“Now that we have the rules down, I’m going to untie you. No funny business.”
“I don’t feel too funny,” Jenna said. “I feel kind of sick.”
Lee began to unbuckle her belts. Jenna wiggled out of the sheet and stumbled out of the car. She was wearing her usual sleep attire—boxers and a T-shirt. She bent over at the waist and moaned, holding her tummy.
Lee ran around the car and up to Jenna. “Are you going to throw up?” Lee sounded genuinely concerned.
“I…think…so,” Jenna moaned.
Lee bent over, too, placing a gentle hand on Jenna’s back. Jenna quickly doubled up her fist and came up with a solid punch to Lee’s solar plexus that sent her sprawling in the dirt.
“Oomph!” Lee gasped.
Jenna turned and ran. She didn’t care that she was barefoot. The rocks under her feet felt good. As long as she could feel the sharp rocks biting into her soles she knew that she was on her way to freedom.
She felt her knees lock and she fell down. Lee had tackled her! She rolled over, kicking, screaming, biting, and clawing for all she was worth. She fought like a cat who was being forced into a tub full of water.
But in the end, Lee was bigger and much, much stronger. Lee straddled Jenna and held her arms down with her knees. Jenna stopped struggling. She knew she was beaten. For the moment. She needed to conserve her energy. Bide her time.
“That was uncalled for,” Lee gasped between wheezes.
“Oh, really? You kidnap me in the middle of the night and giving you a good smack is uncalled for? You have a lot of nerve. Now, get off me before I pee my pants.”
Lee stared at her for a long moment. Jenna met her gaze, willing herself not to blink.
“You’re so beautiful,” Lee said.
Jenna resisted the urge to spit in her face. Lee climbed off and extended a hand to help her up. Jenna ignored her outstretched hand and clambered to her feet on her own.
“After you, M’lady,” Lee said, bowing and waving her arm toward the cabin.
Jenna stepped up on the front deck, saying, “Tell me there’s indoor plumbing.”
Lee ran around Jenna and opened the door for her. “There sure is. The bathroom is down the hallway,” Lee said pointing. “I even bought you a toothbrush and that fruity soap you like so much.”
Jenna scowled at her and tramped down the hall and into the bathroom. She slammed the door shut behind her—which wasn’t easy because the bathroom was so small she had to move over before she could even shut it.
At least it had a shower. The toilet bowl had rust stains and the porcelain sink was chipped. Lee really must have done some cleaning because there were no mouse turds or spider webs lurking about. Jenna peed for a long time. On the counter were a brand-new toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss as well as a bar of Neutrogena face soap. Lee had thought of everything. It occurred to her that a lot of premeditation went into this bizarre turn of events. Who in their right mind kidnaps their ex-girlfriend? Of course, that would mean Lee was in her right mind and obviously she wasn’t. She was Crazy with a capital C.
Jenna took her time washing her face. She shook out the hand towel to make sure there were no spiders and patted her face dry. She looked in the mirror at her reflection. Her eyes were puffy from crying. She was pale and drawn. God, she looked as rough as homemade soap.
She decided to brush her teeth. It wouldn’t make her look better, but it might make her feel halfway human again. While brushing, Jenna climbed up on the toilet seat and peeked out the tiny window. All she could see were pine trees, pine trees, and, you guessed it— more pine trees. Lee was right, escaping would be difficult. The dirt road they’d traveled had so many twists and turns, Jenna didn’t even know which direction was which anymore.
Jenna and Lee couldn’t be more different. Lee thought this whole scenario was straight out of a romance novel. Jenna thought it was straight out of a psycho-thriller book.
There was a knock on the door. Jenna was so startled she almost fell off the toilet.
“How’s it going in there?” Lee’s voice asked from the other side of the door.
“Just dandy,” Jenna said. She turned on the faucet and let the rusty water run until it turned clear. She rinsed out her mouth.
“I’m making breakfast. Scrambled eggs. I bet you’re hungry. Come to the kitchen when you’re done.”
