Afraid to Fall

by Nicole Douglas

  With no warning, lights suddenly switched on outside the vehicle. Kyle saw that the van had pulled into a huge, dimly lit garage. He squinted under the bright lights and tried to adjust his vision to the drastic change, hoping it did so quickly. The sudden change of pace had Jessica clinging to his arm so tight she was digging her nails into his bicep.

  Before he was able to fully take in the surroundings, the van doors slid open on both sides. The three men in the van slowly hopped out, turning their guns on both Kyle and Jessica from their respective sides of the back seat.

  "Get out." The one with a gun pointed at Kyle’s face ordered. Not able to put up much of a fight at this point without being shot dead, he lifted his hands in surrender and did as he was told.

  The man on the other side wasn't as considerate, grabbing Jessica by the hair and pulling her from the seat without saying a word. She let out a shriek at the sudden, brutal tug but quickly became silent again as uncontrollable tears streamed down her face. Yanked across the room by her hair, she tilted her head to an unnatural angle to give it some slack. It felt like a handful was about to be pulled out. Her eyes darted around the room, panic reaching a peak over being separated from Kyle.

  As Kyle was marched into the room he was also growing increasingly uneasy at the thought of her being out of his sight for any amount of time in the company of these men. Her scream of pain moments earlier had only increased this feeling, fueling a rage inside of him that being beat into unconsciousness hadn't even caused.

  The driver and the asshole from the backseat stood on each side of Kyle. The driver restrained him by holding onto his arms, which were pulled unnaturally behind his back, while the other asshole continued to point the gun in his face for good measure. Jessica came into view, being dragged around the front of the van by the man from the passenger seat. He roughly yanked a handful of hair, causing Kyle to flinch. She stumbled alongside him, trying her best to keep up the pace to save her hair from being ripped right out of her scalp.

  As they got closer the first thing he noticed was her puffy bloodshot eyes, a telltale sign she had been crying. The second thing he noticed was the yellow and turquoise bracelet on her wrist as she reached up desperately to the hand that was painfully twisted in her hair. His heart lurched knowing that she had put it on her wrist sometime after they parted ways at the airport; before she came back for God only knew what reason.

  When she slowed her footsteps, the man roughly pulled again to speed her up, laughing when she let out a small whimper. At that, Kyle completely lost the battle to tamp down his rage. He pulled his arms free from the weak grip easily enough, disregarding a gun pointed at his head for the second time that day. The man next to him lost his balance and stumbled forward.

  Before he could reach Jessica he was shoved to his knees on the solid cement floor. Angry at his outburst, the man with the gun stepped forward until the metal was pressed against his forehead. It didn’t take long for the other man to regain his balance and hook his arms behind his back in a stronger hold than before.

  "Stop!" Jessica begged as one of the men bashed Kyle against the head with the gun. That seemed to be their go-to move.

  Ignoring the sharp pain in his head he tried his best to struggle in their grip. He felt something hard connect with his ribs and doubled over. A sob escaped her in reaction to the blow as he fell forward on his hands and knees. He spit out blood that had pooled in his mouth. They no longer needed to put much effort in restraining him. The pain he was in held him back from putting up any more of a fight.

  "Kyle, please stop! I'm scared. Just do what they say!" She pleaded desperately, knowing he would back off when he heard her words.

  She had known the man pulling her hair would provoke him sooner rather than later. He had a fiery temper, especially when it came to people hurting her. The last thing she wanted was for him to piss everyone off, given they had the upper hand at the moment. They would both suffer the repercussions of that. She tried her best not to respond to the pain, fear or humiliation she was being subjected to. But the gasps and whimpers were a natural reaction and holding them back was easier said than done.

  After hearing her plea he looked up into her eyes, breathing heavily in pain as a small trail of blood ran down his cheek from his hairline. He shrugged his shoulder, wiping the blood onto his sweat drenched shirt. His attention was torn from her when a door swung open from the corner of the garage and out sauntered none other than Alex Rodriguez himself.

  Ten Years Ago

  “I’ll be right back.” Jessica told Kyle over her shoulder as her boyfriend Adam Kale grabbed her hand and started dragging her off down the crowded hallway in search of a more private place to talk.

  He nodded in acknowledgement and continued talking to their other friends. Being freshmen, none of them really knew Adam very well. He was a year older than them and hadn’t taken the time to get to know any of her friends in the few months they had been dating. Her brother had forbid her from seeing the guy, which should have told her something, but she continued to see him anyway.

  Adam stopped unexpectedly when they rounded the corner, out of sight of everyone else. He pulled Jessica closer to him, his hands wandering lower down her back than she was comfortable with, and she took a timid step back. They had only met outside of school twice. Their relationship mostly consisted of holding hands in the hallway and stealing kisses between classes when her brother and his friends were nowhere around. She swore Kyle to secrecy as soon as James made his disapproval known.

  “When am I going to see you outside of school again, babe?”

  “My mom can bring me to the mall this weekend. Do you want to meet me there?”

