CHAPTER FORTY
ROUGHLY HALF AN hour later, Jackson woke me up. “I think you’re having a nightmare,” he said quietly.
I sat up, blinking. “I was. I dreamed that Zane cut off my feet so I couldn’t run away.”
Jackson put his hand on my waist. “I won’t let that happen.”
“I know,” I said and flopped back against the pillows. I was tired, so tired. As soon as my eyes closed, Jackson shot up, staring at the window.
“They’re home.”
My pulse instantly quickened. Jackson crept into the hall, making sure Lou was still stowed away in Zane’s room. He waved for me to come out. I slinked after him, holding my breath when I passed Zane’s door. I put my hand on the railing and dashed down the old, dark staircase. I was in the middle when the door opened.
“Hey,” Lou called. “White boy. Come here.”
“Go!” Jackson mouthed. “Run!”
I took off, tripping on the gold and scarlet rug at the bottom of the stairs. I caught myself before falling and scrambled through the living room and into the kitchen. I threw open the basement door, silently closed it, and ran to my cot, shaking.
Then I realized that the door wasn’t locked. Rochelle would be brought down, probably straight away. Nate and Zane would see that someone had been down there with me, and it wouldn’t be hard to figure out it was Jackson.
“Fuck,” I muttered and grabbed my elbows. My teeth chattered with nerves. I got up and paced in front of the stairs. The floorboards in the kitchen groaned under foot. I paused, biting my lip. They moved closer. I ducked behind the dry wall. The sharp click of the deadbolt being shot into place was like a choir of freaking angels. My body relaxed. Jackson had gotten to the door in time.
I retreated back to my cot. The sudden, intense fear had caused a headache. I sat on the edge, waiting for the girls to come down. Lily came down first, looking more annoyed than anything. Rochelle followed. Her silver eye shadow was smeared, and eyeliner dripped down her cheeks.
“I fucked up, I fucked up,” she muttered over and over.
“It’s not your fault,” Lily said in a tone that conveyed it wasn’t the first time she had said that. “You had no idea.”
“I should have known,” Rochelle said. “I should have known!” Her legs threatened to buckle. Lily helped her to her cot.
“Hun,” she soothed and brushed back Rochelle’s tangled hair. “He was undercover. None of us would have known.” Lily looked up at me. “Hey, Addie,”
“Hi,” I said back.
“Interesting night.” She rolled her eyes.
I pressed a smile and nodded, still listening to Rochelle crying about fucking up. Finally, Lily got her to take some sort of pill that took effect in just a few minutes. Lily tucked Rochelle under the covers and removed her own clothing, redressing in yoga pants and a tight tank top.
I looked at Phoebe’s empty cot. The sting of grief washed over me, and I buried my face into my pillow. I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep, so I replayed the fantasy dinner scene over in my head until I passed out.
***
A full day passed before I was able to see Jackson again. Lily and Rochelle were in the basement with me that night when he brought down our food. His right eye was bruised and swollen shut, and he was limping. I got up from my cot and rushed over, taking the tray from him.
“What happened?” I asked.
He just shook his head, glancing at the girls. “Don’t worry about me. Go back to your cot, Addie. Don’t act like you care.”
I set the tray down and took his hand in mine. “You look awful.” I felt like crying or throwing up. Maybe I’d throw up, then cry.
“Nah, I’ve had worse.” He nervously cast his eyes at Rochelle and Lily, his fingers tightening around mine.
“I know. You have.” I stepped in toward him.
“Any day now,” he reminded me and squeezed my fingers again. His eyes flicked behind me to the girls. “I should go,” he whispered.
I let his hand fall from mine and nodded. I watched him go up the stairs, a hole forming in my heart as he left. I swallowed hard and turned around, blinking away any tears. He was right. I had to act like I didn’t care. It was incredibly hard to do. I ran my hands over my face, trying to shake the feeling of heartache, and sat at the card table, picking apart a cereal bar.
“Is there something going on between you two?” Lily asked, joining me at the card table.
My heart stopped beating. A hot rush of blood turned my cheeks right. “No.”
She pressed her lips together and opened a little carton of milk. “I know he likes you. He looks at you all googly-eyed.”
“I’ve never noticed,” I muttered.
