Hero

Chapter 15 - "What happened to your eyes?"

 Chapter 15 "What happened to your eyes?"

“Justin, how much further is the car dealership?” I felt the words leave my mouth, but I barely knew I was the one speaking. My legs were beginning to burn with fatigue as we continued running down the side of the street. He refused to stop running, in fear of Robert and his guards coming after us, but my entire body begged me to stop. You don’t want to go back to that place, do you? I kept asking myself, urging my legs to carry me even faster every time the thought of needles entering my skin crossed my mind. I couldn’t let that happen again; I’d kill myself before I let them take me back there.

“Just a bit up this road, I think.” Justin replied, but he was distracted and I barely heard him. Suddenly, my side cramped up from breathing so rapidly and I had to stop.

“Unh!” I moaned, doubling over from the sharp pain. Justin stopped too, looking back at me to see what was wrong. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, almost bouncing from foot to foot, wondering what to do. We couldn’t stop to rest, but I wasn’t going anywhere and that was obvious.

“Here,” He quickly regained himself and bent down, picking me up bridal style. I was too shocked to protest, and before I knew it, he was sprinting down the sidewalk, me in his arms, and our duffle bag on his shoulder. I was surprised by his strength, but even more surprised by the gesture. Nevertheless, I didn’t say a thing, and soon the dealership came into view. To my disappointment, it was yet another upper-class place; Lexus cars. Why did everything have to be so flashy and noticeable? Why can’t we just get a junker? When we were just outside the door Justin sat me down on my feet, allowing me to walk inside.

Surprisingly, a nineteen year old girl with side cramps and a tall man carrying a duffle bag – both sweating and tired – attracts a lot of attention. Within moments salespeople, a manager and even a couple of security guards were walking up to us. “May I help you?” The manager asked, looking between our panicked faces with a confused expression.

Justin nodded his head to the side, gesturing for them to walk to the side and talk in private. The man followed his gesture and soon the two of them were chatting in hushed tones, leaving me standing there awkwardly, looking at the several men that stood before me. Maybe it was the night at the club just a few days ago; but I didn’t trust anyone now. Even if they were just looking at Justin and I with curiosity, I felt like they were planning something; like they were going to report us and give us right back to Dr. Allen, Robert, and the rest of those psychos. My head ached with the mere thought of going back to that place. I turned to look at Justin and the manager, and saw the man was shaking his head vigorously. Justin looked at him, obviously defeated, and sighed before walking over to me. “Come on, Rhylee, we’ll find somewhere else.” He said.

My feet felt like fifty pound weights in that moment; stuck to the spot – I didn’t want to walk anywhere. My legs pleaded with me to just rest, but Justin was probably going to make us walk another ten blocks – at the least – before finding a car where I can just lay down and fall asleep. “Ohh…” I hummed in pain, doubling over and clutching at my stomach.

“What’s wrong?” Justin said, letting go of my arm and looking down at me with concern. Though I knew there was nothing wrong with me, everyone around me thought there was. I closed my eyes and gave a look of pain; playing everything up. “I think I’m going to–…” I allowed my knees to give out, pretending to pass out. Justin caught me – thankfully – before I could hit the hard floor and picked me up, like he had while we were outside.

“Can we get her some water, a chair, something?” Justin asked all of the men before us. Suddenly, they acted like chickens with their heads cut off; running around in random directions, searching for water and a chair. “Come with me,” The manager said, motioning for Justin to follow him. He did, and soon he was following the man to his office, leaving all the other men behind. I laid in Justin’s arms, pretending to be asleep, but still listened to the noises around me. I heard a door open, Justin walked inside, and then the door closed behind us.