  “The mall?” He sighed impatiently. “I was hoping for something a little more private than that.”

  “I told you, I’m not ready for that yet. It’s too soon.” She uncomfortably shifted her weight to her other foot. The bell rang and other students began shuffling past them on their way to class.

  “Well it’s been three months. I don’t know how long you expect me to wait around to take things further.” His growing irritation was evident in his voice.

  “This is moving too fast for me. I don’t think this is going to work out.”

  “Too fast? We haven’t done anything at all. You haven’t even given me a blowjob.”

  Her cheeks burned as she looked behind her to make sure no one was within earshot. Luckily everyone was loudly chattering with their friends on the way to class and didn’t seem to be paying them any attention.

  “I-I don’t feel comfortable doing that…” She stuttered in a whisper, hoping he would take the hint and stop talking so loud.

  The hallway had cleared out with the exception of a few stragglers. Kyle walked around the corner on his way to class just in time to hear the blowjob comment. Neither Jessica nor Adam noticed him standing there. When he heard her nervous response, it sent his blood boiling.

  It wasn’t any of his business. Really, it wasn’t. But he couldn’t bring himself to go to class and leave her with Adam. Without James knowing about their secret relationship, Kyle felt responsible for looking out for her on his behalf. The tardy bell rang and the halls became dead silent.

  “I have to get to class.” She muttered, making a move to walk away but Adam grabbed her arm to hold her in place.

  “So that’s it?” Adam lowered his voice. “I guess you’re just a tease, stringing me along. Do you know how many other girls I could’ve had while I’ve been wasting time with you?”

  Unable to hold back anymore, Kyle took a step forward to intervene. They both heard his footsteps and looked his way. Adam’s face reddened with anger.

  “Or maybe you haven’t been giving any to me ‘cause you’ve been giving them to someone else.” He accused, glaring at Kyle with contempt.

  “Adam.” Her expression was stunned as if he had slapped her.

  Just as she tried to pull her arm free from his grasp he shoved her
back into the lockers, causing a loud clatter to echo through the empty hall. As she recovered her balance, Adam turned to go to class and ran into Kyle who had quickly rushed forward when he saw things going even further south.

  Kyle grabbed Adam and shoved him as hard as he could, releasing the anger that had been fuming since he found the two of them. Adam toppled over backwards. When he tried to stand up, Kyle pushed him back down and decked him. After taking another punch to the side of the head, Adam’s fist connected with Kyle’s lip.

  “Kyle, stop! Mr. Hearst is coming! You’re going to get in trouble!”

  They continued scuffling on the linoleum floor until they were pulled apart by none other than the principal, who had heard the commotion and came to investigate.

  “What’s going on here boys?” His authoritative tone boomed.

  Jessica’s eyes widened as she looked from Kyle to the principal, dreading his answer. If he told the truth, they would surely call her parents. Considering she wasn’t allowed to date and had been secretly seeing Adam behind her whole family’s back, that would be disastrous. As if he read her mind, Kyle’s eyes met hers briefly before he responded.

  “We just don’t like each other, sir.”

  Adam seemed just as relived as Jessica at the answer. He wouldn’t have fared well if his parents had been notified that he was late to class because he was pushing girls in the hallway over lack of sex. That would’ve been the scandal of the year for the chief of police’s son.

  “Get to class young lady.”

  Jessica nodded and stole another glance back at Kyle and cringed at the sight of his swollen lip. He motioned for her to go with a tilt of his head while the principal’s back was turned. She reluctantly walked away, worrying about him having to call his mother and tell her he had been suspended for fighting. She certainly wasn’t going to be happy and Jessica felt solely responsible for the trouble he was about to be in.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Exuding evil, Rodriguez strolled straight to Kyle who was still kneeling on the ground, trying to remain upright despite the sharp pain radiating from his head and ribs. The men standing around him shifted back as they too saw who entered the room. Jessica immediately sensed the fear this man generated and her heart descended even further as she wondered why.

  Kyle's face remained expressionless as the man approached, stopping within inches of him. Crouching down in his navy blue Armani suit, Rodriguez spoke in an artificially conversational tone that didn't seem to fool anyone in the room of his lack of friendliness.

  "I've been hearing a lot about you, Mr. Winters. None of it has been good. You see, not only have you killed a few very close friends of mine but it's been brought to my attention that you've been looking for me."

  A lingering silence filled the room. He shouldn’t have been surprised the slime knew his name. He certainly had the means to find out damn near anything he wanted to know. As Kyle's fuzzy mind struggled for a response, Jessica looked on anxiously.

  "Well, you've found me." He taunted. "Now what?”

  Kyle maintained his blank expression and calm exterior exceptionally well in her opinion. Under the circumstances she was beginning to think the terror within her was a permanent feature, ingrained in her very being. She fought hard to suppress it. The mystery man that she could clearly see was the boss of this operation began to slowly pace as if he had all the time in the world to wait for his answer.

