The Toybox

by Charly Cox

  Before the front door closed, Sophie said, ‘God, I hate him. Seriously. It’s like watching a tiger stalking its prey. Creepy AF, I’m telling you. Oh, and did I mention I hate him?’

  ‘You say that every time he’s around.’ Leigh Ann stared outside where Beau’s hands now roamed inside Jersey’s unbuttoned shirt as he ground his hips against her in a way that appeared painful.

  ‘I do,’ Sophie agreed. ‘And I mean it every time. He’s a pig. We all see it. Why can’t she?’

  Leigh Ann shrugged. ‘Yeah, well, she did say bacon is one of her favorite things, right?’ Her head tilted to the side. ‘What are they doing now?’ Jersey’s palms were flat against Beau’s chest, and her head was averted.

  Holly snorted. ‘Come on, let’s go find out.’

  They didn’t have to go far because the moment they stepped onto the porch, it was clear Beau and Jersey – now in tears – were fighting. What could’ve possibly gone down in the thirty seconds it had taken them to join the two outside? Holly had never met anyone who could pinball between emotions so quickly.

  Less than a minute later, Beau, his face turning a crazy shade of crimson as Jersey shook her head emphatically and tried pulling away from him, shoved his girlfriend hard enough that she stumbled, barely catching herself on a tree before she tumbled to the ground. Calling her worthless and pathetic, he stormed over to his souped-up four-wheel-drive, hopped in, and then peeled away from the curb in a spray of rock and gravel, flipping them off as he squealed down the road.

  ‘Mature,’ Holly muttered. She draped an arm around her friend’s shoulder, squeezing her slightly as she guided her toward her car. ‘Are you okay?’

  Jersey nodded slowly, trembling as she watched Beau’s Jeep disappear.

  ‘Come on. Let’s go eat.’

  Jersey sniffled and pulled a crumpled tissue from the pocket of her short shorts, wiped her eyes, and blew her nose. ‘Shotgun,’ she announced, dropping the tissue to the ground, causing Holly to cringe.

  ‘You’re kidding, right?’ Sophie snapped. ‘We waited freaking forever for your live soft porn show to end. You think you deserve shotgun after that? I hardly think so. Besides, I already called it.’

  She didn’t, but Holly didn’t contradict her. Not just because she was starving and didn’t care who sat up front since she was in the driver’s seat, but because for as long as they’d been driving, the unspoken seating arrangement had been Holly and Sophie up front, passengers in the back. Because she had surpassed hungry and dipped into hangry, she said, ‘I don’t care who sits where, but anyone not in my vehicle when I turn the key in the ignition gets left behind.’

  When she moved around to the driver’s side and opened the door, the others scrambled in. And to Sophie’s supreme satisfaction, judging by the look on her face, Jersey buckled herself into the backseat behind Holly, muttering under her breath about Sophie’s spoiled selfishness.

  The drive was short, only fifteen minutes, but the grumbling from Jersey made it feel three times longer, made even worse when they spent another twenty minutes searching for a parking spot that didn’t require walking two miles to the restaurant.

  Ten minutes later, the four of them were settled at a table in the back of the crowded Italian restaurant that was a favorite of the university crowd. To Holly’s relief, their talk centered around an upcoming concert until their food arrived, but five bites in, Leigh Ann asked Jersey if she was ready to talk about whatever it was that had set Beau off.

  Their friend swallowed the bite in her mouth and washed it down with a drink of unsweetened tea. Blushing, she glanced all around her, then leaned in closer. What came out of her mouth was not at all what Holly expected, and her reaction showed it.

  ‘He wants a threesome.’ She gulped down another drink as tears pooled in her eyes. ‘But not with him. He wants to watch me have sex – with two other guys. He got super mad when I told him no.’ She shook her head. ‘Maybe I overreacted. Maybe I should’ve at least considered it or listened to him anyway. I was just feeling a little hurt and shocked.’ Jersey grabbed her phone, and Sophie slapped it out of her hand.

  ‘For God’s sake, are you seriously going to text that jerk now? What is wrong with you?’

