Mia

Sixteen

Mia

The next two days were more of the same. I ignored Kenny when he threw a fit that I wasn’t there the day before and hadn't responded to any of his threatening texts. I allowed him to suck on my face by the lockers, explaining away my outburst of kicking him in the nuts as not caring for being manhandled. 

            He didn’t bring Noah up again, but he did expect me to continue dealing and even talked to me about the plans for prom, how he would have everything ready when he came to pick me up Saturday night. I nodded without an ounce of enthusiasm. 

            Pierce didn’t text me, and I didn’t text him. We both knew what was coming; there was no point in dragging him any deeper into my f****d-up life. But there was a hole the size of Texas in my chest. Every breath scraped against the jagged edges of it. Every thought burned through it. 

            It was Friday. Kenny had no idea what that meant. But it was already there, the day I was going to get out and be free of the dealing and the threats and the lies. It would probably destroy my family or something, but they were better off without me. The fact that Kai wasn’t around to disappoint as well was a huge bonus. 

            Kenny took forever counting my money, making my temper rise, because I was ready to be done with it. “Mia. Are you even listening to me?” he snapped. 

            Had I been? Probably not. I shrugged. He made an impatient noise, earning an eye roll from me. But then he grabbed my arm with his free hand and brought me close enough his hot breath blew across my face. It smelt of weed mixed with the spearmint gum he liked to chew. My arm screamed in agony where he gripped it. I never built up a tolerance to that pain. Every single time he did it to me over those months, a new level of pain shot through my arm. 

            “This isn’t a game, Mia,” he snarled, and I jerked on my arm, begging myself not to shake. I was so tired of being afraid of this person. I wouldn’t have to be anymore once I left. I just wanted to leave. “Tomorrow is going to be tricky, and I need to know you’re focused. That you aren’t going to pull any ridiculous stunts.” 

            “Let go of me,” I growled with the most venom I could muster, yanking my arm from his grasp. “I said I would do it. You don’t need to bully me to get results. I’ve been dealing for you for the last three f*****g weeks with the exception of me taking one day off of school this week. Stop being an asshole, and maybe I won’t pull any stunts tomorrow.” 

            His features morphed into an angry mask, a lot like the one he wore after I kicked him in the nuts. “I don’t trust you, Mia. And if I think anything is fishy, your entire family is going to pay.” 

            My stomach dropped, but I shook it off. They would be fine. They had to be. “Stop with the threats. They’re getting old. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” 

            I left him standing there with a large amount of money in his hands. Ava had had a stick up her butt the last couple days, so I didn’t want to keep her waiting any longer. When I got out to the car, she didn’t say a word to me when I got in. Her never having to plan a freaking prom ever again was going to bode very well for her. Too bad I wasn’t going to be around to see her at peace for a bit. Rabia seemed to have mutual feelings as she barely even looked at Ava while we drove her home. 

            Once Rabia got out and I moved to the front seat, Ava finally chose to speak to me. “I’m just dropping you at the house. I have to get to the museum to make sure everything is set up,” she told me in an extra snippy tone I didn’t care for. Of course, our last few minutes together had to suck, but I couldn’t allow that.

            “It’s going to be awesome, Ava,” was all I could think to say. 

            What else could I say? 

            Hey, I’m probably running away for a while. I’ll miss you, and despite my track record, I really do love you. 

            Or, oh hey, sorry I almost ruined your senior year. Hope you don’t hate me for the rest of your life. By the way, I’m involved in a huge drug ring at the school, so you should keep an eye out for yourself once I’m gone. 

            Nope. 

            She gave me this look when we pulled up to the house, as if she was surprised I said something nice. “I hope it is. But thanks for being positive about it.” 

            Many words flooded me, but I was so overwhelmed with emotion, I couldn’t bring myself to utter anything else. So I leaned across the console and gave her an awkward side hug before hurrying from the car and up to the house, without glancing back when she drove off. 

            The house was eerily quiet when I went inside. Usually, I enjoyed such silence, but just then, it was like the silence inside me. I was so alone and about to seclude myself from everyone I cared about. Life was bleak, but it was the only way for me to go somewhere far away and maybe start over. 

            My attempts at positivity were a joke. 

            Mom had a show at her gallery that night, so her and Dad would be gone for the rest of the day, which I should have been fine with, since it wasn’t like I could say goodbye. But, man, was I going to miss them. 

            I took my time walking through the house, looking over the photos on the walls Mom had taken of us. Looking at Kai—who I had completely ignored over my dealing time—made my heart ache. God, I was such a disappointment. 

            After stealing some photos from Mom and Dad’s room that I couldn’t live without and an old sweater of Ava’s from her room, I finally went to my room. I fished my backpack out from under my bed, doing a quick inventory: A large pile of cash, some food I had pilfered from the pantry, hair dye, the fake ID a nerd at school had made me earlier in the year, and a week’s worth of clothes, including my new western outfit that I probably didn’t need, but whatever. It would have to be enough. I had enough money to take the train just about anywhere and live for a few months. I would be okay, and maybe I would contact my family again if Pierce was ever successful in busting Noah. 

