by M. V. Miles
Trent steadied me. “Wait here. I'll get you some water.” He hurried off into the crowd.
Unable to maintain my balance, I sat down again next to Kristin. I managed to pull her phone out of her pocket and called Stuart, the only number I could remember.
“Hello?” Mr. Van Buren answered.
“Uh…hi…is my dad there?” I wasn’t expecting Mr. Van Buren. My head really hurt.
“He’s here. Would you like to speak to him?”
“Is he in…?” I pushed Trent away from me. “I said back off. So back off!” I yelled. Still woozy, I stood and wandered away from Kristin and the safety of the couch.
Trent thrust another glass of red liquid into my hand. "Take it. You'll feel better."
“Is he in a good mood?” I asked Mr. Van Buren as Trent grabbed me around the waist. “Let me go!” I yelled at Trent and the phone at the same time. I held the glass high to keep from spilling it.
“Addison, calm down,” Trent said.
“No, can someone pick me up, I’m at--” Trent snatched the phone from my hand and clicked it off.
“No more phone. Drink,” he said.
I glared at him. “Fine, fine. Just leave me alone.” I drank whatever was in the glass. It definitely wasn’t water. Suddenly, I felt relaxed and light-headed.
“She said leave her alone,” a familiar voice said behind me.
Before I knew what was happening, I was pushed aside onto the couch. Trent swore and swung his fist at someone running toward me. A girl screamed. A table tipped over, and a lamp crashed to the floor. There was too much happening at the same time. I couldn’t figure out what was all the fighting was about, and I didn't care. I rested my head on Kristin's shoulder and closed my eyes. That drink had totally trashed me. Perhaps I should just go to sleep here. The fighting continued with shouts and someone threatening to call the cops. Then it was quiet.
"Addison," Jackson said.
I opened my eyes.
“There you are,” he said. I threw up.
An hour later, I was lying next to him on Carli’s bed watching cartoons. “What happened?”
“Don’t worry about it. Do you feel better?”
“Not really.” I muttered, as I leaned against him and passed out.
***
The next morning, sunlight poured through the window, reflecting a rosy glow. I was in Carli’s bubble gum pink bedroom, but I wasn't alone. Jackson lay between Carli and me. Both of them were still sound asleep. Slowly, I rose to my feet and wandered toward the bathroom. Every step made my head throb.
When I returned to the bedroom, Carli was draped over Jackson as if something happened during my absence that didn’t. I smiled. If she was so desperate, she could have him. Downstairs, I found Kristen zonked out on the couch. “Take me home,” I said, shaking her.
She sobered up quickly, and we drove home in silence. Our farewell was short, as we were both too exhausted to say much of anything. Inside, my own bed had never looked so welcoming.
Zach woke me a short time later to tell me I had a friend waiting to see me. He’d snuck him in to the sun room so Stuart wouldn’t know.
“Who is it?”
“I think it’s that guy you’ve been seeing.”
“Kevin.”
He nodded.
I dragged on a pair of sweats and pulled my hair back. When I opened the door, Kevin turned around. His face was swollen with bruises and abrasions, he had two black eyes, and he balanced his left arm like it was broken, but it wasn’t in a sling or anything. I reached out to touch him, but he backed away.
“I came to tell you to leave me the hell alone. Don’t ever call me or even speak to me again. Understand?”
Too stunned to speak, I nodded. Jackson. He had done this. Kevin jerked his chin in acknowledgment and stumbled out the back door without another word. I collapsed onto a couch, trying to calm my racing heart. I knew something bad would happen. It was only a matter of time. This was all my fault.
“I told you not hang out with him,” Zach said.
How dare Jackson interfere in my life! I stormed past Zach to the basement where Lexus was having a party with her friends. She wasn't pleased to see me. "What do you want, Addison?"
Glancing at her friends, who were all staring at me like I was an alien being, I said quietly, “I need to borrow your car.”
She shook her head. “Uh, no. Do you even have a license?”
"Look," I began, but she was already turning to go back to her party, so I grabbed her arm and pulled her out into the hall. When we were alone, I said, “Come on, I really need to talk to Jackson, and he’s at Carli’s.”
The anxiety in my voice must have caught her attention. She hesitated, then frowned. "No, I don't think so."
This girl was so dumb. I wanted to slap her, but I kept my composure. "It's an emergency."
