Chapter 32 Josie
A memory that she’d rather forget swims in her mind, through the nauseousness.
She feels the wooden bench under her, the noise of the other kids running past her, everyone walking freely, able to go somewhere.
But she was told to wait on the bench outside of the office and someone would come and get her and take her to class.
It was their policy because she had been dropped off by taxi because her mom bought a new house and she was now out of the school district.
Because she was disabled this was the arrangement she qualified for.
Just like when the fire alarm drill happened and she had to wait until all the other kids were out before a teacher or other staff member came and got her.
The fire drill didn’t take this long.
The kids running by her stopped, she heard the classroom doors closing. She stared at the black and white tile, counting the lines on the floor, trying not to be scared.
The hallways were empty. The office door in front of her was closed.
Squinting, she tried to read the red digits on the clock that was beside the front door she couldn’t see it from here, but she knew it was after the bell.
Class had started.
She hated being late and she wasn’t late. She was right here, and nobody was coming to get her.
It’s not like she was going to fall. She knew how to use her crutches; she’d just gone for a fitting last week. Her therapist said that she could try being off crutches because she had gained enough strength and her gait improved, maybe she could try a cane.
Her mother had hugged her so hard, Josie cried.
She knew where the classroom was.
But she wasn’t the kind of kid to break the rules. Never wanting to stand out, Josie did her absolute best to follow the rules and not get in any trouble.
Would her teacher be mad at her if she left the bench?
Josie swallowed; she needed to move. Her stomach in knots, she stood, walked down the hallway to the double doors that led to her classroom.
Pushing the doors open was tricky but she used her left crutch and got through fine.
“Josie?” Her teacher came briskly towards her. “Where were you?”
“Where I was told to be. I thought someone was coming to get me-”
“Nobody is coming to get you.”
Josie coughed, spluttered, she wretched and threw up. Her neck hurt from where something sharp had broken her skin, her teeth chattered so hard her jaw vibrated.
“Nobody is coming to get you.” A fistful of her hair was yanked.
Josie tried to open her eyes, but they were heavy.
Her scalp burned from how hard her hair was yanked. “Ow!”
“That’s better. Good you’re awake. You don’t look good.
I think we gave you too much of the drug.
Do you feel okay? Never mind. It’s not about how you feel.
It’s about the fact that I have you here and now you’ll listen to me.
Why couldn’t you just go on a date with me?
You accepted my present. That means something. ”
“Carter?”
“Yep! That’s me.”
The world tilted. She fell to the side, her eyes closing. This couldn’t be happening.
“Wake-y, I need to make sure you’re okay. Drink this!” He held a cup to her lips and suddenly realizing how dry her throat was, she wanted whatever was in that cup.
“What is it?” It hurt to speak.
“Water. Honestly Josie, do you think I'd go to all this trouble to poison you? If you were to poison someone, what would you use? You can tell me.” He knelt in front of her. Her hand shook as she took the cup.
Carter had a loopy smile on his face, and she thought back to how his last chef quit on him. To how he'd hover around his staff. How she’d constantly excused his behaviour because she was always trying to be the nice girl.
The girl who didn’t cause any trouble.
The girl who would go out of her way to make life easier for someone else.
“Don’t cry. Don’t cry!” Carter said.
He wiped her cheek with the back of his sleeve, Josie tried not to recoil.
“We were talking about poison. Tell me what you'd use if I let you into the kitchen right now. Not that I'm stupid. You don’t think I'm stupid, do you Josie?’
“No, of course not.”
“I knew you were smart! That’s why you have so many people at your little window every day. And I can’t fill a dining room on a Monday.” Carter ran his hands through his hair.
“Carter, what do you want? What are you going to do to me?”
Carter stood, bounced on his toes with his hands clasped behind his back.
“That’s a good question. I think I just want to keep you here with me. Until you agree to marry me. If you don’t then I'm just not going to let you go.” His gravely tone chilled her.
Why did she wave off everyone’s concerns about Carter?
She never thought he was a threat to her, not really.
