I grab my laptop and flip it open.
“What?” Hunter asks from beside me.
“Eliza has one of my phones. I should be able to pinpoint her location with ‘find my phone’.” I log in to my account as fast as I can and start the search. Ten seconds later a little red pin shows up on the map. Relief washes over me. I know where she is.
“Shit I know where he took her,” Hunter tells me when he sees the map. “It's an old trailer Colt’s uncle used to live in. It’s out in the middle of nowhere. We used to go there as kids, but I haven’t been there in years. I didn’t think that place still exists.”
Ten seconds later we are out the door.
20
Eliza
I wake up with a stiff neck and headache out of hell. I'm still tied to a chair in Colt’s trailer, somewhere away from civilization. The sun is rising, letting only a little light into the dusty old trailer. I almost don’t see Colt sitting in the corner, he is sitting so still he looks like a statue. He is looking out the window which only allows me to see his profile, but I think he is still somewhat out of it. I move my arm and twist my wrist trying again to free myself. The rope still doesn't give way. Colt must have heard me because he turns to face me. He looks calmer now, less distraught, but his eyes are still cold and detached. There is no reasoning with him. I need to get away.
He gets up and walks over to me. My heart races inside of my chest. I don’t notice the bottle of water he is holding onto until he is right in front of me. He unscrews the cap and holds the bottle to my lips. I didn’t even realize how thirsty I was until the water wets my dry throat. I drink greedily and Colt lets me until about half the bottle is empty.
For a moment he just stands awkwardly, staring at me as if he is trying to assess me. When I can’t take his eyes on me any longer, I do the only thing I can think of. I take a deep breath and announce with a shaky voice, “I need to pee.”
He doesn’t answer, doesn’t move. Just keeps staring at me for a few minutes. I think he’s not going to let me go use the bathroom at all, but then he starts to untie me. It takes him a while but he finally gets the rope undone. Even though I’m untied now I still don’t move. I wait for his direction to get up. He never says anything but he points at a door at the end of the hall and I slowly get up and walk to it.
When I’m in the bathroom I lock the door behind me quietly. I scan the tiny bathroom and I’m relieved when I see a small window. I have never been so glad about my slender frame before. I can fit through that window. I wonder if he realizes that. Maybe he is just toying with me, anticipating I would try to leave. I know he could be waiting outside for me but I have to take this chance regardless. I turn on the water and let it run while opening the window as quietly as I can. Of course, it squeaks with every inch I nudge it open. Once I got it open far enough for me to fit through I use the bathtub as a stepping stool and climb out.
The second my feet hit the ground I am running. I don’t know which way I am going or if he is following me, but I don’t care in this moment. All I know is that it is early in the morning and I have at least fourteen hours of daylight to find help. I run away from the trailer as fast as I can without looking back. My heart is racing and my breathing becomes shallow as I am flying past trees. After a few minutes the initial boost of adrenaline dissipates and my muscles start to ache all over. I slow down just a little and start looking behind me sporadically. When I don’t see anybody following me I stop to take a breather. I lean against a tree and try to come up with a plan. I’ve got nothing. I try to think about a useful movie I watched where people run away into the woods. I still come up with nothing. I look around me trying to orient myself but everything looks the same in all directions.
Then it comes to me, in movies they always climb a tree so they can see where they are going. I look up at the tree I'm standing closest to. As good as any I guess. I grab the lowest limb and pull my body up. I keep going until I’m a good distance off the ground. I still can only see trees around me so I decide to go up further. The next branch I try to grab is not as strong as I thought, and breaks under my grasp. I lose my footing and start to fall back. I frantically try to grab onto something. At the last second my hand grabs hold of a sturdy branch and I stop myself from falling.
I’m now hugging the tree like a monkey, both arms and both legs wrapped around the trunk. I am too scared to move a muscle so I just stay there for a while. That's when I hear a voice in the distance. At first, I can’t make out who it is, but when the voice came closer I know its Colt.
