Masked Indulgence

by Michelle Love

  “What about her?” Pete asked.

  “She’s gone.”

  “Gone?” David took a step closer. “What exactly do you mean by ‘gone,’ Arsen?”

  “Gone!” I yelled. “Someone kidnapped her from the side of the road. The detective said something about a flat tire.”

  The room fell silent and the air grew thick around us. It was as if no one knew what to do or what to say, and I understood completely. I looked around the room and saw that everyone else was sitting down. I couldn’t wrap my mind around the thought that she was gone just that fast.

  “I’m going to go find her.” I grabbed my jacket from the coat hanger and threw it on.

  “Boss, it’s eleven o’clock. You should really get some rest and look for her in the morning,” Pete suggested.

  “You must be out of your mind to believe that I’m just going to leave her out there alone and in danger.” I scoffed.

  “You don’t even know where to start looking, Arsen. Let’s be real here.” David spoke, standing up from his seat and walking over to me. Pete followed shortly behind him.

  “What if your wife was missing? You would lose your mind. You’d search all over the world for her the minute you found out, David. You too, Pete. So don’t even act like you don’t understand where I’m coming from.” I forced out a stiff laugh and looked over at David. “Give me a ride home, will ya?”

  “All right, man. Whatever.” He grabbed his keys and threw on his jacket. I walked out of the building to his car and he soon followed behind me.

  We got in the car and headed off to my place. There was so much running through my mind. I didn’t even know if she were dead or not, and that’s what troubled me the most.

  We finally made it back to my place and I went inside without saying any goodbyes to David. I walked straight up to Lola’s room to see if she was there. I knew she wasn’t there, but I felt like I had to do it. Her room was completely empty and really cold. It was as if the house could tell she was missing too. I hated it.

  It was usually cool in her room, but her spirit and presence gave off a peculiar warmth. I got a dizzy feeling, but quickly shook it off and walked down to my room. I plopped my body down on the bed and rolled over onto my back. I sort of felt myself falling asleep until I was interrupted by my phone ringing. It was a blocked number.

  “Hello?” I answered quickly.

  “Arsen?” I heard a small woman’s voice.

  “Lola?!” I asked, now sitting up on my bed.

  “Help me,” she mumbled out.

  “Lola, baby. Where are you?!” I asked frantically.

  “She’s with me,” I heard a male voice speak up.

  “And who the fuck are you?!”

  “Don’t worry about that. You could’ve had your precious Lola if you had looked in the attic of the house you shot up.” He chuckled. “But don’t worry now. We’re not there anymore”

  “I’ll find you and I’m going to kill you,” I spoke quietly.

  “You want the girl back? Fifty thousand dollars. I want everything you stole from us back.”

  “Fine,” I agreed. “Where are you going to meet me?”

  “I’ll let you know soon. If you fuck this up, I’m going to kill the girl”

  “I’ll kill your entire family with no remorse,” I spoke calmly, trying to now show him how angry I was. “I will leave you deserted with not even a dime to your name. Do you really want that?”

  He scoffed. “I’ll tell you when and where to meet me.”

  The phone clicked, indicating that he hung up, and I dropped it on the bed. I slammed my fists down on the red sheets, then ran a hand through my hair. I couldn’t believe that I had let them touch her like that. I was so stupid and careless, letting her go home by herself. Especially after she told me that Anabella’s mom was watching her like some kind of creep.

  I stood there, not really knowing what to do. I was going out of my mind and wasn’t sure how to get over it. I breathed deeply and decided to take a shower. I didn’t know how I would able to sleep, knowing that my princess wasn’t in the other room safe and sound.

  Lola

  I was being carried out of the house that I had been locked in earlier. There was a heavy smell of rotting flesh in the air. When I dared to open my eyes while passing by the living room, I caught a glimpse of Anabella. She was dead. I had never felt sicker to my stomach. My best friend since forever was dead and I wasn’t sure how to deal with myself. She was lying in the arms of her mother, who caught me staring and came charging toward me as I was being carried to the car.

  When I was placed into the back seat, her mother pushed the man out of the way and gave me a horrible slap across my cheek with the back of her hand. Her sharp ring left a gash on my cheek.

  “What the fuck was that for?!” I screamed, while attempting to kick my feet. The restraints on my wrists and ankles made it impossible for me to defend myself.

  “This is all your fault, you bitch!” She slapped me again. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

  “What did I even do?!?!” I screamed.

  “You let that killer into your life, you traitor!” She screamed in my face.

  My eyebrows knitted together as my face cringed. Was she talking about Arsen? Then it snapped in my head. She screamed that Arsen had killed her husband, which would be no one else but Anabella’s dad. I stared blankly at her as flashbacks started to play in my head.

