ROBUST

Chapter Six

Three days passed by since I kidnapped Paige. Flyers with her face on it was all over Arkansas. The Mayor made many videos and NEWS appearances, wanting help for Paige's safe return. Turned out there was nothing interesting about me on Paige's phone. I figured after all of the teasing and bullying, she'd have lots of things stored, but I was wrong.
I made sure I got up out of bed earlier than anyone else in the house. It was three-twenty in the morning. I hurried to check on Paige in the shed. I slowly opened the door and saw that Paige wasn't looking her best. She actually looked a bit sick. Her face was sweaty and her clothes were dirty, I assumed from waking up from her knock out and trying to escape from the duck tape.
As I entered the old shed Paige raised her head slowly, eyes sensitive to the flashlight I pointed directly at her. She flinched in her chair and started crying. I yanked off the tape that was around her lips.
"Please, I'm sorry Illiana. I'm really sorry for everything! Look— I can get you some money, a lot of it! Just let me go please."
I crossed my arms shaking my head, laughing. I leaned against the wall and watched as Paige cried and cried for her Father.
"Save your energy, Paige. Nobody's coming for your sorry ass."
Paige changed her entire attitude. She came from crying to angry real quick.
"Dumb ass hoe, I hope you fucking die! Did you forget? My Father is the fucking Mayor! He will definitely look for me. Let's not forget, my car is outside of your house, and you have my phone which can be tracked down."
I gulped nervously.
"Fuck..." I said under my breath.
Paige chuckled.
"Got a plan?" she said.
I didn't want to add Rye into my mess, but I had no other choice. She was the only person that I could trust to the fullest. I put a new piece of tape on top of Paige's mouth and left the shed, closing the door behind me listening to Paige's distant yet faint cries.
I went back into the house and closed the door as quiet as I could, but it wasn't good enough. I walked towards the steps to see Mom standing in the kitchen. I slowly turned towards her with an uncomfortable smile.
"Good morning Mom." I said.
Mom wore her nice silky robe, her hair tied up in a nice silk scarf.
"What are you doing out this early?"
I scratched the back of my head.
"Honestly, I just needed some fresh air."
"Bullshit."
I was desperate to find another topic to distract Mom from. I thought of many, but one stuck to me. It may have happened weeks ago but the topic wasn't old to me.
"Mom, who was that man from the night at Willy's? He said my name, and I keep thinking about it."
Mom rolled her eyes and flopped her hands down to her side.
"Look. I know nothing. I'm as lost as everyone else. The police are investigating, and that's what's important right now. I'm sure they'll get those men."
"Is it possible that he could been my Father?"
There was silence. Mom walked pass me to head back into her bedroom.
"Get some sleep." she said before closing her bedroom door.
I had used the subject to distract Mom, but I took the situation personal. I had no Father figure in my life and the only men I knew of was those who were in Mom's bed, and left the next morning. Paul doesn't count, and I hope that we can all agree.
I stomped upstairs to my bedroom and slammed the door shut, locking the door behind me. I stared at the ceiling for hours until the sun rose. The sky was pink, yellow, and blue all beautifully mixed in with each other like a painting. The sun hid behind its soft and see through clouds. I looked at the time. It was now seven-fifteen.
I skipped breakfast, but grabbed a water bottle, and a apple. I avoided Mom and Paul and headed to the shed. Paige looked the same from last I saw her.
I sat the water bottle and apple on a nearby metal table which was dusty and dirty. I yanked the tape from her mouth and gestured for her to eat the food I bought her.
"Pfft, how do I know it isn't poisoned."
"Eat the fucking apple. If I wanted you gone, you'd be gone."
Paige extended her arm out as much as she could from the tape that pinned her down and ate the apple. I helped her drink some water as well.
"So when do you plan on letting me out?" said Paige.
"So you can snitch on me?"
Paige took a large bite from her apple smacking her lips. I hit her on her knee, and she stopped.
"I have to say something." said Paige before taking a sip of water.
"Might as well spill your secrets too."
Paige rolled her eyes.
"Honestly, I've learned something the whole time I've been here so far. I wanted you, Illiana."
I gave Paige a confused look.
"Elaborate." I said.
Paige cleared her throat.