“Come out, Eliza! Don’t be stupid. There is nothing out here for miles.” He is taunting me.
Just when I thought I couldn’t get any more scared than I already am, Colt comes into view. He is coming towards me, holding a shotgun in front of him. He is looking around him but not up. If he sees me up here he can shoot me out of the tree like a bird. My hands are cold and sweaty and my whole body is shaking. I need to stay calm I tell myself. I need to be quiet and calm, just until he passes me and then I can run back to the trailer. I can get to his car or my phone. I can call for help. I hug the tree as close I can, making myself small. For all the times I have wished that I could be invisible, I have never wished for it so intensely as I do right now. He is right beneath my tree now and hasn’t noticed me yet. He keeps walking, further away from me this time. Every step he takes I can breathe an ounce easier.
Suddenly there are rustling sounds coming from the right and I see some movement behind a tree. I hear the gun going off before I realized that it was a deer. He doesn’t hit the animal and the deer runs off, away from us. I think my heart stopped for about five seconds before picking up its current high-speed rhythm.
Colt lets out some curse words before he finally walks away from me.
I almost can’t see him anymore when I hear a voice again. I try to understand what Colt is saying when I realize it’s not Colt’s voice I’m hearing. It’s Jaxon calling my name from the opposite direction. Colt turns around and sprints back to where he came from. The same direction Jaxon's voice is coming from.
No, no, no! Not him, he can’t kill him. As soon as Colt passes my tree I start moving down the trunk. The fear that was crippling me a minute ago is obsolete now. My steps are no longer unsteady and my grip is no longer weak. I have never been so sure about anything. With resolute moves I climb down until I reach the ground and start following Colt.
It is not long until I can hear voices. They’re arguing.
“Everything was great until you screwed it up and it’s her fault. She messes with your head Jax,” Colt yells.
It’s Hunter’s voice who I recognize next.
“You aren’t thinking straight. It’s the drugs messing with your head, Colt. Do you even know what you did? What you are doing right now? Come on Colt this isn’t you!”
“Where is she?” Jaxon says slowly and with a dark tone that makes me shiver.
I hide behind a tree so I can see them but they can’t see me. I need to wait for the right moment. When I catch sight of Jaxon I’m reminded of the time I saw him fight at the Bunker. His eyes are dark and angry. His whole body is tense and his hands are curled into tight fists. He looks like a tiger ready to pounce.
“Give me the club and I’ll tell you where she is,” Colt replies.
Jaxon pulls out a piece of paper. “Here is the deed. It’s already yours. Tell me where she is.”
Colt nervously moves around from side to side while pointing the gun somewhere in the space between the ground and Jaxon.
“Where is she?” Jaxon repeats, this time louder and even more hostile than before.
When Colt still doesn’t answer Jaxon charges in his direction. That’s when Colt pulls up the double barrel shotgun and points it to where Jaxon is standing.
Time slows down. I can hear my own heart beating, blood pumping through my body at lightning speed, carrying oxygen to every fiber of my being. I feel the air moving around me. Leaves and stick
s giving away under my feet as I run toward Colt. I can see his finger on the trigger starting to pull back.
“No!” I bellow as loud as I can, while I keep pushing my legs to run faster than they have ever done before.
Colt jerks, the shotgun goes off, and my heart stops. My brain shuts down but my body is still moving. Colt’s eyes go wide when he sees me coming, he swings the gun in my direction, but I’m too fast. I reach him before he can take aim. I put my head down and throw my body into him at full force. We both fly through the air and land on our backs next to each other with the shotgun in between. Colt grabs for it, but Hunter is already on top of him, pinning him down.
Strong hands grab my arms, pulling me up and wrapping around my body like a fortress. Jaxon holds me so tight I can barely breathe, but I don’t mind at all. His head is on my shoulder nuzzling my hair.
“You could have been killed,” he whispers.
