I was flipping through my textbook when the door at the top of the stairs suddenly opened.
Oliver came down with a pillowcase. There's something in the bag and I'm struggling to get it out. A meow.
"It's nice to see you're still learning," he said. "This won't take long, let's go
"I don't," I said. He raised an eyebrow. "I was thinking, you won't kidnap people yourself. You won't kidnap my family because no one will take advantage."
"I can't kidnap people, but I can figure it out," he said. "I have your address, keys, and sedatives. I can sneak into your house in the middle of the night and sedate them before they scream. Now, you want to try me? Ha."
I shook my head. I tossed and turned all night thinking about what Oliver had told me. I thought I'd found the loophole, he was out of his mind and in trouble.
"Okay, now go change and put on something nice," he said.
I looked at myself. I haven't changed yet and am still in my pajamas.
"Hurry up and get ready, do you want me to come over and help you?," he said. "So, I suggest you prepare yourself first."
He carried the sack and walked down the corridor. I walked down another hallway and jumped into the shower. Afterwards I braided my hair and slipped on the skirt. I rummaged through the dresser and found a cardigan.
I sat on the floor and stretched my legs. I used to do this before every run. As soon as Oliver let me out of the car, I planned to run.
I stood up from the floor when I heard Oliver walking down the hallway. Oliver walked into the room, his eyes scanning my body.
"Not bad," he said. He held out his hand. "Come on, let's go."
I bit my lip to stop myself from shaking as I raised my hands. His fingers threaded through mine. I stumbled, approaching him with jerky movements. It took everything in me not to push him away.
"Don't make any stupid moves," Oliver said. "You will regret this."
He pulled me up the stairs and out the door. The sun was setting, but the light was shining through the thick leaves. Oliver opened the passenger side door of his car and pushed me inside. I wanted to start running away, but I knew I needed some sanity again.
He handed me the sunglasses.
"Don't talk nonsense," he said as he pulled out of the driveway. "I'm going to find the people I'm looking for, and you have to take them out."
"What if I can't get them out?" I said.
"They will," he said. "Believe me."
I fiddled with the hem of my sweater as Oliver drove into a small town. A row of small shops had their lights off, but I could see some posters and mannequins hanging in the windows. The sun continued to set and the street lights came on.
Oliver parked in an empty parking lot behind a store.
"Don't say anything," he said again.
I got out of the car like him. I wanted to run, but I saw no one on the side streets downtown. I need to wait until I'm surrounded by people.
Oliver didn't hold on to me as tightly as usual. I walked beside him as he walked around the side of the store. Several people walked past us holding hands. I was about to run away when he grabbed the crook of my elbow and pulled me into a store. I looked around and saw that it was not a shop but a cafe. The menu is written on the blackboard. Several sofas were arranged in a square, surrounded by a series of tables. A man sits on the stage tuning a guitar. What looked like Christmas lights hung behind him.
Oliver ordered a cup of coffee and a cup of hot chocolate. He handed me the hot chocolate and I followed him as he sat at a table in the back corner. The man on the stage started singing a song with generic lyrics.
Oliver reached into his pocket and pulled out a small clip.
"This is a microphone," he said. "You tell anyone your name or try to get help, it won't do you any good and I won't take you out again. You know what!"
My hands shot up to my chest. I can't feel the little microphone under the sweater.
"Don't take it off either," he said. "I am coming over now."
Oliver took a deep breath and I watched his shoulders relax.
"Beth and I had our first date here," he said before taking a sip.
I tightened my fingers around the cup. Warmth spread from my hands. My knees bounced under the table. Oliver watched people coming in and out of the café. The sound of the singer's guitar rang in my ears.
Oliver put his hand on my arm and pointed to a table. A boy sits alone at the table. He leaned forward, holding a book in his hand.
"Him," said Oliver. "I want you to take him out. As close to the car as possible."
"I don't," I said.
"Yes, you can," he said.
"What do you want me to do?"
"Well, I know you're not afraid to take a shot at a boy."
He motioned for me to stand up. The chair dragged across the floor as I stood up. Oliver drummed his fingers on his chest, reminding me of a microphone.
I walked across several tables to the boy. He didn't look at me until I pulled out the chair next to him. He raised his eyebrows as I sat down.
"Hello?" he said, but I heard the question behind his voice.
I've never been good at making the first move. In the past, I always drank to convince myself that I was doing a good job.
"What are you reading?" I asked.
A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he closed the book and turned it over. A few strands of his blond hair peeked out from under his toque. His biceps are covered in black tattoos. His ears were stretched and he tugged on one of them. "Slaughterhouse Five," he said.
"It's like a World War II book in space, right?" I asked.
"Kinda." He chuckled. "Have you read it?"
"Yeah, in high school."
Every ounce of my mind was telling me to beg this man to help me. That's what I would do if Oliver's microphone wasn't on me. I have no idea how sensitive this mic is or if it will pick up any sound through my sweater.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"Tirian," I said.
"Colin." He reached out and shook my hand. "Do you usually wear sunglasses at night?"
"Yes." I shrugged. "I'm a little blind."
I noticed a pen sitting next to Colin's novel. I grabbed his pen and an old napkin. My hands shook as I wrote a message on the stained paper. Oliver was definitely watching me do this, but hopefully I could have left a message before Oliver took me out of the cafe.
Call 911. . I turned the napkin to face Colin. He frowned as he held the napkin close to his face. He looked at me.
