On The Run

Chapter Three

We have been driving for what feels like hours... Days? How far from Phoenix is he taking me?

I feel the welcomed sun through my blind fold, and I bet that Nick will be home soon to find me missing. My heart aches, but I'm also relieved that he will know I am gone.

My brother will look for me. And my brother will find me.

I feel the recognizable dampness between my legs. I knew that I was going to get my period, and I'm pretty sure that's what just happened.... Maybe he will stop at a public bathroom. I can leave a message or something. I don't know. What do they do in the movies? Will I get caught? I decide I have to try.

"Um. Sir?"
" just call me T."
T? Um, ok.
"I need to go to the bathroom."
"Nope. Not falling for it, sorry." He says snappily.

Oh gosh. I need to tell him.
"I kind of need to if you don't want your car seats stained red." I say embarrassed.

He must get the point because he pulls over. Are we in public?
He gets out and opens my door. He takes my blindfold off, and I blink as my eyes adjust to the bright light. I squint up at him and he has my duffle bag in his hands.
He sets it in my lap and unties the duct tape.

I open the bag and take out the box of tampons. Where are we?
I look around and see... Trees. That's all.
Here? He wants me to take care of my business here? He leads me to a tree, hands me toilet Paper and says:
"Hide it under leaves or something when you are done." I nod and he turns around.

I take care of my business, and decide to write IZ in the dirt. I sit in front of the message as I hide my garbage under leaves.

No one will see this. Not here. Nothing is going to work if we are in the middle of nowhere.
"Done." I say quietly.
He says nothing and leads me back to the car where he reties my restraints and blindfolds me once more.

After a while of driving, I fall asleep, drifting off hesitantly, but eventually my eyes close due to how little sleep I have gotten.

I wake with a start. He is carrying me, I think I startled him because it felt like he almost dropped me.

"We are almost there, I already put your stuff in the trailer." He says.
"I can walk." I offer, I know I'm small for just turning 17 but, he must be tired. And maybe I can run. No, I can't. Stop thinking like that, I scold myself.

He ignores my offer and in a few more minutes,
We are there. Where? I don't really know. But he sets me down, and undoes the duct tape and blindfold.

I am inside a pretty big trailer, sitting on a couch. To my right, there is a bed, to my left, a table and sink next to a fridge - the kitchen. I see a door inside the little bedroom and assume that is the bathroom. Everything is outlined with glossy wood, the kind you see in fancy cars.
I look around for another bedroom... Nothing! Where is the second bed?

"Take your pillow and blanket on the bed over there."
I do as I'm told, making up the bed, and I decide to ask what time it is... And the date.
"It's the day after I took you: June 28, 4 in the afternoon." He says looking at his watch.
I feel groggy and gross and want to take a shower. Is there a shower? I hope so.

"Is this the bathroom?" I ask pointing at the door.
"Yes. There is a small shower in there. I have soap and shampoo if you want to clean up. But make it quick or the hot water will run out." He says.

I nod and take a change of clothes in the cramped space.
I take a quick shower and feel relief as I put my fresh clothes on. It seems I have a bit of privacy.

I look in the mirror. The girl looking back at me looks ten years older. My dirty blond hair is in a wet wavy mess surrounding my head. My light green eyes look tired.

I check the bruise on my rib. It's a bit better from when I fell down the stairs two days ago.
Nick was so mad at me, he blamed me for not paying attention and said I needed to stop being so clumsy. 

I smile at the thought of my protective brother.
"Watch your damn step, Iz! Your gonna kill yourself one day!" He screamed at me when he heard me tumble down the stairs.

My brother, I wonder what he is doing right now. Did he call the police? Am I up for ransom? Why does the kidnap- er- "T" want me?

I stop my thoughts and throw my hair in a wet messy bun. Grab my dirty clothes and open the bathroom door. I try to walk to the table to put my stuff down, But I trip over my shoes that I took off before I took my shower.

"Ah!" I shout out in pain as my bruised rib hits the table on my fall down. The next thing I know, "T's" hands try to pull me up, but he grabs my ribs right on the bruise, and I cry out again.

This time, he pulls me up from under my arms and sits me down. He lifts my shirt,
I try to smack him away, but I realize blood soaked through it turning it red.

He pulls up my shirt a little bit, making eye contact, silently calming me, and I allow it. I look down and there is a cut right on my bruise. It's pretty deep, and still bleeding.

"Damn it Iz, why are you so fricken clumsy? One second, I will get the first aid kit." He says.

Iz! He knows my nickname? Do I know him? I thought he looked familiar, but I just can't place it. I stop thinking and look back down at my injury.

He comes back with antiseptics, and bandages. He picks me up, takes me to the bed, and tells me to take off my shirt. Knowing that I need to wrap this up, I do as I'm told and ignore the fact that I'm just wearing a bra in front of my kidnapper.

He takes the antiseptic cloth and cleans the area. I wince as he touches the wound, but he ignores it. He knows what he is doing. When he is done, he starts to wrap up my ribs.

He wraps it all the way around from my stomach to my back until the bruise and cut are covered and protected. The gauze should hold the blood for a while, but man it hurts. I put my shirt back on wincing as I feel the cut move with my body.

He walks out of the room, and a minute later, comes back with water and an aspirin. I take it, and hope for the best.

"You should just go to sleep, sleep off the pain." He suggests. I oblige, and climb under my covers.