“Sure.” He got up from his seat and smiled. “We should do this again. Soon.”
My mouth moved on its own accord when I replied, “Yeah. That’d be great.” I slipped my bag over my shoulder. “And thanks for the cake. It’s exactly what I needed.”
Andrew smiled. “Anytime.”
My thoughts raced as I walked out of the coffee shop, my legs unsteady and my palms sweaty. Silas was right. It was only a matter of time before everyone knew. It wasn’t something I could hide forever. And if it were so easy for Andrew to figure out, others would soon follow, and the whispers would start. If I didn’t want my father to find out through idle gossip, I’d have to tell him myself sooner rather than later, and the mere thought of having that conversation with him made my stomach churn.
The cold air kissed my cheeks as I stepped outside, a car alarm tearing through the bustle of people on the streets. I hugged my coat tighter and realized it was my car alarm as I made my way toward it.
“Is this your car?” An older man walked up to me, his cheeks pale and eyes wide beneath thick, grey lashes.
“Yeah. Why? Did something happen?”
“Oh, thank God.” The old man exhaled, placing a palm on his chest. “I’ve been standing out here for the last fifteen minutes trying to find the owner of this car.”
I narrowed my eyes and walked closer. “What happened?”
“I’m so sorry. I hit the back of your car.”
“What? How?” I rushed over.
“My dog was in the car, and I got distracted. I’m really sorry.”
The dent on the right side of the bumper wasn’t the worst fender-bender. “It’s okay.”
“I’m really sorry,” he continued. “I have insurance.”
“Honestly, it’s not a big deal.”
“I parked around the corner. Just...um, let me get my insurance card.” The man seemed distressed, his fingers fidgeting with the car keys as he pulled them out of his pocket.
“It’s just a dent. There’s no need to get insurance involved.” Besides, judging by his old, brown coat with missing buttons and the torn seams of his pants, my guess was he couldn’t afford it anyway.
“No, I insist,” he replied. “It was my fault. I’ll just go get my card.”
I sighed, feeling sorry for the distraught old guy, his shoulders slumped as he made his way around the corner.
“Sir,” I called as I followed him. “It’s not that bad. I can get it fixed myself.”
The front bumper of his car hung loosely on the right side; the light shattered, and the fender busted. His car got it way worse than mine, and I took pity on the old man. “Listen, I don’t want to get your insurance involved,” I said while walking closer, watching him rummage through his glove compartment. “I can get my own—”
A black van pulled up to the curb with screeching tires, grinding the pavement. The pungent smell of burnt rubber exploded around me as a wall of black metal, and tinted glass stopped in front of me, the panel sliding open with a loud thud.
Fear speared through my spine, with everything spiraling around me. Instinct told me to run, but it was too late. Strong arms grabbed me around my waist and pulled me into the van. A hand clasped around my mouth before I could scream, and the door slammed shut, the sound sending a shockwave of dread down every bone in my body. The van started to move, the vibration of tires hitting the asphalt causing my fear to explode inside me.
Something got pulled over my head, drowning me in darkness, and that’s when my frenzied thoughts came to a halt so I could realize what was happening.
I was being kidnapped.
At first, I tried fighting with every ounce of strength I had in me. But all it got me was having my hands tied behind my back. My ankles got tied, too, since I managed to kick someone in the face. I wasn’t sure what kind of damage I had done, but I was hoping I had at least broken a jaw.
It felt like hours as the van kept on moving. Loud music blasted while we drove. It was impossible to hear anything other than some heavy metal nutjob screaming with a demonic voice about how angry he was at his mother for making him wear a dress when he was five.
The van stopped, and my heart wanted to crack through my chest. The sound of the panel sliding open grating down my spine. I got pulled from the van and flung over someone’s shoulder. With my hands tied behind my back all I could do was thrash and twist my body to get whoever the fuck it was to let go of me.
“Put me down, you son of a bitch.” I was consumed with panic, but right now, my flight mode was no match for my fight.
“If you think my father’s going to pay some ridiculous ransom for me, you are the world’s stupidest asshole.” I tried jerking a knee into this person’s abdomen, but I just got scooted higher up with a tightened grip. “I’m the problem child, okay? My dad will pay you to take me.”