“Sure,” she said and rolled her eyes. “Addie, it doesn’t matter to me. He’s, like, kind of a lost cause, but Jackson’s okay in my book. He’s kinda cute, and I think he’s nice … maybe. He doesn’t talk much. It’s just that …” she lowered her voice, blue eyes flashing to Rochelle. “We all know Jackson has feelings for you. You say you don’t see it but it’s so obvious. Hello? Remember Christmas?” She shook her head. “Zane wanted us to tell him if we noticed anything on your end, since no one knows how you feel. If he knows you like Jackson back, he won’t let you guys be together. Like ever. I won’t say anything of course but …”
“Thank you,” I told her. “But there’s nothing going on. Like you said, he’s nice but never talks to us. I don’t know him, so I can’t like him.”
“Sure,” she repeated with a wink. I ripped open a package of fruit snacks and leaned against the table. The door opened again. My eyes flitted to the stairs, hoping to see Jackson again.
“Adeline,” Nate called. “Get dressed and come upstairs.”
The hinges squeaked as the door slowly swung shut. I put on socks and struggled to get a pair of boots to fit over the clunky ankle bracelet. The girls watched me in wonder. I shrugged, telling them that I had no idea what Nate wanted.
Lou was waiting in the kitchen. He took me into the mudroom. As soon as I set foot near the door, the alarm went off blaring through the house. Lou grunted and punched in the code to open the garage door, silencing the alarm. His large body blocked the keypad from sight. We got into Zane’s Camaro. Lou ushered me into the back, behind the passenger’s seat, which he took. He scooted it back until it hit my already cramped legs. Then he pushed it back even more.
Zane got in, sighing dramatically, and cranked the music. A song I liked came on, and Zane changed the station. Go fucking figure. He sped down the country road and headed for the Quad Cities. I kept my mouth shut as confusion grew. I was almost sure I wasn’t being put to work. It would go against the deal Nate had made.
I nervously fiddled with the hoodie strings and watched the city flash by. Zane made a sharp turn down a road I was completely unfamiliar with and slowed.
“There,” Lou said, his voice gruff.
Zane revved the engine as he accelerated into the parking lot of a doctor’s office. The car lurched forward, and I began to feel sick. Part of me wanted to get carsick and barf all over the nice leather seats, but another part didn’t want to face an angry Zane … and I just didn’t want to throw up in general.
We parked behind a medical complex. Lou got out and flipped his seat up. He reached into the back, making me think that he was being polite and offering a hand to help me out. I was wrong. Like Zane, he liked to yank and drag me around. He marched us to an employee-only entrance. Zane knocked.
A few seconds later the door opened. A middle-aged man, as tall as Zane with salt and pepper hair, stood to the side, allowing us in.
“It’s good to see you again,” he said to Zane and shook his hand. He had on a white lab coat over dress pants and a button up shirt. Dr. L. Jerry, OB/GYN was embroidered on the breast of the lab coat. “This must be the one.” He looked at me.
“Yeah,” Zane said. “How long will this take?”
“Normally a few days, but for you I’ll have the tests run immediately.”
“Good.” Zane put his fingers in the middle of my back and pushed me forward.
Dr. Jerry led me down a hall with exam rooms on both sides. He unlocked a bathroom door, handed me a plastic up, and said, “You know what to do. Put it through the window when you’re done.”
I just nodded and took the cup, unsure why he wanted a urine sample. I had to pee anyway, so I willingly went into the bathroom and shut the door behind me. There was a little metal door in the wall next to the toilet. I opened it and set the full cup inside, then flushed the toilet and washed my hands. Lou was waiting for me outside the door.
“This way,” Lou said and took a hold of my wrist and pulled me down the hall. He hoisted me onto an exam table. “Take off your pants,” he ordered.
“What?” I asked, my blood running cold.
“You heard me, bitch. Take off your pants.” Lou narrowed his eyes.
“Please,” Dr. Jerry said from the hall. “Let’s be professional about this. Miss Miller, I am going to do a full pelvic exam. Everything off from the waist down.” Lou huffed but left the room. Dr. Jerry closed the door halfway.
The room was cold. My hands shook and I looked around, spying a clock above the door. It was nearing eight, definitely after hours. There was no one else there. I stood and pulled down the pajama pants I was wearing. I removed my underwear, folding them and sticking them inside the pants. Shivering, I sat back down on the hard foam bed. The protective paper covering crinkled underneath me.
Dr. Jerry came in. I noticed the needle in his hand right away. I had a horrible fear of needles. My ears started to ring and I felt dizzy. I didn’t fight it. The ringing grew louder and louder until it was hard to hear what was being said around me. My mind checked out just in time. Dr. Jerry tied a rubber band around my arm and took a blood sample.
I felt like a rag doll. Dr. Jerry laid me back and put my feet up. I felt a cold metal tool get shoved inside me when he started the exam. Tears rolled down the sides of my face.
