Gwendolyn

Chapter 17 : Missing

Gwen's POV :

I hung up with CC. I was numb. I didn't believe what he was saying, but he had a point. He's never lied to me. He had become like the brother I never had. I loved the guy. Not in the way I loved Jake. But I knew CC only wanted to protect me. Was that all he was doing, now? Trying to protect me? I felt so stupid. The only thoughts running through my head were the kiss I walked in on, and Trevor's words, screaming in my face. "No one else will ever love you." Was he right? I wanted to believe that Jake truly loved me. But were these thoughts futile.

"Gwendolyyyyynnnn..." A man's voice rang out behind me.

I froze as chills ran through me. I didn't recognize the voice, but it gave me an eery feeling.

"Oh Gwen..." He said, sounding closer.

I could swear I heard his voice smile... I turned, slowly. I didn't recognize his face, either. I know I'm sort of famous, now. But I wasn't used to people recognizing me. "Wh.. who are you?" I stuttered.

His mouth was curled into a grin, though his eyes didn't match. "Wouldn't you like to know," he chuckled. I hated his laugh.. "But that isn't important. What is important is that you come with me, immediately. Your friends are worried..." He said this with no concern. I needed to leave. Now.

"No.. thank you... I need to get back to them, now..." I took out my phone to call Jake.

Fuck being mad at him. I was terrified and he was the only person I wanted to talk to. I backed up slowly, dialing his number. I was about to hit call when the man grabbed my arm. He pulled me close to his side, pulling a knife on me with his other hand.

"Drop the phone." He hissed. "If you scream, you die. If you try to run, you die. Get the picture?" I nodded, dropping my phone onto the concrete. I should've pressed call... What the hell was happening? "Good girl." That terrifying smile creeped back across his lips. "Now, walk." He dragged me down the road. My mind was blank. I was so stricken with fear, I barely had the brain capacity to comprehend what was happening you me.

Jake's POV :

I wasn't going back to the bus until I knew where Gwen was. We were almost to the highway, now. About a block away. Her manager was waiting at the venue, just in case she made it there before we found her.

I tried calling Gwen. No answer. We kept calling. I called her again. That's when I heard buzzing. My stomach dropped as I saw a little patch of light ahead of us, on the sidewalk. I called her phone again. The little box lit up and started buzzing.

"Shit." I ran to it.

"What's going on??" Jinxx followed.

"This is her phone...." I stared at it with worry, hoping it would somehow let me know where she was. "Why would it just be sitting here..."

"Jesse. Hey. Yeah. Did she get back??" Jinxx spoke calmly into his phone. "Oh. Okay.. Yeah. no. No luck, either. Yeah, I will." He hung up, dialing a new number. "I'm calling it in, dude. This is weird."

He stepped away to avoid the noise of Andy, Ashley, and CC catching up and talking.

"That's her phone..." CC frowned. He looked at Jinxx, on his phone, and put two and two together. "My god... I'm sorry man." He hugged me before I could protest. Ashley and Andy brought it in, too. As awkward as it was, it was reassuring to know they were there for me. And for Gwen. We were all there.

"Alright, thanks. We're going to keep looking. Yeah. We've got her phone. Alright. Thank you, sir." Jinxx hung up. "Dispatch is sending a search party. She's the third person to disappear from town this month..." He didn't meet any of our eyes. This was bad. And real. God why was this real...

"Holy shit." Andy broke the silence. "She's really missing... What happened to the other two?..."

"He said that they were found in random parks after families followed through on ransoms. He wouldn't tell me what happened to the other girls while they were captive. He knows who Gwen is, though. Said his daughter loves her music. Said the girls turned up looking like her..." He trailed off.

I was freaking out, inside. "I let her go off on her own. I know what this town is like. How could I fucking do that..." I whipped my phone into the street. I had a grade A case on it, so it didn't break like I wanted it to. Like I wanted me to...

Gwen's POV :

We got to a small, dark car. The windows were fully tinted. The man opened the door, and I blacked out.

When I came to, my mouth was gagged, my limbs were bound, and I had a throbbing headache. The room was dim. There was a water heater, and some sort of work bench. My arms were connected to a support beam in the middle of the room... I tried calling out, but my words were masked by the rag around my face. I was in a damp basement in some creep's house, and Jake thought I hated him. He probably was trying to forget me, now. I was never going to see any of them, again.. This is it...

"Oh, don't despair, just yet." A figure emerged from the shaddows. "I've been waiting for you. We have so much to do." That smile... I would never forget it, as long as I lived. Which, situationally, was probably a few days, at most. He knelt next to me, showing me picture of girls. They were dressed like me. But not now me... Three years ago, me. What the fuck? "They weren't as good as you're going to be. And, when we're done, I can get good money for you. Someone must be missing you..." He brushed my face lightly with his hand.

I mumbled, trying to respond. He removed the rag. "No one is waiting. No one loves me. You're fucked."

"Nonsense..." He smiled. "I've been obsessed with you for years. And that Jake..."

"He thinks I hate him." I cut him off.

"You really shouldn't talk out of turn." He put the gag back on me, tighter than before. "You'll learn, soon enough. Until I get what I want from you, you're stuck here. And, I have a ransom call to make." He was almost,.. Giddy about this.

I thought I was going to vomit...

Would I ever see Jake again? I'm so sorry.... I started crying, silently.