I heard a noise. At first I thought I was just imagining something in my tired state, but then I heard it again, a soft, padded footstep, almost like a cat. If it had been at any other point in the day I wouldn’t have heard it, but at night everything was still and the sounds carried. My throat ran dry and my brow furrowed, for I wasn’t sure what it could be. I had never been broken into before and I hadn’t heard the door open or any windows being smashed. Perhaps my instincts had been right and it was a cat that had sneaked in. I’d have to get up and shoo it away…but what if it wasn’t a cat?
I gripped onto the bed sheets tightly. My gaze was fixed on my bedroom door. My heart pounded in my chest. I kept trying to tell myself that it was just some animal who must have been attracted to the warmth, but the throbbing fear in the back of my mind told me it was something worse. Still holding the sheets, I crawled out of bed towards the window, searching for anything that might make a weapon, but the only thing that was in reach was a hairbrush, and I didn’t think that would do any good.
I strained my ears, a
lthough it was difficult to hear anything over my panting breaths. My hands were shaking and I pulled the sheet higher so it was like a shield, although I knew it wasn’t going to offer any defense against an attacker. The door creaked open and a feeling of dread crept over me, as though eels were slithering around me like vines. My throat ran dry and I backed against the wall, trying to make myself as small and as far away as possible. The only light that came into the room was from the silver moon and the soft glow of the streetlight. It was difficult to remember that I was a part of a vibrant, busy city. There were a million souls all around me, yet none of them would have heard my cry for help. I was completely alone.
A silhouetted figure stood in the doorway.
“Dalton?” I gasped, for the man had a similar build. He stepped forward and I feared that this had gone terribly wrong. My instincts had led my astray again and I had found myself in a similar situation as before. Dalton was just another Andy and now he was in my apartment, ready to do anything to me. I cowered and shuddered in fear, and tears stung my eyes. But it wasn’t Dalton at all. It was Rick.
*
Rick stepped forward and I wondered what kind of sick game this was. The two of them had seemed so close and I had even found stray thoughts of Rick wandering through my mind, but Dalton was the man I had been involved with. The two of them were so close, like brothers, but why was he here? He had a menacing look on his face and his entire body bristled with strength. I gulped and gazed at him, knowing I was completely at his mercy.
“You need to come with me,” he said, his voice was deep and commanding. I shook my head slowly.
“Ellie,” he continued, “you need to believe me. I’m not here to hurt you, but we have to go. Now.”
“Why?”
Rick huffed and his gaze moved from side to side. He strode towards me and I cowered, afraid that he would strike me, but instead, he pushed the curtain aside with one finger and looked out of the window.
“We don’t have much time,” he said, “but you have to believe me. Damn it, I knew Dalton was going to fuck this up.”
“What do you mean? Was Dalton on the phone with you the night we…” I trailed off as he glared at me. I tentatively let the sheets drop and started to rise. There was something I was missing here, something that these men weren’t telling me, and I wanted to know.
“I’ll tell you everything you want to know, but I can’t do it here. We have to go. You’re in danger.”
“Danger? From whom? Dalton? Rick, if you’re not here to attack me, then why are you here?”
“Attack you?” he looked disgusted at the idea and I knew I had no idea what was happening. He shook his head vehemently and let out a dark chuckle. “I’m here to protect you.”
“Protect me? From what?”
Rick glared at me again and I knew what he was going to say; all he was going to do was repeat what he’d already said about how we didn’t have time for this. I wasn’t about to let myself have terms dictated to me in such a cruel and abrupt way, especially not when Dalton had already hurt me and hadn’t been forthcoming with me.
“You can’t just tell me to trust you and expect me to go along with it. That’s not how this works and I’m not going to put myself into a situation I know nothing about. You need to tell me why you’re here, and where you’re going to take me, and who you’re protecting me from. I need to know what’s going on! Dalton has already lied to me. I didn’t let him get away with it and I’m certainly not going to let you get away with it, either.”
Rick scowled and muttered something; I didn’t catch any of it other than Dalton’s name. He stayed by the window, looking for something, although I wasn’t sure what.
“I promise, I’ll tell you everything if you come with me. I don’t have time now, but what I can tell you is that your parents are waiting for you,” he said. I wasn’t sure I’d heard him correctly.
“My parents? How? You can’t…” I’d only told Dalton about my parents. It was possible that he’d told Rick and now they were using it as some kind of psychological torture. I didn’t believe him. I couldn’t believe him, but then he reached into his back pocket and thrust a picture into my hands. I looked down. My hands trembled. My eyes went wide and nausea rose within me. In the picture were a number of people, in fact an entire crowd, but front and center were my parents, and flanking them were Rick and Dalton. It seemed entirely incongruous for them to be together, but they were.
“What is this?” I asked, looking up at Rick with disbelief.
“This is why we’re here. I’m sorry I can’t tell you everything right now, but you’ll know more when we go to see them. I can take you to them. They’re safe, just like you’ll be. But you have to come with me now.”
I was torn. I still wasn’t sure whether I could trust him or not, but he had a picture of my parents and they certainly seemed happy. They were smiling and waving at the camera, but why hadn’t Dalton told me he knew my parents? I’d spoken about them so much with him and he hadn’t uttered a word about it, but why? Why all this subterfuge? Why all this secrecy? I knew that the only way I’d get answers was by going with him. I hated it, because I still didn’t fully trust him or Dalton, but there didn’t seem to be any other choice.
“Fine, but if I don’t like the answers I get, I’m going to leave,” I said. Rick seemed to be relieved and we left my apartment in a hurry. I skipped along in his wake and we ran out into the cold, lonely night. The streetlights glowed, but all the windows were dark. Murky clouds drifted across the sky, threatening to obscure the moon, but none of them ever did. Our footsteps clattered against the sidewalk and Rick headed for a car, but just as he had his hand on the door handle, he looked up and gazed into the distance. I followed his gaze, and at the other end of the street was a man walking forward.
“Stay back,” Rick said, stepping in front of me and placing a protective arm across my chest. He nudged me back against the car and I disappeared behind his huge form. “You might want to look away.”
I nodded, and I imagined that my face must have been as white as a sheet, but there was no way I was going to look away from this. So many questions ran through my mind and I wasn’t going to be able to answer them by myself. I had no idea how my parents had gotten involved with Dalton and Rick, or why Dalton would hide the fact that he knew them. Was it all just a coincidence that we had met, or had they come to the city looking for me? And who was this man?
He clapped his hands slowly.