Unconditional

by Tyler, Q. B.

  I roll my eyes at my best friend and her boyfriend who rarely keep the PDA to a minimum when they’re sober. They are borderline offensive when they’ve been drinking. Maybe this is where I should make my exit.

  “Hey, Maddie.” Brad steps next to me as Sasha and Mike continue to pretend that they’re the only ones in the room. He’s wearing the same letterman jacket and a pair of jeans that outline the muscles in his legs and thus seem a bit too tight. He’s still clean shaven and it makes me take note that even if I wasn’t with Cal, I wouldn’t be attracted to him. “You’re a hard girl to see. I’ve been hoping I’d run into you since we sort of went out last month.”

  “She’s been MIA.” Sasha rolls her eyes. “I’ve even barely seen her except for at school!”

  I ignore Sasha’s dramatics. “Brad…hey, how are you?” I’m not sure how to handle this situation. Is he still interested? Or had he gotten the hint when I didn’t reach out after Cal crashed our date? Is he planning to ask me out again? I decide to wait for him to do any of those things before I just assume he wants a real chance with me.

  One he does not have.

  “Good, I’m glad you’re here.” He starts and my eyes widen in preparation of letting him down easily. “Not like that.” He shakes his head. “Just…I felt bad that I acted like a dick on that date.”

  Phew. “Oh! Oh my God, not at all. You weren’t a dick. I just…left. I’m sorry about that, I wasn’t really feeling great, and Sasha dragged me out without telling me what I was walking into.” I shoot her a look, but she seems unbothered with Mike’s tongue down her throat. “Okay, I’m walking away from this.” I point at the two who’d be defiling one of Melanie’s guestrooms within the hour. Brad follows me outside onto the patio and I make sure to leave enough space between me and the smokers which dangerously enough means I’m alone with Brad. Fuck, I didn’t think this through.

  Maddie, relax you’re talking to a guy. You should be able to do that without Cal turning into a caveman. The words in my brain are rational, but they don’t stop me from taking a glance around the patio just in case Cal has manifested.

  “Mike told me about what happened…why that guy acted like that…the one you live with?”

  “Oh…” I clear my throat. “Yeah, he’s just protective.”

  I close my eyes, my heart thumping in my chest as my brain fights to stay in the present and not return to the night that my life changed forever. I take a deep breath and for a quick second I smell my mother’s perfume and the pain lessens slightly. I miss you, Mama.

  “That must have been really hard.” He shakes his head before putting a hand on my shoulder gently then letting it graze my back. He rubs it in circles and the fog of my past immediately lifts as I return to the present. “I can’t even imagine.”

  I move so that I’m out of his grasp and try to put some space between us. Why is this man so handsy? “Maybe I should get back inside,” I start when he grabs my arm.

  “Maddie, I’m really a nice guy. I don’t see why you can’t give me a chance.” I don’t know if he drank something or did something moments before getting to Melanie’s and only now is it catching up with him because I notice his pupils are dilated and slightly glazed.

  Say no. Say. NO. “Brad, you seem great but…”

  “Come on, Mike said you don’t have a boyfriend. One date and I’ll be the perfect gentleman.”

  “There’s a lot of reasons a girl can say no that has nothing to do with whether she has a boyfriend. As Mike should have probably prefaced, I don’t date much.” I cross my arms defensively. “I’m super busy and I just don’t have the time for a boyfriend.”

  “A girl has to eat though, right? I’m talking dinner. I’m not talking about the rest of your life. Or even the rest of the month.” He raises an eyebrow at me and I shake my head.

  I should have just said I have a boyfriend. One that didn’t go to my school.

  And have Sasha refute that and become even more relentless with her questioning? Pass, my subconscious argues.

  “I eat plenty,” I answer, before leaving him out on the patio. I grab a bottle of water from Melanie’s refrigerator and down it, preparing my exit when Sasha is immediately next to me.

  “You are not leaving.”

  “Watch me.”

  “You’ve been drinking.”

