Melissa glared at her friend. “That’s not going to happen. I know Travis wants to be with me. He just didn’t know how to get out of that relationship with Bree, but I helped him with that.”
“What do you mean?”
“Who do you think made sure those rumors about me and Travis sleeping together spread around the school?”
Shyanne’s eyes went wide. “That was you?”
“Of course it was me. He insisted on keeping things between us quiet so that no one would find out what we were up to, but the truth has a tendency to get out. I dropped a few hints to the right people to get the rumors started, knowing it would only be a matter of time before those rumors found their way to Bree.”
“Okay, but if Travis and Bree are no longer a thing, and he likes you as much as you say he does, then why isn’t he with you right now?”
Melissa did not like what Shyanne was implying, but forced herself to keep her cool and not snap at her friend. It didn’t matter what Shyanne believed anyway. Melissa knew that Travis would soon be hers.
“He will be with me soon,” Melissa said with confidence. “He’s still upset. He just got dumped for the first time in his life. That’s not an easy thing for anybody to go through. But he won’t have to be upset for much longer. I’ll be with him, and I’ll help him forget all about Bree in no time.”
Shyanne nodded before taking a sip from her own cup of beer. “I hope you’re right about that.”
“I know I’m right.” Melissa leaned back and her smile grew as she pictured herself walking hand in hand with Travis down the halls of the school as boyfriend and girlfriend for the first time, no longer having any reason to hide from anyone. “We’re going to be the perfect couple. The captain of the cheer squad, and the star quarterback of the football team, it just makes sense for us to be together . . . don’t you think?”
Shyanne shrugged. “Yeah. I guess.”
Melissa fixed her friend with a cold stare once again. She was not thrilled with the negativity coming from Shyanne at that moment. She was about to comment on just that when she felt her phone vibrate.
She fished her phone out of her pocket. Excitement filled her to the brim when she discovered that she had a new text from Travis.
Hey. Parents are out. Feeling lonely. Can you come over?
“I have to go.” Melissa shot to her feet as if there were a fire underneath her butt.
“W-where are you going?” Shyanne asked, sounding understandably confused. “The party has barely even gotten started.”
“Sorry. I’ll call you in the morning.” Without giving her friend an answer, Melissa hurried out of the living room. She hammered out a response to Travis’s text on her way to the door.
Oh my way.
Leaving the house, Melissa hurried through the maze of parked cars that stretched all the way down the driveway and along either side of the road as well, until she made it to her own car at last. She unlocked the door and climbed inside the driver’s seat.
Thinking ahead to what was sure to be an amazing night with Travis, Melissa was about to slide the key into the ignition when she caught a glimpse of movement in the backseat through the reflection in the rearview mirror.
She spun around in her seat.
Found a man dressed in dark clothes and a ski mask.
A scream formed in the back of her throat, but before she could part her lips to release it, the man covered her mouth and nose with a rag. She tried to struggle against him. To free herself. But a strong odor invaded her nostrils, and she lost consciousness within seconds.
***
Ever since the day that Travis let himself into Bree’s house and made a scene, Bree feared that it might lead to him showering her with repeated unwanted attention as he begged her to take him back. But much to her surprise—and relief—he had left her alone since that day. It appeared that he had finally taken the hint that they were no longer a couple, and now they could both move on with their lives.
It was a huge weight lifted off her shoulders.
Not only for her own sake—she didn’t want to spend the rest of the year feeling like she had to constantly look over her shoulder—but also because she didn’t want Travis to be hung up on her anymore. The break up wasn’t easy on either of them, but Bree knew that it needed to happen, and she wanted Travis to move on with his life and be happy again without her.
Stepping out of the shower, Bree grabbed a towel from the rack and dried herself off before she wrapped the towel around herself and stepped out of the bathroom. It was close to midnight, and her mom was sure to be asleep already. But after staying up late to finish some homework, Bree felt like she needed a warm shower before she laid her head down on the pillow, shut her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.
Entering her closet, she got dressed in the warmest pajama bottoms that she could find and a pink sleeveless top. Using the towel to dry her hair—not wanting to go to bed with wet hair—Bree had just stepped out of the closet when she heard what sounded like someone moving out in the hall. Her stomach twisted into a nervous knot at the thought of Travis paying her another uninvited visit.
But she didn’t allow her fears to keep her from opening her door and peering out into the hall. She looked both ways, but there wasn’t anyone out there.
At least that was what she thought initially . . . but her assumption changed when she heard movement once again, and she was almost certain that it was coming from her mom’s bedroom.
Suddenly more fearful for mom’s safety than her own, Bree slipped out of her bedroom and then tiptoed down the hall. She pressed her back against the wall just outside the door to her mother’s bedroom, which was closed, but not all the way. It was slightly ajar.
Bree reached out a shaky hand, and gently pushed the door open as quietly as she could. If there was an intruder in the house, she didn’t want to alert that person to her presence. She took a peek inside, but her mom wasn’t sleeping soundly in bed like she expected her to be. She didn’t see her mom at all in fact.
