Chapter 16 #2
Part of me wished I would have stayed in that bed—that I'd never gotten on that plane. But he told me that night on the couch that this might happen. He said someday he might get sick, and that I couldn't let him hurt me. I'd have to make it stop.
When we land, no one boards the plane to take him away.
My stomach churns and my palms sweat as we make our way through the airport toward the parking garage. Anxiously, I scan our surroundings for police or flashing lights, but they still haven't turned up. Now, we stop in front of the car, and I think I'm afraid to get in it.
Maybe I wanted them to take him inside the airport.
"Well, you did it," he says, unlocking the vehicle and opening the rear trunk. He tosses our bags inside while I move to the passenger side door. "But not without suffering."
"What do you mean?"
"We're home, and you held my hand in the airport. I saw you fucking panicking, though, like you were going to be arrested for holding your stepbrother's hand or something."
The word arrested almost makes me throw up.
"Not arrested," I say, trying to summon an ambivalent tone as I get into the car. "Just publicly shamed for all eternity."
"Well, you know how we could fix it…"
"I'm not ready to talk about that right now."
"Okay."
Elias kisses me quickly, then starts the car and backs out of the parking spot, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel. Aside from that, it's quiet. And it's killing me.
My heart thuds against my ribcage; it feels so loud, I worry he can hear it.
"Can I put some music on?" I ask.
"Yeah, you can put on whatever you want. I have the leaked Gods of Tomorrow songs."
"You think it's really them?"
Elias shrugs. "Listen for yourself."
I turn up the music and stare out the window, watching in the sideview mirror as we leave the city behind. Elias sings along with the lyrics, still keeping rhythm with his fingers drumming on the wheel, like he doesn't have a care in the world.
It makes me feel dirty—like I'm betraying him. But I can't betray someone who fucking tried to kill me.
Not long after we start north on the highway, a police car finally appears behind us.
My pulse quickens. I can't look away, but Elias doesn't seem to notice. And I can't draw his attention to it, even though I want to.
We drive for at least ten kilometers like this before they finally flip on the lights.
Elias turns down the music before turning to the rearview mirror. "What the fuck? I was barely speeding."
I can't move. I can't speak. Suddenly, I'm lightheaded…I'm swimming, like I was that night.
He pulls onto the shoulder, puts the car in park, and two male officers approach the vehicle.
"Elias Thorpe?" one of them asks after he rolls down the window.
"What's going on?"
"Open the trunk and exit the vehicle."
Sighing, Elias releases the trunk, and we both watch in the rearview mirror as the officer standing behind the car puts on a pair of gloves and then removes our bags from the back.
Elias looks nervous.
"Don't get out of the car," he tells me before doing just that.
But I don't think I could move if I tried.
"Put your hands on the hood of the vehicle."
Elias does as he's asked and then says, "Are you going to tell me what's going on now?"
The officer pulls out his handcuffs. "Elias Thorpe, you're under arrest for the assault of Saige Ripley, and you're wanted for questioning in the disappearance of Isla Reid."
"This is bullshit!" he shouts as they close the cuff around his right wrist. "Saige, tell them!"
"Holmes," the officer behind the car calls. "Look at this."
He stops cuffing Elias and looks instead at the other officer, and so do we.
The man holds long blonde hair between his finger and thumb, with what looks like a chunk of dried, bloodied skin at the end.
I can't breathe again. I think I'm going to throw up.
I whip my head to Elias, my eyes wide, and watch him register the panic on my face before he turns and punches the officer behind him hard enough that he falls unconscious on the ground.
"Elias, no!" I scream.
While the other officer rushes to his side, Elias jumps into the car and pulls away, just barely missing them with the vehicle. In seconds, we're flying down the highway at 180 kilometers per hour—right past our exit.
The trunk is still open; I can't see anything behind us. Tunnel vision sets in, and I lean over, puking onto the floorboards.
"It's okay, baby," he says, rubbing my back. "It's going to be okay."
"Elias, what are you doing!?" I sob. "Where are you going?"
"I don't know!" he shouts. "I don't know, okay? I just know we have to get away for a little while. Just so I can think."
"I'm scared…"
"I didn't do it, Saige. I love you. You know I love you, right?"
