Flame [ON HOLD]

Chapter 1

EMILY'S P.O.V.

"Hello?" I asked over the phone.

"Yes, um, is this Emily?" a young man's voice said. He sounded awfully familiar.

"That depends, who is this?" He chuckled.

"I suppose you have the right to know-"

"Yes, I do," I interrupted.

"But," he continued on, "it would be more fun if you guessed, don't you think?"

"No, I don't. If you don't tell me who you are, I'm gonna hang up." He laughed again.

"Fine. I'm Jackson Moore."

"Wait, Jackson Moore, from school?" I asked, hoping my voice didn't sound like a dying cat. It does that when I'm talking to boys. My hands started sweating and I wiped them in my jeans.

"Yes, I go to school."

"No, I meant- never mind."

"I was just messing with you. Yeah, the Jackson Moore from school."

"Why'd you call?" I asked trying to sound normal. "Need help with English or something?" I joked. Apparently, he didn't think I was joking.

"Yeah, actually. Do you think you could meet me tonight by the creek? I promised someone I meet them there after you were done helping me with English, so I figured it would be easier if I just met you there, that is of course, if you decide to help me."

"Yeah, sure. No problem," I said hoping I didn't sound as disappointed as I felt. Of course he didn't like me. It was stupid of me to think that even for a moment, he might have been calling to ask me on a date. I mean, he has all of these cute, beautiful girls following him around like puppies, begging for his attention, and if he had to choose someone, out of every girl in the school,why would he ever choose me? He never even notices me, unless he need help with homework or something. Mainly, that's because I like to stay away from people, hidden away in the safe realm of shadows, but still. He's also star quarterback and good at every other sport he has ever tried.

"Alright see you there," he replied, hanging up.

"Bye," I said into the phone, even though he had already hung up. I sighed and fell over on my bed.

'Why are boys always such jerks?' I thought angrily. 'I know he didn't mean to be, but you can't just call a girl, make her think that you're going to ask her out, and then just ask her if she'll help you with homework. That's not right.'

I sat up and walked over to my computer. My mom was still at work, and my dad was picking up my little brother from preschool. I opened Microsoft Word and began writing. I love writing. I think it is a great stress reliever. You can also make whatever you want to happen, happen. It's amazing. I also love reading, but I'm pretty sure anyone who loves to write loves to read. I began writing a story about a guy who was a total jerk. Then, one day, he met a girl who was able to change him because she was the only one who was able to see his good side. I had just finished writing chapter 2 when I heard the front door open and a little boy whining and groaned. My dad and brother were home. Don't get me wrong, I love my little brother, but sometimes he is such a pain.

"Emily! We're home!" my dad called.

'Way to state the obvious,' I thought.

"Okay!" I yelled back.

"Come on down! We got dinner!"

"Coming!" I trudged down the stairs.

"We got Chick-fil-A!" my brother, Dillion, exclaimed with excitement. My ears perked up at this. I loved Chick-fil-A. It was one of the only fast food places I actually liked. The other was In-n-Out Burger.

"Did you guys eat yet?" I asked.

"Well, Dillion did, but I decided to wait for you," my dad said. "I'll be back to eat with you in a minute. I gotta put Dillion to sleep." He picked the squirming toddler up and walked up the stairs with Dillion complaining the whole way. My phone chirped. It was a text from Jackson.

'Meet me at 7:45' it said.

"Why not?" I said out loud. I looked at the clock, 7:28. "Dad, hurry up, the food's getting cold!" I called out.

"Just eat without me!" He yelled back. "Dillion won't go to sleep so it should be a while before I'll come back down!" I didn't respond.

The chicken was cold, so I warmed it up for what seemed like ever. I ate the burning chicken quickly and drowned my drink. I ran upstairs, changed my shirt, put on mascara and lipgloss, grabbed my purse, and turned to leave.

"Dad! I'm going out! I promised a friend I'd help them study!"

"Alright! Be home before eleven!"

"I will!" I rushed out the door. It was 7:39.

I got in my car and started the engine. I purred to life. I had an old car, but it worked well. I began driving and then realized I was almost out of gas. I found the nearest gas station and pulled in. I walked inside to pay and stopped short. I had just walked into the middle of a robbery. Why someone would want to rob a gas station is beyond me. All I know is that at that instant I was terrified.

"Freeze!" one of the robbers yelled, pointing a gun at me. I froze. "Now, put your hands above your head." I did as I was told. "That's a good girl." The robbers started talking among themselves leaving one man to guard the three of us who were in here. The cashier, a man, and me. I noticed they all had guns. As they were conversing, I was able to hear snippets of their conversation.

'Pretty. Keep her. We need a new one. I suppose. Yes!' I figured they were talking about me, since I was the only girl in here. The biggest one turned to face us.

"We are going to leave with only two things tonight. All of this money, and the girl."

'Wait, what?' I thought, 'They're gonna kidnap me? Wtf is going on?'

"The rest of you are free to go as soon as we have left. There will be no calling of the cops. Understand?" Everyone but me nodded. "I said, 'understand?'" he said, looking at me. I nodded slowly. "You," he pointed at one of his fellow robbers. "Take her to the car. Make sure she doesn't try to escape. If she does, which I'm sure she won't, shoot her, but don't kill her. I want her alive. When you get to the car, tie her up. We don't want her trying to get out now do we? Also, gag her. I do not want to be put in prison because of this girl's screams."

"Yes sir." He pointed his gun at me and pushed me out the door. He was scrawny and tall. I almost felt bad for him, he must have been made fun of at school. Then I remembered that he was currently in the process of kidnapping me. He pushed me to the car (it's not like I was going to voluntarily walk there) and tied me up. Wow. I played kidnap when I was a kid, but that was fake. It was fun. This, this was terrifying. I struggled until he punched me in the eye, hard, so that I began to see spots. I kept struggling, but since I was tied up, I fell because, get this, it's hard to stay balanced if you're tied up. He then kicked me in the head. I felt blood trickle out the side of my mouth. I began to swim in and out of consciousness. He picked me up and threw me, literally (dang, for being as scrawny as he was, this guy was strong) into the back of the truck/van thing that was their getaway car. My head hit the corner of something and pain raced through my body. The guy shut the trunk with a loud bang. My last thoughts before I fell unconscious were, 'Sorry I couldn't make it Jackson.'