Redemption

Chapter 2: Change

It was a downcast day in October. There was a hurricane brewing on the Atlantic, so it had been raining all week. I hate this weather. It makes me want to curl up and die, it's that depressing.

I hadn't been able to sleep last night for some odd reason. I laid in bed for 5 hours, tossing and turning and feeling nauseous. It's like my body was anxious for something, but I had no idea what.i finally fell asleep around 1:30 am.

I woke up at about 10:30 and I glanced at the calendar.

October 4, 2015.

Did I have something going on today? I have rehearsal for my church play and I need to write a paper for my AP Lang class...that class will be the death of me.

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed some lemon loaf bread. It was one of my favorite breakfast foods. As I ate the bread, I heard the TV in the living room. My mom was watching the news. The news reporter stood in a street flooded with rain. The water ended right below his knee. The banner on the TV said "Charleston, South Carolina."

I finished my snack and returned to my room, only to hop into the comfort of my bed. I checked Twitter and Instagram. I watched some Snapchat stories only to see how stupid my generation is. I watched some girls doing some dirty dancing. Their next picture was them dressed up with the caption "Church bound". Wow. Let's grind all over each other on Saturday then show up to church on Sunday...hypocrites.

As I continued to chill in my bedroom, my mom came in and said she was going to the grocery store. My dad was already at work so she said she'd take Kent with her. I showed no sign of interest as I continued to stare at the phone in my hands.

Once they left, I turned on some music and hopped in the shower. The shower was so peaceful. I loved how the hot water felt against my skin. I guess I was in the shower a while, because 13 songs had played through. Oops.

I threw on some sweat pants and an oversized t-shirt. I grabbed my phone and walked into the living room. I turned on the TV and then went to the Netflix option.

I heard a car door slam. I figured it was my mom returning home with the groceries. I paid no attention as I typed "Gossip Girl" into the search bar.

I heard a noise...it sounded like a thud against the front door. It had to be Kent, trying to get a reaction out of me. The door vibrated with another thud...then another and another and another until a rapid pounding grew faster and faster.

"Kent, knock it off!" I yelled at the door.

The thuds continued. I threw down the remote and marched to the door. I unlocked the deadbolt and handle and pulled the door open.

To my surprise, it wasn't Kent. It was a man much larger me. He appeared to be sweaty and in a hurry. He barged into my house and slammed the door shut. Before I could scream, he pulled out a gun. I had never actually seen a gun in real life so I had no idea what kind of machinery he held in his hand.

"If you make one noise, I'll blow your brains out." he said slowly. His voice had an accent and he seemed out of breath.

"I want you to tell me where the hell I am." he said, the gun still pointed at my head.

"You're in Fayetteville, North Carolina." I said slowly as I tried to remain calm.

"How the hell did I get here?" he said to himself, but so loud it reverberated off of the walls in the living room.

"What's your name?" he said harshly.

"Jennifer." I replied cautiously.

"You don't have a last name?" he said impatiently.

"Jennifer Rose." I said, trying not to sound shaky.

"Rose? Jennifer Rose?" he said loudly.
"Oh this is great. Of all the damn houses in this city, and I ended up at the Rose residence."

"Is there something wrong with my last name?" I replied, adding some attitude with the question.

The man walked closer to me, still aiming the gun at my head. "Watch your fucking mouth. I don't put up with attitude." His voice was quiet and angry. "If you must know, your brother and I don't get along very well. Allen Rose has caused me more trouble than he's worth. I should've killed him when I had the chance. But that's none of your concern."

I stared at him with a blank expression. I was so confused.

The man stared back at me and then smiled as if he had just thought of something funny.

He finally broke the silence and said "I have an idea - and you're going to do everything I say or I'll kill your entire family, understand?"

My eyes widened as he finished his sentence.

"Pack a suitcase, you're coming with me. If you even think about contacting someone, I'll shoot you faster than you can scream for help."

He followed me to my room as I quickly packed a suitcase. He pulled out a smartphone and called someone.

A man answered on the other line. The man responded: "No, guess where I landed? ... No. I landed in fucking Fayetteville. ... Yeah, that's right. But guess what else? ... I'm in the home of Allen Rose. ... I'm with his sister. ... I'm taking her with me. That's why I called. I need a jet ready. ... We'll be there in 15 minutes. ... Alright, thanks."

I finished packing as he snatched my cellphone off of the bed. He crushed my lifeline in his hand and threw it on the floor. I almost cried. He then grabbed me by the wrist. His hand was clammy and his grasp was firm. He drug me out of my house and forced me into some car parked in my driveway. It was old and looked like it had gone through a lot to get to my house. The man hot wired the car.

"You stole this car?" I asked as the engine started.

"Yes. Now shut up." he replied.

He sped out of the driveway as I looked back at my house...little did I know that was the last time I'd ever see my home again.