Jenna briefly considered going on a hunger strike, but her stomach overruled that idea. Besides, she knew that it could take weeks, maybe months, before she could persuade Lee to let go of this insane fantasy of hers.
Jenna opened the bathroom door. The aroma of bacon assaulted her nose. Her mouth watered and her stomach growled again. Being kidnapped was hungry work.
“Traitor,” she mumbled to her tummy. She walked into the kitchen just as the toast popped up in the toaster.
“I bought blackberry jam. Your favorite,” Lee said.
“I stopped eating it after you left.”
Lee looked disappointed.
Jenna sat down at the table. “Lee? You do know this is crazy, right?”
Lee stopped buttering the toast. “A little bit. But you forced me to do it because of Home Depot woman. Otherwise, we could have started up again after I’d sufficiently prostrated myself. How many pieces of toast do you want?”
“Two, please. We’re past that. After how you made me feel when you disappeared, I can’t go back to loving you. I’m too hurt. I couldn’t do it even if Brooklyn weren’t in my life now,” Jenna said.
“We’ll see,” Lee said, setting their plates down on the table.
Despite being pissed, Jenna ate quickly.
“See, I knew you’d be hungry.”
“I want a shower and then a nap. Can I do that?” Jenna shoved her plate away.
“Yes, you can basically do whatever you want with the exception of leaving.”
“Yeah, I got that part. Loud and clear.”
***
“Well, she was no help,” Brooklyn said. “And I did my best tough butch girl imitation, too. That woman doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone but herself.”
“Margot has always been a first class bitch,” Taylor said. They were sitting in her Land Rover with the air conditioner running in front of Margot’s condo.
“Let’s go through the facts. Jenna did not leave of her own accord. Lee has gone missing. Jenna did have a packed bag. If Lee planned on doing her in she wouldn’t pack a bag…” Dale said.
Brooklyn stopped her. “Lee’s not that crazy is she? She wouldn’t murder her?”
“Nah, she just hates to lose. She’s an egomaniac when it comes to her power of persuasion with women,” Taylor said. “The Italian probably dumped her and now Jenna won’t take her back. It’s gotta be tough for her.”
“Yeah, but who snatches their ex-girlfriend in the middle of the night and carts her off? It’s so fantastical that I have a hard time wrapping my head around it. What if Jenna did run off with Lee and she doesn’t have the courage to tell me it’s over, face-to-face?” Brooklyn said, slamming her head back into the headrest.
“It’s not like that, believe me,” Dale said.
“Jenna is head over heels for you,” Taylor reassured.
“Nothing Lee is going to do will change that,” Dale said.
Brooklyn stared out the car window. “What do we do now?”
“Now, you need to take a few days off from work,” Taylor said.
“I already took the rest of the week off so I could spend time with Jenna,” Brooklyn said morosely.
“Okay, we’ve got that covered,” Taylor said. She put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot.
“Where are we going?” Brooklyn asked hopefully.
“Allman’s. We’ll get something to eat while we brainstorm. All we have to do is figure out where Lee took Jenna. Then we go and get her and have Lee arrested,” Taylor said.
“Easy peasy,” Dale said.
***
> Jenna woke up from her nap to discover she was not alone. Lee was sleeping next to her on the double bed. She studied Lee’s face. She was still deeply tanned from the Italian sun. How many times in six years had she gazed upon Lee’s face? Here was the woman whom Jenna thought she’d be spending the rest of her life with. Now almost a year had passed; Jenna had a new love and, hopefully, a brighter future. That is, if she could find a way out of this mess.
Would Brooklyn walk away thinking that she’d run off with Lee and she would lose her one chance for happiness? Brooklyn was so even-tempered and yet passionate. She couldn’t imagine having a whopping fight with her like she and Lee used to have. Realizing this, Jenna wondered if her relationship with Lee had been as wonderful as her wounded heart had once believed? She eased off the bed and out of the room.
