The moans and groans started before they rushed back to the den where they’d been gathered before I walked in. I heard a few mumbles about ‘another one’ and ‘just like Colt’ which didn’t sound like compliments but made me feel ten feet tall.
CATALINA
Daddy is so mean. I can’t believe he really took my stuff when I have so much still left to be done. I had to use the school computer to do my schoolwork and even though I was tempted to contact the others I didn’t because daddy had said no.
Maybe he was right; maybe it had been a dumb idea to go walking the neighborhood after dark, but I’m so worried about the girl in the back of the truck. That afternoon at lunch period I went in search of my sister. I’m hoping she’d be too excited about daddy letting her marry Todd to pound me. Maybe I can get her to help.
She saw me coming and actually left her friends to walk over to me. “Catalina, is something wrong?”
“I have to show you something.” Now daddy hadn’t said anything about showing her stuff, and he hadn’t said anything about mom either, but that I just knew.
I knew if I told mom any of the stuff I was doing daddy would have all kinds of fits. That’s why I thought it was fun to bribe him to get my computer back; that backfired. I have to learn to be better about getting around daddy because he always wins.
Right now though I drew my sister off to the side out of the way of traffic and pulled the picture I’d downloaded off my computer before daddy took it. She unfolded it and stared down at it. “Where did you get this?” I explained the whole thing about the drone to her.
“You’re saying that this just happened last weekend?”
“Yeah, but daddy found out what I was doing and now he’s taken my computer and I can’t do anything else. Do you think that’s really a girl in there?”
I was pretty sure it was, that it wasn’t some animal like I’ve been trying to convince myself it could be at night when I couldn’t sleep. I haven’t been able to eat for these past few days and it’s all I can think about, is that poor girl or woman whoever she is.
She knelt down in front of me. “Don’t worry, we’re going to figure it out okay.” She actually hugged me right there on school property. I’ve never loved my sister more.
CAITLIN
Oh dear, what am I gonna do about this? The picture she gave me removed everything else from my mind. Just seconds ago I was deep in thought about the wedding and all the things I had to do since Todd or daddy number two as I’ve started thinking of him in my head said I only had two to three months.
Maybe mom would know, maybe I can ask her and the aunts for help because I don’t have the first clue where to start. I know the area where the picture was taken but… Wait, I can’t tell mom about this, daddy would freak. Aunt Cierra then. But if daddy knows about this why hasn’t anything been done?
I sat through the rest of my classes not really paying attention. I didn’t really need to be here anyway, I was just running out the clock at this point. The school had already been made aware that I was accepting early graduation and all the necessary steps had been taken.
Once daddy made up his mind he’d gone into overdrive making sure everything would be ready for fall. Prom is tomorrow and then I’m free of this place for good at least until graduation. But right now I couldn’t drum up the excitement I’d been feeling about that either. I wonder who she is, the girl in the back of that truck?
There hadn’t been any missing persons report in the area, no flyers, nothing on the news, nothing. The thought of someone missing their daughter and not knowing where she was while she’s suffering such horrors made my happiness seem tainted somehow. Because it could be me, or my little sister!
TODD
“What's wrong with you?” I’d just picked her up and we were waiting for her siblings to walk out the school door since she wanted them to ride home with us. The look on her face was entirely different from the one she wore when I dropped her off this morning. Gone was the light of excitement to be replaced with a look of worry and almost fear.
I’d shown up a little early because I knew it was the last day for seniors and I know how things can get on that day with assholes acting out. Brian was still in the hospital hooked up to shit so I knew it couldn’t be him that had put that look on her face. “Somebody bothered you?”