Deception [slowly being edited]

7

JASON WAS ABLE to hot-wire another vehicle, this time a small car. Jason drives, Rory sits in the passenger seat, and I'm stuck in the back. The day has been irrefutably exhausting. Rory grins at me through the rear-view mirror. I blush, unable to control the heat in my face. I bite my lip. He laughs under his breath, making me lose mine.

    "Where are we going?" I ask unknowingly. His smile fades. Jason shrugs, looking back at Rory.

    "Abbi, we need to figure out what's going on." I nod. "And we know someone who might know." I feel giddy with the thought of being able to understand what's wrong with me and what may or may not be normal.

    "Really? Who?" They both hesitate. The silence makes me nervous.

    "It's..." Rory answers this time, but I can tell he doesn't want to say it. "Your dad." I freeze, gripping the seat. I have a sudden urge to vomit.

    "Let me out." I say through my teeth. I refuse to go back there. I've tried so hard to help my father, but he never stopped. It was almost as if it was his specialty to hurt me, his hobby. It entertained him. "I'm never going back there."

    "Abbi, he might be the only person who has any idea of why this is happening." Rory says softly, trying his best to convince me. But this time, it isn't going to work.

    "And why would he know anything?" I snap, now to angry to even try to understand.

    "Well, he was married to your mom for quite a while." I shrug.

    "Not that long." Jason rolls his eyes. He's never been able to deal with the way I talk about my father, or the way he treats me. Rory pushes his seat back, climbing into the seat next to me.

    "Look at me." I shake my head refusing. He puts his fingers under my chin turning my face. I tremble. His face is so close to mine. I have never wanted so badly to kiss him, or anyone. I have to force my body to stay under control.

    "I'm not going back there." A shiver rushes down my spine.

    "And I would want nothing less than to make you, but we need to figure out what is going on, and he might be the only person who knows." I've never seen him be so sympathetic. I hate it. "Please," I sit there for a moment, staring, wondering what it's like to be him. To see what he's seen, feel what he's felt. I will never know what it's like, but I do know it's much worse than anything I've ever experienced. I see it in his face. There is so much pain in his eyes, and he tries so hard to hide it. It frightens me.

    "Okay," I agree. I hear Jason let out a sigh of relief. Rory keeps his fingers beneath my chin.

    "I won't let him hurt you." I believe every word that pours from his lips.

    "Neither will I," Jason smiles at me through the rear-view mirror. I lean my head back against the seat, letting out my breath. For years, my father has had me in his grasp, under his control, but this time he can't touch me. He can't hurt me.

***

I stare out the window, my gun between my legs. Every building we pass is either falling apart bit by bit, or has been burnt to the ground. There is only one thing that still remains. The one thing that still stands tall, untouched. The Space Needle. It stands over everything in this city. It has always given me hope, that maybe there may be something else that remains. Something else, somewhere else. That there may be somewhere other than here. I hope there is. I believe there is.

    Jason knows his way around this city so well. I've lived here my entire life, and I still can't seem to find my way around anywhere. I shudder to see a building, and I know we're close. Closer than I hoped to ever be again.