  Holly stepped in before things could get heated. ‘Jersey, what Sophie is trying to say is that you did not overreact. At all. If it’s something you want, then fine. But I don’t think it is. And if you give in to this, what’s going to stop him from pushing you into doing other things you’re not comfortable with?’ She placed her hand over Jersey’s and gave it a squeeze. ‘Honey, you have every right to say no and mean it.’

  ‘And not to be pressured, and especially not bullied into a yes,’ Leigh Ann added.

  Jersey rubbed the base of her neck, her body seeming to shrink in front of them. ‘Maybe I just need to hear him out. Maybe he was just embarrassed to ask and got mad when I didn’t listen.’

  ‘Oh, for God’s sake, Jersey. Has the way your father treats your mother taught you nothing about guys? Beau. Is. An. Ass. Accept it and move on. Or keep denying it, but stop whining when he treats you like a piece of meat.’

  Sophie’s words were harsh, and both Holly and Leigh Ann sucked in their breath, anticipating a dramatic explosion.

  Jersey shoved her plate away and slammed her hand down, almost knocking her drink over. ‘Why are you always so mean to me?’ Crimson crawled up her neck and into her cheeks while fat teardrops spilled down her face.

  ‘How exactly am I being mean to you, dear cousin? By speaking the truth?’

  ‘You don’t understand what I’m going through! First my grandma dies, then Mom and Dad announce they’re divorcing after thirty years! All I have is Beau!’

  ‘What do you mean all you have is Beau?’ Pointing, Sophie waved her arm in a circle around the table. ‘What about us?’

  ‘What Sophie means—’ Leigh Ann began.

  ‘What Sophie means,’ she snarled, ‘is that it is insulting for Jersey to tell us all she has is Beau when not only are we sitting right here in front of her, but we, not Beau, are always there for her – me, since we were children, Holly since we were twelve, and Leigh Ann since mid-freshman year. On the other hand,’ – by now, flames were shooting from Sophie’s eyes – ‘Beau has “been there” only as a condescending jerk for about six months. So, yeah, what Sophie means is that that was a crappy thing for Jersey to say.’

  Holly stretched her neck left and right to help ease the ache in her head and the tension in her muscles. As she did, she noticed they were beginning to attract an audience. She groaned – on the inside, but still. She caught the waitress’s eye, raised four fingers, and mouthed, ‘Boxes, please,’ relieved when the woman nodded. She was probably as glad to be rid of them as Holly was to be gone.

  * * *

  Several minutes later, their bill paid, the four of them weaved their way through the maze of tables and bodies until they were finally outside with Sophie marching ahead of Jersey.

  Jersey cried as Leigh Ann did her best to soothe her. The most patient and comforting of the girls, Leigh Ann had what Holly and Sophie joked was the magic touch. Which was kind of ironic, considering she’d just joined their little group in the last four years.

  Wishing their girls’ night out had gone better was a waste of time, so as they made their way to her car, Holly looked at the bright side of their evening ending earlier than planned. Her parents had gotten back from Indiana late this afternoon, and she hadn’t yet had a chance to see them. They would be out to dinner with Isaac, but now she would be home when they got back. She wanted to make sure her mom was doing okay. Ever since she’d realized the serial killer she’d been hunting was also the brother she’d always believed had been murdered when he was four, her mom had done her best to hide the emotional turmoil and impact it was having on her.

  Her mind whirling with thoughts of her mom, it took Holly a second to realize Jersey had stopped just steps away from the car.

&nbs
p; ‘You know what? I think I’m going to hang back, go for a walk and clear my head.’ She wrung her hands together, avoiding all their gazes.

  ‘What? Why?’ Holly asked. A quick glance at Leigh Ann told her she was just as surprised. Sophie’s face registered more impatience than anything else.

  ‘I need some fresh air is all, so I’m going to head over to the duck pond for a bit.’ Jersey tipped her head in the direction of the university.

  Not feeling comfortable leaving her friend alone and without a car, especially since daylight was fading, Holly tried to get Jersey to reconsider. ‘It’s going to be dark soon, so why don’t you just come with us, and I’ll drop you off first, okay?’