  It was just two years ago. It was summer and Anabella and I were getting ready to go to the beach. She stepped out into the hall to take a call and ran back into the room minutes later, screaming and crying. It was the most horrible thing I’d ever seen and all I could do was hold her while she cried.

  When she finally calmed down, I got her to talk to me.

  “You remember when I told you my dad worked for a drug cartel?” She asked, looking up at me.

  “Yes,” I nodded. “What happened, Ana?”

  “They killed him!!! They’re trying to say he betrayed them, but I know my dad would never do that!” She cried even harder.

  “Oh my god.” My heart dropped. “I am so very sorry, Ana. I’m so sorry that you have to go through this.”

  “All of those fuckers are extremely rich, so if he did any of the things they claimed he did, it’s not like they would be losing any money.” She held me closer. The only thing I felt as if I could do was stay quiet and listen. She needed to get all of her emotions out.

  “Why couldn’t they have just fired him?! Why did they have to take my father’s life away?! He had a family that he loved so much and we loved him!” She was crying uncontrollably and I felt horrible. I hated whoever did this to her and her family.

  Her dad was always so nice and sweet to me. After his death, I had never seen Anabella’s mother again. She was always locked away in her room when I went over and never cared about what Ana or her siblings were doing. I guess his death had made her terribly sick, because she wasn’t as beautiful and radiant as she used to be. She looked sick and evil, which made it hard for me to even recognize her at the restaurant.

  I shook my head slowly as she screamed and yelled at me. Her words were going in one end and out of the other. All I could think about was why Arsen had done that. Was I being used by him to antagonize their family? I hoped not. I didn’t want to speak to him, but at the same time I just wanted to be safe in his arms.

  Did Arsen kill Anabella? Was I next to die?

  All of those questions were weighing heavily on my mind. I wasn’t sure if I could take it. I got really dizzy and everything around me was spinning. I heard the back door close and I drifted away into pure darkness.

  I woke up in a different house. I was tied to a chair and my head was still spinning.

  “We’re going to make a call to your little friend, Lola! Are you ready?” I heard a male’s voice.

  I tried opening my eyes, but they felt swollen. I could only see slightly between my eyelashes. I saw Ana’
s mom and three other men standing across the dimly lit room, watching me. There was one guy kneeled in front of me with a phone in his hand.

  “I said are you fucking ready?!” I felt a hard smack against my face and I winced. The stinging sensation was almost unbearable, but my vocal cords weren’t letting me muster up a scream.

  I nodded my head slowly and it felt like I was going to pass out again. I’d probably die if I didn’t have a glass of water soon.

  “Hello?” I heard Arsen’s voice and that made me stronger in a sense. I felt like I could hold on a bit longer.

  “Arsen?” I called out for him. I couldn’t speak very loudly, but I tried for him.

  “Lola?!” He asked. His voice was so loud that I couldn’t tell if he was on the phone or in the room. My eyes were now completely shut.

  “Help me,” I mumbled out, not being able to say much else.

  “Lola, baby. Where are you?!” That was the last thing I heard before my mouth was covered with a cloth with a very distinct smell.

  As soon as I inhaled it, I began to choke, and soon felt myself fading into the darkness again.

  Arsen

  I tossed and turned all night. There wasn’t much I could do but wait for that call to say that I could get my Lola back. I got dressed and looked into the mirror. Bags were starting to form under my eyes and my hair was out of place. I pulled a comb through my hair and left the bathroom.

  I grabbed a bottle of water on my way out of the house and hopped outside of my car. I was going to meet up with the boys for breakfast and explain everything that was going on.

  I was too afraid to turn on any music, thinking that it would only remind me of the times that I had shared with Lola. The only thing on my mind was getting her back. All I wanted was her and I'd do anything to have her. She was the light to my darkness and the stars to my night sky, and that was something that I couldn't give up.

  I pulled up to the restaurant and parked on the side of the building. I walked inside and was immediately escorted to the back room where all of my friends were sitting and waiting for me. They sat us down and sent a waitress into the room to take our drink order. It was early in the day, but some of the guys insisted on getting a beer while the rest of us settled for coffee.

  “Guys, I brought us here all today to tell you guys the good and bad news.”

  “What is it?” one of the guys asked from the other end of the table.

  “The good news is that the kidnappers are willing to give Lola back.”

  “And the bad news?” David looked at me.

  The waitresses came back with our drinks and I got silent. They didn’t need to know our business. They took our food orders and walked back out.

  “Anyways,” I sighed. “They want everything we stole back. Meaning the entire fifty thousand, even though they stole a majority of that from us”

  The guys threw up their hands in disappointment and all groaned in agony. No one seemed willing to give up the money, which was why I had thought of a plan while I was in the shower that morning.

