Chapter 39 Laynie
Three days had passed and J.C. and Levi were spending more and more time together. I felt lonely, but I would FaceTimed Linc and he would talk to me. Even if he was working, driving or cursing someone out. I just waited on the phone for him to be done. He made time for me no matter what he was doing. I missed him so much, but at night was the worst time. He sat on the phone with me every night until I fell asleep. I would call him instead of cutting and he would calm me down. J.C. was leaving in two days and I was going to miss her, too. She was always helping my mom in the kitchen, and they really seemed to enjoy each other’s company.
I called Linc, and he was sitting at his desk in his apartment. He told me he moved back into the penthouse, since things seem to have settled down. I asked him to show me outside the large windows, and he turned on the phone. The skyscrapers and lights were beautiful, and I wished I was there. It’s unbelievable that such evil filled such a beautiful place. Linc assured me that evil exists in every place, but I simply didn’t witness it. I agreed and was thankful my hometown hadn’t shown those colors.
My mom approached from behind me in the brown lazy boy I was sitting in. “It sure is pretty out there. Let me see this young man you’ve been talking to non-stop.”
I blushed.
Linc turned the phone back to himself. “Hi ma’am.”
“Well, aren’t you a handsome young fellow.” She studied him through the phone, lowering her reading glasses to get a better look.
“Momma stop.” I wanted to die.
Linc laughed and thanked her.
“Okay mom, back to the kitchen now,” I said, shooing her away.
Linc smiled as she walked away. “She’s sweet.”
“Sometimes.”
Linc was as handsome as my mom said. His dominance didn’t scare me like most men, it turned me on. I loved everything about him and I was slowly realizing that. Every time he smiled, laughed, or showed concern, I melted. He really cared for me and although I didn’t agree with his current profession, I ignored it. I knew this wasn’t healthy, but it was getting me through right now.
“So, what’s on the Lincalendar tonight?”
He smirked at my play on words. “Just running some numbers for my investments and probably grabbing a pizza later. I asked Charlie if she wanted to grab dinner, but she told me she was packing and going to Spain for a few weeks to do some contract work. Did you know?”
I hadn’t talked to Charlie since I left and felt a pang of jealousy that they had become friends. Not jealous of their relationship, I knew Charlie would never betray me, but jealous that she was speaking to him more than me. “No, I didn’t know. But I’m glad she’s doing things for herself.”
He nodded an agreement and leaned back in his chair, staring at me. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.”
“Can we take a sunset ride?” I looked up at J.C. grinning at me. “Pleeeeease.”
“Where’s Levi?” I asked.
“He said he had plans with friends tonight. How lame.”
“Big time lam-o.” I turned back to the phone. “I’ll call you when I come back?”
“Please. And be careful.” He said it as an order.
“I will.”
I hopped up from the couch. “Momma, we’re going on a sunset ride.”
She laid the dish she was washing back in the sink and turned to me. “Be careful Laynie. You know how Chispa gets spooked at night.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I mumbled back as we walked outside the back door. The air was crisp and breezy. I could smell the jasmine that was growing up the side of my mother’s arbor. She loved her plants and had a greenhouse off to the side of the barn, where she grew vegetables and herbs. As a kid, she would send us out to collect a certain herb she needed for dinner. When it was time for the science fair, we always used Momma’s greenhouse as our experimental ground.
“So you and Levi seem to have gotten close, yeah?” I asked J.C.
“Yeah, he gives me butterflies, honestly.”
“Ew,” I squealed while pulling open the big barn doors.
“Well, you and Linc also seem to have grown closer. I have never seen my brother like this, you know?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, while pulling out the saddles from the tack room. When she didn’t answer, I thought she must not have heard me. I said it again. No answer. I walked out with the saddle in my hand, but J.C. was gone. “J.C.?”
A sudden blow to the back of my head made me stumble forward, dropping the saddle on the ground. I looked up and saw Eddie with his gun aimed at J.C.’s head. Oh God. How is he here? My mom was the only thing I could think of.
“If you stupid bitches cooperate, no one is going to get hurt. God, it smells like ass in here.” He looked around as if searching for the source of the smell.
Another man stood behind him. A man I had seen several times. Alek’s right-hand man.
I scooted myself backwards as my boots slid across the concrete, trying to gain traction. The bigger man stepped on my ankle, stopping me from moving. He grabbed a fist full of my hair and yanked me up.