“Looks good, considering. There is some slight tearing but nothing that won’t heal on its own,” he said, loud enough for the guys to hear in the hall. He removed the tools, scooted his stool back, and opened the door. Everything was fuzzy. I sat up, but was too dizzy to get off the exam table without falling. “I’m going to check on those test results,” he told Zane.Zane said something in response, but it didn’t register in my mind. I wrapped my arms around myself and took a deep breath, waiting for the world to stop spinning so I could put on my underwear. I edged myself off the table and stumbled. More than aware Zane and Lou were in the small exam room with me, I tried to gather my composure and get dressed.
I sat back on the exam table. I felt violated and exposed again along with being sore from the physical exam. I brought my knees to my chest and closed my eyes. I might have fallen asleep. Or maybe I was getting good at repressing what I didn’t want to remember. All I knew is that I had no concept of time.
“All right,” Dr. Jerry said. “Test results are back.”
“And?” Zane asked.
“Nothing untreatable. Chlamydia is very common too. A week’s worth of antibiotics will clear it up. It shouldn’t cause any issues for the buyer. Once this is gone, she’ll be clean.” His voice was a distant echo. I felt like an expensive show dog going for a final vet check before my new owners took me home.
I had chlamydia, and if I had it, then Jackson did too. My heart sank to the floor. Dr. Jerry was still talking to Zane, asking him if he needed more birth pills. Zane said yes, though I wouldn’t need it anymore, and the doctor left the room. He came back with the medicine.
“I’m allergic to macrolides,” I said when I saw the white box of azithromycin.
“What happens?” he asked and set the antibiotics down.
“My throat swells,” I lied. Really, it just made me itchy.
“I’ll get something else,” the Dr. Jerry stated. He left and came back again and asked me about another medication. I nodded, telling him it was okay for me to take. He put it in a bag along with the birth control pills. He went to the door. Lou and Zane followed.
The white box of antibiotics sat on the counter. I bit my lip and flicked my eyes to the men. When no one was looking, I reached out and snatched the medication, shoving it into the large pocket on the outside of the hoodie. I held my hands over my stomach, nervous that the pills would rattle and give away the fact that I took them.
I sat on the cold leather backseat of the Camaro, still dizzy. I rested my head against the side of the car and curled my legs up onto the seat and stayed that way until we pulled into the driveway of the farmhouse. My legs had fallen asleep from being tucked underneath me, and I wobbled my way inside.
Zane punched in the code to open the door, then entered a different one to stop the alarm that sounded from the ankle bracelet. He stepped aside, making sure I went willingly into the house. I crossed through the mudroom and into the kitchen, heading straight for the basement.
Something dark was smudged on the door, contrasting against the white paint. I narrowed my eyes, unable to discern exactly what it was in the dim light. Lou flicked the lights on. I blinked as my eyes adjusted and I recoiled when I realized the dark smudge was blood.
“What are you waiting for?” Lou grumbled.
“M-medicine,” I stammered, not taking my eyes off the blood.
Lou grunted and called for Zane. He reached into the white bag and threw an orange bottle of pills at me. I didn’t catch it; the pill bottle rolled across the floor. I deliberately moved slow as I bent to pick it up.
Zane rushed forward and grabbed my wrist. “You better take all of those,” he sneered.
“Why the hell wouldn’t I?” I quipped, my face twisting with rage. “It’s not like I want to have chlamydia, idiot.”
Zane raised his fist. Lou caught it. “Hey now,” Lou said in a low voice. “She’s not ours anymore.”
“I was never yours,” I snapped. Zane’s sky-blue eyes flashed but he lowered his arm. He unlocked the basement door. I could tell it took a great deal of restraint for him to not push me down the stairs.
Little droplets of blood had splattered the wooden steps. The railing was stained scarlet where someone’s bloody hand had clutched onto it as they struggled down the stairs. Apprehension built up, and I hurried down the stairs.
“Addie,” Lily panted. Standing in front of a cot, her body blocking someone from view.
“Thank God.” Rochelle sat on her bed, biting her lip and looking away. “I can’t get the bleeding to stop.”
Lily stood up, the front of her clothes red. “He’s going to bleed out,” she whispered. She swallowed hard, her eyes wide with terror.
“Who?” I asked, though I already knew. Lily took a step away from the cot. The orange pill bottle fell from my hand. Jackson sat on the edge of the cot with his hands pressed to his abdomen. Blood seeped from between his fingers and dripped onto the floor.