27. Lexi
CHAPTER 27
Lexi
Friday morning
T wo days of this shit. My days are running together now, especially with no clock or windows to tell how the days are passing. I’m trying so hard to stay positive, but between the beatings, degrading me every chance he gets, and fucking me, I’m teetering on the edge. My body is sore, my head is swimming and I’m beginning to lose hope in getting out of this. He’s been sleeping in here with me now. At least I’m not tied down to the bed any longer, but I can’t even move without him stirring.
I did find out we’re in some sort of abandoned warehouse—one large enough to house an employee locker room with showers. The only time I have any privacy is when he leaves to go grab us something to eat or drink, but then he restrains me again, tying me to the bed and locking the door from the outside. Other than that, he’s here telling me about us moving to Italy, where his family is from.
He tells me about how we’re getting married the day we arrive in Sicily and then that binds us together for eternity. And if I try to leave then, he and his family will hunt me down and kill me. The way he talks about killing me is so matter-of-factly. He really is a sociopath or psychopath… I don’t know which one, but he’s insane.
Currently, I am tied down to the bed waiting for him to come back with something to eat. He doesn’t tell me much, I just know we’re leaving soon on a plane. He just wanted to keep a watch out to make sure I haven’t been reported missing or if I was how seriously the cops took it. Since he hasn’t heard anything, he says we’re leaving this evening.
The lock on the heavy door scrapes against the metal, and the door opens slowly. He walks in with a smile looking over at me. I try to play the dutiful girlfriend and smile back at him. Which is strange, since he has me tied down to the bed. I’m sure it never looks real, but he sees what he wants to see.
He puts all the bags down on the table next to the door. He walks to the bed, leaning over with his hands on either side of my head, and kisses me. “Miss me?” he asks, to which I nod since that’s what he expects of me. “Good. I missed you, too. I brought you a new outfit to wear to the airport and something for us to eat before we leave,” he says.
Kissing me once again, he stands up straight and walks over to the table to unpack everything. He brings over the bag with the burgers, fries, and sodas, sitting them on the little side table next to the bed. After untying my wrists, he sits on the edge of the bed, looking me over.
Slowly sitting up, I feel self-conscious with all the bite marks and bruises that cover my entire body just from the last two days. I know Jason is admiring his handy work as he looks me over. I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around them.
“When are we leaving?” I ask quietly.
His brow furrows slightly, and if I didn’t know him as well as I do, I wouldn’t have noticed it. But he lifts his hand, cupping the nape of my neck, pulling me close. He kisses my nose, my forehead, and then my lips. “Don’t you worry about it, baby. I’ve taken care of everything. All you need to do is what I say,” he says, then kisses me again. “Now eat. I know you’re hungry and we have a long drive to the airport.”
Standing again, he walks over to the other bags, and I see him pull out clothes from the other bags. He walks back to the bed, laying them over the rod iron end. Sitting a new pair of sneakers on the table, he turns looking at me. He sees me watching him closely and moves back to where I’m sitting.
“Why aren’t you eating like I told you to?” he inquires sitting next to me. “I know you’re hungry.”
I look back over to the bag of food. I am hungry, but I’m not sure I can stomach eating right now. I’m so nervous about how I’m going to escape from this lunatic, but if I don’t eat he will be suspicious. Turning my body and shifting my feet to the floor, I grab the bag of food and pull out a few of the fries, putting them directly in my mouth. I grab one of the soda’s and lift it to my lips while drinking a few small sips.
He sits there watching me, while I nibble on the food and drink some of the soda. I can tell he’s watching me closely. After I eat what I can, I put the rest back in the bag as he devours his burger.
“Why aren’t you eating, Lexi?” he asks in a very harsh tone.
“I’m just trying to be cautious, Jas. You know I get air sick and I don’t want too much on my stomach before we fly,” I explain, trying to appease him as much as possible. He stares at me for a moment, contemplating the truth of what I’m saying. He searches my face for a few short moments, then turns back to finish his food.
As soon as he’s done, he throws his wrapper in the bag with mine and tosses it on the table. He stands up, grabs the final bag on the table, and hands it to me. I take it from him and look inside.
Seeing several things of concealer, foundation, face powder and different types of makeup, I look back at him with an inquisitive look on my face. He cups my face and his thumb brushes over the swell of my cheek bone. “I need you to look your best when you meet my family and I also don’t need people asking questions about this,” he says talking about the little bruise from when he slapped me the first night I was here.
For the last two days, he’s kept his temper under enough control that the majority of his hits and attacks have been to my arms, legs and torso. Places that can be covered easily. Jason has always been okay with leaving his marks on me, saying that I deserve the punishment that I receive, but he just doesn’t like the attention it brings me.
I look back into the bag and notice he’s basically given me what he’s seen me buy for myself. I look back up at him with a small smile. “Thank you,” I say sitting the bag back on the bed. I stand up and begin to get dressed in the clothes he provided me, a pair of jeans, a long sleeve turtleneck sweater and sneakers. Using the little mirror on the face powder, I apply the makeup to cover up the marks on my face, trying to make myself look presentable.
Finishing the final touches, by applying powder over my nose, I close it up. I look to Jason, who has been watching me and also texting on his phone. When he sees that I’m done, he closes his phone and stands up. Walking over to stand in front of me, he grips my chin with two fingers and lifts my face to his.
He has a very serious face on him. He looks all over mine, like he’s trying to memorize what I look like. That or he’s trying to analyze what exactly I’m thinking, which I will never allow.
“Please don’t do anything stupid, Lexi. You have already seen the lengths I will go to in order to keep you. But know this… If I can’t have you, no one will,” he says, leaning down and kissing my forehead. I close my eyes as his lips touch my skin because I know that isn’t an idle threat. He means exactly what he says.
