Solitary

Chapter 7

I woke up in a dark room alone, everything spinning. What's going on? Where am I? Standing up quickly, I lost my balance and collapsed on the floor. The memories came flooding back. It hadn't taken long for the guy to catch up to me and stab me with a syringe. He had smashed my phone, too, so chances are nobody's coming for me.

The door opened, and in walked Liam. Fighting the urge to back away, I stood up and crossed my arms. Fake it till you make it, right? "What do you want?" I spat. 

"Now, now, is that any way to talk to your stepdad?" he asked in a sickly, honeyed voice. "It was very stupid of you to go to that party. All I had to do was send an anonymous tip to the cops and have one of my guys keep Victoria occupied. You walked right into the trap."

Keep Vic occupied?! "What the fuck did you do to her?"

"Oh, just gave her the best night she's ever had," he said, smirking. "She agreed to everything that happened and the guy was 16, so don't get any ideas."

"She was drunk!" I protested.

He just shrugged. "I've got some of the best lawyers on my side, Victoria will never win the case if she does choose to sue. Now, on to more important matters. Originally, I was going to torture you, but I had my men do some digging, and imagine my surprise discovering you and Victoria are buddy-buddy. So, I decided to pay her a visit."

"Like I expected, she's as stupid as her mom. It only took a bit of prodding until she started spilling her guts to me. She never even thought it was odd that I was so interested in you."

"So what did she say?" I asked, annoyed. He didn't seem to be planning on doing anything to Vic, but who else can he use to get to me? He was obviously enjoying keeping me in suspense.

"That you like Link, aka a computer genius. Westside High's STEM club has won the state robotic competition every year since he came into the picture. Bring Link to me, or I'll tell the cops what really happened to your mother."

"What makes you think I care what happens to Link? He rejected me," I said.

He snorted. "Amelia, my guys have been spying on you ever since, so you can drop the 'I don't give a crap' act. Your lying has improved a lot, but you'd be a fool to think you can fool me."

Damnit. If only I had just kept my distance and accepted his rejection rather than chasing after Link like some love-sick teenager, this wouldn't even be happening.

"So say I do bring you Link. What happens after that?"

"You find some other guy and get your happy ending," he said. "At midnight on Tuesday, bring Link here. You say anything to anybody and-"

"I go to juvie. Ya, I got it." I made a move towards the door.

Standing in my way, he backhanded me. I gasped, my hand moving towards my stinging cheek. "It seems like you've gotten used to not having to face any consequences for your actions. Think of this as a warning otherwise," he said, kicking me in the ribs and walking away.

Collapsing, I bit my lip to stop the whimpers wanting to escape.

*  *  *

Ding-dong.

Monty opened the door. "Amelia, oh my god. What happened to your cheek?" she asked, ushering me inside. "Vic said the cops came and she lost you."

So Vic fessed up. To my surprise, Monty didn't seem angry, just relieved. "Liam's guys umm roughed me up. I think he just wanted to scare me," I lied. I can't say what Liam really wanted, not before I decide what I'm going to do.

Entering the living room, I saw Vic laying on the sofa, looking exhausted. "I'll give you guys a bit alone," Monty said before leaving.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Vic said warily.

"Right back at you. So umm, what happened last night? Someone shoved me and when I got up you were gone," I asked, hoping to get her side of the story.

"I sort of hooked up with a guy," she said, looking ashamed. "I was panicking and he took me to a safe hiding spot. And it just sort of happened."

"And you agreed to everything?"

"Yes, it's not what you are thinking," she said quickly. "He umm...texted this morning if I wanted to go over and watch some movies together tonight and I sort of said yes."

What's my stepdad up to? He said he sent one of his guys to keep Vic occupied, but I just assumed it was only for one night. "Umm Vic, I don't think that's a good idea."

She looked confused. "I'm really really sorry I had a one-night stand instead of looking for you, but I do genuinely like Josh."

I sighed. "That's not the issue. It's just that Josh is part of Liam's gang. He was supposed to keep you occupied so you wouldn't come looking for me."

"No, no way. Josh isn't like that. Who said that, anyway? Liam? He's obviously lying."

Obviously, he might be lying, but my gut's saying not to risk it. "You haven't even been on an actual date with Josh, you just had sex. Going to his place, that might be a trap. Did you tell Monty?"

"Amy, I'm so tired of you assuming that everyone has less-than-pure intentions. And no, I didn't, and no, she wouldn't approve if I did. But Amy, she didn't approve of you at the beginning, and I convinced her to give you a chance."

"You did?" I had no idea Monty didn't approve, she had always seemed so accepting. It made sense, though. "I warned you with Liam and you didn't listen, and look what happened."

She looked away.

"I'm sorry, that was-"

"Save it, Amelia," she snapped before walking to her room and slamming the door shut.

Ya, I deserved that. "Everything okay?" Monty asked, peeking in. "It sounded like you guys were arguing."

I hesitated. Vic is going to hate me forever for this, but at the end of the day, she'll be safe and that's what's important. "Liam sent one of his guys to keep Vic occupied last night," I said. "Thing is, the guy texted this morning and asked her to go over to his place tonight, and I think it might be a trap."

"What do you mean, keep her occupied?" Monty asked, squinting her eyes.

"Meaning they umm hooked up," I said awkwardly.

"They what?!"

Deciding I'd rather not be there to witness her storming into Vic's room, I walked to the door. Placing my hand on the doorknob, I looked back at Monty. "Vic said you didn't approve of me at the beginning. I'm really glad you gave me a chance," I said softly before opening the door and leaving.

Ding! Looking at my phone, I had a text from Link:

Are you okay? You hung up so suddenly last night. Now that my parents are no longer in the picture, I was wondering if you'd like to go to Starbucks together today.