Panic setting in, Bree turned to scurry back to her own bedroom so that she could fetch her phone and call the sheriff when suddenly she saw someone at the other end of the hall, coming up her stairs. She let out a yelp at the unexpected sight of another person in the house.
“Bree? What’s the matter?” Her mom had one hand on her heart and the other clutching a mug of steaming hot liquid that she came dangerously close to spilling all over herself when Bree’s squeal startled her.
“I . . .” Bree trailed off, suddenly feeling very stupid for her overreaction.
“You thought I was someone else, didn’t you?” Her mom approached with a look in her eyes that was equal parts concerned and understanding. “Did you think that I was Travis?”
“Yeah . . . I guess I did.” Bree folded her arms over her chest and looked down at her feet as she shuffled them. “I feel like such an idiot.”
“Don’t. You have every right to be on edge. I would be too if I were you, but there is nothing for you to worry about. The sheriff already said that Roland spoke with Travis, and there is not going to be any more spontaneous visits like that again.”
“I really wish I could believe that.” Bree was about to excuse herself to her room when she suddenly recalled that she heard someone moving in her mom’s room, and it couldn’t have been her mom since she had clearly been downstairs.
“Mom, we have to get out of the house.” She grabbed her mom by the arm and tried to drag her back towards the stairs.
But her mom pulled away. “Bree, what in the world has gotten into you? I told you there’s nothing to worry about.”
“But there is something to worry about. I heard someone in your room.”
“Are you sure it wasn’t me downstairs in the kitchen that you heard? I couldn’t sleep so I was making myself some valerian tea, but apparently I was making too much noise if you—”
“No, Mom, it wasn’t you. I’m positive that I heard somebody i
n your room.”
“Alright. Stay right here and I’ll have a look.”
“No, don’t.” She grabbed her mom’s arm again. “Let’s just call the sheriff and let him deal with it.”
“Bree . . .” Her mom grabbed Bree’s wrist and gently forced her to let go of her arm. “We can’t call the sheriff every time we get spooked. We have to be able to take care of ourselves.”
Before Bree had a chance to argue further, her mom entered her bedroom. All Bree could do was stand in the doorway and watch as he mom flipped on the light and tiptoed across the room with her head on a swivel.
Crossing to the other side of the room, her mom took a peek in the closet. Then looked over her shoulder at Bree and shook her head. She then started towards the bathroom.
Bree loathed every second of this. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as if it were looking for an exit from her chest. She desperately hoped that she was wrong about hearing someone.
Her mom reached the bathroom and had a look inside there as well, but she once again turned to face Bree and shook her head. “It doesn’t look like there’s anyone in here, sweetie. Are you absolutely sure that you heard someone?”
Bree was about to concede that maybe she had been mistaken . . . until her eyes were drawn to her mom’s bed. She pointed. “What about under there?”
Her mom looked. “Really? Under the bed?”
Bree nodded.
“Alright. I’ll have a look.” Her mom approached the bed. She set her mug of tea on the nightstand and then got down on her knees beside the bed to have a look underneath. “Nope . . . there’s no one under here either.”
With a frustrated sigh, Bree slumped her shoulders. Was it really just her mind playing tricks on her? Did Travis have her so freaked out that she was hearing things that weren’t even real?
“It’s been a long time since you asked me to check under the bed for monsters.” Her mom approached. “Are you okay, Bree? Do you want to sleep in here with me tonight?”
“No, I’m fine.” She sighed while rubbing her temples. “I guess you were right all along. I must have heard you downstairs and got confused. I’m just going to get some sleep. I definitely need it.”
“Alright. If you’re sure.” Her mom reached out and gave her arm a comforting squeeze. “I’ll see you in the morning then. Goodnight.”
“Yeah. Goodnight.”
Bree left her mom’s room and returned to her own bedroom. She shut her door and made sure that it was locked. She then did a quick scan of her room to make sure the coast was clear.
“Come on, Bree.” She slapped her cheeks. “Get ahold of yourself. There’s no one here.”
She normally would turn the lights off before she went to bed, but when she reached for the light switch, she found herself hesitating. But she hated that she was allowing Travis to turn her into a nervous wreck, so she pushed through her fears and shut the light off before she went to her bed and crawled under the covers.
Laying her head down on the pillow, Bree shut her eyes. It didn’t take long for her to realize that sleep would be hard to come by tonight. Her heart was still racing, and her imagination was running wild with all sorts of terrifying possibilities. She tried to keep the disturbing thoughts from weighing on her mind, but she found it difficult to hold them back.
She didn’t fully realize how much Travis’s behavior had affected her until tonight. She went from feeling like there was nothing in the world to fear to being scared of her own shadow. She truly hated the thought of living in fear. Her mom—probably the strongest person she knew—didn’t live in fear despite all the terrible things that Bree’s father did to her. And if her mom could endure all of that and still be so strong, then Bree felt like she needed to be strong as well.
Feeling slightly more at ease, Bree managed to keep most of the negative thoughts from running rampant in her brain, and even started to drift off.
