Just Wanna Be With You (Carlos)

C9: The Big Date

"Yeah, sure, kid," she said reluctantly. She hurried to pull the car over and I was quick to get out. "Want me to get you something? Some water or maybe something to ea-"

Before she could finish her sentence, I took off running in the other direction, getting as far away from the car as possible. I checked my phone: 9 minutes. I had 9 minutes before Harry would hurt Carlos. My legs took me faster than ever before, but I could hear Officer Judy shouting and running after me.

"-STOP! REBECCA!"

I ran faster and turned into the woods, hoping to lose her. I found a log and quickly hid behind it and watched as she stopped and pulled out her walkie talkie.

"She ran into the woods. There's no finding her now," she said.

I felt horrible for running away, but I had to stop Harry from hurting Carlos. I breathed a sigh of relief and pulled out my phone: 2 minutes left.

I dialed the number-- thank god i had service-- and Harry picked up right away.

"Two minutes to spare," was his greeting of choice. "You ARE alone, are you not?"

"I'm alone," I breathed--more like choked out. Damn, I need to start working out.

"Good."

"Now what?" I demanded.

"Cool your jets," Harry said, his voice way too calm for this situation. "Let's talk. We never do that! How was your day?"

"Fucking horrible, thanks for asking," I said through clenched teeth.

"Aw, babe, why's that?"

"Don't call me babe," I said. Harry tried to protest, but I cut him off. "Cut the crap, Harry. Just tell me where to go and what to do. I am your puppet, after all."

"My puppet," he breathed. I could tell he was letting the term sink in. "Yeah, I like that. You're my puppet. Awesome."

"Harry-"

"Wanna go on a date?" He asked. I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"No."

"Not a choice, sweet cheeks. You're going on a date with me. I'll text you the details. Meet me there at 7 tonight, and make sure you wear something pretty."

"All I have is what I'm wearing," I reasoned.

"Don't you have your wallet?"

"No, Harry, I'm sorry that I wasn't prepared to get kidnapped today," I remarked.

"Steal something, sell your body for clothes, I don't care! Just get a new outfit," he instructed, hanging up the phone harshly.

"Well, fuck," I murmured.

~

I walked into a prestigious looking store, hoping to find a way to get something for myself to wear on Harry and I's "date" tonight.

There were security cameras on every corner and employees everywhere you looked.

Selling my body was starting to sound like the good idea.

After spending several minutes contemplating whether or not running outside screaming "I WILL SELL MY BODY FOR DECENT CLOTHES" was a good idea, I grabbed the cutest black dress I could find.

"Excuse me," I said to one of the sales ladies. "Do you have this in a size 7?"

The lady, whose name tag labeled her "Margaret", nodded and made her way to the back. I grabbed the nearest red heels, looked around for anyone who might catch me, and made a mad dash for the exit.

Half a mile up the street, I stopped running and decided to look for a gas station or somewhere to change.

~

"Reservation with Harry Alexander?" I said, it coming out as more of a question. I had managed to make myself look decent in time to meet Harry at this restaurant.

"Right this way, miss," the hostess said in an overly happy voice. I felt far too casual for this place. Although my dress and shoes matched the crowd, my hair and make-up were nowhere near satifactory.

As we approached the table, I could see Harry staring at himself in his spoon, fixing a few stray hairs. He looked up at us as he noticed us walking.

"Why, hello, Rebecca," he greeted.

"Harry," was my only response.

The hostess made her way back to the restaurant entrance before I sat down.

"Is Carlos okay?" I asked, frantic.

"Yeah, yeah, he's fine."

"Are you SURE, Harry? Because I swear to god if Carlos is hurt, I will tell the police and they WILL arrest you and you'll lose everything. And I won't ever look back."

"He's FINE, Rebecca. Get off my fucking case. God," he huffed. "You're not my damn parents."

"Get off your case?" I said a little too loudly. People looked over in our direction. I quickly lowered my voice into a harsh whisper. "You fucking kidnapped me AND my boyfriend and now you're holding him hostage and you expect me to just be OKAY with that?"

Harry shrugged. "Well..yeah"

And in that moment, I didn't give a crap what anyone thought of me. I lunged across the table and wrapped my hands around Harry's neck.

After shouting several obscenities, I tried to threaten him. "Harry, I swear to god, if you don't tell me where Carlos is, I will shoot you in your goddamned dick."

Harry was surprised by my threat.

"W-what?" he asked, placing his hands over his private area.

"Where. Is. He," I demanded, tightening my grip on his neck with each word.

"The hotel. The Chambrulay. 2 miles away..from..here," he choked out. I released my grip on his neck and ran, ditching my heels at the table.

"Have a nice night!" The same hostess shouted towards me.

I wandered outside to flag down a cab.

"HEY. COME BACK," I heard Harry shout from inside; he was chasing after me. I didn't say anything, in hopes that he maybe didn't see me. Too late. He spotted me and we made eye contact, his piercing blue eyes staring blankly into my own. What did he expect? Me to just continue on with our "date"?

"TAXI!" I shouted, waving my hands like a lunatic.

"REBECCA, GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE," Harry screamed. I closed the door and told the driver to step on it.

Harry faded to nothing in the background as we traveled farther and farther away.

"Where to, miss?" The taxi driver asked me, tipping his hat towards myself.

It was that moment that I realized that I didn't have any money to pay him.

"The Chambrulay, please," I requested. Might as well continue on with my stealing rampage. The driver only nodded in response.

This trip seemed a lot farther than two miles. Damn traffic.

"Who are you running from?" He asked a few minutes later.

"What?" I asked, caught off guard.

"You ran in here like your life depended on and then asked me to step on it," he explained. "It was either that or you were late."

"I'm running from my crazy ex-boyfriend," I told him.

"Ah yes, there's always a handful of those," he joked.

"Not like this..." I muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

5 minutes of painfully awkward small talk later, I was at the Chambrulay Hotel. And, damn, was it nice. I felt bad for what I was about to do, but I needed to save Carlos.

I jumped out of that taxi before the man could even tell me how much I owe.