Page 69 of Play of Love
“I’m fine. I should go. My throat really hurts.” Shewascrying.
“Okay baby, I’ll see you soon. Don’t worry about tomorrow if you’re still sick.”
“Thanks.” Yes she was definitely crying and I felt now that something was wrong.
I hung up, looked over at Hilda, and bit the inside of my lips. “Hilda, where does Amy live? You have an address, right?”
“Yes. It’s downtown in the old freight apartments,” Hilda replied.
I widened my eyes in horror. “She lives where?” My mouth dropped. I wouldn’t even venture down those parts myself because it was so rough and one sure way for something to happen to you. I could defend myself if there was trouble but never went looking for it. And as for the freight apartments, they weren’t even livable. They looked more like small county jail cells. I couldn’t conceive that my Amy was living in a place like that.
“I know, tough area, right?” Hilda scribbled down the address and handed it to me. “I’ve tried to tell her how rough it is but she maintains she’s lived in New York and Atlanta and would be fine. I guess, though, that it’s more about saving what she can for her mom.”
What was Hilda talking about? What was wrong with Amy’s mom?
Amy had never mentioned anything being wrong with her. I supposed, though, that was because we’d never talked much about her and her family. I’d never asked. All these weeks she probably knew everything there was to know about me, and it just occurred to me that I knew very little about her.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to ask, I just hadn’t wanted to pry. She seemed to want to keep her private life separate from me, so I respected that.
“Is her mom okay?”
Hilda raised her eyebrows at me. “No. You didn’t know?”
“No. But I’ll ask her. I think I may go there now and see if she’s okay. She didn’t sound too good on the phone.”
There must have been a reason why Amy hadn’t told me whatever it was I didn’t know. She deserved her privacy but clearly felt comfortable enough to tell Hilda. Why wouldn’t she tell me too?
“I’ll come with you,” Hilda offered, looking concerned.
“No. I’ll see you tomorrow. Enjoy your date with Robin.”
Hilda smiled and blushed a little. “Thank you. Please call me if you need to.”
I nodded and headed to my jeep.
I hoped Amy was okay and that she wouldn’t mind me stopping by.
* * *
Amy
* * *
As the night drew by I could scarcely breathe.
Several times throughout the day either Dom or one of his idiot friends would come by and stand outside the door. They taunted me with vile words and filled me in on what they had planned to do to me later.
They could hear my crying and that encouraged them to taunt me even more. Dom had turned off the electricity in my apartment so I couldn’t even charge my phone. Now the battery had run out.
I wished I’d asked Josh to get me. Or better yet get the police.
At the time when I spoke to him I was so scared I couldn’t think straight. Then I’d heard one of the men at the door, who’d apparently been spying on me all these weeks. The things he said to me were so revolting and despicable I just about managed to finish the call with Josh.
Now it was later. It was later now and I didn’t know what would happen to me.
With the fear of God in me, I’d grasped so tightly onto my legs that my fingernails dug into my skin, making my legs bleed. And I couldn’t stop shaking. I’d heard of things like this happening to women. Being kidnapped and gang raped, then killed. These men weren’t decent, none of them were. They were all animals, and from what they’d said during the day I was sure that I was in for a terrible fate.
There was a knock at the door. It made me jump and shake even more.
