the radio. “How about some American shit?” He changed the channels until he found an upbeat pop song from a female artist. “Now, that’s good shit.” He started to dance in his seat. The other guy did too.
“Hell yeah!” Melanie threw up her hands and started to dance, getting into it like she was in a club and had all the room in the world to throw her arms left and right, smacking me in the shoulder without even realizing it.
There were a million fun things to do in Paris. Getting in a car with these two weirdos wasn’t one of them. She could have any man she wanted with beauty like that, but she settled for any man who asked her out. It was baffling.
The guy in the passenger seat turned to look at me. “Come on, have some fun. We’ll show you a good time.”
“Where are we going?” I barked.
“Chill, chill.” He faced forward again. “Let’s drive by the Eiffel Tower.”
“Yes!” Melanie shrieked in excitement, still dancing to the music, even though she’d been to the site before—because I’d taken her.
The guys pulled onto the street and drove through traffic, passing all the coffee shops, restaurants, and the other nightlife that we could be visiting. The radio continued to play music, and the guys talked to Melanie.
As time went on, they seemed harmless. They asked Melanie about her life in New York, tried to get information out of me because I wasn’t receptive, and then we pulled up to the Eiffel Tower.
“There it is,” the guy in the passenger seat said. “On your left—in all her glory.”
I turned to look at the base of the tower, the long pathway with the fountains down the center, full of pedestrians walking with warm cups of coffee in their hands, enjoying the white Christmas lights wrapped up in the trees on either side. It was something I looked at all the time, a pathway I’d taken on afternoon walks with friends. It was beautiful every time I looked at it, and even now in my disgruntled mood, I still thought it was magnificent.
And then a sharp pain erupted from my leg.
I looked down to the needle piercing through my jeans into my thigh.
My sister had one too.
“You motherfucker.” I lunged forward and grabbed the guy by the throat, slamming my hand into his face to beat him fucking senseless.
Melanie had a harsher reaction to the drug because she immediately slumped back against the seat, her eyes glazing over. “Oh my god… What’s happening?”
The guy pushed me off. “Damn, this bitch is strong.”
“That’s perfect,” the driver said. “She’s better than the weaker one.”
I lunged at him again, but he punched me in the face.
Melanie continued to slip away. “Oh my god…oh my god.” She gripped the handle of the door and just sat there, as if she were hallucinating.
I grabbed the door and tried to open it, feeling my mind begin to slip away, the strength in my extremities fading. The door was locked, so I couldn’t get it open. So, I slammed my arm into the window over and over, trying to break through it.
“Jesus, did you give her enough?” The driver swerved slightly when I kicked the back of his seat.
“Yes,” the passenger yelled. “I don’t know what the fuck this bitch is doing.”
I tried to hit the window again, but I couldn’t. My strength left me, and I slumped in the seat, unable to do anything other than look out the window and watch the lights pass as we continued our drive. People on the sidewalk had no idea of the duress in the car, enjoying their beautiful night in this glorious city.
“It’s kicking in,” the passenger said. “We’re fine.”
I tried to fight my eyes’ urge to close, but I was losing the battle. My eyelids closed, and my body suddenly relaxed in the seat. The last thing I heard was the voice of my sister as she whispered to me.
“I’m so sorry…”
2
French Alps
Vibrations shook my body, a bump making my frame rise slightly from the surface before it thudded back down once more. I was vaguely aware of the cold, of the way my lungs hurt with every breath I took because the air was so dry. Sunlight was on my face, but it didn’t mask the chill that froze every single extremity of my body.
As I came into consciousness, I was vaguely aware of the last time I was awake. My eyes had opened to a dark