But right before she could fall asleep, she felt something clamp down over her mouth and nose.
Her eyes opened, and she discovered a man dressed all in dark clothing looming over her. A mask concealed his face. He held a cloth in one hand and was pressing it tightly against the bottom half of her face. Bree had only just begun to struggle against her assailant when her entire world went dark.
9
BREE AWOKE IN TOTAL DARKNESS. Her memory was fuzzy and her head foggy, but it didn’t take long for her to recall the masked man who infiltrated her bedroom.
And now she was here . . . wherever here was.
She tried to sit up, but that only led to her hitting her head on something just above her. She instinctively reached for her now aching head, but she couldn’t even get her hands out from behind her back. She was suddenly horrified to discover that her hands were restrained with what felt like duct tape. There was also tape covering her mouth, preventing her from making any sounds that weren’t muffled and unintelligible.
Squirming around in the darkness, Bree quickly discovered how little space that she had. It seemed she was in a box or a crate of some kind. Barely large enough for her to fit inside with her legs curled up close to her body. She had never really been afraid of enclosed spaces, but waking up in a tiny box was certainly enough to make her feel claustrophobic.
The man she saw in her bedroom must have abducted her. But why? What did he want from her? And where had he taken her?
Was this box she found herself in actually a coffin?
Had she been buried alive?
As terrifying as that possibility was, and as difficult as it was to stay calm, she knew that she had to avoid panicking if she was going to figure out a way to get out of this nightmare.
As she was trying to wriggle her hands free from the tape that bound them, Bree noticed that she could hear muffled sounds from outside the box. She put her ear against one of the walls and listened.
She heard crickets chirping, and the distant hooting of an owl, but nothing more than that. That did pretty much confirm that it was still dark outside, but it didn’t tell her much more than that.
But the need for speculation came to an end when the top of the container she was trapped inside was lifted off and she found herself looking up at a pair of men dressed in heavy camouflaged clothing and masks that covered most of their faces. Only their eyes and mouths were visible through slits in the masks.
She started to ask them who they were and what they wanted but was reminded that there was tape covering her mouth when her words came out sounding like nothing but muted grunts.
The two men exchanged a look. Then one of them chuckled and turned away while the other reached inside the box and roughly yanked Bree out.
“Let’s go, sweetheart. Nap time is over.”
He unceremoniously dumped her on to her feet and then spun her around so that her back was to him. While Bree was terrified of these men, she felt slightly more at ease when the man behind her sliced away the tape to free her hands. She rubbed her sore wrists. She was about to remove the tape from her mouth too when she noticed a second wooden crate.
Just like the one she was caged in.
There were muffled groans and banging sounds coming from inside. It looked like she wasn’t the only person these two men decided to kidnap.
The discovery prompted Bree to have a look around, knowing that she needed to get a sense of where she was if she was going to find a way to get away from her kidnappers.
Although it was dark, she could see well enough to determine that she was atop a grassy hill with nothing but dense forest on all sides as far as the eye could see. The man who had walked away was now leaning against the hood of an oversized pickup truck—the kind of vehicle that Veronica liked to call a compensation purchase.
There was a trio of dogs inside the truck’s cabin. Bree had no clue what breed the dogs were—none of them closely resembled any breed that she knew of—so they were more than likely mutts.
Bree gently stripped the tape away from her mouth
, although even going slow it still left her lips and cheeks stinging when it was removed.
“Who are you people?” Bree asked the man who freed her hands once she was able to speak again. “How did I get here?”
“We brought you here,” he answered in a very gruff and direct tone.
“Why would you do that?” Bree asked, her voice trembling, and it wasn’t just because it was cold.
But the man didn’t provide her with an answer, and neither did his companion, who remained leaning against the truck with his arms folded in front of him, lips twisted into a crooked smirk.
The other man approached the second crate. He knelt down and removed a padlock before prying the top off. He reached inside and dragged someone out. Someone who had tape covering their mouth and tape binding their wrists together just like Bree had.
And it was someone that Bree recognized.
Melissa.
A messy mixture of tears and mascara streaked her pale cheeks, and her eyes were red from having shed those tears. Judging by the way that her eyes widened when she saw Bree, she was as shocked to see Bree as Bree was to see her.
“What is she doing here?” Bree asked. And when she wasn’t answered right away, her frustrations boiled over and she raised her voice when she spoke again. “One of you assholes needs to answer me right now.”
“We’re going to play a little game.” Dumping Melissa on to her feet in the same way that he did with Bree, the masked man spun her around and used a knife to cut the tape from her wrists. “How does that sound to you?”
“It sounds insane. You kidnapped us to play a game? What is wrong with you? That’s sick.”
Chuckling, he ripped the tape away from Melissa’s lips, and then shoved her away from him as she was crying out in pain and holding her mouth, which was sure to be stinging like hell.
Bree did not fail to notice that he was a lot rougher with Melissa than he was with her. Part of her wondered why that was, but she ultimately decided that she didn’t want to spend much time thinking about what was going on inside the minds of these two creeps.
Hide and Seek: A Suspense Thriller Page 6