Never counted that he’d drag her to some…
basement? Josie glanced around the room for the first time, trying to take it all in.
She was on a couch, in a dark room. That’s all she could make out.
It smelled musty. A brown rug covered the floor, and an old vacuum cleaner leaned against the wall.
“Where am I?” She squeezed out the words past dried lips.
“I can’t tell you that. But you can’t get out. There's a locked door. I did get you some magazines,” Carter pointed to a table in front of her that had a bunch of floral magazines on it. “You can’t get out. So don’t even try. Think of it as a holiday.”
“What happens if I say yes to marrying you?” She coughed, bile choking her.
“You’d make me the happiest man in the world!
” Carter caressed her cheekbone, and she closed her eyes.
He was not the man she wanted to be touching her skin.
“But if you don’t, I will take what I want from you and keep you locked up.
We’d have to move of course because I don't think your mother would buy that you love me. So I'd take us somewhere…warm.”
His stare grew blank. “I’ll figure it out! Don’t worry! I have you finally. Why did you have to keep saying no to me?”
Everything suddenly spun in her vision, and she couldn't help but slump down on the couch, closing her eyes. Something told her to keep Carter talking.
“I don’t feel good.”
“I told him that was too strong of a dose. Did you know he went to chemistry school? Answer me, Josie.” Carter slapped her face. The sound echoed in the room, it stung her, making her cry. “It’s okay. You’ll get used to it. Tell me why you kept refusing me.”
“I like you as a friend. Not as a boyfriend.”
It was the only thing she could think of to say. Instinct screamed at her to fight but her muscles were heavy, her mind too cloudy to move.
Wincing, she curled on her side, her face buried in the arm of the couch.
“A friend? A friend who you couldn’t even date?”
Josie bit the inside of her cheek, trying to recall her self-defence class.
When she was thirteen her mother sat her down at the kitchen table and stressed to her that she might not physically be able to fight an attacker, but she could use everything else.
She could lie. Tell them your brother is coming.
Your boyfriend. Say anything to them if you have a chance.
You have my permission to lie to get out of a bad situation.
“I was afraid,” Josie murmured.
“You were? Of what?” Carter put his hand on her shoulder, pulling her up.
She couldn’t get the words out. Her cheek burned from where he had slapped her. She held up a finger. “Water. Please.”
“Sure. Water. There are a lot of poisons you could put into water,” Carter held the cup to her lips. She drank.
“Of wrecking my business.”
“What?’ Carter jumped to his feet, swiped everything off the coffee table. He ran across the room and kicked the wall.
That was definitely the wrong thing to say, Josie thought before she faded to sleep.
The freezing cold woke her up. She was shivering and couldn’t stop.
“Josie, it’s okay. Here, "Carter wrapped her in a blanket. “I lost my temper. I promise I will always say ‘sorry’ when I do.”
He kissed her and his sandpapery touch repulsed her. She choked down bile, couching so hard tears sprang to her eyes.
“Here. I love your hair. I love touching your hair,” Carer handed her the water, while he kept a fist in her hair. “What were you afraid of?”
His eyes darted from her to the door, and she wondered if he was expecting someone.
“Of mixing work and pleasure. They drill that into your head, you know? Not to sleep with anyone in your kitchen,” Josie forced herself to reach out and place a hand on Carter’s thigh. “But I guess if my landlord doesn’t mind.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I’m serious, Carter. My friend Maisy tried to tell me that you were interested in me in that way, but I never believed her. I’m self-conscious. I don’t pick up when people are flirting with me.”
“But when Jared and I took you out?”
‘“It was so sudden. I didn’t know what to say.”
Carter’s eyes narrowed at her. But he didn’t react. He just sat back on his hunches. “We could get married and then can show them. What do you say to that, Josie?”
Oh god, he wasn't the guy she wanted to marry.
Ares’s smile, the one where his dimples showed, flashed in her mind. She wished she had never left his house.
“Yes Carter.”
“Good. then you won't mind staying here until I get everything arranged.”
“That’s fine,” Josie tried to keep her voice even. “Where am I going to go anyways?”
