Chapter Twenty-four
Ryder
The first night back in my bed was the worst feeling of dread that I’d had since I found out Layla had OD’d in that house. Every little noise caused me to jump out of my skin. My shoulders hurt from being so tense. I barely slept at all.
Coffee was my best friend the next morning. I drank three cups before ten. To take my mind off things for a little while, I turned on the TV. Every station I turned to had the news on or commercials for it. Pictures of that damned house were splashed across the screen every few minutes.
The incident and death of infamous drug lord and alleged rapist Devin McDermott was front page news. Seeing his mugshot from a prior arrest made my blood boil and I had to restrain myself from throwing the remote through the TV. The sudden rush of anger scared me. Deep breaths. I couldn’t afford to lose it. Now when Layla needed all my attention.
I thought about turning the TV off but paused when the news anchor went to an on-scene reporter who I noticed was female.
I wondered if they had done that on purpose to make the girls feel safer. I smiled. Everyone at the hospital had been so accommodating of the fact Layla was having a hard time being around strange men. It was nice to see the news was being respectful of the other girls as well. I only hoped the psych ward was aware of it.
“Thanks, Tim. I’m here at a press conference with a few of the survivors of Devin McDermott’s unthinkable plot. Sources say, he had planned to kill everyone in the house that night, and then presumably himself. Kristen Alice has bravely chosen to speak out on behalf of her friend and fellow captive, Layla Saunders.”
The camera focused on Kristen. The other girls, none of whom I had met, were gathered behind her. They all looked alert, almost as if they expected to be kidnapped at any moment. Kristen looked nervous but spoke with determination.
“I was abused, raped, and forced to sell my body to other men for Devin McDermott for two years. Layla was brought into the house about six months after I was. While there, we each saw things that our worst nightmares had nightmares about.”
Hand after hand went up as reporters started excitedly asking questions, talking over one another to their rush to get the story. Kristen suddenly looked like a deer caught in the headlights and she froze. A man dressed in a suit leaned in to talk into one of the microphones on the podium.
“Questions will be answered afterward, so please be respectful and hold all questions. Miss Alice, please continue.”
Kristen looked extremely relieved. “Th-thank you, Mr. Taylor. Um, the-the girls behind me…um, I’m so sorry…” Kristen closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in through her nose. When she opened her eyes, she looked much calmer.
“The girls behind me all suffered at the cruel hands of Devin McDermott, along with countless others who didn’t make it to see the day he was no longer alive, the day we gained back our freedom. My friend, Macy Collins, was one of those girls. She was nineteen and enrolled in college to be a medical tech. She was only with us a few weeks when she was badly scarred in a drug-making accident. A few months after that, she was accused by Devin of stealing drugs and dragged outside, a bag over her head, where she was shot in the back of the head.”
Two of the girls started crying and the other two comforted them with hugs and whispered words. Kristen looked back at them and offered a sad smile. She turned back to the podium and took a few seconds to compose herself.
I was ready to march over there and stop that stupid press conference. It was torture to watch. Couldn’t they see how much these poor girls were suffering? Being the center of attention like this was only making it worse.
“Truthfully speaking, I honestly don’t know if Macy and I had crossed paths under different circumstances that we would have become friends. That any of the girls I had encountered in the Room would be friends under different circumstances. But now I can say without hesitation that the girls are my family. Each and every one of them.”
One of the girls pulled Kristen into a hug and the others gathered in a group hug. Mr. Taylor smiled and took over the podium. “Thank you, Miss Alice, for your inspiring words and immense bravery in coming forward. I will now take any questions.”
Switching off the TV, I wiped a couple of tears from my eyes. Kristen, Layla, and those girls were the bravest women I’d ever met. All my other problems seemed extremely small in comparison.
My phone vibrated. I’d gotten a new one after I’d been released from the hospital. I’d asked Dave to drive a county over to get it. Logically, I knew there wasn’t anything wrong with the phone store nearby, but I wasn’t taking any chances.
My heart froze as I saw who it was. This was it. No more excuses. No more reasons why I couldn’t answer. No more running.
I’m at the door.
Her knock reverberated in my soul. I wasn’t ready for this.