Nettie’s warnings have been pushed to the back of my mind since I’ve not seen or heard anything once again. This whole thing was getting pretty old if you ask me. I’m beginning to think she just might be more paranoid. The depression however has only increased. My late nights have been filled with me pleasuring myself to Lucifer’s face and voice… and touch. This isn’t healthy at all but there’s nothing I can do to stop it. Once I started it’s been unavoidable. As the pregnancy progresses so does my sex drive and I can’t leave it unsated. I’d be in bed at night, horny and lonely and I couldn’t think of anyone on the planet pleasing me the way he did. James noticed my state naturally, and that is why I’m sitting here on my couch fully dressed waiting for him to arrive. It was 4pm on a Saturday and he called and told me to ‘get my ass up and ready, were going out’.
My phone rang and I looked down to see a picture of James and I smiling up into the camera, arms loaded down with bags from shopping. I smiled at the picture and swiped right, “Hey there.” I greeted him.
“Hey baby, I’m outside… come, come! We don’t have all day missy, we need to get going.”
I laughed as I stood and gathered my things while cradling the phone between my shoulder and ear. “Is that right? And where exactly are you taking me?” I asked.
“Uh un. Bring your pretty pregnant ass out here and you’ll see when we get there.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine, I’m coming hold your horses.”
He laughed. “I’d hold a horse alright, and ride it if the size it right.”
I chuckled and hung up on him before he could get too carried away. I left the house ensuring to put on the security alarm and lock up and bounced to his car.
“Hola chica, you look smoking today. You did all this for me?” he asked.
I scoffed. “Yea, all ten minutes it took me to get ready was my best-est of efforts to impress you.”
He placed his hand over his heart and batted his lashes. “Thanks doll, now let’s do this.”
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked.
“Absolutely not, now you might want to wear your diva shades because it’s a beautiful day out.”
I shook my head; I’ve grown to really like his absurdity. It brought sun into my life, as everyday it’s beginning to get darker on the inside. “As you wish.” Once my shades were firmly in place to his liking he pulled off.
It wasn’t until we were on the highway for a half hour did I realize what direction we were going. “Uhm, James where exactly are we headed?” I asked nervously.
He smiled. “Road trip honey! You needed it with all the sulking you’ve been doing lately. I just couldn’t take it anymore I need to see your smile doll.”
I laughed nervously. He didn’t know about my past, I made sure of that but it felt like he was leading me back to my doom. I scanned him and began to get anxious and suspicious. Did someone hire him to keep tabs on me and now he was taking me back? My hand instinctively flew to my stomach to protect my baby. He glanced over and frowned pushing his glasses to the top of his head. “Is something wrong?” he asked looking at my belly for beat before returning him gaze to the road.
“Oh uh… I’m just wondering about my bladder holding up is all.” I said eyeing him.
He let out a huge sigh of relief. “Dear god, I almost had a heart attack. I’ll stop at the next exit to let you go then we only have about 30 minutes to our destination.”
I felt instant relief and guilt. He’d become such a good friend and the first thought I had was that he’d betrayed me in some way. “Sure, just get a gas station.” I said hoping to keep up my charade.
As promised, he pulled off the next exit and went into the town. He of course refused to stop at a gas station. When I fought him about it, he started ranting about STD’s and how even if I squat they could still attack me. Not wanting to fight him on it, I let him lead me to a place he thought was clean enough for his pregnant friend. Of course it was the first nice restaurant he could find and he demanded that they let me use the restroom before they could even kick up a fuss.
I excused myself to the bathroom, and used it. It wasn’t until I actually entered did I realize I did have to go. I relieved myself, washed my hands then stared in the mirror. What the hell was wrong with me? It’s been months and there hasn’t been a peep, except Nettie’s note which told me he had no idea where I was. There was the call, but I’m sure that if he knew where I was it wouldn’t have taken this long. My anxiety was getting the better of me and it wasn’t helping me in any way. I took in a deep breath and splashed my face with cold water to get a hold of myself. When I got back into the car, I felt a hell of a lot better and more like myself than I had in a while. James was right, I needed this. I needed to get my life back.
We got back onto the highway and exited in Syracuse where he drove to a beautiful restaurant. Did I mention it was Italian, and the food was to die for? By the time we left, I was full and my stomach was exceptionally happy. He’d done well and this trip was totally worth it. We’d ordered food to go as well and he loaded us back up into his car.
“So mi amor, how was that?” he asked as he started the car.
“Mmm perfecto. Gracias Señor” I responded and he chuckled.
“Thank you Jesus I’m rubbing off on you, now for part 2”
I smiled as I buckled my seatbelt. “There’s more huh?” I asked.
He nodded. “Oh yes bitch, the fun doesn’t end here. Hold on tight, we’re in here for a while…”
I smiled as we started off. When we passed Cayuga I looked at him in question but he refused to acknowledge it, only laughed. We continued on and a few hours later when the GPS said ‘Welcome to Buffalo’ I was thoroughly confused. “Buffalo? What the heck is in Buffalo?” I asked.
“Somewhere we need to go.” Was all he told me.
We drove and drove and drove. It wasn’t until the sign above my head read Niagra Falls did I understand. “Niagara falls? OH MY GOD! James you’re awesome!”
He looked over at me and winked. “Don’t I know it?” He pulled into a parking spot and put the car in park. “The Canadian side has a much better view, however I don’t know if you have a passport or if it’s with you. I couldn’t risk ruining the surprise by telling you to bring it.”
Of course I had a passport and it was locked away in my bag. What person on the run doesn’t carry the necessities with them in case they needed to take off at any given moment? However, I didn’t want to risk even my fake name pinging somewhere leaving any kind of trail so I didn’t admit to it. “I don’t but this will do just fine, I can’t wait!”
He patted my leg and we exited the car. The wind was a bit cooler over here but that was just fine on this warm day. It was dark out now, and we followed a secluded path along the falls to find a good spot for viewing. The trail vaguely reminded me of a horror flick, but I guess it was because it was so dark. There were a few stragglers out around us which made me more at ease. We came to an opening where we seemed to be standing at the top of the falls. I watched as the water cascaded down smoothly, bits of mist washing over me. It was just so calming. I looked up and gasped at the beautiful sight before me.
“Honey! I left the camera in the car I’m going to grab it. We just have to take pictures!” James said ecstatically.
I nodded my head in agreement not really able to unglue my gaze from my surroundings. I had a straight sight to the Canadian side, and it looked magnificent… something out of your dreams. Although it was extremely dark, on the verge to pitch black where we were – the other side was anything but. Canada was bursting with colors. You could see nothing but lights on all the tall buildings on the other side. It made me a little homesick I’d admit because we don’t see tall buildings and such in Cayuga. It looked like a party that you’d want to be invited to. Blues, pinks, and reds lit up the other side of the falls. The thing that had my attention the most however, was a tall oddly shaped building. As it ascended the building grew narrower and was topped by a circle. It was lit up in pink and the very top had a light shooting up. I imagined what could possibly be in there or what it truly was. I honestly didn’t believe it to be a building.
I heard James’ approach and I smiled. This was a very good idea and I’d owe him a ton for bringing me here. “You said the falls looks better from Canada, but from where I’m standing this side has a much better view. Thanks for bringing me.”
When no response came, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck standup. My palms instantly grew sweaty and I was extremely scared. What if one of those stragglers wasn’t really a straggler? What if they were a mass murderer or something and me standing here alone made me a prime target. Damn, I wish I had my bat with me. I took in a deep gulp of air, but they spoke up before I had the chance to turn around.
“Princess.”