Grabbing a bottle of Fiji water from the well-stocked fridge, Jenna walked out onto the deck. Lee had set up two lawn chairs. Jenna sat down and looked out at the woods. Lee was correct in saying there was only one way out and that was with Lee or…with the car. She took a drink of water and walked over to inspect the car. She pulled on the door handle. It opened.
Not only that, but the keys were in the ignition. Jenna couldn’t believe her good luck! She quickly sat behind the wheel, quietly closed the door, and turned the key in the ignition.
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
Still nothing.
There was a loud rap on the windshield. Jenna jumped.
It was Lee. She was bent over, hand on her knees, and grinning at her through the window. Lee opened the driver’s door and said, “Come out.”
Jenna got out. She handed Lee the keys, saying, “Battery’s dead.”
“Nope. Just disconnected. I also pulled and hid the distributor cap. You’re not going anywhere,” Lee said.
Lee lifted a bottle of water to her lips and guzzled half of it before sitting down. She patted the other lawn chair. “C’mon on up here and have a seat, Jenna. Let’s talk.”
Jenna reluctantly sat down. “What can we possibly have to talk about?”
“Us. I want to talk about us,” Lee said. She guzzled the rest of her water and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“See, that’s the problem. There is no us.” Jenna stared hard at Lee. “And there won’t ever be. Lee, what part of ‘we’re finished’ do you not understand? Kidnapping me isn’t going to change that. I’ll bring you up on kidnapping charges. You’re going to jail.”
“You won’t prosecute me. Besides, you’d have to prove that you didn’t come up here willingly. The police will view this as a domestic affair and suggest counseling.”
“And you’re basing this on?”
“I watch a lot of Judge Judy. And Judge Judy would never believe you.”
Jenna thought Lee had a point. She could imagine, once she escaped, telling the local sheriff that she’d been dragged to a cabin in the woods by being tied up in a bed sheet and belts. He’d scratch his big belly, tell her to go back to the city and settle her woman troubles on her own time.
“No one would believe you,” Lee said.
“I know,” Jenna said, feeling deflated.
“Let’s talk about it. I want to figure out how we went wrong,” Lee said.
“We didn’t go wrong. You ran off with another woman. Don’t you remember telling me that you never promised me forever? I didn’t want to hate you. You made me.” Jenna burst into tears.
Lee leaned over and touched her arm.
Jenna snatched her arm away. “Don’t ever touch me.”
“I’ll get us some more water,” Lee said. “We’re probably both dehydrated. That can make a person’s thoughts all wonky.”
“I’m not wonky,” Jenna called after her. “I’m a victim of a deranged ex-girlfriend.”
Not even a full minute passed before Lee returned with two bottles of water and a bottle of aspirin. She handed the water and two aspirin to Jenna.
Jenna looked down at the aspirin, puzzled.
“You’re going to have a headache soon like you always did when we had our discussions. I always thought it funny that you never called them arguments or fights. They were ‘discussions.’”
Jenna scowled at her but swallowed the aspirin. She did feel a slight throbbing behind her temples. She wanted to scream at Lee. Tell her about the heartache, the lonely nights without the comfort of their friends, and her complete loss of faith in love. Lee had turned her into a dating counselor who didn’t believe in the possibility of love.
Thinking of her friends, it occurred to Jenna that Dale and Taylor would know for certain something was hinky. She knew Taylor would revel in this adventure and she’d spur the rest on. “My friends will come looking for me,” Jenna said.
“They won’t ever find this place.”
“Margot will cave in and tell them.”
“She might if she knew where I was but she doesn’t because I never told her,” Lee said with a smug look on her face.
“Speaking of which, if you love me so much why are you sleeping with Margot?” Jenna asked. She turned away and studied the pine trees. It still stung thinking of Lee taking up with Margot as soon as she got back.
Lee waved the question away. “That was a one time thing. You could call it a courtesy fuck. We were fuck buddies back in the day.”
