Heartbreak Me by T.L. Smith Page 0,42
want to.
“No cell phones are allowed, miss. This is not negotiable.”
The rebellious part of me wants to scream ‘no’ at him, and that he can get fucked. Instead, I place my cell in his hand, which he then places in the car, before he comes back and opens my door for me. “If you would, miss.”
I do as I am told, and find no one in the car. We drive for what feels like hours before we come to a stop at an airstrip. When the driver opens my door, I see a few other girls dressed similarly to me.
“Please go and wait with the girls.” He gestures to them, and I do as he says, walking over to them. They all chatter, and when I reach them, they stop.
One girl, another blonde, walks over to me. “Hey, I’m Ruby.” She offers me a shy smile with a wave of her hand.
I have no idea if I should give her my real name or what. So decide to err on the side of caution and only give her my partial name. “Thea,” I tell her.
“So, you are new. I have never seen you at one of these before.”
“One of what?” I ask.
The plane’s door opens, and a few girls start walking the stairs.
“You know… Mr. Hyde’s functions. They are legendary, and the tips are worth every dirty thing you do. Trust me.” She winks as I follow her up the stairs.
“What is it that you do?” I ask, confused.
She laughs, and she fobs me off. “You’re funny… I like you.”
I nod, unable to say or do anything else until we enter the plane, and when we do, a few guys are already seated in their seats. It’s a private plane, and one of the biggest I have ever seen. Each chair is like a private recliner, and the few men who are sitting on here stare at us with hungry eyes.
“Ruby,” I say, leaning in.
She smiles and turns to face me. “Yeah?”
“Where are we going?”
“You don’t know?” she asks with her eyebrows pinched together. “Like… really don’t know?”
“No. Where are we going?”
“Ladies and gentlemen...” Before she can answer I turn to that voice, it’s the girl with glasses. She eyes me longer than the rest when her eyes skim across everyone on board, and then she continues her speech, “Please be seated. You should reach your destination in an hour.”
A few girls start walking over to sit near the guys, who, I might add, are all old. As I take the seat closest to the door, my legs start bouncing in agitation, and I bite my lip as I wait. No one talks to me, and Ruby is sitting on the lap of one of the old men as she blushes at something he says.
The only person who seems to have a cell on them is Atlas’s girl with the glasses, even then she seems to not care about what everyone else around her is doing.
When the plane finally comes to a stop, she walks past me, looking down, and gives a slight shake of her head before she walks off. A few people follow her, but I wait until the very last minute—now being the only one left on the plane.
I don’t want to get off.
I want to go far, far away, and never come back.
When Lucy is safe, and I have done everything I can to help her, I will be doing just that. If she falls back into the same crowd, I won’t be rescuing her again.
They won’t be able to find me to do so.
Maybe I will run away to Tahiti and fall between the cracks.
Live some sort of carefree life on a beach somewhere.
When I can’t postpone this any longer, I know I have to get up and get off, but something is stopping me.
My legs won’t move, and my head is screaming at me to do so, but I can’t. I literally cannot move a muscle. I do not know what awaits me on the outside of this plane, and quite frankly, I do not want to know. I want to go back to my house and never leave, remain safe where I was, not out here not knowing what’s going to happen next.
I want to go home.
“I see your instincts have finally kicked in.” My eyes search for that voice. He stands there dressed in ripped jeans and a white singlet. My head also wonders if it’s the same outfit he had on