"I had a big crush on you for years, seriously. When I started dating Noah, I was more miserable than I ever was, not being able to have you. My Father and Noah's Mother forced us to date because of our reputations. I was never interested in males."
I scoffed.
"Why not allow Noah to look at me though? You made rules that made his life miserable. Why put him through hell?"
"I wanted you, Illiana, okay? I'm sorry, but that's the truth. As for Noah, I knew you liked him a lot and I thought that if I couldn't have you, Noah couldn't either."
There was an awkward silence that filled the room.
"I have to go to school." I said before taping Paige's mouth again. I left the shed and made sure Mom and Paul couldn't see me leave the house. I called Rye as I ran down the street.
"You home?" I said.
"Where else would I be? Where are you?"
"I'm running to you."
"Why are you out of breath—"
I hung up the phone and continued to Rye's. It took me roughly ten minutes to arrive there, but I made it. Rye drove us to school. I was feeling way more anxious than ever before. Rye looked at me like I was her Mother.
"How's Ms.Rue?" I said.
Rye drove up the hill entering school premises.
"She says she loves the facility now. I call her every night to make sure she's alright. She seems very happy."
Rye pulled into the student's parking lot. We parted to our classes, but Rye was left feeling uneasy after watching how I acted in the car.
Fast forward to lunch, I sat with Rye and Noah. We talked mostly of midterms and Paige's disappearance. Topics I wasn't interested in. Majority of the conversation I spaced out thinking of all possibilities that could happen while Paige was out of my sight.
Suddenly, the intercom beeped. The lunch room got quiet fast.
"Good afternoon, students. This is principal Gavin. We are all informed that our peer, Paige Waters has been missing for three days now. Ordered from the Mayor himself, we will be searching for her. We will start in the woods by the school campus. Your teachers will pick you up and escort you to your starting points. Thank you all for cooperating."
Later that day the whole school was stuck searching for Paige. Some thought she was dead, others thought she ran away to seek attention. It was eating me alive. I hesitated many times to tell Rye, but I decided to burst it out.
I grabbed Rye by the wrist and took her behind a tree. I patted my hands on her shoulders and looked at her in her eyes, mine watering.
"Rye, I did something really bad."
I told her the entire story of what happened between Paige and I. Rye was left feeling lightheaded, thoughts moving in her head like flies around shit.
Rye and I bailed on the search and left successfully. On the way home I received a phone call from Mom and answered her on speaker phone.
"Illy, why is there a pink car in front my house?"
"I don't know Mom. I'll see why— are you still home?"
"No, I was just wondering... maybe someone's visiting in the neighborhood. Have a great day."
Mom hung up the phone. I held my breath as much as I could hold it for and exhaled.
"Your lucky you have me by your side." said Rye. We pulled up at the house and into the driveway. We ran straight to the shed. I opened the door just enough for me to peek in. She was fast asleep, snoring.
"Pissed on herself..." I said softly.
"Look, Willy has connections. He can hook us up with the right junk yard no questions asked."
Rye called Willy. She exchanged brief information about our situation. Willy gave Rye the address to a junk yard which wasn't in MatterMann at all.
"Thanks Willy." said Rye before hanging up the phone.
I gave Rye the keys to Paige's car.
"I'll send you the address for the junkyard. It'll be a two hour ride, heading down south just on the boarder of Upton Arkansas."
"Aren't people going to recognize the car?" I said.
"I have my ways." said Rye.
She went to the her car and grabbed loads of paint and brushed from the trunk. She sat the paint on the sidewalk and held the brushes in her hands.
"The blue paint was meant for the house, y'know since Mama's gone and all. I thought of doing some renovations, but..."
"I'm sorry Rye."
"I thought I was going to go insane first but you beat me. It's alright though, as long as you don't do no shit like this again. Now, you need to help me paint this car."
Rye and I spent some time hurrying, painting Paige's pink car royal blue. There were some pink spots left, but it was far from recognition.
We then proceeded to Upton's junkyard. Rye drove Paige's car and I drove Rye's. Rye and I managed to ride smoothly through Arkansas with no suspicions.
When we entered the junkyard, Rye got out the car and approached a man who wore a thick red beard and a distressed hat over his sweaty head. He also wore overalls and steel toe boots.
"Let me stop you right there." said the man.
