Just for One Night [Ashton Irwin]

~Chapter 17~

Chapter 17

Chelsea and I got into Little Rock 2 ½ hours later, and from there we rented a car to chase down Darren and Alexis.

We had been driving for fifty minutes when, in a little town called Rockport, I recognized Darren's license plate number in front of us. Instinctively, I honked, but Darren kept going. I chased him down the main road, onto the Interstate, and finally caught up with him on the outskirts.

"Chelsea, take my phone and text Darren to pull over!" I ordered.

"I'm already there," she said. "Looks like he's finally stopping, too."

I parked my car closely behind Darren's, got out, and approached the driver's window.

"What are YOU doing here, bitch?!" Darren spat.

"I want my daughter back!" I protested. "Where is she?"

"I don't have her!" Darren said, obviously lying.

I sighed. "Pop the trunk."

"Brittany, I told you, I DON'T HAVE HER!"

"I said, POP THE DAGUM TRUNK BEFORE I CALL THE POLICE!"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Chelsea said. "Kidnapping is a felony, after all."

"Alright, fine! You won't find anything."

Darren popped the trunk open, and there she was, bound, gagged, and obviously drugged.

"Oh, my God, what did he do to you?!" I cried as I undid the rope and took the chloroform-soaked cloth out of her mouth.

"Mommy?" Alexis slurred, slowly coming out of her drug-induced coma. "Where am I?"

"You're way too far away from home for comfort, sweetie," I said, picking her up. "Does anything hurt?"

"I think he breaked my arm, and I gots spots on me."

I gasped. "He hit you?!"

Alexis nodded. "He also showed me a movie with a boy and a girl playing with each other."

"Were they naked?"

"Yeah."

"Well, that was very naughty of him." I turned to Chelsea and said, "I'm gonna call the cops. Don't let Darren get away!"

I carried Alexis to my car, sat in the driver's seat with her on my lap, and called the cops on my cell.

"That thing Daddy showed you—was it scary?" I asked Alexis when the call was over.

"Uh-huh," Alexis said. "They were hitting each other, and I didn't like it." Alexis then burst into tears.

"Oh, honey...cheer up! You're alright now; Mommy's got you! Daddy's going to jail for a very, very long time, okay?"

Alexis continued to cry, so I turned the radio on, tuning it to a local pop station. The song "Should've Been Us" by Tori Kelly was just starting; Tori is Alexis' favorite singer, so I said, "Lexi, listen! It's Tori!"

The crying turned into whimpering as Alexis listened. Then, I saw a smile form on her face.

"There's that smile! As soon as the cops get here, we'll go home."

"Okay."

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