  “I’ve had one light beer in four hours. I’m okay.” I tell her before I finish the bottle in one swig. After a series of more hugs and goodbyes followed by a million drunken, I love you’s from Melanie and a few of our friends, I make it to my car.

  “You’re leaving so soon?” My hand is hovering over my handle just as Brad appears what seems to be out of no-fucking-where looking like the suspect in an episode of To Catch a Predator.

  “I should go home.”

  “Oh, come on, have a drink. It’s your friend’s birthday.” He moves around to my side of the car and leans against my door, stopping me from opening it.

  “Brad, I really want to leave, can you please move?” I smile, trying not to provoke him or push him to do anything crazy. My hand immediately goes to my necklace on instinct, just as it always does when something doesn’t feel right. It makes me feel closer to Cal and usually gives me the courage to get through whatever is in front of me. His eyes move down my body lasciviously and I immediately step back. I take a deep breath, swallowing down the nerves as I reach for the pepper spray in my clutch.

  “I’m not going to hurt you, Maddie.” He smiles and leans closer to me. “I want to do the opposite.” His eyes close, and he sways towards me. “I want to make you feel good.” His hand comes to trace my face and I take another step back.

  “Please…no.” I’m prepared to run, when I feel something right at my back.

  Oh, for the love of God. I resign myself to being thoroughly fucked, outside by myself with two men that are much bigger than me when a familiar voice fills the space around us. “Beat it, before I kick your ass.” Henry comes into view from my side and stands between us. He looks like he’s lost some weight just in the two weeks it’s been since I’ve seen him and his beard is fully grown in. “If I ever hear that you’ve touched her again, I’ll rip your limbs from your body and beat you with them. Then you won’t be able to do whatever bullshit sport you think you’re so good at.” Brad takes a step back and holds his hands up.

  “Listen we were just talking…” he begins to stammer and I can see him getting red around his neck.

  “Before or after she asked you to move? Because she asked a few times and even said no. Do you know what ‘no’ means?”

  He looks at Henry and then me before he turns and practically races back towards the house. I let out a breath, my heart pounding in my chest. “Thank you. Oh my gosh, Henry! It’s so good to see you.” I wrap my arms around him in a hug, but he stiffens in my grasp. I pull back and now that I’m looking at him face on, I see that his eyes are bloodshot, making me wonder if he’s on something.

  “You too, Mads. Listen, can you give me a ride?”

  I frown, wondering where his car is and then a flood of questions enter my mind. “Sure, but…what are you even doing here?”

  “Friend of mine lives around the corner.” He runs a hand through his hair and makes his way to my passenger side. “So, that ride? I left my car near a hotel in town.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sure, of course! A hotel?”

  “Yeah,” he says as we settle into the car. “Aria and I are taking some time…apart.”

  “Oh no!” I can’t stop the tears from welling in my eyes as I remember walking down that aisle at their wedding, tossing flowers from a wicker basket. “I’m sorry, Henry.”

  “It’s okay. Things happen, you know? People change. Grow apart.” He looks out the window as we pull away from Melanie’s house. “But I think maybe this is for the best. I’ve been thinking I need a change of scenery anyway.”

  “You’re moving?” I wonder if Cal knows about any of this.

  �
�Thinking about it. Maybe somewhere east.”

  “There’s no chance you and Aria could work it out?”

  “I don’t know, Maddie. Take Tuckerman Street.” He points and I follow his direction, this is the opposite way of town so I’m wondering where exactly this hotel is.

  “Shit, I forgot to text Cal. I’m just going to call him really quick.”

  “Not necessary,” he interjects. “He knows you’re with me.”

  “He does?”

  “Yeah,” he says and his voice is final. It makes me want to probe, but I figure he’ll be out of the car soon enough and then I can talk to Cal.

  It seems as if we’re driving for ages when we pull into a parking lot of a rundown tavern on the other side of town. I turn to look at him, waiting for him to get out, because, to be honest, he’s kind of giving me the creeps. He’s just staring out the window when he starts talking.

  “You know, what you and my brother are doing is wrong, Maddie.”

