She's Too Naive

Chapter 29

Someone was in my room. I didn't dare turn my head to see what time it was, but I figured it was early morning since the house was completely silent. They kept their steps quiet, stopping right at the edge of my bed. I was turned away from the door, so had no way of telling who it could be. I held my breath.

A set of hands grabbed my shoulders and I nearly screamed until they shook me lightly.

"Ellie, get up. We have to go." A slightly familiar voice hissed. I rolled over, acting as if I had just woken up. My eyes met Knox's and I jerked back in surprise.

"What? Why?" I asked, my voice trembling. I looked around for Rosen or Cole, but didn't see them.

"Amanda said that the Def are coming to get us tonight, safe house or not. They are sick of waiting. We have to go." His tone was urgent, his eyes stern and pleading. I swung my legs over the bed, standing up.

"Where are Rosen and Cole?" I asked hesitantly, not putting my trust in Knox.

"They already packed up everything and are waiting in the car." When I didn't move, Knox grabbed my arm and pulled. "Come on."

Finally, I stumbled after him, treading quietly down the stairs. I slipped on a pair of flip flops by the door that must have been Amanda's, and followed Knox out into the dark of the night. An unfamiliar black car idled in the street, the windows tinted so black you couldn't make out anything inside. I paused halfway down the sidewalk, my mind reeling. Why weren't Rosen and Cole waiting for us. Surely one of them would have at least come out of the car to greet me. And most importantly, why would either of them trust Knox to get me up.

Knox turned back and must had noticed the wheels in my head turning, as he lunged at the same time I went to scream. His calloused hands wrapped around my mouth, the other around my waist. A memory flashed of being held like this almost two weeks ago in the beach parking lot back in Shorely. Rosen and Cole weren't lying, someone else took me first.

Knox started forcing me backwards, towards the car, as I tried kicking and flailing my way free. A few times his grip slipped, but it tightened seconds later before I had a chance to escape.

"Stop struggling," Knox gritted out, concentrating hard on not accidentally freeing me. I couldn't help but feel a sense of betrayal. Sure, Knox was annoying but I never thought he could actually cause any harm. No wonder Rosen was so against me and Knox being alone together.

My eyes stung, and by the time I realized there was a cloth being held to my nose it was too late. My limbs numbed as I stopped struggling and was instead lifted into Knox's arms.

☾

My head was throbbing as I slowly regained consciousness. I felt a sense of déjà vu at waking up in the back of a car, but this time it wasn't Rosen and Cole in the front seat. I blinked against my swirling vision, slowly pushing myself up off the seat and into a sitting position. The sun was just appearing over the horizon, meaning we couldn't have been driving for more than a few hours.

"Where are you taking me," I demanded. Knox didn't even look at me, and instead remained silent. His mouth was drawn in a thin line as if we was refraining himself from showing any sign of emotion.

"Knox," I said angrily, my temper and fear driving my actions. "I swear to god if you don't tell me where you're taking me I will grab that wheel and force us to crash. I'd rather take my chances surviving a car crash, than being stuck here with you." I lied. I would never be able to risk getting into a crash. I figured that by now Rosen and Cole would have just noticed that we were missing, and would begin their search. I had faith they would be able to find me. But I would also need to put up a fight, hopefully we would stop somewhere and I would get the opportunity to run. \