Please, I said.
I jumped when a hand touched my shoulder. I looked up to see Oliver towering over me.
"There you are, Gil," he said. He is listening. "I told you to wait for me."
Oliver reached over and snatched the napkin from Colin's hand. I heard him click his tongue and curl his fingers into my shoulders.
"Jill, tell me you and we feel okay," he said.
"My name is not Jill," I said. I pushed his hands away from me. "My name is Diana, and this man kidnapped me."
The singer was still singing but we had attracted the attention of people at the tables around us. How could Oliver be stupid enough to want to take me to a public place?
"I shouldn't have let her watch the news," Oliver said. He pulled out a small ID card. "My name is Dr. James Lee. I'm a psychiatrist hired by Jill's parents to work privately with her." "What?" I turned to face him.
"I'm sorry, son," he said to Colin. "Jill is so delusional."
"No, I am not!"
I turned to face Colin. The singer paused, concentrating on our conversation. I pulled my sunglasses off my face. Colin gasped, leaning away from me in the chair. Oliver scoffed.
"I thought I had gotten rid of you," Oliver said. He grabbed my armpits and tried to pull me up. "We go home."
"No!" I screamed as I tore my arms free. "Do not touch me!"
The entire cafe was frozen in place, watching all this happen. I shook my head. A few warm tears rolled down my cheeks.
"Please!" I screamed and ran to the other side of the table. "Someone please call the police. This man kidnapped me."
"Jill, calm down," Oliver said.
"Who wants to call the police?"
"Please don't call the police," Oliver told the cafe. "I'd rather take her home to her mother. If you call the police, they'll take her to the hospital and it's horrible the condition she's in."
A few people nodded, and my heart sank into my chest. I turned and ran. As I walked towards the door I bumped into a few tables. As I left the café, Oliver called out my fake name.
I breathed in the cold air, my chest burning. I don't know how long it has been since I was kidnapped, but my body has changed. The muscles in my legs ached and I was out of breath. The streets were deserted and there were only a few people in the bars. I shuffled in line. I stood out among the scantily clad girls.
I squinted and looked down the street. I couldn't see any faces clearly. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. There was a tall bodyguard standing at the door. His black shirt barely seemed to hug his muscles. He was checking the IDs of drunken girls who were struggling to stand upright.
"ID card," the man said.
The bar was dark and the music was deafening in my ears.
"I didn't," I said. "Please, you need to help me. I've been kidnapped. My name is Diana."
The man's jaw almost dropped. He moved closer. He must have noticed my eyes.
"He's a surgeon," I said. "He forced me to get an eye transplant."
"What-" he started.
"I need your phone number," I interrupted. "I need to call the police."
"Jill!"
I looked back and saw Colin walking through the line of drunks. The bodyguard took his cell phone out of his pocket and I snatched it from his hand.
"You can't call the police," he said. "If you do that, they'll take you to the hospital." "Are you a surgeon?" the bodyguard asked.
"No," he said. "There's no surgeon. She's just very sick. I'm trying to take her to a psychiatrist."
"This is a lie!" I yelled. "He did this to me. Doctors from all over the world do it, and they get together for dinner in the Caribbean."
The bodyguard looked at Colin.
"Where is her doctor?" he asked.
"No!" I screamed.
How could this happen? How could Oliver's story actually be working? I rushed out the door, but Colin wrapped his arms around me. I tried to pry him off of me, but he was much stronger than I thought. I bent my knees, trying to break free from his grasp. Colin also bent his knees and held me firmly in his arms.
"He's out there," Colin said.
"I'll help you bring her to him," the bodyguard said.
"No thank you!" I screamed.
The bouncer grabbed me from Colin. I punched him in the chest with my fist as he pushed me off the bar. My fists felt like they were pounding against a concrete wall. Oliver stood outside the bar. He motioned for the bodyguard to take me to the back. I squirmed in his arms. He followed Oliver around to the small, empty parking lot.
"Can you hold her for a moment for me?" Oliver asked. He lifted the hem of my skirt and thrust the needle into my thigh. "Thank you for your help. I'm sure she told you I was some kind of twisted surgeon, but I assure you I'm not. She's very sick."
"It's okay," the bodyguard said. "Is she going to be okay?"
"Yeah, she'll calm down," Oliver said. "I'm sorry what happened. You can go back to work." The man nodded and let me go. Oliver watched him return to the bar. I wiped away a few tears that slipped down my cheeks.
"Get in the car," Oliver said.
"No." I turned to face Colin. "Please, you must believe me, he will kidnap you too."
"Colin, can you do me a favor?" Oliver asked. "My shoulders are out and the sedative will take effect on her soon. Can you get her into my car?"
"Yes, of course," said Colin.
He grabbed my arm and I pulled away. "No," I said. "I'm not getting in that car."
Colin pushed me forward with his chest. I dug my heels into the pavement, but he was still able to push me. Oliver opened the back seat door. I turned around sharply and he grabbed my wrist. He pushed me to the ground and pinned me into my seat.
"Please!" I yelled. "He'll do to you what he did to me."
Oliver walked up behind Colin. He covered his mouth with a rag. Colin let go of me and grabbed Oliver's wrist. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and landed on me. I rolled to the side and stumbled out of the car. Oliver grabbed his legs and forced Colin into the car. He slammed the door. He grabbed a handful of my hair and pulled my head back.
"You did it perfectly," he said.