“Really?" She chewed on her lip. "Okay, but what are you going to do for me?”
I thought about it for minute. “I won’t tell Stuart you were the one who scratched his car.”
Lexus stared at me. Then she handed over the keys. “You know, it wasn’t even my fault. That stupid pole was in the way.”
"Right." With no more time to listen to her excuses, I raced out to the garage where her car was parked. As soon as I was on the road, I drove around through the neighborhood, looping around the blocks, while I figured out what I needed to do. I couldn't afford to be rash, and I knew I had to make Jackson afraid of me. It was late in the afternoon when I finally pulled up in front of Carli’s house.
Jackson’s red BMW was still parked outside. I could only imagine what they were up to. Instead of knocking, I barged into her house where I found Carli sitting on a chair in her room. She wore nothing but a bra and panties.
“What are you doing here?” she said, as she snatched a blanket from the bed to cover herself. It seemed like a silly thing to do, since I'd seen her naked plenty of times when we were in Mexico.
“Don’t worry. I’m not staying.” The shower was running. When I entered the bathroom, I took a deep breath. Jackson's silhouette was framed against the steamed glass shower door. Here goes. I opened the door.
Jackson turned and stared as I stepped, fully clothed, into the spray of water. “Where did you go?”
But I didn't speak. Instead, I slid close to him and kissed him, grabbing his balls at the same time. My lips pressed against his ear. Jackson flinched but didn't move. “Why did you beat Kevin up?” I asked in a whispery voice. My fingers tightened around his balls. He jumped, but I didn't let go. I squeezed harder.
He squealed. “He’s a drug dealer. Addie, you need to stay away from him.”
“But it’s okay for me to hang out with Carli, who drugged me?” I twisted the jewels in my hand left, then right.
“Carli’s different.” His voice was choked, and his face paled.
“What, because she’s one of your whores? Or because she's female?”
“No, because I trust her. She won’t hurt you." He groaned in pain. "Now, will you please let go?"
“You can’t have me all the time, Jackson. We aren’t dating. Remember? I can and will see other people.” I released him.
He slipped to the floor, gasping.
“Put some ice on it!” I shouted as I grabbed a towel and breezed out of the room. Carli followed me, screaming obscenities all the way to the front door, but I ignored her. I had one more stop.
When I arrived at the Van Buren's mansion, the maid told me Mr. Van Buren was expecting me and escorted me to his home office. Mr. Van Buren wasn't in his office when I entered, so she requested I wait in a chair until he came back.
After she left, I walked over to his desk, which was covered with piles of papers. He was obviously working on a case. I flipped casually through the documents, wondering if there was something worth stealing, when I turned over a folder with my name on it. Had Mr. Van Buren been keeping a secret file on me?
At first, the documents s
eemed innocuous: emails from Dr. Johnson and even my old boss at the pizza place. I didn’t have time read them fully. The toilet flushed, and I quickly ruffled through the remaining pages. The last page made me pause. It had a list of account numbers with dollar amounts. Over a million dollars. All of the accounts in my name. Whoa. I was rich. Rich enough to get out of this mess--if I could get access to the money. But I needed leverage. I closed the folder. There was a bowl of brightly-colored paperclips on the desk, and next to the bowl, a green flash drive. I scooped up the flash drive and a matching green paperclip. The flash drive I tucked into my jeans pocket, but I palmed the clip. I was in my seat when Mr. Van Buren walked in.
“What are you doing?” He gave me suspicious glance and surveyed his desk.
Had I mixed up any of the papers? I needed to act quickly. Rising, I squared my shoulders and tried to appear indignant. “I know it’s customary for you to beat people up when you don’t get your way. But Kevin was my friend and a good one at that.” Tossing the green paper clip on the floor, I stomped on it before Mr. Van Buren could get a good look. A satisfying crunch followed.
He rushed toward me. “What the hell was that?”
“The green flash drive from your computer.” Within seconds, he had a firm grip on my wrist.
“There was some very important information on that drive, information I need.” Twisting my arm, Mr. Van Buren dragged toward the bathroom. "You're out of control."
"Ow! Let me go," I cried as I struggled to free myself.
