by Traci Sek
Lunchtime comes, and as usual, I grab a slice of pizza, and Gia grabs a salad. I can't shake the look I saw from Jeremy earlier.
"So, what do you think is wrong with him?" Gia asks. I had told her about his weird look but decided not to tell Spencer for apparent reasons.
"I don't know; he’s been avoiding me and acting strange lately."
"Maybe you should catch him off guard and confront him alone so he can't run away from you."
"That would be a good idea, I guess..." I look around the medium-sized cafeteria. My eyes finally land on Jeremy, who’s just getting ready to leave.
"There he is. I'll be right back. If Spencer comes, just tell him I went to the bathroom."
Gia gives me a surprised look. I quickly get up before she can protest and take off towards the door. I follow him down an empty hallway before he finally stops at a locker and starts to spin his lock’s combination code. I am confident, yet I slowly approach him.
"Why are you avoiding me?" I ask bluntly.
He turns and looks at me; surprise crosses his face, which is quickly replaced with anger.
"Maybe you should ask your boyfriend," he says through gritted teeth.
I furrow my eyebrows.
"What are you talking about, Jeremy? He hasn't been anywhere near you," I say defensively.
He scoffs. "That's what you think. He threatened to kill me the other day if I told you what I caught him doing."
My heart picks up a few beats. What the hell is he saying?
"And what did you catch him doing?" I ask sarcastically. Everything he says seems surreal to me.
He slams his locker, making me jump. "He was making out with Rose behind the school."
My eyes grow wide. "You're lying!" I growl through gritted teeth.
A smirk grows on his face. "Don't believe me, I knew you wouldn't, but I can show you the proof."
"Oh yeah? Then where is this proof?" I ask with crossed arms.
"Text Spencer and ask him where he is right now." He looks at his watch then back at me.
"Every day at this time, he goes behind the school and has a make-out session with her."
Rose is the captain of the cheerleading squad. She’s gorgeous, to say the least with long brown hair and perfect curves that make anything she wears look good.
"I don't believe you! Spencer wouldn't do that to me." I grab my phone and text him.
Where are you?
A couple of minutes pass and no response from Spencer. An overwhelming pain starts to form in the pit of my stomach. This can't be true. Gia would know, and she would tell me. No, I refuse to believe Jeremy! I internally scream.
"What no response?" he asks me with a smirk. I look at him, trying to hold back tears. He grabs my arm roughly and pulls me down the hallway towards the back entrance of the school.
"Let go of me, you idiot!" I yell, but he doesn't listen. We burst through the double doors that lead to the soccer field. The cold air slaps me in the face and makes me shiver. We keep walking towards a set of bleachers, and suddenly Jeremy stops, causing me to crash into his back.
He releases my arm forcefully and points over in the corner to the back of the bleachers. I follow his finger to find a girl sitting on a guy's lap, and she’s holding his head. Their eyes are closed as she lustfully sticks her tongue down his throat. My eyes grow wide as I recognize Spencer and Rose. I gasp and grab my stomach— I’m going to be sick. Tears immediately fall down my face, and all I can do is turn around and run.
Freezing cold
Spencer
"Spencer! Spencer!" I open my eyes slowly, trying to focus. God, my head hurt. Gia’s shaking me forcefully as my blurry eyes try hard to focus on her face.
"Oh, thank God," she cries.
"What happened?" My body’s numb, and I feel incredibly dizzy. I grab my head as it starts to pound.
"I don't know, but everything is a mess!" Gia says.
I slowly get to my feet but start to fall again. I have no feeling in my legs, and a sudden wave of nausea hits me, and I fall back down to the ground and vomit. Gia grabs me by the waist and helps me get up and walk inside.
"We need to get you to the nurse's office immediately! Look at you; you are practically turning blue!"
I look down at my hands, which are blue at the fingertips and numb. I try to move them to no avail. Another wave of nausea hits, and I’m vomiting all over the school hallway before I know it.
“Help! I need a nurse!” Gia’s voice is distant as my stomach heaves. My vision comes and goes, and it’s hard to breathe. My body starts to shake uncontrollably as if all the blood has drained from my body. Something heavy falls on me, but I can’t turn my neck to see what it is. I hear Gia’s voice, she seems to be talking to someone, but it sounds like she’s in a tunnel.
"What happened? Call an ambulance!" A lady I don’t recognize stands over me.
"I found him lying outside in the snow behind the bleachers," Gia says out of breath.
"It's going to be ok, Spencer," Gia says softly. I close my eyes, unable to comprehend what is going on.
I wake back up and suddenly feel the need to throw up again. Two men surround me, flashing a light in my eyes. I’m not on the floor anymore, but on a comfortable white bed, that seemed to be moving? I’m so confused.
“Where am I? What’s going on?”
“You are in an ambulance, son. We are taking you to the hospital to get checked out. My head throbs in my temples as I groan out loud. I reach for my head and realize a tube hangs from my arm. My eyes follow the long clear tube to a hook as it swings back and forth.
“Can you tell me your name?” the burly man to my right asks.
“Spencer. What’s that in my arm?”