“When?”
“Before us,” Lee amended.
“Speaking of which, I always wanted to ask you, did you sleep around on me?” There was a noise behind them like something hitting the ground. Jenna scanned between the trees that encircled the cabin. Were the wild animals already here and surrounding the cabin?
“Pine cone,” Lee said. “And to answer your question, no, I never slept around on you.”
Another pine cone dropped. Jenna didn’t look in the direction of that one. “Then how’d you find the Italian woman?”
Lee looked away this time. “I didn’t sleep with Brunila until after I’d left you.”
“Oh gee, that’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“No, not exactly, but I wanted you to know I didn’t plan it. She was so exotic and interested in me. It went to my head.”
“You’re still not telling me how you met her.” Jenna glared at her.
“At an Italian restaurant. She had come over to help her uncle out at his restaurant. She wanted to see America. I’d go in for a late lunch and we’d talk. One thing led to another.”
“Let me get this straight: While I was out busting my butt trying to sell houses so we wouldn’t starve, you were off eating spaghetti and hooking up with girls.”
“Just one girl. Look, it’s not like that.”
“You should’ve been looking for a job.”
“You knew as well as I did that the economy had gone south. The gallery had to let me go—they didn’t need a lowly framer anymore. Even you weren’t doing well. Not like before.”
“Yeah, and that money was getting eaten up with your help.”
“It’s not like I didn’t try,” Lee said.
Jenna got up. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. It makes me too angry.” She went inside, letting the screen door slam shut behind her.
***
Brooklyn stared out over the green pasture as they drank beer on Dale and Taylor’s porch. Taylor nursed her usual Dr. Pepper. It was early evening and the time for iced tea was over. They had spent the day going around town, searching, talking to everyone that knew Jenna or knew Lee. They had come up with zero clues.
“You know they say that the longer a person is missing the harder it is to find them,” Brooklyn said.
Dale soothed, “We’re going to find her.” Her tone turned to anger, “And then we’re going to surgically remove Lee’s vagina, then no one will want to fuck her much less live with the selfish bitch.”
Taylor laughed. “I love it when you get angry. Unless it’s me you’re mad at.”
“There has got to be someth
ing else we can do,” Brooklyn said.
“Jenna’s around here somewhere. We know that neither one of them used a credit card. There’s no record of a plane ticket purchase and Lee couldn’t cross the border with Jenna all trussed up. Too risky,” Taylor said.
“How do you know about credit cards?” Brooklyn asked.
Taylor shrugged. “I have a friend.”
“Exactly how many friends do you have?” Brooklyn asked.
“I could tell you that, but then I’d have to…” Taylor let the rest of the sentence go unfinished. “So, that means cash only. Lee was never one for having a lot of cash, which leads me to believe that they can’t be far,” Taylor said.
Brooklyn took a long pull on her beer. “You know what I don’t understand is why she did it.”
“Aside from the fact that women are overemotional, hate failure, yet expect it, long for a happily ever after, yet seldom achieve it, and sometimes are downright nuts,” Dale said.
“Does anyone want another beer?” Taylor asked.
“Sure,” Brooklyn said.
Taylor took the empties and disappeared into the house. Brooklyn and Dale rocked in silence. “I always find sitting in these chairs rather therapeutic,” Dale said.
“I wish I could feel the same way. Dale, can I ask you a really important question and you have to promise me that you’ll give me the unadulterated truth?”
“Yes, I will as long as it doesn’t have to do with having a fat butt.”
Brooklyn smiled. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Okay then, shoot.”
“Do you really feel in your heart of hearts that Jenna didn’t just run off because she couldn’t handle breaking up with me?”
“Jenna might be wound a little tight sometimes and behave kind of oddly, but she is definitely not capable of doing this. If she did lack the courage to tell you that it was over, she’d have me do it. And I can tell you one thing for certain— she would never take Lee back.”
Taylor returned with the beers. “I brought you a fresh one, too” she said to Dale.
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