“You could have been killed,” I whisper back.
We call the cops on the way back to the trailer. We make Colt walk a few feet ahead of us. Hunter is still holding onto the shotgun. Jaxon was still holding onto me. By the time we get to the trailer, we hear sirens echoing off in the distance.
Before I know it, the cops arrive. Three police cars pull up, cops piling out of them the next moment.
Jaxon, Hunter, and I are standing in a little group watching Colt get cuffed. Right before they shove him into the police cruiser he looks up and glares at us. It is not until this moment that I recognize the extent of the hatred he must have for me. He’s looking at Hunter and Jaxon with a sense of betrayal and disappointment, but when he looks at me all I see is hatred in his gaze. It’s obvious that he blames me for losing his friends. He probably blames me for all of this.
We meet up with Brad, Christine, and Jen at the police station. After answering a lot of questions, we are finally all able to go home. Brad and Christine offer to take both Jen and me to a hotel where we can all stay for now. Going back to the house after what happened there is out of question.
I cling to Jaxon’s arm like a toddler to its mother. “I want to stay with you.”
Jaxon looks to Brad and Christine for approval.
“She would be fine at my place. Jen can come too if she wants. There is a hotel across from my apartment complex, you guys could stay there and we can regroup in the morning.”
Brad and Christine look at each other for a moment and then both nod.
After a long shower, I get into bed, trying to wrap my mind around everything. Yesterday seems like years away. Jen was already asleep on the couch when I got out of the shower; I still gave her a kiss on her cheek. We had dreamed of this. Living together was our alternate reality. In some way that is exactly what this is. It’s a different version of how the world should be. This world is without Sarah and it feels wrong. Jaxon gets into the bed next to me. As always, he doesn't get under the blanket with me. That doesn't prevent me from cuddling up to him. I put my head on his chest and he drapes his arm around me. Sleep finds me instantly.
I was hoping for a dreamless night but I’m not that lucky. I’m back in a room with a motionless body lying in front of me and the floor is covered in blood. I crouch next to Sarah ignoring the blood staining my jeans. I touch her cheek with the knuckles of my middle and index finger. Her skin feels like porcelain, hard and cold.
When I pull back my hand her skin cracks where I just touched it. The cracks expand across her face, pieces of porcelain falling away, revealing a softer, pinker skin underneath. She starts moving, sucking in a breath. She is alive. I grab her shoulders shaking her. Trying to free her from whatever she is covered in. When the last piece falls off her face I realize it is not Sarah I am looking at anymore. It is the other woman again and she is gasping for air, holding her chest. I look around the room, maybe for a phone. I need to call for help. Someone needs to help her. When I look toward the window I see some movement. I run up to it and see people passing by. I bang on the window.
“Help! We need help!”
A man glances up at me but just keeps walking. A couple walks by and ignores me all together. I look back at the woman on the floor. She is now heaving, grabbing her chest with both of her hands. There is no blood on her chest or on the floor. Her expression reveals that she must be in agony. I run to the door, I need to get help but the door is locked. I bang on it, I try and turn the knob with all my strength, but it doesn't budge.
“Eliza,” The woman is calling my name. She is now lying on her side, her head on the floor. Her arms are resting lifelessly next to her body. The same position I found her in. She looks like she has given up the fight and is now ready to die again.
“Eliza,” she whispers one more time.
“I’m here,” I tell her. I'm not sure how she knows my name but she seems relieved that I am here. She closes her eyes and her body stills. Her chest stops moving and her skin turns white again.
I wake up with a jerk, breathing heavy and my heart pounding in my chest.
“What's wrong?” Jaxon says in a sleepy voice, rubbing my arm.
“Just a bad dream, ”I say breathlessly while trying not to cry.
“You want to tell me about it?”
I shake my head. I don’t think I can explain the dream at this moment. My mind is in a tug of war. One side is trying to forget while the other side is trying to remember more. Who is this woman who keeps reappearing in my dreams?