He jots something down on a clipboard before answering. “That’s an IV we administered to you. You had vomited quite a lot, and we didn't want you to get dehydrated before we got you to the hospital.”
Once we arrive at the hospital, everything seems to happen so fast. Doctors and nurses get a debriefing from the paramedics before pushing me into a room where they transfer me onto a regular hospital bed. They take my temperature and vital signs and ask me more questions then I can handle. Relief washes over me when I see my parents rush in and hug me. But it's short-lived as two police officers enter my room.
"Sorry to interrupt the moment, but I’m officer Grote, and this is my partner officer Delane. We just need to ask a few questions about the incident at school.”
“Of course,” my father speaks for me. “He will answer everything you need to know.” Both officers nod in unison. “Please tell us everything you remember," Officer Delane starts.
I start racking my brain.
"I don't remember much. I think I got this text message from an unknown number saying meet me under the bleachers with Xs and Os... I thought it was from my girlfriend and she was trying to surprise me or something. I remember going outside at lunchtime, but I didn't see anyone at first. Then someone came up from behind me and put something over my mouth, and that's the last thing I remember."
"It sounds like someone drugged you. Do you have any enemies at the school?"
I shake my head. "No, I am pretty popular."
"The girl that found you, Gia, says she found you laying on the ground in the snow by a set of bleachers. She told us that the only reason she knew you were there was that your girlfriend passed her in the hallway in tears, saying she saw you making out under the bleachers with a girl named Rose? Do you know this girl named Rose?”
My heart sinks. "Yes, Rose is the cheerleading squad’s head, but I wasn’t making out with her. None of this makes any sense!" My head starts to throb more, knowing that Jessa was out there thinking I was cheating on her. I needed to talk to her ASAP.
"Where is Jessa? Where’s my phone? I need to talk to her and explain this was all a mistake and a setup!”
“Calm down, Spencer.” My mom rushes to my side as the machine beeps uncontrollably.
> “Unfortunately, we cannot find her at this time nor your cell phone.”
“What do you mean you can’t find her? Isn’t she at school?” This information does nothing for the monitor sitting next to me.
“We had your principal look for her, but she wasn’t there; it seems two students checked themselves out simultaneously within five minutes from each other. We have a patrol car looking for both of them.
“Who were the two students?” I ask with trepidation.
“Well, your girlfriend Jessa and—” Officer Grote looks down at his paper before looking back up to me. “A boy named Jeremy.”
All the blood drains from my face, and I go limp falling back in my bed. Fucking Jeremy. Was it him that drugged me so he could go after Jessa? He’s been lurking at every corner, but I never brought it up to Jessa. I didn’t want her to freak out. That’s why I stayed so close to her every second I could.
“Do you know this, Jeremy, kid?”
“I do. He’s been following Jessa for a while. She kept saying they were friends, but I had this bad feeling about him. He was an exchange student who shows up out of nowhere, and since day one has had this obsession with her.”
Officer Grote writes the new information down on his small notepad.
“Alright, thank you, son. We will be in touch as soon as we track them down. Here’s my card please call me if you hear anything from her.” My dad grabs the card and places it in his pocket.
“Thank you, officer.”
They walk out of the room, leaving it eerily silent.
“When can I get out of here?” I ask through gritted teeth.
“Spencer, you need to relax, you just got here. Let them monitor you for at least twenty-four hours.”
“I don’t have twenty-four hours!” I yell, making my mom jump. I suddenly feel my strength coming back. How can I protect her if I’m stuck in here?
“Son, you let the police take care of it. I know you love Jessa, and you guys have been through a lot, but that doesn't mean you get to sacrifice your health. She wouldn’t want you to.
My dad’s right, but I still can’t help the worry coursing through my veins. Please, Jessa, be okay.
***
Jessa
I run as fast as I can, not daring to look back. After bumping into Gia, I did all I could to keep the panic attack at bay. How could Spencer do this to me? Why would he do this? Was I not good enough for him? All these questions run through my mind. My eyes are swollen and hazy from crying as I run through the double doors and down the street toward my house. I don't care if I get in trouble. I also don't care if I freeze to death. I feel as if my life is over. When would it end for me? When would I be happy? My running slows down to a quick pace as my lungs start to burn from the cold outside.
I have a flashback of the first night at the dance where Spencer gave me his jacket. It makes me cry even more, and I grab my arms and rub them vigorously. I hear a car slowly pull up next to me, making me stop in my tracks. The tinted windows roll down to reveal Jeremy in the driver seat.
"Get in; it’s freezing."
"No. I hate you!" I keep walking. This was all his fault.
"Why do you hate me? I didn't do anything to you. It's cold. Get in the car, please."
I stop and stare at him, contemplating and against my better judgment, I grab for the door and get in. He quickly rolls up the window and drives off.
"You don't even know the way to my house," I quietly say.
"We aren't going to your house," Jeremy says.
"What? Why? Take me home, or I'll jump out of this car." He laughs.
"The cops are looking for you. Didn't you hear?" he says.
"No. Why would they be looking for me?" I ask.
"Some kid was found passed out under the bleachers. They suspect he was drugged. You are the only one who disappeared without notice. They think you did it."
