Abduction

39: Finale

Bryce stopped coming into the store after I slipped the note into his book. I had no idea what page I put it in or if it even made it safely to his house. All I knew is that he was gone, and I didn't think he was ever going to come back.

I had lost my one and only shot. In addition, I now lost my one and only friend here. It was back to square one. I was alone, trapped under Mike and Lisa.

Every day that passed by got harder. I began to forget things about my life with the Greene's. The only memorabilia I had was a small, wallet sized photo of Elizabeth, Jacob, Josh, and I that I had crumpled up in the bottom of my backpack. I used to have one of Steve and Annette but Mike found it shortly after we moved here and threw it away saying, "No point in keeping things that aren't yours."

As time went on, I grew less and less hopeful. Bryce never came back and Annette never magically appeared at the store. I began to grow extremely depressed. I didn't even care about being a prisoner anymore. I had accepted my fate in life and knew there was no use fighting it. I quit speaking all together, unless it was to a customer, and skipped "family dinners". Mike never came anymore, so Lisa didn't really fight me on it. She would leave food on my bedside table, but I rarely ate it anyways.

--

One afternoon, we got a giant shipment of books in. Our manager ordered that Lisa and I split the books in half to stock while she manned the front desk. I was sick of always stocking shelves, but I had no room to argue so I sucked it up and got straight to work.

As I was reaching up to a high shelf to slide a book in, someone behind me grabbed my arm and yanked me towards them.

"What the hell-" I yelped before their hand went over my mouth.

The man who grabbed me quietly told me, "My name is Officer Parker. This shop currently has 3 other undercover police officers floating around in order to obtain Lisa Fisher. Am I correct in thinking that you are Erika Greene?"

My heart dropped. There was no way this was happening. After all this time. I had to be hallucinating. 

I slowly nodded my head as he removed his hand from my mouth, "I need you to remain acting natural. We cannot allow her to escape." 

"Is my mom here?" I asked, wiping a tear from my eye.

He ignored my question and began to walk away. I knew this was it. My freedom was so close.

I picked up a stack of books and walked over to the center of the store. I saw Lisa working diligently to finish her half of the shipment. She didn't even look up at me. Next thing I knew, I heard screaming as a large man tackled her to the ground. Two other men swarmed around her and pointed guns at her head. 

I couldn't piece together what they were saying. I just heard a loud ringing noice and saw everyones mouths moving. My manager had ducked behind the desk, completely unaware of why this was happening. The police officers remained stern as they began to handcuff Lisa. Lisa looked up at me with an enraged expression. There was nothing she could do.

I was snapped back to my senses when I heard the voice I had wanted to hear the past two months.

"Erika?" Annette cried from behind me.

I spun around and locked eyes with her. My beautiful mother. It had been so long since I had heard or seen her, it was almost as emotional as when I had to say goodbye.

"Mom." I whispered as we rushed towards each other. We instantly embraced each other in a hug and our knees fell to the floor. I was back in my true mothers arms, right where I belonged.

--

Things calmed down relatively quickly after that. Annette and I didn't leave each others side. Even through me having to report the last two months to the policemen and explaining the truth to my manager, who was very shaken up from the recent events. Poor gal had no idea any of this was happening.

As things began to wrap up, I saw Lisa being put into the back of a police car and watched as it drove down the road. I prayed that would be the last time I would ever have to see her again. 

When Lisa and I exited the shop, I felt oddly sad. Of course, I was happy to be free and to be going back to my true home but this store became my safe place. Even before I worked here, the books Lisa brought to me each day would bring me happiness. I would never forget it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a familiar face and instantly ran towards it. 

Bryce.

"Thank you so much," I cried as I wrapped my arms around him, "you saved me."

He hugged me back, "I'm sorry it took so long and that I went M.I.A. for awhile. I had no idea what to do. I googled your real name after you wrote it down and found all the news reports on you recently. Also, you didn't look like the girl in the photos with the blonde hair. But when I eventually realized you really were you, I wasn't sure how to save you. Your parents were offering $15,000 to whoever could find you. It's shocking you weren't found sooner honestly."

I broke into laughter, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, but I turned it down. Figured I could get your number instead and we could finally go on a date." He joked winking at me.

I frowned, "I unfortunately-"

"You love someone else," he finished for me, "someone back home.

I nodded, "But, I think a FaceTime date could be arranged."

He smiled and handed me a book, "My numbers written down somewhere in there. Guess you'll have to read to find out."

"Taking tips from the master." I joked as I lightly punched his arm.

He gave me one last hug, "I'm really glad I got to meet you, Erika."

"I'm glad I got to meet you too, Bryce." I smiled.

Annette came over to us and put her hand on my arm, "It's time to go, sweetie. You have quite the village waiting."

And with that, I set off on the long journey back to the only place I wanted to be the past two months.

Home.

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A/N: Titling this chapter "finale" is kind of misleading-  there WILL be another chapter titled "Conclusion" very soon. It is so bittersweet to end this story since I have put so much time into it and loved every chapter but I already have so many ideas for a sequel so maybe next summer it could be a possibility! Keep an eye on my updates page if you're interested in that :)