  Taking advantage of the silence, the man holding Jessica yanked roughly at her hair for no reason other than to be cruel. The smile on his face as he did it told her he was trying to provoke Kyle again at what would be the worst time for him to lose his cool. She winced but bit back a reaction similar to the one that had caused him to lash out before.

  “What to do with you…” Rodriguez pondered softly, as if it were directed at no one in particular. Kyle still refused to respond, the only sign he even heard the comment was the tightening of his jaw.

  "Hmm…stubborn." Rodriguez noted with a sinister smile, leaving another long pause. Unexpectedly, he zeroed his attention in on Jessica as if that were his plan all along. "Well, if you don't have anything to say to me maybe I can change your mind."

  He nodded his head to the man grasping her hair, signaling him to let her go. He did so immediately and stepped back. Jessica rubbed her tender scalp and looked up like a deer caught in the headlights. All eyes in the room shifted to her as Rodriguez strolled her way like a predator. Her bottom lip and chin visibly trembled.

  "No!” Kyle instantly tensed.

  The two men behind him grasped his arms tighter, pulling him to his feet, ready to hold him back if needed.

  "I wonder how much I could get for her." He reached a hand out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She shrunk away from his touch, swallowing the bile she felt rising in her throat at his perverse vibe.

  "Leave her alone." Kyle demanded in as firm and even a tone he could muster. Rodriguez continued to brush wild strands of hair from her face as if he didn’t hear a thing.

  "The United States doesn't negotiate ransom for hostages."

  "Is that so?" He asked offhandedly.

  "You should let her go."

  This caused Rodriguez to burst into amused laughter.

  "You don't need her for anything." Kyle continued, ignoring the boorish outburst.

  "Oh, I intend to get my money's worth." Rodriguez assured coldly as he made his way back to where Kyle stood, all traces of laughter gone. "But ransom isn't what I had in mind."

  Hearing this confirmed Kyle's worst fears. He looked into the eyes of the evil savage who held their lives in the palm of his hand.

  "Let her go." Kyle implored just above a whisper, not wanting her to hear. "She doesn't even know what's going on. I haven't told her anything. Whatever you want, you can get it from me."

  Deep down he knew his request would be quickly brushed off. Sheer desperation and a loss for anything else to do pushed him to at least try. As he suspected, Alex Rodriguez spoke, confirming their fate.

  "Nobody is leaving here Mr. Winters. Especially not her."

  Chapter Thirty

  Jessica swallowed the lump in her throat as she walked down a narrow, dimly lit hallway. After hearing that she would not be leaving this hellish facility, the man in charge had ordered his minions to ‘take her to the back’. Kyle protested loudly but to no avail. As pure fear washed through her body, she was grabbed by a callous hand just above her elbow and dragged off.

  She now got the distinct feeling she was walking straight into her worst nightmare. The tight grip tugged her roughly toward a closed door on the other side of the room. The place felt like a maze. In no time at all they reached another door. This one was already open and Jessica was led inside. She began looking around the darkened room, desperate for her eyes to adjust. She could only make out one large shadowy figure which appeared to be a bed.

  Before she was able to fully process her surroundings the hand on her arm was gone and she stood alone in the middle of the room. She jumped nervously as the door slammed shut and the distinct click of the lock was secured from the outside.

  She was trapped.

  Having the presence of mind to scope out her options for escape, she slowly walked to the wall across from the door. The room ended up being larger than she expected. When she finally reached the wall, resting her hands on the bubbled paint, her eyes began to adjust to the dark and allow her to see the layout of the room more clearly.

  A small twin sized bed was wedge in the corner. It had a set of simple solid sheets and no pillows. She felt the blood drain from her face as she noted the bed definitely didn't seem like it was for sleeping on. On the back wall adjacent to the bed there was a tiny window near the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, she discovered it was impossible to reach with the bed being to only thing in the room. Even if she could reach it, she could never fit through it. It was less than a foot long and several inches high.

  This left h
er with the locked door being her only way of getting out which also seemed an unlikely choice. Sighing in resignation, she walked to the door and gave the knob a frustrated tug. As she predicted, the lock didn't budge whatsoever. Before she was able to plan her next move a distinct click signaled that the door was being unlocked.

  Startled, Jessica scrambled back from the door just as it swung open. Her wide eyes landed on a male shaped figure standing in the doorway. He let out a condescending laugh at her surprised gasp and sauntered in the room, shutting the door behind him. The click of the lock from the outside told her they were not alone. Gripped with fear and confusion, she took a step back as the shadow took a threatening step forward.

  "I'm so glad you decided to cooperate with us." The chilling voice said. “Your boyfriend wouldn't be worth much to us dead and he’s really starting to push his luck."

  She took another tentative step back. This time he responded with three steps forward, closing the already short distance between them.

  "Who are you?" Jessica asked softly as she stepped back again, running into the wall behind her.

  She mentally chastised herself for getting cornered, although there was no getting away even if she hadn't. She knew damn well she was locked in with him. The room suddenly felt much smaller than she originally thought. The walls seemed to be closing in, suffocating her.