            I grabbed my laptop and chargers, shoved them in the backpack and headed downstairs. My phone buzzed when I got to the kitchen to get a few bottles of water. At the sight of Cop on the screen, my heart raced, my palms sweating when I opened it. How in the world could I deal with him when I was about to leave?

            Cop: I hate this. 

            This made my stomach hurt. I hated it too, but I didn’t know what to say before his next one came through.

            Cop: Where are you going to go?

            I didn’t know how to reply to that either, so for once, I settled on the truth. 

            Me: The train station. I’m just going to go until I feel like I’m far enough. 

            Cop: Can I see you first? 

            It seemed like such a terrible idea since I cared so, so deeply for him. I had been trying to pretend it didn’t matter. But leaving him behind hurt so bad. The idea of seeing him again… I wasn’t sure I could go through with it. 

            Me: I don’t think that’s a good idea.

            Cop: Yeah. You’re probably right.

            My chest ached, and tears pricked at the backs of my eyes. This had to be the right thing. At least for me. I couldn’t fix all I had done, but I sure as hell could run from it. 

            Cop: Please stay in touch. 

            Me: When I get somewhere worth stopping, I’ll let you know.

            Cop: This seriously sucks balls. 

            Me: Nicely put. 

            Me: Please keep an eye on my family. I don't know if they’ll hurt Ava when they                realize I took off. 

            Cop: I’ll do my best. 

            That would have to do. With a glance out the window in the kitchen, I saw the setting sun and the rain clouds moving in. If I was going to get out of there and not be soaking wet on the train, I needed to get going. I could walk to the closest bus stop and take that to the station, then decide where to go from there. With one last stroll around the giant house, I said goodbye to my family and all hopes of comfort. 

            Exiting through the garage seemed right. It would have been so weird going out the front door. I would never sneak out of my house again. Once I stepped out the door, regret and terror filled me when a hand went over my mouth and an arm around my neck. Caught up in my sorrowful thoughts, I hadn’t even noticed him standing outside the door. 

            “Took you long enough,” his rasped in my ear. Frozen in horror, I couldn’t even bring myself to move or think about the predicament I was in. My backpack was squished between us. When he squeezed my neck harder, all I could think about was that he was crushing my snacks, instead of the fact that I could no longer breathe. “I’ve been waiting out here for the last hour.” 

            Pulling away from him and screaming was impossible. My neighbors wouldn’t even be able to see anything since the sun was almost set and the giant tree Pierce usually stood by hid us from the road. How freaking creepy was it that Kenny had been there for an hour? What was he going to do to me? My entire body shook, my blood pounding through my ears, making them ring. There was a good chance I might pass out, but I couldn’t allow myself to. 

            “You’re going to go with me,” he breathed. I tried shaking my head, but it didn't work right. His arm tightened around my throat, almost completely cutting my air supply off. “Oh, yes, you are. You’re going to be calm and cool about it and get in my car. Otherwise, we’ll go back in your house and wait for your family to get home. I wonder what they would think about what a f*****g w***e you’ve been. Your choice, sweetheart.” 

            It was awful. I had been so careless. Story of my life. He would too, take me inside my house. I didn’t know what he would do to me, but I couldn’t risk my family coming home. Them seeing him there and realizing how much of a liar I was seemed horrible. But what would happen? What would he do if I got in his car? Would he take me to Noah? I had to think, had to figure out how to get away from him. 

            He jerked on my throat, making me cough and gag against his hand. Jackass. “You going to come quietly?” he asked, and I could only barely nod. “Good choice. I’m parked around the corner. Start walking.” 

            Coughing couldn’t be helped when he released me, but I righted myself and allowed him to put a firm arm around my shoulders before he led me to his car. All my plans went up in flames before my eyes as we approached his car. I would never be able to get away.

            After ripping my backpack off, he took me to the passenger door and shoved me inside. He tossed the backpack in the back seat before going around and getting in. It smelt like he had just smoked a bowl in there. 

            My stomach flipped over at the sight of duct tape and zip ties in the cup holder right next to me. The second he got in, I made the mistake of looking right at him. The asshole backhanded me across my cheekbone. Pain seared through my entire face, making me scream out. 

            “What the f**k, Kenny?” I couldn’t help myself from yelling, and it earned me another strike in the exact same spot. Tears poured from my eyes, pain exploding throughout my entire head. 

            “You will not speak,” he growled. 

            I was so discombobulated I couldn’t fight or see through the tears as he bound my wrists with a zip tie. The plastic cut into my wrists, making me gasp again. This was a whole new level of psycho, even for him. Once the tears cleared a bit and I got a good look at him, I could see it, the insanity in his eyes. In his entire being. His hair stuck up in every direction as if he had run his hands through it over and over. Sweat dripped from every pore on his face, and his eyes were almost completely black in the dim light of the setting sun. Everything about him screamed psychopath, and I was stuck in his car with nowhere to go. 

