Chapter Seventeen
Camila
When Camila came to awareness, she didn’t know how much time had passed. She wasn’t fully awake yet, but she knew there was something definitely wrong. Slowly, bits and pieces came back to her, each one scaring her, and then she became aware of her body lying down on something. Her body trembled slightly, letting her know that ‘something’ was moving.
Where am I?
Slowly, her mind and body both woke up. She fluttered her eyes, forcing them open to take a look. Only, all she could see was darkness.
Huh?
She blinked, a little confused, and tried to shift her body, only to hiss when her arms ached. Or at least, she tried to hiss, but there was something between her teeth. It felt like a piece of cloth, and it was tugging on the corners of her mouth. She realized, too, that she was bound with her arms behind her back, and her eyes widened as her breath started growing short. She squirmed, trying to ignore the pain that shot through her at her movement. She was laying on her arm and partially on her bound hands, and she squirmed until that at least wasn’t the case, but she was still lying on her arm. Her legs were tied together, too, at her feet.
Not that she thought she could move much even if she hadn't been bound. Her harsh breathing was bouncing off the walls of the dark space she was in, and she realized it was way too small. She couldn’t even stretch her body out, staying curled in on herself.
Where am I? she thought a second time, only this time, more terrified. And what the hell happened!
Her mind was whirling around trying to place together everything that happened. And she remembered. She remembered going to keep Brianna company after finding out she’d run off scared back to her room, then seeing Adrien there with a gun to Briana’s head. Samuel and her mom showing up with guns, then Brianna getting shoved down the stairs and Adrien covering her mouth with what she’d thought was chloroform. Then the sound of Adrien grunting and her mom crying out for her as she was dragged away.
Oh…
Camila let out a yelp when, out of nowhere, her body bounced and smacked back onto the surface she was lying on, making her groan. That’s right, wherever she was, it was moving. When she listened carefully, she thought she could hear horns outside. That, coupled with the small, dark space she was in was enough to let her know where she was, finally.
She was in the trunk of a car.
Shit!
Worry plagued her. Obviously, Adrien must have her now, but how was everyone back at the mansion? Was Brianna okay or did she get seriously injured by the attack? What about Samuel and her mom? She could just imagine the worry they must be feeling, especially her mom. But those worries were quickly covered by other, more pressing concerns.
Like, what was going to happen to her now that she’d fallen into Adrien’s hands? Was he going to hurt her? Was he going to kill her?
Her heart felt like it would stop, and she squeezed her eyes closed as pain and fear mixed up inside her.
What could Adrien possibly be planning?
No, wait. Forget that. Camila wasn’t just going to wait for this guy to do whatever he wanted. No matter how afraid she was, if she did nothing, then that would just be giving into him. For the sake of herself and everybody, she knew she couldn’t do that.
I have to escape somehow.
How, though? Could she kick out the tail light? she wondered, struggling but it was no use. She could barely move, and hauling her foot back enough to kick it out would be difficult.
Her thoughts were jumbled as the car bumped along, jostling her. It was impossible to try and formulate another plan for several reasons, one of them being that she didn’t know where she was or where she was going. Another being her bound hands and feet. No matter how much she struggled, she felt like she was just cutting herself on whatever tied her up. It was cutting into her from the top and bottom edges, and with how smooth it felt, she figured it was duct tape. If it had been rope, she might have had a chance of undoing a knot with her squirming, but for duct tape, that was impossible without cutting through it somehow.
Her heart was still beating too fast, her breathing ragged, but her mind was clear. She didn’t doubt that Samuel already had the police looking for her. Whatever happened, she just had to be okay until they found her. That would all depend on Adrien, though, and she was pretty sure he’d gone crazy with all the stunts he’d been pulling recently. Even Samuel was caught by surprise, which meant this wasn’t just him acting like his usual self.
Which just begged the question, why her? Was there something about her that triggered him into acting this way, or did he just really dislike her for some reason? She didn’t at any one point think it was because he loved her. His obsession was more with his brother it seemed to her. Thinking about it, when she’d first met him, Adrien had pretended to be Samuel. And then after she’d broken things off with him, and she’d really gotten to know Samuel, she’d realized that Adrien had always been attempting to be Samuel. From his clothes to his persona, but with strange quirks. All those stories she’d read, thinking they were Samuel, but were really Adrien.
Based on that alone, she supposed they should have figured out there was something wrong with his head a long time ago. It was one thing to copy someone you envied, but wanting to be them, or be a better them, wasn’t normal behavior.
Adrien must have been good at hiding it if no one noticed and put him away earlier. She had to wonder if he was only after her now because she was involved with Samuel.
She couldn’t do anything besides lay there, so she stopped trying to move or she would just injure herself. Her hands were one thing, but if she hurt her feet when she needed to run, it would interfere.
For the most part, the road they passed through was straight and smooth. Occasionally, they would take corners, and she would feel her body sway with the car. Adrien was driving carefully, though, so she didn’t roll around much inside the small space. She wondered how long she had been locked in this trunk for since her breathing was starting to come a little short, and not just because she was scared. She was feeling a little warm, too, and she wondered if she was running out of air or something.
Then, the ground became a bit rougher, causing her body to shake, and she grit her teeth with a grunt as the light bouncing of her body was knocking her arm on the floor and making it ache even more.
Finally, they came to a stop, and she felt her body jolt with the car. She gasped out, then bit down on her lip and kept quiet. She debated whether or not she should pretend to still be unconscious. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard Adrien get out of the car then slam the door closed, her throat tightening. She slammed her eyes closed, then strained her ears out to try and figure out what was going on.