Zed responded to my weak protests by grabbing my wrist and dragging me in the bedroom. I looked at him warily; the last time we’d been this close to my bed, we’d wound up having sex. But sex seemed to be the farthest thing from Zed’s mind. I felt numb as I directed him to my closet and asked him to pull down the suitcase because it was too high for me to reach. I felt even number as it popped open on the floor, empty, but soon to be filled.
“How long should I pack for?”
Zed rolled his eyes. “You women and your clothes. What, do you think this is a vacation?”
I glared at him. “You know what I mean, asshole.”
“Fine, fine, relax, Princess Lily.” He held up his hands as though he’d been kidding. “Pack for a couple of weeks. I hope it won’t take that long, but I don’t know.”
I felt tears well up in my eyes. “A couple of weeks?” I repeated dumbly.
Zed nodded. “Come on, we don’t have all day. Hurry up.”
My legs felt like jelly, but I forced myself to move as quickly as I could. I didn’t have a lot of clean clothes, so I hoped that four pairs of jeans, a couple of dresses, and a few shirts would do the job. I packed as many pairs of clean panties as I had. Touching them in front of Zed made me blush. I turned around with a pile of underwear in my hands, and Zed smirked at me.
“You and your little panties,” he muttered.
I blushed redder than ever and dropped them in the open case. “Shut up,” I mumbled, still blushing. Being in my bedroom almost seemed to make Zed more uncomfortable than it made me, and I was almost enjoying seeing him squirm. Finally, I stuffed in some textbooks, a phone charger, and my bathroom stuff.
“I still have to get my laptop,” I explained. “And then I should be done.”
Zed rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, princess.”
With a deep sigh, I dragged my suitcase to the door and took a long look around my bedroom. Suddenly, my heart felt like it was going to be pierced by an arrow. Even though I didn’t love my apartment, it was mine, and I was suddenly scared that I’d never see it again. I blinked back tears thinking of all the fun times I’d had in here with Jackie. And with Zed, I thought, blushing again.
Zed waited patiently as I stuffed my laptop in the suitcase pocket and grabbed an extra pair of shoes. He led me outside and tossed my suitcase in the trunk of his car with one hand. I hunkered down in the passenger seat next to him.
“Is my apartment safe?”
Zed chuckled low in his throat. “Whatever you think that means, sure,” he replied casually. “I wouldn’t come back here without me or my friend though.”
“I won’t,” I said, almost offended. I still couldn’t get past feeling a little hurt that he’d thrown me away like that. “Am I going to be able to come back at some point?”
Zed looked at me with his jaw set. I could see a muscle twitching in anger. “I dunno,” he said simply. “I hope so, but I can’t make any promises. These guys are in some bad shit, Lily.”
“I see,” I said quietly. A whole new wave of tears came over me; I thought for sure that even if he didn’t know, he’d at least lie about whether or not I’d be able to come home. The thought made me enormously sad.
We drove out of downtown Detroit and into the suburbs. I thought things would be quieter and nicer, but instead, they just looked even dingier. We passed through what felt like endless abandoned strip malls and shopping centers, decaying with age and grime. There were no functioning cars, and as we slowed to a stoplight, Zed clicked the locks down on both of our doors.
After driving for over an hour, Zed slowed to a halt. We were in front of a shopping center. Most of the stores had gunshots in the window glass, and it looked like they had been abandoned for a long time. There was one functional storefront—a Chinese food place with a door on the side of the building.
Zed pointed his finger at the Chinese food place. “That’s where we’re going,” he told me. “I’ll carry your stuff.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Zed, what the fuck is this? Where are we?” My voice grew to a high-pitched whine. “I’m not staying here! This looks so dangerous!”
Zed shook his head dismissively. “I know it looks like shit,” he said placidly. “But it’s fine, honestly. You’re going to be much safer here than you would be at home.”
My stomach churned as we got out of the car. The parking lot smelled like greasy fast food, and there were some homeless people curled up on the jagged sidewalk in front of a storefront that had once been a bodega. Tendrils of anxiety shot through my body and curled up in my lower belly.
Sensing my hesitation, Zed came close and wrapped an arm around me. I knew he was just guiding me closer to where we were going, but the physical contact felt good. I snuggled into his side as he pulled me close, inhaling his scent of tobacco and spice.
