Hide and Secret (Wattys2015)

(14) Jill's POV

I awoke in a dark house of sorts. Its windows blacked out, with the only light coming from the dim light on the ceiling. I believed I was in the basement of the house. The concrete floor was cold, and after a quick examination, I realized I was alone.

I had no sense of time, or for how long I'd been out for. Could have been minutes, hours, maybe even days. Maybe I should check my phone, see what time it was.

After reaching into both of my pockets, finding some spare change in one pocket and a bobby pin in the other, I noted that my phone wasn't there. Well duh. Of course the stalker took my phone. He wouldn't want me trying to contact anyone to get help.

Using my elbows, I propped myself up and immediately felt dizzy. "Crap," I muttered. Had I gotten a concussion or something? I placed my hand to my head. It came back wet with blood. For some reason, the blood made every memory of what happened before I was knocked out.

Theo and I broke up. And it was all because of that dirty, lying, backstabbing, bitchy she-devil Serena, to whom I would always play second fiddle. I went to the soccer field and got a text from the sender. Then I got knocked out and sent to... here. Wherever this place was.

Quickly, I checked for broken bones, deciding that there were none. The gash on my head, however, was most likely substantial and unable to be hidden by concealer. I'd probably need stitches.

After a quick assessment of my body, I decided to make my way out of here. I noticed a set of stairs in the corner of the basement. Taking off my shoes to remain quiet, I crept up the stairs. There was a door awaiting at the top of them, and I expected it to be locked. It was.

Think, Jill, think! I had to get out of here before the sender tried to do anything. As my hill of panic grew into a larger, steeper, taller mountain, I realized something I had that could unlock doors. I rummaged through my pocket for the bobby pin and successfully unlocked the door. Thank you, Nancy Drew books.

I opened the door quietly, and remained on alert as I searched for the exit of the house. The sender was here somewhere. I wouldn't simply be left in a house alone, would I? I skulked down the hallway and got to the kitchen before I paused in utmost fear. The back of a grey hoodie was visible.

The sender was so close that I could practically reach out and touch their back.

Before I had the chance to dart away, the sender turned around, a black ski mask over their face. As the sender made eye contact with me, I stepped towards the person. Could I fight them long enough to find out this person's identity? They were probably physically stronger, but I had the element of surprise.

As quick as lightning, I reached out to pull the ski mask off. The sender, sensing what I was planning to do, grabbed my wrist and flung me down on the tile floor. I landed on my butt. "Ow!" I yelped in pain, knowing that there would be a bruise.

The sender took advantage of my pain and hightailed it out of the house, slamming the front door shut. Apparently the sender's sole plan with me was to scare me a little bit, to get us to stop looking for clues.

Well, once I got back home, this would be a solo effort. Well, maybe a duo, if I decided to let Taylor help me. But I couldn't ever speak to Serena again after what she did. I had trusted her. After a lot of reluctance, I had told her everything. She clearly hadn't told me everything. She hadn't given one thought to Theo's and my relationship when she stormed in and fucked it up.

Standing once again on unsteady feet, I realized that the sender had dropped something in their mad rush to get out of the house. It was an iPhone. I gingerly picked it up, taking a minute to fully comprehend what this meant.

I was in possession of the sender's cell phone. The one they had texted me with. This very phone could have tons and tons of information on here. I slid a trembling finger across the screen to unlock it. Luckily, the phone was not password protected. Then, I went to Contacts. Serena's, Taylor's, and my names were the only ones listed.

I exited Contacts and clicked on Messages. There, I found the message the sender sent me. We definitely had the right phone. Now, we needed to figure out who it belonged to. But first order of business: Call Taylor.

I dialed her number and waited for her to answer. "Please, please, please pick up," I whispered to myself, my heart thumping like a bass drum.

Finally, on the sixth ring, she did. "H... Hello?" she asked, her voice trembling.

"Taylor! It's me!"

"Jill?" she asked skeptically. "Why are you calling from the sender's phone?!" I heard a voice in the background. I assumed it was Serena, so I attempted to block it out and just focus on Taylor's talking.

"I found it at the place where I was kidnapped."

"What?" Taylor clearly couldn't believe it. I was having trouble myself, actually.

"Tell you later. Just come and find me. I'm in a house."

"Quite specific." Taylor drawled sarcastically. "Where's the house?"

I hurriedly scampered to the front door, and saw, much to my disappointment, that there was a large stretch of woods, going on a seemingly endless distance. There was a large rock sitting in the middle of it, sticking out as if it wasn't supposed to be there. "I have no clue," I replied, dejected. "Somewhere in the woods. There's this big rock, but other than that, I'm in the middle of effing no where."

"A big rock?" Taylor repeated.

I nodded, before realizing that she couldn't, you know, see me. "Yeah. Why? Do you know where I am?"

"Yeah, actually. I went hiking there tons of times when I was in middle school. I think I remember the way. I haven't been there in so long..." Taylor answered wistfully, probably remembering her younger self taking these solitary hikes.

"You can reminisce and stroll down memory lane later after you rescue me!" I snapped, annoyed. Then, I realized how nasty that sounded, and I changed my tone. "Sorry."

I could picture Taylor shrugging and twirling her hair as she replied to my apology. "Don't worry about it. We need to walk there, but we'll be there soon."

"We?"

"Yeah. Me and Serena."

Oh no. I could practically see my plan to avoid Serena for all of eternity burning and crumbling and smoldering before my eyes. "I don't want to see her."

"She wants to talk to you," Taylor urged.

Fine. She wanted to talk? I'd let her talk. Then I'd talk back after that. I'd be so brutal in giving her a verbal lashing so she knew not to ever cross me again. It wouldn't help me get Theo back, but it would certainly make me feel better. "OK," I relented.

Taylor hung up, promising to be there soon. I sank down on the couch to wait, when a thought occured to me.

What the hell was I going to tell my mother?