“To that rich asshole!” Carter shot up on his feet again and paced frantically across the room. “Do you have any idea how hard it was to watch you cook? And not to see a line of customers outside of my door. But they weren’t there for me. They were there for you.”
“I’m sorry,” She tried to sit up. “You make good food, too, Carter. I like that crispy cabbage appetizer you guys had for a while.”
“You did?” He stopped, crouching down to peer at her face.
Josie forced herself to grin as wide as she could. “Yes. It was very different.”
“See? That was my idea. I came up with that.”
“All those reviews say you’re a good cook. They can’t all be wrong.”
In a second, he was at her side, his eyes so huge that she was sure he took something.
“I knew you would be good for me!” Carter rubbed her thigh in a circular motion. She wanted to kick him but forced herself to stay still, to breathe through her nose.
“I like to look on the bright side.”
“My mother thinks that I should have opened another restaurant before now. Each bad review I get, she screams at me. She's the one who pushed me into opening a French bistro.” Carter patted her leg, like she was a pet. “I don’t mind the French bistro but it's not a huge draw.”
“What did you want to open?” Her throat felt so dry.
“I wanted an upscale taco place that served flights of bourbon.”
“Maybe that could be your second restaurant.”
“I don’t know. My mother doesn’t like tacos and thinks the bistro idea is the strongest.”
She started coughing so hard her eyes watered. He gave her more water then laid his hand against her skin.
“Jared is supposed to be here any moment. He didn’t think I could drag you in from outside all by myself but I did. It was his idea to take you to his house and this converted garage.”
Her stomach roiled.
Carter didn’t seem to realize that he told her anything.
“I got to get you some dinner. That drug is pretty powerful. I want to kiss you again.”
Biting her lip hard, he kissed her like she was his great aunt. Her throat closed up, she gasped for air.
“Are you okay?”
She shook her head, not able to speak as she kept coughing.
Carter put his arm around her, sat her upright.
“Shh, Josie. You’re okay now. I’m going to get you out of here. I don’t know where we are going. Jared said it had to be somewhere we could lay low for a while.”
Tears leaked down her face as he kept touching her hair.
“Here more water,” He held the cup to her lips, and she sputtered but forced herself to drink it, hoping it’d ease the dryness in her throat.
“What are you doing?” Jared’s voice sliced through the air.
“I didn't hear you.”
“No, you idiot. You didn’t lock the door. What’s wrong with her?’
“She can’t stop coughing.”
Josie’s eyes rolled back in her head. The room lurched, the pressure in her head felt like she was going to explode.
“She’s no good to us if she’s drugged out. I told you not to give her anymore.”
“I didn't!”
Jared swiped the cup of water from Carter. “You used this? This had the drugs I needed to keep her subdued. You gave her the whole cup?”
“Yeah.”
“Fuck. She’s no use to us drugged out of her head. We got to wake her up.”
“No. I’m cold.” Josie murmured.
“I’m going to look after you,” Carter said. He placed a blanket around her shoulders. “There. Josie you sleep now. I will be right here.”
“No, that's not the plan,” Jared shouted.
“I know you want all her data or whatever, but her passwords aren't on her phone and she's feeling miserable. When I fuck her, I want her to enjoy it.”
“I don’t care if she enjoys it or not,” Jared said.
Sharp and cold, fear slithered through her body. Up till now, she didn’t realize what they were going to do to her. But they wanted her emails? This couldn’t all be because of her customer list. She snorted and giggled at the thought.
“What’s so funny? Don't laugh at me!” Carter pushed her, so she fell on the floor, her knee making a popping noise on the impact.
“She’s not laughing at you, you lame brain. It’s the drugs.”
“Sorry, oh Josie, come here.”
Fear made her body shake. She couldn't calm herself, even as Carter draped his arm around her.
She was so dumb for leaving Ares’s house.
With her whole being, she wanted to be back at that circular home with him. She felt the tide of consciousness slip away from her; Ares’s face the last thing she remembered seeing before darkness took her.