  The room fell quiet again as the waitresses came back into the room with our food. They had weird looks on their faces because of how immediately quiet it had become. They sat our plates in front of us and left us alone once again.

  “So, what’s the plan?” David asked, noticing the look on my face.

  “I want you guys to hide out, and when it’s time for us to exchange, take them out. All of them. And we leave with both the money and Lola.” I took a sip from my cup of coffee. The warmth of the cup laid upon the pads of my fingers.

  “That’s a damn good idea,” Pete said, laughing and picking up a piece of bacon.

  I flashed a slight smile and nodded.

  “I’m down,” David chuckled.

  The rest of the members agreed and began eating their breakfast. I, on the other hand, wasn’t eating, because I hadn’t ordered anything. I knew I couldn’t keep any food down with the thought of some asshole’s hands all over her body. I cringed and finished my drink.

  I got a call from a blocked number again and answered it instantly.

  “Hello?” I answered,

  “This bitch is fucking annoying,” he spat from the other line.

  “Excuse me?” I asked with a bit of attitude.

  “She has a big mouth. Doesn’t know when to shut the fuck up,” He chuckled.

  “You little—“ I started but was cut off.

  “650 Promise street. Tonight at twelve,” he said, then hung up the phone.

  When I sat the phone down, all of the guys were staring at me.

  “Looks like we have a mission tonight, boys. 650 Promise Street. Tonight at twelve sharp,” I sighed. I was frustrated at how he had talked about her, but I was happy that I got to get her back into my arms.

  The boys all cheered and laughed, surprisingly. I thought they’d be bummed that they’d have to set this all up on short notice, but I guessed the rush of doing this and keeping the money filled them with excitement.

  “Meet me at the clubhouse at nine to prepare,” I said, while standing. I dropped just enough money to pay for everyone’s meal on the table and left. All I could think about was seeing Lola’s beautiful face again.

  Lola

  I had been tied down to this chair since we got here, and I couldn’t feel my body. I didn’t think I had the ability to feel anything anymore. My face was swollen terribly, my wrists felt as if they were going to break, my hair was dirty, and my clothes had accumulated all of the dust that filled this dirty room.

  I was starving—starving and nearly dehydrated. I found myself praying to god and asking why was this was happening to me. Although I’d never been friendly, I wasn’t mean either. I was just always focused on myself. Was this what I got for worrying about myself? Or was this what I got for hanging out a drug-dealing billionaire?

  The possibilities were endless, but I knew in that very moment that I didn’t care about what Arsen had done. I was still very hurt about what he had done to Anabella’s father and the possibility that he may have killed her, too, but all I wanted was to be in his arms.

  The way things were going, I thought I would never see him again. Not him, not my family, and not even my best friend. I so felt completely helpless and hopeless, but if I had died right then, I couldn’t care less. I guessed this was what I had signed up for when I fell in love with Arsen in the first place.

  How wonderful life would have been right now if I hadn’t skipped class to be with my best friend. She would have still been alive and we could have been having so much fun over the summer break. I would have never met him and I would have never fallen in love, but then again, I would have never remembered those moments of being young again. I would have never fallen in love. Who knew there could be two sides developing feelings for someone?

  That feeling that went way beyond being friends or considering each other as family. The feeling of pure bliss and serenity while being around that one person. Being around someone who could bring back memories that you wished you could relive or create moments that you wished would never end. That's what I felt with him. Not with any of my ex-boyfriends, not with my family, and not even with my own best friend. I had known my relationship with Anabella was going to come to an end soon, but I had never thought it would end with her being dead.

  This was not what I wanted. I never wanted her to be in pain, I never wanted to betray her, I never wanted to fall in love, and I never even wanted to meet someone new. I had thought my past would just stay in the past, but when it was brought back up, it felt so good that I couldn't deny it. I couldn't push it away. It had come alive in my mind and it was here to stay.

  I had gotten so caught up in my love for a man who I barely knew that I was ignoring my best friend's cry for help. Although she had refused to tell me what was wrong when I was genuinely confused, I still felt like I could have tried a little harder to find out. It was too late now. She was gone and I didn’t think I'd ever
be able to see Arsen again.

  I was sitting there, trapped in a room, practically losing my mind and giving up on life. It had only been two days, but my life had changed drastically. My mindset was completely different from how it was before. If I made it out of there alive, I was going to live with no regrets and I was going to treat every day like it was my last. But, then again, who knew?

  This day might really be my last day.

  I felt the tears begin to fall down my face. The things that were going through my mind were sickening. My breath began to quiver and I became nauseous. The pain that was buried inside of me at that moment was unbearable. Death seemed like the only way out.