“Come here.” He pulls me into his embrace and I can’t hold back the tears any longer. I don’t know what it is about being held in his arms that breaks down all my walls and lets out all emotions.
Slowly the storm in my head calms down and all that's left is Jaxon and I. I listen to his even breathing and the steady beat of his heart. Before I know it he pulls me into a deep and peaceful.
The next morning, I find Jen sitting quietly on the couch, staring out the window. She doesn’t move or say anything when I sit next to her. I take her hand into mine and she gives me a little squeeze. When her mom died just a few weeks ago she was sad, heartbroken and she cried for days. This is different… I have never seen her spirit so broke. I have never seen her so quiet. I put my head on her shoulder.
“Jen?”
It takes her another moment but then she started talking.
“My mom chose the life she lived. I’m not naive. I always knew the chances of her dying of an overdose were higher than the chances of her getting clean for good. Not that seeing it coming made it any easier, but I feel like she just didn’t have any more fight left. I guess she gave up at the end and I can live with that, but Sarah dying…it just doesn't make sense. There is not a clear-cut reason for her to be dead. It’s the unfairness of it I can’t wrap my head around.”
I don’t see Jaxon standing beside us until he starts talking. “You’re right, she shouldn’t be dead, and what happened is more than unfair. Life is never really fair, but I think Sarah knew that better than anyone. That's why she chose her job and that’s why I think she didn’t regret anything she did.”
I glance up at Jaxon, giving him a little smile.
“Brad just texted me, they want to meet us for breakfast at the hotel restaurant.”
We all take turns in the bathroom to get ready and then walk across the street to the hotel. Brad and Christine are already waiting for us at a table when we walk in. Brad has bags under his eyes like he hasn’t slept and Christine doesn't look much better with her eyes red and puffy. She must have been crying this morning. They sit next to each other and Brad has a protective arm around Christine’s shoulders. Before we even get to order Brad starts talking in a shaky voice.
“Eliza, Christine and I have been up all night talking. We know what happened wasn’t your fault. You must know that we do not blame you for anything! We always loved having you with us, but…we can’t just go back to the way things were, not after what happened in our house. Matter of fact, I don’t know if we can ever go back to living in that house agai
n.” He takes a breath before continuing.
“Christine’s sister is willing to let us stay with her until we can sell our house but she doesn't have a lot of room. We are so sorry.” He doesn’t elaborate, but he doesn’t have to. I think it is too hard for him to say the actual words, but I don’t blame him. I’m not mad at them. That doesn't make the loss and the rejection any less painful.
As if Jaxon reads my mind he takes my hand under the table and looks at Brad when he says.
“Eliza understands and she isn’t mad at you, but could you please do me and her a favor and not call her case worker today? Can you at least give us until tomorrow night? She and Jen can both stay with me until then.”
Christine answered without looking to her husband.
“Of course, we won’t call her yet, I promise.”
We don’t stay for breakfast, Jaxon says he needs to go back home and make some calls so we take our food to go.
Jen and I sit down in his kitchen to eat but Jaxon just grabs a coffee, his phone, and laptop then he disappears into the bedroom.
We’ve been done eating for a while before Jaxon comes back out of the room.
“We got an appointment in half an hour.” He says looking at me and then he turns to Jen.
“I asked Hunter to come over and hang out with you so you’re not alone. Also, there is literally no real food at my house and I don’t know how long we’ll be gone. I left some cash on the counter next to a stack of take-out menus if you want to order something. Or just make Hunter take you out…”
“Okay, that’s fine, I don’t mind hanging out with Hunter at all,” she replies in a more upbeat tone.
Jaxon must have noticed as well because he is grinning now. Jen tries to change the subject immediately. “Where are you guys going anyways?”
I actually would like to know that myself. We both stare at Jaxon, waiting for an answer. He rubs the back of his neck.
The Quiet Game (Pushed Aside Book 1) Page 11