I tried the knob, but it was locked. “Let me out.” I kicked the door but only managed to bruise my toes. The room felt claustrophobic, like a tiny cell, with a glaring overhead light, no windows, and pale gray walls. There was nowhere for me to go, so I crawled into the bathtub, pulled the shower curtain closed, and bawled. My cell phone was in the car, but who could I call? I had no one, no one who cared anyway. Maybe this wasn’t the smartest thing I’d ever done. How long would Mr. Van Buren keep me here? Someone opened the bathroom door.
“Addison?” Stuart said. I didn’t respond. Stuart touched the curtain but didn't pull it back. “Addison, show yourself.” I cringed against the wall.
When I didn’t move, he threw the curtain back and grabbed my arm, yanking me forward. His fingers dug into my skin like sharp claws. “You have embarrassed me for the last time!”
Tears streamed from my eyes. “What are you going to do to me?”
“You are going someplace where you won’t get into any trouble.” He pulled me into the other room where Jackson and his father waited.
“Where’s the drive, Addison?” Mr. Van Buren asked.
I reached in my pocket and tossed it at him. “I wouldn’t do that to you.”
“Well, it’s very obvious we have no idea what you’ll do," Stuart said. "So you're leaving. Going somewhere you can't cause more damage."
I blinked. “Where?”
“Spain,” Jackson said before his father could.
“Spain?” I glanced at Stuart. What was in Spain?
“You’ll be spending the summer studying Art and Music,” Jackson continued, but there was an uncertainty in his father’s eyes I didn’t understand. That didn’t sound bad at all. Maybe a vacation was just what I needed.
“Okay. I guess.” I wiped my eyes and straightened up. “But don’t I need a passport for that?”
“Already have one.” Jackson handed a blue booklet to my father.
“Then it’s settled.” Mr. Van Buren said, and my father led me out of the room.
A burly guard was waiting for us by the front door. "Mr. Van Buren said I should go with you in case you need help," he told Stuart.
The three of us drove straight home, the guard and I sitting in the back seat. I thought about opening a door and falling out onto the road, but Stuart had used the child safety locks. When we arrived at the house, Stuart locked me in the car with the guard. "Keep her here. I'll be right back."
A few minutes later, he returned. He turned the key in the ignition. “I can’t believe you’d behave like this after everything we’ve done for you.”
“The only thing you’ve done for me is get me into a situation I can’t get out of.”
“Shut up.” He peeled out of the driveway. Why did it feel like we were in a hurry?
“Where are we going?”
“The airport.”
I glanced at the guard, whose expression showed nothing. “I’m leaving tonight? But I haven’t packed or said goodbye to anyone.”
“You should have thought about that before you went bat shit crazy. I mean, what is wrong with you?” He continued to berate me until we arrived at the airport. The guard parked the car while Stuart and I went inside.
The next two hours were filled with waiting in line for tickets and waiting for our flight. When the speaker announced our plane was landing, a lady in a grey skirt and shirt walked up to us. “Mr. McDaniel, I presume?”
“Yes?”
“I’m Mrs. Stebbler. I’m here to assist with Addison’s transition.”
“Oh, I was going to go with her.”
She smiled. “That’s not necessary. Mr. Van Buren has taken care of everything.”
I glanced at Stuart, and he nodded. He turned to me. “I’ll see you when you get back."
“Yeah, okay.” I thought about giving him a hug goodbye but then decided against it. He strode off without once looking back. Mrs. Stebbler took my ticket, placed a firm hand on my shoulder, and led me into the terminal where a new life was waiting.
Epilogue
The sound of water stirred me from a deep sleep. When I opened my eyes, I was staring up at clear blue skies. Where was I?
I sat up, wincing in pain. My arms were sun burnt and my neck stiff. The sun was bright against the white sand. I was alone.
Someone had dressed me in a pair of khaki shorts and a bright green shirt with a strange black triangle on the upper left shoulder. After checking my pockets and finding them empty, I got up and decided to start walking. It wasn’t like staying where I was going to help me.
Nothing looked familiar. There were no people, animals, or even boats in the water. Maybe Stuart just made me think I was leaving on a plane….
But I remember fastening my seatbelt, but that was it. I glanced down at my shirt again and noticed Campamento de Trinidad. What kind of camp ditched you alone on a beach? I thought about taking the shirt off, but I didn’t want to expose anymore skin to the harsh sunshine. So I kept walking.
What is Campamento de Trinidad?
What happens in Spain?
Don't miss the exciting sequel Twisted Desire coming soon!!