The Rendezvous // Thomas Sangster

My Brother and Sister-in-Law Act Like My Parents

Outside the door, I see another person standing guard, nervously.

Dylan.

"C'mon, Stephanie," Will urges, "Can you walk on your own?" He asks as I wobble to my feet.

He gently holds my arm as I stagger out of the room. The closer I get to Dylan, the more details I make out. His right eye is swollen and colored dull mauve and a faded olive. He has bruises on his arms and his wrists are pink and raw, probably from being tied up.

I stare at him with a gaping mouth, whispering, "Oh, Dylan."

He offers a weak smile, "I'm all right, really. Let's just focus on getting out of here."

Will holds a hand up to his ear, speaking into an earphone I didn't notice before, "Yes, Thomas, I can hear you. We've got her and we're heading out right now."

"Thomas?" I say, frantically, "He's okay?"

"Yes, he's fine," Will says, waving at me to walk down the hall after Dylan, "We'll explain everything once we get out of here, but we really have to go now."

We head down the hallway. The overhead lights flicker eerily as we walk as fast as possible through the passageways, down a flight of stairs and finally into a lobby, passing unconscious bodies as we go. I find that the windows of the lobby have been busted in and the place is a mess, with a desk over turned and pictures knocked off the walls. Two men lay face down on the floor. One of them lays in a pool of blood.

I try not to look as Will pressed me towards the door. We step into the stinging wind outside, which makes me wrap my arms around myself from the cold. Unfortunately, they took my jacket away from me when I first arrived there.

Other than a gray sky, the first thing I see when I step outside the door is a silver van waiting a few yards away from the front door. It's door is open wide and pacing just outside the van is Thomas, anxiety evident on his features. But then he looks up.

In one second his face overwhelms with more emotion than I've ever seen in my life; wavering from relief, concern, awe and excitement. I barely register him in my field of vision before he's in front of me, his arms wrapped tightly around my waist and his lips pressed forcefully, almost painfully, against mine. I try to respond to his affection, but end up whimpering from my bloody lip.

Will barks gruffly, "Make out in the back of the van - we've got to run."

Thomas pulls away hurriedly, grabbing my hand and pulling my into the van with him. We sit in the second row and upon entering the van, I see Kaya in the drivers seat, her hair tied back messily. Before the doors are even shut, she steps on the gas, wildly accelerating out of the parking lot. She peels through the streets, running stop signs and red lights. Dylan has joined Ki Hong in the back of the van, and I hear him mutter, "Man, you look like shit," quietly to him.

Thomas turns to look at me once he's got the van doors closed, "Stephanie, look at you. We've got to get you taken care of, your lip-"

He says all of this very quickly, his eyes filled with distress as he strokes my knotted hair away from my face. The fear and pain that I've endured suddenly comes crashing down upon me with his care and I'm suddenly reminded of every worry I had when I was trapped in that dark room. Unable to control myself, I throw my arms around Thomas's neck, sobbing.

"I th-thought Anon had you!" I choke on my tears, "He told m-me that he d-did! I thought he was g-going to k-kill you!"

Thomas's hands rub circles into my back in an attempt to comfort me, but it's useless against what I'm feeling right now.