“Uh, sure. Do you mind runnin’ me home?” He looks at me before focusing back to the road, shifting gears as he steers us away from the side of the road. “Do you need my address?” I ask as my phone pings with an incoming text.
Lex: Call me first thing tomorrow. Don’t let one fight ruin this good thing you and Dean have going. Love ya.
Heaving a sigh, I drop my phone in my purse and glance out the windshield.
“Man, this storm is really somethin’,” the car slows and turns down a side road. I glance over my shoulder out the back window.
“This isn’t the way to my house,” I point out, glancing at Kolby, his focus still on the road, paying me no mind. “Kolby, do you need my address?”
“No.”
I laugh a little, confusion written all over my face. “Okay, but you’re goin’ the wrong way,” unease starts settling over me as he presses on the accelerator.
“You couldn’t just mind your business,” he says, the words coming out quiet. My heart beats a little faster. Something’s not right. His hands flex on the wheel, knuckles turning white as he grips it.
“Been watchin’ you with him.” He goes on and my body turns to steel, shivers running down my spine. “Things were fine, even after you stuck your nose where it didn’t belong. Until you fucked him like some whore in his office for the entire bar to hear.”
“It was you that trashed my car,” I whisper, dread filling me up inside, causing my stomach to sour.
“Do you l
ike knowin’ that everyone could hear you screamin’ his fucking name?” He grits out, taking the corner to sharp, the car fishtailing, causing me to scream.
“N-n-no, no. ‘Course not. C-could you please slow down, though? It’s gettin’ really bad out.” I beg, fear gripping me.
“Why couldn’t you just be a good girl, Whitley? Instead, you went and gave it up to fucking Dean,” he spits his name out, his words laced with venom. The rain is coming down even harder now, falling in buckets. I can’t see out the windshield even a foot in front of us.
“I’m so s-sorry.” He shakes his head, and I can feel the hate and anger vibrating off him. He presses on the break, taking the turn from Route 123 to Road Z, and I take the chance with the slow rate of speed, flinging the passenger door open and hurling myself from the moving car. I tuck my body in and let out a cry as I hit the ground, gravel scraping at my legs that are bare in this dress.
I scramble to my feet, breaking off in a sprint through the woods in front of me, a car door slamming behind me in the distance. My heart beats faster as I shove through the thick branches, the wet ground causing me to lose my footing. I stumble and right myself, pushing harder, the eerie darkness all around me, so dark I can’t see in front of me. I cry out as a branch smacks me in the face, but I don’t dare slow down. I can hear Kolby behind me, gaining on me. Turning left, I disappear behind a huge tree, my chest heaving. Reaching up to my cheek, I can feel the blood oozing out of it where the branch caught me. Shaky breaths escaping me, I’m stock still. Maybe if I just wait here a minute, he’ll go on lookin’ for me.
CRACK!
The punch to my face blindsides me, knocking me to the ground. I cry out, landing on my hands and knees. I start to crawl away, but Kolby grabs my foot, flipping me over. Roughly gripping my leg, he pulls me towards him.
“Shouldn’t have ran, Whit,” is the last thing I hear before he punches me in the face again and everything goes dark.
The heavy door shuts behind him and he stuffs his hands in his pockets, his eyes roaming all over me.
“What the fuck, Kolby?” I snap, yanking on the chains restraining me.
“Ah, yeah. Sorry, about all that last night. You made that a lot harder than it needed to be.”
“Well shit, my apologies. Didn’t know there was a kidnappin’ on the agenda or I would have behaved myself.” He guffaws.
“You’re so funny. One of the things I love most about ya,” he makes his way towards me, producing a set of keys from his pocket along with what looks like a needle. “Now, I’ll unlock you, but if you even think about tryin’ to get away, this here is a dose of heroin and fentanyl and it’s probably enough to kill you. So, you’ll be a good girl, right?” Panic seizes me, my heart thudding in my chest. I shake my head.
“I promise, I won’t do anything,” my hands shake as he reaches for my wrists and unlocks each restraint. Once free, I scramble to sit up, back against the wall. I rub my wrists from where the metal was cutting into them and he tips his head at me and sighs.
“I’m sorry I hit you. Does it hurt?” He reaches a hand towards me and I automatically flinch. Kolby narrows his eyes at me. “I’m not going to hit you again. I only did last night because I needed to get you back to the car without a fight.” My stomach churns.
“Why are you doing this?” The question pops out of my mouth. “I thought we were friends.” His face turns to stone.
“Friends? Fuck being friends, Whitley. Everything was going great until fucking Dean showed back up in town. He brainwashed you! He could never love you as much as I do.,” he stands abruptly and starts pacing in front of the bed. “He brought you to work, he brought you home. He stayed while you were working. We never had any alone time anymore. I’d sit outside your apartment, the lights always off. Because you were always at his house. No more of that shit though, I solved that problem.”
A sob slips out of my mouth, “what did you do to him?! If you hurt him, I swear to god I will kill you,” I lunge at him and he backhands me, slapping me across the face. Dropping back down on the bed, I press my hand to my cheek, tears spilling from my eyes.
“I said to be a good girl, Whitley. Why the fuck can’t you just listen?!” He storms towards me, pulling the needle from his pocket.