“Fallon, I told you I’m fine. No one hurt me. They didn’t touch me.”
“They didn’t hurt you?” I repeat, making sure I heard her right. I’m glad she is okay, relieved beyond measure, but she might be lying to me, and I don’t want her to face this alone.
She turns in the seat to face me. Her green eyes are sad, her expression heartbroken. “No. I’m fine. I just want to go home to Mom and Dad, and I don’t want to talk to Leon ever again.” I’m unsure of what I should say. Did Leon have something to do with this? Why is she so upset?
I decide to leave it alone for now, but the questions linger in the back of my mind. The plane takes off, and I stick to her side. Markus takes a seat across from us after a short while, and we ride in silence.
Eventually, she falls asleep, her body curled into a tight ball, her face pressed against the glass of the window like she wants to escape us. I know Markus told me to prepare for the worst, and I did, but I over-prepared.
I move to the seat beside him and grab his hand. I know he can never love me, but I need to anchor myself to someone right now—anchor myself to him. Neither of us wants to admit that we’re falling deep into each because that would change everything. That would take our relationship from captor and captive into a strange new territory.
“What’s wrong? I thought you would be happy to see your sister?” Markus asks in a hushed whisper. It’s like he can see the worry developing inside of me.
“I am. It’s just… I don’t understand. They had her that whole time, and they never touched her. How? I mean, I’m grateful that she is okay and unharmed, but I was expecting worse, like you said earlier.”
“She’s lucky, that’s for sure.” Markus squeezes my hand. The warmth of his touch soothes some of my fears of the unknown away.
“Also, she is acting weird about her boyfriend. She said she didn’t want to call him at all.”
“I’m sure she’ll come around and tell you more. Give her some time. She’s been through a lot.”
“Yeah. I guess,” I nod, “I never got to tell you… thank you. For making good on your word.”
“I gave you a promise, and I don’t go back on them. You trusted me, so I put my trust in you.” I shake my head and smile, really smile. She’s safe, and everything I did to get to her no longer feels like it was for nothing.
For the first time, my heart is filled with joy instead of sadness, and I wonder how long this feeling will last. Timothy is still out there, doing who knows what? Would he try to come for my sister and me again? Markus? Every bone in my body says yes.
No one will be safe until he is gone.When we land, I’m unsure of what to do next. This is where mine and Markus’s road should end, where we should part and go our separate ways.
What else is there to do? My sister knows where I am, and he already said it was okay for her to go home. He can’t keep me prisoner now.
The question is… could I? Could I walk away from him? Turn my back on him, after all, we’ve been through? Resume my mundane college life after what I’ve experienced?
To walk away from him now, after everything he’s done for me, seems like the ultimate betrayal.
But if he can never love me, what future is there for us?
As we walk to Markus’s car, his phone starts to ring. I hold on to my sister’s hand a little tighter, worried she will disappear if I don’t. Markus unlocks the car, and we climb inside while he remains standing outside on his phone.
“He’s just like the others. The men who took me… a criminal,” my sister states as if she knows the truth. I nod my head because, at this point, why lie?
“He…” I start, contemplating if I should tell her the whole story or leave the worst part out. I decide after everything, Amelie deserves the truth. “He bought me at an auction. Paid one million dollars for me.”
Even in the dark, I can see the shocked look flick onto Amelie’s face. “I don’t know what to say…” For a moment, she just stares at me, maybe waiting for me to say more, but there is nothing else to say. “An auction for people? Like… wow… was it just you there?”
“No.” I cringe as the image of Julie’s beaten body pops into my head. “There were other girls. We were able to save one of them, but I don’t know about the rest.”