“We are going to walk out of here quietly, and if you make a sound, I will shoot your mother between her eyes.”
I nodded my agreement and saw J.C. nodding too. They searched us for phones and found them. They threw them in the stalls with the horses, hitting Chispa on her chest. I gritted my teeth. Fucker.
They walked us through the woods in silence. My mind was reeling. I knew these woods better than anyone, but the chances of escaping and them not going back to kill my mother were slim. I had to submit to them and I wanted to throw up. We finally came to a black van at the end of the tree line. We got in while their guns were pressing against us. He slammed the door and locked it. There was a metal bulkhead separating us, but they could still hear and see us from the front seats. I slid onto the floor of the van and held back my tears. How much more of this could one human being really take?
J.C. wrapped herself in a ball and was rocking back and forth. If we were driving to NY, it was going to take at least 12 hours. I had 12 hours left before someone would beat me so badly that I would probably be unrecognizable. I had no way of calling Linc, but maybe it wouldn’t take long to realize something was wrong.
Eddie was trying to talk to me, but I put my hands over my ears and started humming. I didn’t want to hear his disgusting voice, let alone anything that came out of it. I wonder if Don knew this was happening? There”s no way he would have his daughter taken. Or maybe he would. Fuck, I don’t know. I wanted to tell J.C. that everything was going to be okay, but that would just be a lie.
After a few hours of riding, I told Eddie I needed to use the bathroom, but he ignored me. I was also excruciatingly thirsty.
“I’m going to pee on myself, J.C. I’m sorry. I can’t hold it anymore.”
“Well, pull your pants down at least and pee in the back part near the door so it will leak out. I won’t look.”
Despite feeling embarrassed, I took J.C.’s advice and relieved myself near the back door. Most of it went out through the cracks in the door, but the smell was still strong. She didn’t complain.
They threw gas station food at us an hour later, but still wouldn’t let me get out. I wasn’t hungry, only thirsty. I downed my water and asked J.C. for the rest of hers when it seemed like she was done. She rolled it to me. She didn’t eat the food either.
I ended up relieving myself 4 times in the van’s corner. I don’t know why I kept having to use the bathroom. J.C. hadn’t gone once, but she never complained each time she saw me getting up to go.
I could see light coming in from the front of the van, so it must be close to morning. We have to be close. I didn’t want to be close, but I also was tired of being stuck in this van. J.C. had fallen asleep, so I tried to be more still.
An hour later, the van came to a stop. J.C. sat up and mouthed to me, “I’m scared.”
I didn’t respond, but shut my eyes as the doors swung open. The New York chill touched my face. I saw we were in the back of a warehouse, but not the one I was normally in.
I saw Alek before he saw me. He was on the phone smoking a cigar, arguing with someone. He looked back and made eye contact with me. Here it comes. There was no smirk or smile on his face, there was only rage.
He walked towards us, and I saw J.C. tense next to me. He reached out his hand and wrapped it around my throat, lifting me a few inches off the ground.
“You thought you could run from me again? You stupid fucking bitch.” He grabbed me by my hair, pulling me towards the building. I walked quick to keep up and J.C. followed close behind.
They stood us in front of them inside the warehouse. I didn’t see any girls here. It was empty. No beds, no actual furniture, just a concrete warehouse with metal beams.
“The blonde girl is fucking beautiful,” Eddie said. “She can make us a lot of money boss.” Eddie tilted his head and licked his lips, staring at J.C.
“Yeah, don’t touch her. Let’s get as much as we can. Keep her clean,” Alek said but stepped towards me. He slapped me across the face with the back of his palm. J.C. let out a startled scream.
He waited for me to turn my face back straight, and he did it again, and again. My nose and lip bled.
“Take your clothes off,” he ordered.
I took off my riding boots and pants, trying to wipe the blood dripping down my face with my sleeve. I pulled my shirt and bra off last. J.C. was crying now. I tried to block her out, but it was hard.
“Please don’t do this to her. Please,” she begged them.
They ignored her.
A desk was leaning against the back wall and Alek turned it on its legs. “Lay down,” he ordered.
I complied, laying on my back. They raped me for what felt like 30 minutes. It hurt, and I tried to go somewhere else in my mind, but J.C.’s cries kept bringing me back to reality. When it was finally over, I asked if I could have water and they both spit in my face and told me to drink that.