  Great, here we go. “Listen, Henry…”

  “I’m talking,” he growls and I bite my bottom lip nervously. He’s never talked to me like that before.

  “I can’t believe you let him take advantage of you. Were you that desperate for attention and affection from him?”

  “Okay, Henry, I don’t want to talk…”

  I barely have a chance to react before my face is literally on fire from his fist. “I. said. I. was. talking.” His voice is low and sinister as I hold my hand to my throbbing cheek, my body in complete shock that Henry just hit me. “Now, we’re going to go for a little drive in my truck.” He unbuckles my seatbelt and points to the black truck at the edge of the abandoned parking lot. “Get the fuck out of the car,” he whispers in my ear as he leans across my lap and opens my door. “I wouldn’t do anything stupid if I were you. Unless of course…you want me to shoot you with your boyfriend’s gun.” He rolls his neck in a circle and I cringe hearing him crack it so aggressively. The sound is the only noise in the quiet car besides my breathing that I’m trying to keep under control. He waves the gun in front of my face and my blood runs cold seeing it so close. Cal always kept guns locked and away from me, so I don’t have much experience with them up close and personal. “Leave you for dead with his bullet in you. Wouldn’t that be some irony.” He chuckles and a grin finds his face. My heart pounds in my chest and I can hear the blood rushing into my ears. My ears are ringing from how hard he hit me, but I think I’m definitely in shock because I haven’t shed one tear yet.

  “Why…why?” I manage to whisper.

  His finger traces gingerly down my face and I flinch at his touch and try to move further away from him. “Your skin is so smooth. God, no wonder he’s so enthralled with you.” He cups my chin and jerks me towards him. “Right, so you asked, why?”

  I nod. The tears have started to slide down my face now, the shock wearing off and my mind and body realizing that I’m in huge fucking trouble. I pray to God, Henry forgets about my necklace and lets me leave it on, allowing Cal to find me sooner, but my guess is he’ll remember and take it from me.

  “Because you and my brother need space. Trust me I thought about just exposing everything and ruining Cal’s reputation. But then I realized, I would much rather ruin his life.”

  My lip trembles as I think about how I might never see him again and then my eyes widen in realization at his words. “Where…where’s Aria? Did you hurt her?” My voice is quiet and meek.

  “Out,” he growls and he pulls his gun out of his pocket and points it at me. “No fucking games, Shaw.”

  I gulp and slide out of the car, gripping my clutch for dear life. I start walking with him right behind me when he rips the clutch from me. “Not so fast.” He opens my bag and grabs my phone before turning it off and slamming it hard into the ground. My heart sinks, knowing that the GPS is now turned off and I put my hands over my eyes and almost fall to my knees. He’s killed my phone and he’s taking me away from my car that is programmed with a tracker. If he remembers about my necklace I’m done. I spin away from him and reach up as stealthily as I can to rip the necklace from my neck. The chain digs into my skin but I welcome the bite as the clasp breaks. At least, if he doesn’t see it, he might forget that I have it.

  I slip the necklace into the pocket of my coat when I feel him right at my heels. As soon as we approach the car, he binds my hands in front of me, tightly. The rope digs into my wrists and I wince at the burn. “Don’t pull, they bite, little one.” He winks at me before shoving me into the back seat. “Lay the fuck down.”

  “But…”

  “NOW,” he growls and I do as he says, fresh tears springing to my eyes and sliding down my face. I realize once I’m inside, I don’t recognize this car and I’ve been in Henry’s car at least a thousand times, which makes this scarier than anything.

  Has he been plotting this all along?

  “Wait, Henry…this isn’t your…car…?” The conclusions are forming in my brain before the words are even out. He’s the guy that almost ran me off the road the other day.

  “You were always a smart girl.” I hear as he starts the truck.

  A shiver runs through me and I turn on my back, staring up into the roof of the car. Keep him talking Maddie.

  “You…you could have killed me last night…” My teeth are chattering together in the frosty car, and I see my breath.

  “I barely even touched you, don’t be so dramatic.” He waves a hand towards me.

