Chapter 28
“You should learn to accept that you can’t curb everything, some are out of your hands.”
Lionel
~~~
Varied scenarios of what would or should have been filled my mind as we jumped into my minivan, heading miles out of town. If only I would have gone to the airport with her. If only her kidnappers would have asked for a ransom. If only I would have done more to keep her safe.
As much as I tried, I couldn’t coerce myself into believing it wasn’t my fault. I took her from her parents with a promise of taking care of her but couldn’t even do it. How is that not my fault?
Luke nudged my shoulder, I’d lost touch of their topic again. He was seated beside me on the face-to-face car seats that were meant to have us interact during the three-hour ride. “Dude, snap out of it.”
“Of what? I was just admiring the view.” I was a terrible liar, there was nothing but beat-up buildings around us.
He shook his head. “Nevermind. Do you remember Tracy?”
“Your clingy hookup?” Calvin asked.
He snapped his head to where Calvin and Andrew were seated, carelessly munching on their takeaways. “Don’t call her that!”
“My bad. She’s a pretty girl though.”
“Anyway, she set an ambush for me, and man, I nearly had a heart attack.” His hand went to his chest, his eyes bulging like he was just reliving the eerie moment. We suddenly roared with laughter, startling the Hernandez brothers who were in charge of driving us to our destination.
Once our guffaws died down, he continued, “Can you believe the girl set me up to meet her parents? I showed up dressed in all black, a bottle of tequila in one hand and a box of pizza in the other. You should have seen the disapproval in their eyes, I wanted to drop dead.”
His revelation had us doubling over in uncontrollable snickers, reminding him of the several warnings we gave when she began talking about making things official. He kept grumbling that he wasn’t ready but instead of telling her, he lazed around the subject each time she inquired about it.
“That’s not even the problem.” He palmed his forehead. “I walked in through the back door and was making my way to the living room, calling out her name and saying, ‘I’m so horny, babe. Where you at? I want to take you on the dining table like last night.’
We couldn’t resist hooting, stomping our feet, and cackling some more before letting him narrate the rest of the tale.
“When I finally saw why she wasn’t rushing to hug me, I almost bolted. Behold, her parents, and siblings were gathered around the dining table, fuming and throwing me disgusted looks. Her dad marched up to me, punched me in the face, and left me to his sons who threw me into the trash can outside her house. I have never been so embarrassed in my life.”
The hee-haws that filled the van were so wild they echoed the quiet street, earning stares from curious onlookers. It had been a while since I cracked up to the point of clutching my tummy and I took advantage of it, so did the boys.
“I knew that face looked familiar,” Andrew said amidst chortles, pointing his index finger at Luke.
“What face? What are you talking about?”
Andrew tried to explain but barely two words could leave his mouth without leading to snorts so he pulled out his phone, scrolled through it, and passed it to me. I held the phone between us as we watched the YouTube video of Luke getting thrown into a garbage can. It led to another round of unending roars, watching the video a couple more times while teasing him with the comments from the post.
“Thank goodness no one can see my face properly. To the outside world, this video could be anyone with the same height and hair color,” Luke said, replaying it for the umpteenth time. He was right, but from the look of things, he was never going to see the end of it.
Before we knew it, the car jolted to a halt, alerting us of our arrival. Pushing the fun and games aside, we armed ourselves and each took our positions before heading to the cottage a few meters away. The area was clear of danger so we did a sweep of the cottage before I knocked on the door.
A few seconds passed before I heard footsteps coming towards me and the boys dunked in the bushes at my signal. David’s eyes doubled in size upon seeing me. His hand let go of the doorknob as he took steps back, terror evident in his features. He knew something and I could tell I wasn’t going to like it.
“Do you know who I am?” I asked. He nodded, taking further steps into the house. Of course he knew me, his reaction was enough of an answer.
“Can I come in?” I had to sound as friendly as possible, in the hopes that he would feel comfortable enough to talk to me.
“Are you alone?” His voice shook, barely above a whisper. I bobbed my head. He motioned for me to get away from the door and when I did, he shut it close before peeking outside through his window, to confirm I was telling the truth.
As I surveyed the room, my eyes took in the sword-like knife on the table. I wondered what it would do to help him if men like me were looking for him. “Why are you hiding out here?”
He went silent, staring at me through fear-filled eyes. Striding to where his knife was, he asked, “How did you find me?”
“Tracking you down was so easy, you need to find a better location.” I dipped my hand in the pocket of my jacket, readying myself to attack in case of anything. “I don’t need to tell you why I’m here because you’re aware. Just tell me what I need to know and I’ll be on my way.”
He froze, his unblinking orbs staring into mine. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not here to play jokes, David. I have a lot of time in my hands and we can use it however you please. It can be quick and simple or very terrifying.”
He gasped, grabbing the knife and pointing it in my direction. We were only three meters apart, anything could happen. “Are you threatening me?”
“I am and I don’t make empty threats.” I took out my weapon, his skin going pale immediately I pointed it at him.
