again right now.” The way his voice softened sent shivers down my spine. It was like he actually cared.For a stupid, weak brat like me? I doubt that.

I knew I had no right to press him further, to annoy him even more, yet... “I know it’s probably gone, I just—”

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