            “If you say another word, I’m taping your mouth shut. Got it?” 

            I nodded, trying to keep my lip from quivering. There wasn’t any way I could get through this if I became a sniveling puddle of goo. But thinking rationally while my face was searing with pain was no easy feat. 

            No one made a second glance at his car when he left my neighborhood. I had no hope of someone calling the cops or of Pierce showing up out of the blue to save my worthless ass. I was completely alone. As usual. 

            “I knew it!” he yelled with a hysterical laugh, making me jerk back. “I f*****g knew you were going to run. I even told Noah. But he didn’t believe me. He thought he scared the s**t out of you to the point you would do whatever he asked. Well, now I’m going to prove him wrong.” 

            He didn’t go on, and I wanted so badly to ask where he was going to take me, but I held my tongue. If he took me to the warehouse, there was no way I would ever escape. There was way too much security, and there was a good chance Noah would decide to just kill me on the spot. They could melt me in acid, like they did on that Breaking Bad show, and no one would ever know what happened to me. I watched the streetlights go by, the buildings changing from tall and shiny to old and crumbling; we were not going in the direction of the warehouse. He was headed toward Old Town, close to where Pierce lived. 

            Pierce! If only I could get my phone out. It would be impossible with the way my hands were bound. 

            “Yeah. They’ll see,” he said so randomly it made me jump. “They’re threatening to shut the whole f*****g operation down because this prom shit.” He shook his head, but I couldn’t really listen while trying to concentrate on where we were going. 

            He was pulling down a back street of a neighborhood that was not so great, filled with rundown houses and unmanicured lawns. They could really use a landscaping service. Now is not the time, Mia! He glanced sideways at me when he turned onto a completely abandoned alleyway and slowed the car. The way the dash lights glinted off the whites of his eyes had acid rising up my throat. “I’ll take you to them, but I’m getting what I want first.” 

            What in the actual f**k? Was he going to r**e me? Try finishing what I wouldn’t let him do at the beginning of the week? 

            I couldn’t let it happen. I couldn’t. There had to be some way. I had never in my life had to fight someone or hurt someone—aside from kicking him in the nuts the one time—but I would do whatever I had to in order to get away from him. 

            A memory of this silly self-defense thing I watched a while back flashed through my mind. They had shown that you could get out of zip ties by either shimmying out of them or tightening them and breaking them. With a wiggle of my hands, I knew there was no room for me to slide my hands free, but if I got the chance, I might be able to break them… maybe on his freaking face. 

            As he slowed to a stop and put the car in park in the dark, super creepy alleyway, I straightened my arms, making them as stiff as possible with the hopes he wouldn’t notice. When he turned to face me, I pulled the same move he had and swung my arms right at his face, hitting him straight on the nose with my forearm. My arm screamed in agony along with him.

            “f**k!” he yelled out as blood spurt from his nose, but I wasn’t going to give him the chance to do anything, I couldn’t give him even a second. “You fudding bidch! You brode by dose.”

            He hadn’t buckled me, so while he carried on about his nose, I lunged across the center console, somehow getting on top of him. The amount of adrenaline pumping through my veins mixed with my sheer will to live and not be violated had me dodging his hands that grabbed for my wrists. I got the zip tie pressed to his throat, cutting into his Adam’s apple. His eyes about popped out of his head as he tried bucking me off, but I had the advantage of the steering wheel at my back that made it impossible to get me off. Even if it digging into my back was painful, I let it urge me on. 

            His hands gripped my hips, digging in so hard I cried out, but I didn’t loosen my arms. Not even an inch. He even whacked me in the side of the head, but I barely felt it. The blood still pouring from his nose made it impossible for him to breathe through it, and every breath he gasped through his mouth came shorter and shorter. His bulging eyes rolled back in his head and on one final breath, his body slumped in the seat. 

            My entire body shook, and I gasped for air, not realizing until I climbed off him that I was sobbing. The car was still running, so I turned it off and held on to the keys. I could barely get my body to move enough to climb into the back seat. He may have been knocked out, but I didn’t think he was dead. Even though his face was a gory mess, he still had a pulse where I checked on his neck. I didn’t have long.

            After scrambling to the back seat, I tightened the zip tie some more with my teeth, letting it cut through my skin before whacking my wrists on my knee over and over until it snapped. The dumb person on that YouTube video made it look so freaking easy, but my wrists were aching and swollen, my knee bruised by the time it broke. 

            Sobs quaked through me as I fished a huge gray hoodie from my backpack and slid it on, before sticking his keys in there. With my backpack on and the hood of my sweater pulled up, I got out of the car, stepping into the rain. 

            On trembling legs, I walked through the downpour, letting it soak me. Not another soul was in sight—all the homeless people having found shelter under boxes and such—as I wondered through the neighborhood, guided by the cloud-covered moonlight. When I finally found the exit to the main road, I knew exactly where I was in Old Town and where I needed to go. Luckily, it was only a few miles. Maybe further. Now I would just have to keep myself from passing out.