"Hello sir, I'm a friend of Willy's and I need your help crushing this car."
Rye pointed at the blue painted car. The man scratched his beard, flakes of dust and dirt falling from it and moving into the wind.
"Ah, yes. Willy did mention a couple of girls were going to be here. I'll take care of the car for you, no charge."
"Thanks mister." said Rye.
"A friend of Willy's is a friend of mine."
The big man in overalls drove the car in a crusher just above all of the other junk that was there.
Rye walked towards me and stood by the driver's side of her car. I opened the door and moved to the passenger seat. Rye and I watched as Paige's car got crushed. It became nothing but a large flat piece of metal, rubber, and plastic.
"Oh shit, the phone!" I said.
Rye opened the glove department and grabbed a hammer.
"You got it with you right?" said Rye.
I tossed her the phone. Rye exited her car and sat the phone on the ground. She repeatedly hit the hammer onto the phone until it was nothing but metal bits.
On the way back to MatterMann, I had racing thoughts. What was I going to do next? Paige's car is destroyed, and her phone is too. I had broken laws that could put me years behind bars and I wasn't for it.
"Rye, how do you feel about California?" I said.
"Hot. Why?"
"Well, you know that it only gets worse from this point on. We have to relocate— like now. Your tied into my mess."
Rye punched her wheel.
"My loyalty toward you is blind. Too blind. I didn't even think things all the way through. You know what this means right?"
Rye had informed me on Ms.Rue's conditions.
"Damn, I'm sorry Rye. I just— I'm sorry."
"We'll have enough time for grief later. Is Noah in on anything?"
"I'll speak with him."
Things only got worse in MatterMann. We were informed by many citizens that the Mayor was beginning to raid houses. Rye drove like a crazy person to get to my home as fast as she could. It started to get hot out, and the sun hid behind no clouds this time. The sky was naked, only the sun's rays beaming down on our bare skin.
Rye and I hurried to the shed. I opened the door so fast. There, Paige was awake but weak. She was drenched in her own sweat and urine. The shed smelled like it too.
"Oh fuck..." I said as I covered my nose.
"Stay here with her Rye. I'll go grab some water for her." I added.
Rye stood by the shed door and watched Paige. She looked a bit concerned of her conditions.
"Paige Waters." said Rye.
"Y—yes?"
Rye said nothing. She then received a phone call from Senior Living.
"Good after-noon, is this Rye Tilly? Granddaughter of Rue Tilly?"
"Yes ma'am, is she alright?"
"She's stable for now. I wanted to inform you that your Grandmother has little time left to live given her disease and age. She's a very old lady, I assume you saw this coming?"
Rye looked into space.
"Mhm." she snapped.
"It's best if you gather your loved ones and come see your Grandmother. I am so terribly sorry for your—"
Before the lady could finish, Rye hung up. Tears fell down the sides of her face. She looked to her left to see a man standing in front her, leaning on the shed.
"Hello." said Rye.
The man stroked his beard and plucked his cigarette on the ground, squishing it under his feet. Rye heard footsteps come behind her. She turned her head to see me with a water bottle. I dropped it at the sight of Paul who seemed to be very angry.
"Kill me now..." I said softly.
"What you girls doing out here, huh?" asked Paul who began to walk towards Rye and I. Paul swung his arms back and forth as if he was waiting for something bad to happen. Rye and I were corned by the fence gate. I kept my eyes on the shed, hoping Paul wouldn't be able to hear any noises come from there. Behind Paul came Mom who looked anxious and annoyed.
"Paul why did you— Aha! I knew you were up to something. Paul told me."
There was silence.
"Illiana, Rye... why aren't you girls in school?" said Mom.
"Why aren't you at work?" I said.
I tapped my fingers against my thighs. I was so scared. If Mom and Paul heard one peep from the shed...
"I'm sick of your attitude! You know, I do everything for your ass and you still treat me like I'm just a regular bitch on the streets! Why is that Illiana? Huh? Answer my question." said Mom.
She sized me up, standing directly in front me, our breasts touching and me inhaling her scent. I turned my head to the side to avoid getting spit on. I huffed and puffed, and clenched my jaw. I had to do something... something other than thinking of hitting my Mother.