"Why was there hair in your trunk? Who's Isla?"
"Doesn't matter."
"It does matter!"
"Miles's ex."
Miles's ex, who Elias said was dead. No. No, no, no.
"Was…was she blonde?"
In the far distance, sirens blare.
"We need to get off this freeway. Too much visibility."
The tires squeal as he takes a sharp right turn down a side road leading to the Coast Mountains. Then, he takes my phone and tosses it out the window, along with his.
"Elias, stop!" I shout.
"I can't, Saige. Not yet. We'll need to ditch the car, though…just a little further."
The road winds, but he doesn't slow down, not even when we turn corners and drift across lane lines.
"Please, Elias, I'm scared! You're going to kill me!"
"No, I'm not," he says. "I know what I'm doing."
"No, you don't! You can't run from the police; you need to stop. You're going to get in more trouble."
"I'm not in trouble. I didn't do anything; I just need time to think. I need to figure out how he did this. I knew he must have had a way into the house because of what happened on Halloween, but the car…"
Fuck, what he is talking about? The video, which must have been him, too? "Let me out, Elias! Let me out, or I'm going to jump!"
"I can't!"
I unbuckle and open the door, and Elias grabs me by the shirt, pulling me back before slamming the door closed and locking it.
"Are you crazy? You'll die out there."
"I'm going to die in here!"
A horn blares, and Elias swerves, just barely missing a pickup truck. We fishtail for a while on the mountain road before he finally rights the vehicle.
"Elias, please, let me out," I cry. "If you really love me, and you really don't want to hurt me, you'll let me out of the car. I'll believe you if you let me out."
His breath heaves as he stares straight ahead at the road.
"Elias!" I scream.
"Okay!"
"Okay? Okay what?"
"I'll let you out." He sighs. "Just hold on, all right?"
He's bluffing. He's not going to let me out, and we're going to die out here.
Elias takes my hand, bringing it to his lips.
"I'm sorry," he says as he kisses it. "I'm so sorry, Saige. I didn't mean to scare you."
He turns into the parking lot of a mountainside inn, spinning out on the gravel before coming to a stop.
"I love you," he tells me. "I'll see you soon."
I shake my head. "Come with me. Let's just go inside. We'll tell them you made a mistake."
"I can't, baby. I'm so sorry."
I drop my head, sobbing.
"Hey, it's okay, baby. It's going to be okay."
He kisses me, but I quickly pull away.
"Um, don't call them. Just call Dax and tell him to come and get you. Give me a head start."
I nod, and then open the door, hesitating before exiting the vehicle, half-expecting him to change his mind and pull away, but he doesn't.
"Bye, Saige."
I swallow the lump in my throat. "Bye, Elias."
As soon as I close the passenger side door, he peels away, and I force my legs to move toward the inn.
I know what I should do. I should go straight to the front desk and call the police. If Elias attacked me, then he might do it again; I'm not safe.
But of course, that isn't what I do. I walk right past the guy staring at his phone behind the desk and into the washroom. Then, I sit on the toilet with my head in my hands, giving Elias the head start he asked for.
Does this make me complicit? Am I an accessory?
No. I'm distraught. I'm in shock, and I didn't know what to do. So, instead of calling the police, I hid in the bathroom for twenty minutes, and then called one of my boyfriends.
At least it feels like it's been twenty minutes. I have no real way of knowing.
I splash water on my face before leaving the washroom, moving on unsteady legs toward the front desk.
"Excuse me?"
My voice barely registers, and the man doesn't look up.
I clear my throat and try again. "Excuse me, can I use the phone?"
He nods toward the phone sitting on the corner of the desk. "Go for it."
I grab the phone, turning it toward me, and then pull it from its cradle, freezing when I hear sirens and helicopters outside.
"W-what's going on?" I ask.
The guy couldn't care less. Shrugging, he says, "Some kind of manhunt. Someone fled from a traffic stop, I guess."
"Um, do you know the address for this place?"
He takes a business card from the desk and sets it in front of me.
"Thanks…"
I dial Dax's number, fearful he won't answer, but he picks up on the first ring.
"Saige? Is it you?"
"Can you come get me?" I sob.