“I know, Jas,” I respond quietly.
“Good. Then let’s go. Our flight leaves in a couple of hours and I don’t want to miss our flight,” he says, standing fully. He holds his hand out, and I take it, heading to the door.
He holds the door to the Uber open for me, handing me the small carryon he had packed for me. It’s not heavy, and I don’t know what’s in it. I’m sure it’s just a few essentials. Once standing outside of the vehicle, he closes the door and takes my hand in his.
We walk through the airport security and into the main area. After checking in at the airline and getting our boarding passes, which Jason holds onto, we walk through to the gate and terminal.
My mind is racing the entire time we are walking. My time is running out. Once I’m over in Italy, it’s over. No chance to get away. I start to tremble and my nerves are shot, as we pass by vendor after vendor, along with the restaurants set up here in the airport. When we pass by the bathrooms, I pull his hand slightly. I need a few minutes to think.
Jason looks down at me with a questioning look. “I need to use the restroom,” I say to him. His eyes study me, brow furrowed. He looks over to the bathroom before looking back down to me again. Pulling me close, he looks seriously into my eyes.
“Don’t you fucking try anything, Lexi. I swear to god…” he says and I immediately start shaking my head.
“I won’t, Jas. I promise. I just have to pee. You know how I get before flying,” I tell him. Again, he seems to look over my face, trying to find the lie.
“Fine. But I will be standing right outside the exit. Don’t do anything stupid,” he grits out.
“I won’t,” I concede with a small smile, releasing his hand as I enter the large bathroom. Glancing behind me, watching as he moves to stand right next to the large opening that is both the entrance and exit to the ladies bathroom. I move through and see that there is only one entrance and exit.
My mind is racing trying to figure out something. Tears begin to pool in my eyes with the thought that I’m stuck. I have no one to help me. I have no idea how I’m going to get out of this. My brain is running through a bunch of scenarios of how I can get away. But I am also wondering how Cam and Shayna are holding up and are they looking for me. My surroundings basically disappear as I lean over the sink, blankly looking into the mirror.
A single tear runs down my face. I quickly wipe it away as I turn away from the mirror to actually go into a bathroom stall. Making my first step, I feel a jolt as I bump into a small woman. Or a girl. She looks young enough to still be in high school or going into college.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“Sorry about that,” she speaks at the same time. She laughs but I just give her a small smile. “I’m so clumsy. I need to watch where I’m going,” her words trail off as she hesitates slightly. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asks, seeming to try and start a conversation.
I look back at her and try to nod and hold it together, but failing miserably. She tilts her head and her eyes seem to zone in on the makeup I have covering the bruise by my eye, and her eyes narrow. “You don’t seem okay. Is there anything I can do?” she asks and I wipe my face quickly.
“I don’t know,” I reply.
“Don’t know if you’re okay, or don’t know if I can help?” she asks once again, being very perceptive.
“Both,” I whisper and glance over her shoulder to the small hallway that heads out to the main area of the airport. She immediately follows my gaze looking in the same direction. She slowly looks back at me. Gently she takes my forearm and leads me to the back area of the bathroom where it’s not so crowded. She glances around us before speaking.
“Are you in some kind of trouble?” she asks. I nervously peer around the bathroom then back to the front of the bathroom. I’m waiting for Jason to storm in at any second. I look down into her eyes. She seems so nice and wants to help but do I want to take the chance of her getting caught up in this right now? “Let me help,” she implores.
“I’m not sure you can,” I say, leaning against the wall, feeling helpless right now. She steps closer to me.
“You won’t know if you don’t try,” she urges.
After thinking it over just for a moment, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to try.
“Okay. My ex…” I start, but then a woman walks by us, so I hesitate as she walks by us. I watch her as she moves to the sink. I pull the sweet girl further to the back of the bathroom. “… my ex, Jason Webb, took me against my will. And he’s trying to fly me out of the country,” I say. Pulling my sleeves up my arms, I show her all the dark and fading bruises along my arm. I lift the sweater slightly on the side, not facing all the other women moving about in the bathroom, showing her the worst of the bruising.
Her eyes go wide at the dark splotches covering my torso and arms, then shoot up to mine. Her hand covers her mouth in a gasp. “Oh my god. That’s awful. Why didn’t you just run away?” she asks.
“He’s had me locked up the last couple of days doing this,” I say, gesturing to the bruises, “to me.”
She studies me for a few moments. I feel like she’s going to back out, but then she steals herself and looks me in the eyes. “I can help you. What do you need me to do?” she asks, sounding a lot more sure than she did before.
I release a deep breath and sink more against the wall. I don’t know how this is going to work or if it’s going to work, but I am willing to give it a shot.
“He’s standing just outside the bathroom,” I say, and her head immediately shoots in that direction. He’s wearing dark jeans, a baby blue button-down shirt, and solid white sneakers. He stands about 6 feet 2 inches tall. Can you walk out of the bathroom, don’t look at him suspiciously at all, and go find an officer? Quickly explain it to him and then point him out,” I ask him with hope in my voice.
She studies me once more and then nods. “I can do that. You need to hide in here,” she says, pulling open the large stall for handicapped people and gently pushing me inside. “In case he tries to push his way in here, it does look like you’re using the bathroom.”
I step inside the bathroom. She looks at me with a small smile. “I got this. You’re going to be okay,” she repeats as I close and lock the door and I see her shoes move away from the door toward the front of the bathroom.
I move as far away from the door as possible, standing next to the sink against the wall. I’m just praying for this to work. And hopefully, she doesn’t flake on me. I can’t stay here forever. She only has a few minutes, and I will need to go back out there. What if she can’t find an officer? What if she just heads for her own flight? What if I just imagined all of that, and I’m on my own?