  Jersey shook her head and turned to stare at the windows of a nearby retro clothing shop, her pretty features reflected back at her from the double-pane glass. She chewed on her bottom lip before a sad smile turned down the corners of her mouth. ‘I’m sorry for being such a downer. I know this was supposed to be our fun night. And this isn’t the first time my parents have threatened divorce, but since Dad’s already in another country with his nearly-my-age girlfriend, I’m pretty sure it’s for real this time.’ She lowered her voice, still not looking at her friends. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be okay. I won’t be long, and when I’m ready to head home, I’ll call an Uber.’

  Considering that it had been less than two months since Evan Bishop had been targeting young women, Holly couldn’t, in good conscience, allow her friend to go off on her own. If anything happened, well… she didn’t even want to consider something like that. ‘We’ll all go with you, then. We’ll even hang back, if you want, so it’ll be like we’re not even there.’ She widened her eyes at Sophie and Leigh Ann and tipped her head toward Jersey.

  Grudgingly, Sophie agreed. ‘Right, like we’re not even there. See, zipping my mouth, throwing away the key starting now.’ She may have rolled her eyes as she made the offer, but at least Jersey didn’t see it.

  Leigh Ann hooked her arm through Jersey’s and with forced cheer, said, ‘We’ll be like ghosts. Invisible. So, lead the way.’

  A haunted look passed over Jersey’s face as more tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. Then she untangled her arm from Leigh Ann’s. ‘Thanks anyway.’

  Holly frowned. ‘I really don’t like this, Jersey. At least text me when you get home, okay?’

  ‘Maybe. Look, don’t worry about me. I really just need to be alone to think about – everything.’ And then she walked to the corner where she waited for the light to change so she could cross the street onto the grounds of the university.

  ‘Did she just pass up an opportunity to share all that drama?’

  Leigh Ann shot Sophie a dirty look. ‘She’s obviously got a lot on her mind. And you refusing to understand isn’t the most helpful.’

  Sophie shrugged, unbothered by the chastisement. ‘Her dad’s a sleaze, and his mom’s death was just the green light he needed to dive into his midlife crisis. Everyone in my family hates him because he’s such a dirtbag. Probably why she latches onto Beau; it’s a daddy issue. And you know she’s going to call or text him as soon as we’re out of her sight. It’s ridiculous.’ Then flipping her perfectly straight, long black hair, she opened the passenger door, slid in, and slammed it shut, cutting off Leigh Ann’s reply.

  Twenty minutes after she dropped off her friends, Holly flopped down on her bed and sent a text to Jersey reminding her to call if she needed or wanted to talk, then she donned a pair of headphones, swiped through to her favorite playlist, and closed her eyes as she waited for her family to return home from dinner.

  She hadn’t realized she’d fallen asleep until the door banged downstairs, startling her awake. She bolted upright, her heart jackhammering in her chest as she slowly became aware of her surroundings.

  At the sound of her mom’s and Isaac’s voices, she smiled. Her family was home. She shut off her music, threw her headphones to the bed, and went to welcome her parents back.

  Chapter Four

  Sunday, May 19

  ‘Wh – where am I?’ Rachel choked out. Along with the four other occupants of the room, she was confined in what strongly resembled a jail cell with its thick metal bars stretching from floor to ceiling. Lining each wall with about twelve inches between them, were ten cots, the kind she’d seen used in military shows in makeshift hospitals.

  Off to the side was an open doorway with no door; inside it was a toilet, a shower stall with no curtain, and a pedestal sink.

  One rectangular window rested so high up on the wall, all she could see were the tree trunks that filled its glass frame. Outside the caged-in area was what appeared to be a finished basement, though it was currently bare of furniture.

  A tall brunette wearing a red silk robe that stopped just shy of mid-thigh stopped chewing her bottom lip long enough to answer. ‘We’re not sure. I’m Becca, by the way.’

  Rachel was still trying to process that when a groan as creepy as it was unexpected had her head snapping to the right, causing a lightning flash of pain to shoot through her skull. After the dizziness wore off, she noticed a girl who could’ve been fourteen or forty covering her mouth as she whimpered, her glassy eyes wide as she rocked back and forth, hard tremors knocking her body against the painted cinderblock wall. She, too, wore a silk robe, only hers was royal blue.