  “But…but it was you.” It’s so dark, I can’t make out anything as we continue to drive. We could be going North to Washington, or hell even Canada. I manage to get my bound hands in my pocket, so I can hold my necklace and onto the hope that Cal will save me.

  “Madeline, you have become so reliant on my brother. He’s sheltered you so much. You’re not even the least bit prepared for the real world, and that should scare you. Me tailgating you isn’t the scariest thing out there, you know.” My fists flex instantly, wishing I could just hit him once for speaking about this whole situation like it’s nothing. I watch as he unscrews a fifth of what smells like vodka and brings it to his lips. “Want some? I know you’re a bit of a lush.”

  I ignore him and go back to his earlier comment, not wanting him to think that he’s the scariest thing I’ve encountered. Never let them see your fear. “I’m fully aware you’re not the scariest given that I was in the house when my father murdered my mother.”

  “Your mom was probably a slut too,” he grumbles. “I’m sure that’s where you get it.”

  I see red. I’ve always heard that expression, but I didn’t think people actually saw red clouding their peripheral vision. I had no idea rage could manifest into a color and take over your senses until you’re so blind that all you can see is the color most associated with anger. “Fuck you, Henry.” I spit out. “You’re going to burn in hell for this.”

  “Oh, sweetheart. I’ll see you there.”

  “WHY THE FUCK IS HER phone off?” I slam my fist against Aria’s dashboard hard as we make our way towards the location of Maddie’s car. I’ve sent cops to Melanie’s house and told them to strip that house of every inch to ensure Maddie is not there. And all those fuckers are coming in for questioning.

  “Cal, calm down.” I watch as Aria swerves into a different lane, missing a car by a mere millimeter. But I don’t care, nothing matters in this moment but getting to my girl. Hang on, baby.

  “I’m not going to calm down. Something’s wrong with Maddie, and I’m not there. Maddie needs me, Aria.” I feel my chest tightening as the thoughts of letting her down overwhelm me. Why else would her phone be off and her car reporting that she’s on the other side of town when she was supposed to be at her friend’s party.

  She would never get in the car this late at night without letting me know where she’s going. Something’s wrong.

  I rub my face, and my leg begins to bounce nervously. “Can’t you go any faster?”

  “I’m goin
g eighty, Cal. We won’t be any good to her if we crash.” My phone rings and I answer it on the first ring.

  “What do you know?” I bite out.

  “Cal,” Ryan’s voice comes over the phone and immediately I fear the worst, “the kids are all wrecked, but they’re saying she left.”

  “Where the hell is Sasha Parker?” I ask about Maddie’s best friend.

  “She was…occupied with her boyfriend when we got there. When they were fully clothed, she said she left about an hour ago. But she’s borderline hysterical now. She’s freaking out that you don’t know where she is.”

  I press a hand to my forehead. “Let her go. Issue citations to everyone else.” I bite out. Even though Sasha is a troublemaker, I know she cares about Maddie and has been a good friend to her. Maddie was quiet and reserved her freshman year and didn’t talk to anyone. Sasha came bulldozing into her life and decided they were best friends and ultimately helped bring her out of her shell. She’s a sweet girl, she just gets into too much trouble.

  “She wants to speak to you.”

  “Put her on,” I grunt. I don’t have it in me to deal with her, but maybe she knows more than she told Ryan.

  “Cal!” I hear the tears in her voice. “Cal, you have to find her.”

  “I know, Sasha. I’m fucking trying. But her phone is off and her car is in a bad part of town. Was there anyone at this party that you didn’t know?”

  “No! It was just the usual crowd. Melanie said no randos after the last time. Cal, we should have made sure she got to her car safely. I’m sorry!”

  “It’s okay, Sasha,” I say even though it’s anything but fine. All those fucking guys there, and no one could have seen her to her car? I know Sasha’s boyfriend was usually a standup guy, which makes me think that he was too busy thinking with his dick around the time that Maddie left.

  “Listen, I’ll call you if I hear something. Please keep your phone on in case she calls you.”

  “She won’t call me before you Cal…You know that.” She sniffles. “She loves you so much.”