I gasp. "What? But I didn't... and what about you?"
"I faked an illness and called my parents. They sent my grandma over to check me out. She doesn't care what I do." Jeremy shrugs.
"This doesn't make any sense. How did you know where I was? Who was the boy?"
I watch Jeremy grip the steering wheel a few times and accelerate on the gas pedal. It makes me edgy and uncomfortable. Something isn't adding up.
"I don't know who the boy is. Didn't catch his name."
"Oh, so where are we going? You should take me back so I can tell them what happened. I don't want to be accused of hurting anyone. I'm going to text Gia let her know where I am..."
Jeremy snatches the phone out of my hand.
"No," he yells so loud it makes me jump and causes my blood to freeze.
"What do you mean, no? Give me back my phone, you psycho!"
"What did you just call me?" Jeremy asks with malice.
My heart thuds in my chest.
"Jeremy I—"
"Nobody calls me Psycho! Understood?" he booms, and reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small cloth. Jeremy looks at me before pressing it to my face. I struggle to remove his hand as the car veers all over the road. His grip is like a vice — he’s too strong, and before I know it, I see black.
Kidnapped
Spencer
"What is taking them so long?!" I ask for the millionth time running a hand through my already messed up hair. I had finally thawed out as much as my body would allow, and I continue to pace up and down the ever-so-small hospital room against my parent’s wishes. They determined I had a mild case of hypothermia, and then they did a drug test on me which came back within a matter of minutes. I indeed had been drugged.
"It's been hours! Where could she be?" I groan.
"Son, the police are doing all they can to find Jessa, you need to rest and relax."
"I can't relax! I need information." I yell.
I hadn't heard a word and wanted to know where she was.
"You can't help anyone if you don't heal, baby," my mother coos for the second time. I stop pacing and glance between my mother to my father. I’m exhausted, and my body is quickly giving up. I sigh and sit down on my bed. They had since taken out my IV and said they would release me by tonight with specific instructions. I can’t wait.
***
Jessa
I open my burning eyes slowly, only to be met with darkness. My head is pounding uncontrollably, but when I reach up to rub my temples, I realize I can't. My hands are stuck. My heartbeat accelerates to an unhealthy rhythm as I start to panic. Why can't I see anything? Am I blind? Where am I? A million questions are running rampant through my mind.
I quickly tell myself to calm down and that this is all a dream— just a nightmare. I strain my ears to listen for even just the slightest sound to help me figure out where I am, and much to my delight, I hear a noise. A rattling of keys? Chains? What is that odd sound?
Footsteps soon follow—fast pace footsteps. I start to panic once again. The footsteps grow closer, and I think they are directly in front of me, but I have no idea if I’m correct or not without my ability to see. Suddenly something is ripped off of my eyes, and light blinds me momentarily. I blink furiously, and my eyes adjust to the light and the face in front of me. Jeremy. My memories come flooding back full force.
"Wh- Where am I?" I stutter not knowing what to do or what to ask first. He smiles at me almost lovingly.
"We are at my parent’s cabin. Doesn't it look amazing?"
I slowly look around, taking in my surroundings. Indeed it is an exquisite cabin with shiny hardwood floors. A comfortable-looking leather couch is placed in front of a massive lit fireplace. I notice that the windows are covered with something black and that my hands are tied behind my back. I’m sitting on a small wooden chair against a cold wall, and my body aches and my head still throbs.
"Why am I tied up? Why did you bring me here? Did you kidnap me?" All these questions are now spilling out of my mouth like rushing water. I watch as his face contorts into anger as he tears his
gaze away from the ever-blazing fireplace.
"What? Don't you like my cabin? Is it not good enough for you?"
"I didn't say that, but you have me tied to a wooden chair..."
"Well, what else could I do? I panicked." He gets down on one knee and looks directly in my eyes. "Am I hurting you?" The way he asks sends shivers down my spine. Should I tell him the truth?
"A little," I respond ever so quietly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, baby. I promise I will make it up to you. But first, you must promise not to run away."
"Baby?" I say with shock and disgust evident in my voice. He frowns again.
"Oh, Jessa, you are so blind!" He gets back up, grabbing at his hair, making me wince.
"It's that stupid asshole Spencer." My heart starts pumping frivolously again. I try to stay calm and not cry.
"What about him?" I ask him.
"He has this hold over you. Why can't you see past that lie? He is no good for you!"
"What do you have against Spencer? He did nothing to you!"
"Oh, he did, him and his whore of a mother!"
I’m beyond confused. What the hell is he talking about? Shame creeps through me when I realize I still don't know much about Spencer's family.
"Don't play dumb," he screams, making me flinch.
"Jeremy, I'll be honest with you. I don't know much about Spencer's family. We have been so focused on my family that he never really talked much about his family. So forgive me for not understanding what in the world you are talking about!"
He turns to me with raging eyes and stomps back over, grabbing both of my arms.
"Spencer’s father left my mom after having me to be with THAT WHORE!"
My eyes nearly pop out of my head in horror as the realization hits me. They are brothers...
Revelations
Jessa
"B...brothers?!" I can't believe my ears. Is this really happening? Why to me? What did I ever do wrong?