Zed guided me over to the side of the building. He waved at the workers in the Chinese restaurant as we passed and a couple of them waved back to him enthusiastically. He knocked on the side door three times and then stepped back, pushing me behind him. I almost cursed him for making me stumble until I realized he was doing it to protect me. Deep down, some of the ice around my heart began to melt.
“Yo, what’s up, my man!” A huge black guy came out of the building. He was even taller than Zed, with thick dreadlocks that reached the small of his back. He was wearing a black tank top and black army trousers. He grinned at Zed and nodded up at me. “Is this that hot little snatch?”
“Fuck off,” Zed muttered. His eyes flashed with anger, and a small burst of admiration ran through me. “This is Lily. She’ll be staying here for a few days. I’ll be back to check on her occasionally. Don’t let her get hurt. Don’t let her out of your sight.”
I swallowed nervously as the black guy looked me over from head to toe. He stuck out a hand, and I took it nervously; his palm was almost as big as my whole hand. When we shook hands, the veins in his neck bulged.
“I’m Peyton,” he said in a kinder voice this time. “I was just giving your bud here some shit. Don’t worry about me, baby,” he added with a grin. “I’ll take good care of you.”
Zed clapped me on the shoulder and pushed me forward. He handed my suitcase and my bags to Peyton and nodded at me once before turning around and walking back to the car.
“Zed!” I called, feeling panicked that he was about to leave. “Please don’t leave me here,” I begged. “Please, I don’t want to be here.”
Zed scowled at me. I watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He handed me a wad of bills comprised of twenties and fifties. Too afraid to count them in public, I stuffed the cash in my back pocket.
“You’re gonna be fine,” he said, sounding tired. “I’ll be back to check on you soon. Peyton’s a good guy. He’ll leave you alone.”
I nodded and swallowed again. The lump in my throat got bigger and bigger as I watched Zed lope back towards his car, get in, and drive away.
“Well, what’re you standin’ there for?” Peyton asked. He rubbed his gigantic hands over his biceps. “Get your skinny ass inside where it’s warm!”
I followed Peyton inside the dark room. It looked to be a converted studio apartment, with some big open closets and a door that I assumed was the bathroom. There was a mattress covered in blankets in one corner of the room with a plastic nightstand beside it. The room had a funny smell that I couldn’t quite place; it seemed to be a mixture of body odor, cigarette smoke, and stale beer mixed with something moldy. My eyes itched almost instantly, and I wondered if there had been a dog in the room recently.
“Do you have a dog?”
“What?” Peyton glanced up at me as if seeing me for the first time. I felt a tremor of fear run down my spine, and I fought the urge to cry.
“Do you have a dog? I have an allergy, and it feels like there’s pet hair in here.”
Peyton didn’t answer me; he just waved his arm dismissively. Whatever cheerful attitude he’d exhibited around Zed was gone, and now he was off in his own little world. I dragged my suitcase over to the corner and sat down on the bed. Plugging my phone into the charger, I texted Jackie.
Jacks, I’m staying outside the city. Call me later.
I glanced up to see if Peyton was watching, but again, he gave no indication that he knew I was in the room. I cursed the lack of privacy in the small apartment. I didn’t want to take my clothes out and have everything smell like this place, either.
Lying down on the bed, I pulled out one of my psychology textbooks and began to read. We were studying abnormal behavior, and with a slight ironic smile, I thought that it wouldn’t be the worst idea to start reading up on Zed’s personality quirks. Maybe it would give me the upper hand advantage in the future?
There was a buzzing sound, and I looked around for my phone. When there was no notification on the screen, I turned to Peyton. He was staring at something in his hand. Suddenly, his neck snapped up, and he turned to face me. I felt my skin crawl; there was something about him, something about his eyes that looked so unsettling.
“I have an assignment,” he said in short. “You stay here. I’ll be back later.”
I nodded, feeling powerless. Of course, I would stay here, in his shitty, smelly apartment. What the fuck else was I going to do?
“Peyton, what if Zed comes? How do I recognize him?”
Peyton shook his head from side to side. “Zed ain’t coming back today, honey,” he muttered. “Don’t you worry about that.”
I frowned. “He just told me that he’d be back though,” I argued. “Didn’t you hear him say that?”
Peyton looked at me and grinned. He started laughing, then turned on his heels and walked out. I felt my heart clench in my chest as he slammed the door behind him and turned a key in the lock.