  ‘That’s Cheyenne,’ Becca whispered softly, sadly. Then she tilted her head to what probably used to be a stunning redhead but whose face and arms were now covered in scars, red scratches, bruises, and open wounds. The girl, dressed in a yellow silk robe, lay in a fetal position, mewling sounds that resembled a cornered cat emerging every few seconds, hollow eyes staring at nothing as she scraped at her skin. ‘And that’s Meghan.’

  ‘Wh – what’s wrong with her?’ Rachel asked, aware she didn’t really want to know the answer.

  ‘She’s been like that since yesterday, ever since they brought her back downstairs.’

  Who was they? Nausea twisted her stomach into little knots. ‘Where’s Anna?’ Her lips quivering, she reached down to straighten her skirt only to realize in horror that her clothes had been replaced by one of the silky robes the other girls wore. Hers was a deep burgundy. Her skin crawled as questions screamed in her brain. Who had undressed her? Why?

  As if her thoughts had been spoken aloud, she received her answer from somewhere behind her and to her right when yet another girl snorted, and a voice as cold as the other’s had been warm said, ‘Welcome to the sex trade, where unwilling participants are sold for sex to the highest bidder – or bidders. And the more terror you show, the more they want you. And unless you’re Anna, no one knows who the hell she is.’

  ‘Christ, Faye! What’s wrong with you!’

  Rachel moaned, the contents of her stomach churning and threatening to revolt. She clapped her hands over her ears. ‘No, no, no, no, no!’ Sold for sex? Things like that happened only in the movies or on the news, but certainly not to her. Her mind numb with horror, she listened as the girl called Becca berated the other.

  ‘What? You think she’s not going to figure it out soon enough, just like the rest of us did?’ The girl called Faye waved her purple silk-encased arm around their cell.

  As if she were a balloon that had been pricked with a needle, Becca deflated. ‘Still, you don’t have to be such a bitch about it,’ she insisted, though the fight had already gone out of her voice.

  ‘Well, what would you do? Wait until they’ve come to drag her upstairs and let her figure it out then?’

  Afraid if she started screaming, she wouldn’t be able to stop, Rachel pressed her fist so tightly against her lips that her teeth cut into both, trying to concentrate her focus on that pain in an effort to hold herself together. She’d woken to a nightmare, she thought, glancing around the cell as muffled whimpers escaped around the space between her mouth and hand.

  A tan arm reached over and rubbed her shoulder in a weak attempt to comfort. Becca.

  ‘Fay
e shouldn’t have dropped that on you like that.’ There was no censure in the girl’s voice, just a sad sort of resignation or even acceptance.

  Bile burned the back of Rachel’s throat as each of the girls in the room came into focus, each wearing their silk robe as if they were at some kind of high-end slumber party. Shaking her head from side to side, she squeezed her eyes shut. If she didn’t listen, didn’t look, she could pretend this wasn’t happening. Her brother often accused her of ignoring the elephant in the room, and for once, he’d be right.

  At the thought of Nick, a flash of something like hope shot through her – he’d be looking for her – but as quickly as it was there, it was gone. Knowing Angela, she’d be oblivious to the fact that Rachel hadn’t returned after the party, so no one would even know she was missing, much less be trying to find her.

  Wrapping her arms around her stomach as she tried to hold her pieces together, Rachel glanced over to the girl called Faye. In a purple silk robe that reminded her of royalty sat a stunning girl with milky skin and deep brown eyes. Even in this dimly lit prison, Rachel could see the girl was beyond beautiful – she was exotic.

  Faye held her stare, unblinking and unapologetic, until Rachel shot up, moving frantically around the room and into the tiny bathroom area, searching high and low, running her hands up and down the walls and along the floorboards as she searched for… anything – a hole that could be made larger, a weapon to use, anything. She had to get out of here. Now.

  It took less than a minute to come to the realization there was no escape, yet she couldn’t stop. She even tested her strength trying to push the metal bars apart, straining until she collapsed to the floor, beating her hands against the cage that imprisoned her and the others.

  She had no idea how much time passed before she felt two pairs of arms lift her from the floor and move her back over to the bed. The two girls then sat on either side of her as they offered her… what? Comfort? Friendship? Rachel shivered, and Becca scooted closer in an effort to offer whatever warmth she could.