Twice Upon Them

Chapter 14 | Kayla | Confused

In the previous chapter, Zahra and Kayla go summer shopping to find Kayla more modest clothing. In the parking lot, Kayla sees her kidnapper, who was supposed to be serving time in prison. She is shocked and frightened, and Zahra attempts to calm her down.

***

It was him. He was looking at me, and I felt naked under his gaze, even though it was for a split second. I saw his grin, and the strikingly blond hair. He wore an expression that said, "I win."

The black car...it's the same one that almost hit me. He escaped. But how? How could he after—

He's a felon, and he has minions. Of course. The penitentiary system has proven to be weak against his tactics. But I thought that this time, after catching him while he has been in hiding for so long, that they would do a better job of keeping that bastard behind bars for the rest of his life.

I scream and cry out in raw pain, muttering that he's back, either to myself or Zahra, I'm not sure. My knees feel weak under my weight and Zahra takes that as a sign to take me back into her car. As she buckles my seatbelt, she says, "Kayla, it's going to be okay. Nobody is here to hurt you."

I shake my head. Zahra doesn't understand what kind of sick people he and his rats are. "No...He's back," I tell her with no doubt in my mind. I'd recognize that face anywhere. "H-he was smiling and-and he's here. He came for me," I say quietly, barely getting the words out as my body trembles. I look at Zahra with a pleading expression, begging her to understand. I grab her hands and yell, "It's him! The man who is to blame for everything. It's him, and he came back for me. Please believe me. I'm not lying, Zahra. He is going to hurt me. I'm not safe." I let out a small cry and try to suppress it as I bite down hard on my lips.

"We can call the police, okay? They're going to take care of everything," Zahra says soothingly. "Calm down, Kayla. It's fine. He's not going to hurt you. I won't let him come near you. There are a lot of people who will protect you from him."

"I don't trust them, the police. Why is it so hard to keep him away from me?" I shout, a sob racking my body again. "Zahra, I don't understand why I have to go through this. Why am I starting to live in this hell again?" She pulls me close to her side, rubbing my back in circles. Tears and tears and tears stream down my face, like a never-ending faucet, just pouring without pause. I sit like that for a while. Could it have been five minutes, or twenty? I don't know. But once I have calmed down a bit, Zahra gives me an extremely worried look before she gently closes the door and gets into the driver's seat. We silently go back home, to my home, and I'm grateful for that. It's the one place, other than Zahra's house, where I feel safe and peaceful.

She helps me out of the car before she retrieves my bags of new clothes. We slowly walk to the entrance of my house before Zahra rings the doorbell. My mom opens the door, and my tears almost well up again upon the sight of her. I throw myself into her arms, almost knocking the wind out of her, but it doesn't seem she minds as she embraces me back. She looks quite startled, and her eyes wander over to Zahra.

"Hello, Miss Anderson. It has been a long time," Zahra says.

"I'm glad to see you after so long. What has happened to her?" my mom replies. I can sense her over-protectiveness kicking in.

"Well, please don't get upset, ma'am. I'm not sure myself but Kayla has told me that she has seen...the one who is responsible for her...emotional and physical pain a few months ago." Zahra is obviously avoiding the words 'abduction' or 'kidnapping' in order to avoid triggering any remaining anger that has remained dormant inside of my mother.

"Well, have you called the police?" my mom says quite calmly, although I don't expect that of her. Then I realize she doesn't want to yell so as to frighten me even more.