Chapter 28
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
MOLLY
Somewhere on the back of my head, a pain like I've never experienced before made me want to throw up. The last time I felt this bad was when I woke up after my drunken Vegas night.
Something told me this wasn't the same thing. There would be no new wedding band on my finger or a naked man sleeping next to me.
I hoped not at least. Parker was the only man I wanted to drunkenly marry and spend the rest of my life with.
I did know one thing though. The headache I was feeling wasn't the same as what I got when I was hungover. This was entirely something new. It made the panic that I was starting to feel intensify. I wanted to know what the hell was going on.
"Wake up, sleeping beauty."
Oh God. That voice. I recognized that voice. I heard it more times than I cared to admit.
"I know you're awake. I can see your eyelids fluttering."
I wanted to scream that it was an involuntary muscle spasm. I wasn't purposely moving them. The last thing I wanted was for anyone to know I was waking up. Not when I didn't know what the hell was happening. Based on that voice, I knew it couldn't be good.
Where the hell was Parker when I needed him?
Things slowly started to come back to me. Parker texting that he was leaving Vegas. Elle rushing from the school because Savannah was sick. Me using the Uber app to get a ride back to her place. The voices arguing in the school. Something hard hitting my head.
Slowly each memory clicked into place unlike when I married Parker. I wished things were opposite. I wanted the memories of my wedding, and I wanted nothing more than to forget this nightmare I was currently living in.
"Wake the fuck up!" The words were followed by a hard slap to my cheek.
I couldn't stop the scream from tearing out of my throat even though I knew it was best to stay quiet.
"I knew you were only pretending to sleep," Ben hissed.
Yes, Ben. The asshole gym teacher who started to give me the creeps. The man who didn't tamper with my car but probably had something to do with it anyway.
"Where am I?"
I was lying down on what I felt was a mattress. There wasn't anything binding my wrists or feet. I wasn't sure what that meant. Either Ben was sure I wouldn't run, or he was the stupidest kidnapper known to man. The jury was probably still out on that one.
"My house. My closet to be precise. Don't bother trying to escape. There are no windows in here, and I'm sitting with a knife in front of the only door."
Okay, so maybe not completely stupid. Although not binding me meant I could wrestle him for the knife. Just as soon as my head stopped swimming, and my vision cleared.
I did my best to scooch back until I was in a seated position. The first thing I noticed was Ben sitting directly across from me. There was in fact a butcher knife in his hand, and he was seated in front of a door.
The closet was maybe ten feet deep. The mattress I was on couldn't be more than a twin size, and it looked almost new. No stains or yellowing, but it was what was on the walls that concerned me.
Thousands of pictures of me filled the space.
Most of them were taken from far away. Me entering my house, getting in or out of my vehicle.
A few were from school. Mostly when I was on the playground with kids.
But it was the ones of my face cut out and glued onto wedding dresses that completely freaked me out.
"What is all this?" I couldn't take my eyes off them long enough to look at him. A small part of me was scared of what I would find on his face.
"You like?" Ben sounded almost giddy. "It's our life together."
I honestly didn't know what to say to that. Pissing him off didn't sound like a good idea, and everything I wanted to say would definitely do that. Changing the topic was a better option.
"I thought Jacob Bronson was after me."
It didn't make sense. Or my brain was taking too long to catch up after I was whacked in the head.
"That loser was nothing more than a pawn for me to use. I overheard you telling him that he needs to do better as a big brother and realized he would be the perfect distraction for my plan."
"And what plan was that?"
I had to keep him talking until I felt better enough to rush him. That was the only way I was getting out of here.
"To marry you of course. I was going to swoop in and be your knight in shining armor, but you ruined it by marrying that asshole. He took what was mine."
Things started to fall into place. The tampered car. Ben showing up in the teachers’ lounge more frequently or rushing to catch up to me in the parking lot.
"It was you I heard yelling in the hallway."
"Jacob had the nerve to call me and bitch about him being arrested. He said he was going to confess that I paid him to sabotage your car if I didn't come bail him out. The kid's a fool. Like anyone would believe a lowlife dropout over a respected teacher."
More pieces fell into place. Now I understood why I only heard one voice in the hallway. Ben had been on the phone not arguing with someone in person.
"They're going to figure out he wasn't lying when they realize you kidnapped me."
"Who says I kidnapped you?" Ben shrugged like it was no big deal. "As far as anyone is concerned, you came with me willingly because you were sick of your husband. A little while locked in this room, and you'll see things my way."
Ben was delusional. There was no way anyone would believe that.
Not to mention, Parker and Elle would turn the world upside down looking for me.
The school had cameras. They would see Ben knocked me over the head.
There was plenty of evidence to prove what Ben was saying wasn't the truth.
I kept that to myself though. Let him live in his fantasy world for a little longer while I figured out what to do.
My vision was clear enough that I tried to push myself up to stand.
"What are you doing?" Ben scrambled to get to his feet. He held the knife out in front of him, poised to attack if needed.
"Relax." I held my hands out to the side and looked nonconfrontational while I regained my composure. My head swam a little, but it was much better than before. "I just want to look at the pictures you have of us. The life we created."
I fed into his fantasy. I stopped in front of a picture of us. Or at least what he made of us. I was on the playground watching the kids, and he photoshopped himself into the picture because I knew for a fact he wasn't out there that day with me.
"I remember that day well. You looked so pretty in that dress, and it was fun watching our students together."
"Recess is one of my favorite times of the day."
He looked over at me. "I thought it was science?" The knife in his hand lowered a little. I was hoping the longer I kept him talking, the more relaxed he would get, and I would have the opportunity to snatch the knife from him and escape.
"I love science because it allows the kids to be creative, but I love recess because it's the one time during the day the kids are truly themselves."
Ben nodded like he agreed with what I was saying.
"What about this one?" I moved closer to the door. This picture was one of me outside my house, cutting the lawn.
"I like to think it represents your ability to do things on your own. Although once we’re married, you won't have to. I'll take care of everything. You won't even have to work."
I tried not to gag at the picture he painted. There was no universe in which I would be caught dead marrying him.
Ben's hand was finally relaxed enough that the knife was pointing to the floor. I thought about all the ways I could disarm him. I’d taken a few self-defense classes over the years, but it was more of a chance to find guys than actually learn anything.
Big mistake.
If I made it out of here in one piece, I was going to have Parker teach me everything he knew. Never would I be defenseless again.
I made my way over to another picture and another. With each movement, I got closer to the door and watched from the corner of my eye as Ben became more and more relaxed. When I saw my opening, I jumped at it.
Unfortunately I wasn't nearly as stable as I thought, and we ended up fighting for the knife.
Rolling around on the floor, I wasn't sure who had the upper hand. Sometimes it was me. Other times it was Ben. The knife spent most of the time above our heads. Curse words flew from each of our mouths as each of us tried to win.
Then suddenly the blade sliced through the air and straight into human flesh.