“That’s fine. I have a lot of work to do tonight anyway. You can hang out at home afterward and order in dinner if you want,” she suggests. Though I have my suspicions she's suggesting it so she can keep an eye on us. That thought doesn’t bother me at all… it’s kind of nice having someone who wants to watch out for me.
She pulls into the closest empty spot and we climb out, waving to her before she backs out. “So, where to first?” Cole asks, glancing around at the shops in front of us. “Coffee or music?”
Not quite ready to sit down, I point at the music shop and he pulls me that way.
Cole and I stop at the record store first and we both part ways. The fact that we can enjoy things without having to be in each other's faces all the time is really nice. I walk around the shop slowly, taking my time. I add a few CDs to my collection as I go along, even picking one out for Abby. Her style of music was definitely different, but she’d mentioned wanting to get this one, so I couldn't resist grabbing it. It was nice that we all didn’t just rely on our phones, I thought I was the only one left who still appreciated physical copies over just digital.
“Oh, have you checked them out?” Cole asks as we meet in the middle of the display. I shake my head no and he picks one out, handing it over. “You should. They’re a good mix of punk and pop; even Abby likes them and she wrinkles her nose at every other musical choice I make.” If it’s actually something we can all listen to, then I definitely want it in my collection, so I add it to my stack. He brushes his hand down my arm as he moves to my other side, like he can’t help but touch me as he goes.
When we finally finish scouring every shelf, we quickly check out and head next door to get our coffee. The music store is like a time warp, every time I go in I lose no less than an hour, if not more. And now it’s getting close to dinner and I don’t want Sophia to worry.
Cole already knows my coffee order, so when he goes inside, I snag us a table on the patio. The line at the register is packed, but the streets are pretty quiet still. It's too early for the dinner crowd, so we'll actually get to enjoy that peaceful time of the day in between.
I'm still waiting for Cole when I notice a slightly familiar, surly man walking down the sidewalk toward me. The moment it clicks in my head who he is, my blood runs cold and I panic, jumping up from my seat. I don’t think I'll make it to the door in time, but I have to try. The man lunges forward and grabs my arm in a crushing grip. I whimper in pain, kicking out at him and looking around for help, but it's useless. The patio is uncharacteristically empty and now I’m at his mercy. He clearly isn’t stupid, taking me at a time when he’d have least resistance.
“I’ve got
a gun, and you know I will use it without hesitation,” he whispers in a deep voice I still hear in my nightmares. He starts to drag me toward the alley, and I fight and kick with everything I have, purposefully dropping my book bag so Cole knows something’s wrong.
As soon as we round the corner, the man steps past the dumpster and slams me against the wall. His fingers wrap tightly around my throat as he pins me to the brick, the pain nearly sending me into a flashback I wanted no part of. He leans so close to my face that I can smell his rancid breath and would have gagged if I could suck in a full breath.
“So I just heard that your family’s murder case was reopened. I thought I could let you live, but clearly that was a mistake. Now you are going to come with me, without a fight, or I’ll kill that pretty new mother of yours. She’s a lawyer, right?” His voice is low and menacing, sending shivers down my spine, but it’s the threat that has tears welling in my eyes. I can't let him hurt her. The thought that he had to have been stalking us and waiting for me here, scares me even more.
As he loosens his hand, I know that it's now or never, and I'm at a point in my life that I no longer wish I can join my family. I have one shot at this, since he doesn’t think I can talk. Once he knows that it’s possible, he won't be so forgiving. So I take a deep and shaky breath before screaming with everything I have, “COLE!”
My voice is awful and raspy, and the pain is so bad it nearly brings me to my knees, like knives being scraped through my throat over and over again. But in my desperation, I manage a loud enough volume to be heard down the street… or at least I hope so.
Relief floods me as I hear the pounding of footsteps coming toward the alley as the man snarls and jerks me away from the wall. He tries to run with me, but I manage to throw an elbow and struggle harder, my fight renewed at the possibility of living through this. He thought he’d found the compliant and silent girl he’s seen me be, but under all that, I’m a fighter and I have three years of anger and revenge to put into this. I'm not a victim, and I refuse to let him succeed.
His hand fumbles in his coat and I know he’s going for the gun. My main thought is that I can’t let Cole get hurt, so I slam my elbow as hard as I can into his exposed ribcage. He coughs and curses, nearly dropping me right as Cole reaches us. A fist slams into the man’s face, the sound of bone crunching giving me a soul-deep satisfaction.
“Go before you get yourself killed too, kid,” he growls when Cole tries to yank me away.
“Fuck off,” Cole grounds out as he lets go. Despite trusting him, I immediately start to panic. He gives me a wink as he reaches down and grabs a chunk of loose asphalt, somehow calm during all of this.
As the man pulls out his gun, Cole smashes the concrete into his head hard enough that he drops me. Seeing a good opportunity, I go limp with all of my body weight, causing the criminal to drop my arm completely.
Cole grabs my hand and yanks me with him, both of us running faster than ever before. Cursing follows us as the man gets his bearings and likely blinks past a concussion. As soon as we reach the corner, the ear-splitting sound of gunshots sends us lurching forward, desperate to get out of his sight.
“If you get away this time, I will find you. You will never be safe, you stupid girl. You should have been shot the night they put bullets in your family. You were stupid enough to go snooping and now you’ll give your life for it. The boss didn’t like being questioned, and he knows it had to be from you. The cops know too much for it to be random. We will always be watching, and we will find you!” the man yells after us, sounding completely unhinged, and a few seconds later I hear the squeal of tires. He must have managed to reach his waiting car and sped off.
Turning around now that we’re in front of the shop windows, I try to catch a glimpse of the getaway car, but I'm too late. It's just a blur of red before he’s gone, but his words are replaying in my head and it feels like ice is running through my veins.
Cole pulls us into the music store and checks me for injuries. Each breath is like lava being poured in my throat, and I have bruises already forming on my upper arms from the man’s grip. But I’m alive, and right now, that’s everything.
“Call the cops, she almost got kidnapped in the alley,” Cole shouts at the worker. The guy looks shocked and quickly grabs a phone to make the call. Needing my foster mom, I pull out my phone that’s somehow still in my pocket.
Me: Sophia. Music shop now. They almost got me, Cole stopped them. The same people who killed my family.
She doesn’t respond, but I knew she wouldn’t. She'll just grab her keys and drive here as fast as she can. Cole can’t stop staring at me, his eyes boring into me as I type. I gather up what courage I have left and look up into his eyes.
“I’m fine,” I manage to croak out. The pain and the sound of my voice makes me wince, and my cheeks flame as I rub at my throat like that will help. My once smooth voice is reduced to a raspy mess and I know that the scream did me no favors in that regard. His mouth falls open in shock. I never wanted them to hear it, but I guess I owe him this much at least. He saved my life.
His face softens as his eyes drop to the hand rubbing my throat. “Did he damage your vocal cords worse than they were?” I shake my head no, but honestly I can’t be sure. Exhaustion settles into my bones, but I know the day isn’t over yet.
The door to the record store opens, and two detectives walk in. Sophia is right on their heels within seconds and the sight of her nearly makes my legs give out. She rushes forward and crushes me in a hug, running a hand down the back of my head as she whispers that I’m safe. And oddly enough…. I believe her.
“You were almost abducted?” The male officer turns to me. I nod and his eyes narrow, but thankfully Cole jumps in to explain that the man dragged me into the alley. Even giving a detailed description. “Check the alley, and there should be a bullet casing somewhere,” the officer says into his radio.