Worst Summer Ever... (Book 7 of Adopted by Jenna and Tyler Joseph)

9. Samantha

Mark is crazy. Something happened to him and he is completely unhinged. It's scary, to be honest.

I was sitting on one of the beds in the room we were in while he paced and muttered to himself. He'd taken the phone, I didn't have my mobile and if he had one I sure as hell wouldn't get near it.

But what worried me more was my diabetes. I didn't have any more insulin on me, and he'd pulled off my CGM. Which was useless to me without my phone anyway, but maybe Mom and Dad could have found me that way.

"Um, u-uncle Mark?" I said.

"What?!" He turned and glared at me.

"I need to check my blood sugar somehow. You took my phone and my CGM,"

He stared at me with a look I couldn't quite read.

"Right. Diabetes. Here," he said, going into a bag he had on the dresser and pulled out a small black pouch. "Use this."

It was a manual glucose monitor. It was better than nothing.

I tested. My blood sugar was 49.

"Uh, uncle Mark, my blood sugar is low. I need to eat something," I said.

Maybe he'd see how complicated this would be and would just let me go.

"Stay here. I'll get you something from the vending machine outside. Don't even think of leaving this room without me."

Or what? I wondered.

He left the room and I was tempted to defy him and run, but my blood sugar was low enough that I wouldn't get far without something to bring it up. I sighed and looked around the room. It was a standard type of hotel or motel room. We were on the ground floor, I could see a car outside. So probably a motel. That would mean we're probably near a highway. Which could mean we were anywhere. I didn't know how long I was out before I woke up in the stupid equipment trunk.

I looked in the drawer beside the bed. Nothing. Not even a bible. I looked on the dresser. Not even the card to tell you how to make phone calls. I was in Anywhere, USA. I didn't even know if I was in Ohio anymore. Then I thought about the fire escape plan. It usually states who to call, and it should say which state approved it. I got up and looked at the door.

Kentucky. We're in Kentucky.

We crossed state lines. And I'm not 18 yet. Mark is going to get in so much trouble. As soon as I can find a way to alert someone.

I sat back down on the bed and contemplated my situation. I should be terrified. And I am scared. But I don't think Mark is going to hurt me. Not on purpose.

He came back in the room a minute later. He tossed a candy bar at me.

"Eat that and then get in bed and go to sleep. It's late."

"I don't have any insulin here, either. Or any of my medications. Please, Uncle Mark, just let me go home?"

"They can't keep you safe there!" He screamed at me. "I will keep you safe!"

I sighed. I just wanted this to be over.

I ate the candy bar and then, without brushing my teeth, took off my leg and got under the covers. Mark got into the other bed.

"Don't do anything stupid," he said. "Don't even try to leave. I'll know."

I sighed. I just want this to be over.

I fell into a fitful sleep. I definitely didn't sleep well and I didn't feel well either. I knew my sugar was going to spike and then fall.

And that's exactly what happened. Woke up in the morning shaky, sweaty and feeling dizzy. Mark took one look at me and left the room, coming back with a bottle of juice.

"Drink that. Let's go. We have miles to cover today."

"What?" I asked.

"We can't stay here. Let's go. Drink up and get a move on."

I did, and after putting my leg back on, I stumbled to the bathroom. I washed my face after I used the toilet and washed my hands. I looked pale. I knew things were not going to go well unless I got some insulin to cover my meals. The insulin in my pump was almost finished. I would have needed to change the vial tomorrow.

"Get in," Mark said, holding up the lid to the equipment trunk."

"No," I said.

"Get. In. The. Fucking. Box, Samantha," he said.

"No," I said again. "I'm not going to."

"I said," Mark said, coming up to me, grabbing me by my hair and dragging me towards the crate. "Get in!"

He pushed me and I tripped, landing awkwardly in the crate, but also hitting my head on the lid. I was dizzy. Mark pushed me the rest of the way in and closed the lid. I started screaming and kicking.

"Shut up!" He yelled. "Anyone hears a peep out of you, and I will make things very miserable for you."

Yeah, this is so great. I thought to myself.

I felt him pushing the trunk out to, I guess, his car.

I lay in the trunk listening to any sounds I could hear. I could hear cars and trucks out on the highway. But that was about it.

I sighed. I had to get out of this somehow.

The adrenaline I'd used up yesterday and the adrenaline I'd used today were depleted. I was shaky and not feeling great. I either fell asleep or passed out because when I opened my eyes into that dark trunk, I could tell we were moving.

I could hear music, so I guess he has the radio on.

"Time for a WKRP News Flash," I heard on the radio. "Police in Columbus, Ohio continue their search for 17-year-old Samantha Joseph, believed to have been abducted from the VUE Columbus event venue. The teenager is a known Type one diabetic and her parents state that she does not have adequate medications with her. She has brown, shoulder length hair, blue eyes, fair skin and was last seen wearing a black tour t-shirt, blue jeans and black converse. She has a tattoo of
a sun on her left arm and wears a prosthetic leg, which she was wearing at the time she went missing.

The Columbus police are following several leads but at this time have no suspect. Anyone with any information or who may have seen the teenager's whereabouts are asked to call Columbus Police's hotline at 1-800-555-1234."

They're looking for me. I have to find a way to make myself known. I need to be seen.

But how do I do that from a locked box?