the restroom, using the light from the moon, and then climb back inside. It's cold, but when I get the blanket out of the backpack and put on a hat, it's bearable.
Maybe a motel would've been easier, but this is safer. I recline the seat and curl up as much as I can.
When I drift off to sleep, my dreams take me back to Isabelle.
20
Isabelle
My heart is thumping.
I can't breathe.
My chest tightens with each forced inhale. There is a blindfold over my eyes and something like a scarf over my mouth. It's tugging into the corners of my mouth.
I try to focus my mind, but all of the sounds everywhere overwhelm me. There are three guys in the van, as far as I can tell. Two of them pulled me inside and one put on the blindfold and the gag over my mouth.
Someone is driving the van. There are no seats back here and I'm just lying on the floor.
Whenever anyone around me moves, I can hear their boots slam against the metal floor.
No one says anything for a while and we just drive.
What do they want from me? Where are they taking me?
I don't know the answers to any of these questions and all I can feel is regret. I have all the money on me.
I never threw it in the dumpster. Now they have both me and the money. I should have just done what they said or better yet, I should have just stayed home. I shouldn’t have trusted them.
Why would they let her go now?
Why would they let either of us go?
“It's going to be okay,” my mom says.
I jump, almost out of my skin.
She's here.
Oh my God, she's here!
“It's okay, stay down,” she says, putting her hand on my shoulder.
I try to nuzzle up closer to her, but one of the other men grabs me by my neck and pulls me back.
“You’re hurting her,” Mom says.
“Shut the fuck up!” he yells back.
I want to say something else, but I don't. My neck is dropping and I can barely turn my head.
I’ve had issues with my neck since my early 20s when I woke up one morning and couldn't move at all. The pain eventually went away, but the memory of it didn't.
Now I only sleep on my back, sometimes on my side, but never on my stomach. If I lie on my stomach too long, I feel my neck getting tense and that freaks me out.
When they grabbed me, they pinched a nerve and I feel the pain that I felt that night.
We drive for some time and I can't speak even if I want to. No one says anything so I just lie here and hope that the pain in my neck goes away so that I can fight back when the time comes.
The floor of the van is cold and dirty. My thoughts go back to Tyler. I wish more than anything that we’ll be together again.
I wish more than anything that I hadn’t made this decision. I feel like such an idiot.
A fool.
I came here thinking that I could rescue her but, in fact, they just took me as well. I was unarmed. I wasn't prepared. There were three of them here, four with the driver, and they had a plan.
I'm such a fucking idiot.
Suddenly, the van pulls over and stops. I don't feel like we got on an exit or went anywhere specific, so I wonder why we're here.
The door swings open and I feel the light of the day on my face. Oh my God, they're bringing someone else in.
My body shudders.
Instead, they grab me by the shoulders and push me out. My legs drag on the floor and I would have fallen if they weren’t holding me up.
Someone grabs my hands and unties the knot around my wrists.
“You still owe us ten thousand dollars with the two grand late fee. You have two weeks,” someone says.
The door slams shut and the van drives away.
I pull the blindfold off my eyes, somewhat in disbelief. Did they really just… Let me go?
My mom runs up to me and wraps her arms around me.
“Thank you, thank you so much for coming. I don't know what they would have done if you hadn't.”
I begin to cry. My whole body shakes and we hold each other for a long time, thankful to be alive.
She has aged a lot since we saw each other. Her eyes are tired and her skin is sallow. Her hair