Emotions ran through me like nothing ever before. Adrenaline was rushing though, depression, anxiety, living with Trichotillomania, and the urge to burst into tears. My finger tips and feet felt a rush of warmth as I felt myself getting angrier by the second. I COULDN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I glanced at Paul who stood behind Rye still leaning against the shed.
"I was pregnant." I said.
"What?" said Mom.
She pushed me by the shoulders. I moved by Rye and held her hand. Mom and Paul's backs were now facing the shed door, leaving me and Rye standing in front them.
"During the summer, Paul did something to me Mommy... he— he forced me— and I couldn't take it. I was pregnant by this monster! YOUR FUCKING HUSBAND!"
Mom shook her head in disbelief.
"Liar." she said.
"When I told him I was pregnant, you know what he did to me? He manipulated me, and took me to a fucking abortion center! Why are you still standing with him?!"
Mom stood closely by Paul, holding his hand.
"You lie."
Rye entered herself into the argument, furious with my Mother's reaction.
"Your daughter just told you why she's been acting the way she was for months now, and you stand by your bitch ass husband?"
Paul said nothing, but kept a single expression.
"Since we're getting things off our chest, you wouldn't mind if I told?" said Rye looking at Paul.
He said nothing.
"Paul is a sugar daddy. You don't believe me?"
Rye snatched my phone from my pocket and unlocked it. She went through photos and showed Mom the photos I took from the first day of school.
"If anything, you should be asking your husband here where Paige is. I bet this wasn't their only encounter either."
Mom stood by Paul tall and proud.
"You're no longer my daughter." said Mom.
"But he—"
Paul wore that dumb ass smirk on his face once more...
Suddenly, a familiar car pulled up in the drive way.
"Get your ass in the car." I told Rye.
I pushed pass Mom and Paul and opened the shed door. I untied Paige from the hold of duck tape, leaving her mouth still taped shut. Rye ran inside the car to see Noah in the driver's seat looking highly upset.
"When I come back, I'll need you to keep Paige in check. We don't have much time." he told Rye.
She shook her head up and down frantically. Noah left the car and headed to the back of the house.
"What the hell is going on here?" said Mom.
Noah ran inside the shed and grabbed Paige from the chair. He carried her over his broad shoulders and sat her in the backseat of the car next to Rye.
Mom's eyes widened in fear as she saw events unfold before her eyes. I tried running by Mom and Paul, but I felt a hand latch onto my ankle. I fell on the ground and turned to see Paul standing behind me. He laughed like a mad man.
"You're not getting away!"
Noah came back to approach Paul. He punched him in his face which wiped the smirk of his lips almost immediately. It stunned him enough for me to escape. Mom faded not to interfere. I gasped but had nothing to say. Mom aided Paul as expected.
Noah grabbed me by the waist and shoved me in the car with Rye and Paige. He drove off heading to the highway. Rye snatched the tape from Paige's mouth and held her under her arms.
"Ugh, that smell..." said Noah.
He cracked open the windows.
"Y'all are some fucking psychos!" said Paige.
"Maybe." said Noah.
"Wait, how did Noah know we were at the house?" said Rye.
"I called him while I was getting that water bottle, and yes, he's coming to California with us. Thanks for coming through Noah."
"I feel like you and I, Illiana, will make it through whatever. I wouldn't go to this extent if I didn't care."
"Wait, you're taking me to California?!" said Paige.
"We couldn't keep your ass here. Your Father will still be looking for you no doubt, but I have family much stronger. That's where we're heading."
Rye then received a phone call from Senior Living. She spent some time on the phone before hanging up. Tears fell quickly from her eyes. She was so down that she let go of Paige and cupped her face in her hands.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Mama's gone."
"Oh, baby..."
I comforted Rye as she was going through lots of emotions at the moment. I couldn't possibly know what it was like to loose a loved one so close, I didn't know what else to do.
We were headed to Lockehill California. A place where wealthy people lived. Big spacious mansions, hills on top of hills and many more you wouldn't expect. Again, I knew little of my family but they've made it clear time and time again that I was welcomed anytime. They knew my Mother and her ways, and thankfully they never thought the same of me. I was on my way to a new home in a new world. Rye had sacrificed a lot for me, and so did Noah. They were those I cared for the most.
TO BE CONTINUED ...