Page 132 of Don't Leave Me

“You are mine now. You need to come to terms with that, or else I will keep you tied up indefinitely,” he snarled, his eyes wild as he stared down at me.

I nodded.

“I need you to calm down so you can call Emily,” he finally said after what felt like an hour long pause.

I suddenly felt a shred of hope.

“You’ll be calling her to tell her that you’ve left Michael and got back together with me,” he ordered, my hope vanishing all in one second.

My mind started to race again.I need for her to help me. I need to tell her to come to me and help me out of here.

“I know what you’re thinking, Hana. But if you go off script, Emily will be the first person I kill, and it will all be your fault.”

* * *

Jack already had a script ready for me, like the ones telemarketers or sales people use when trying to make a sale. He reallywasprepared. How long had he been waiting to kidnap me? Since the day I told him, or did he know before that? I didn’t dare ask.

I read the sample questions that Jack figured Emily would ask me, and the answers that he wanted me to give her. He set the piece of paper in front of me on the bed, my hands still tied behind me, my fingers numb. I had no idea how I was going to do this, but this side of Jack was one I’d never seen before, and I knew he was desperate. He had nothing else to lose now. So, if I fucked this up, he was likely to kill everyone I loved, then me, then himself.

“What if she asks me something that we don’t have an answer for?” I asked carefully; I said “we” to be inclusive, like this was both of our decision, to start making him believe I wanted to be there.

“Make something good up, but keep it in vein of what that says,” he answered, pointing to the paper.

He seemed nervous. I nodded, probably as nervous as he was. I didn’t want anything to happen to Emily if I fucked this up.

He took my phone from his back pocket and looked through it for a moment, probably reading my last text messages to Emily. They were probably all about her and Adam, or about wedding planning. I felt a sting deep in my chest.

He held up the phone. “Alright, Hana. You ready?”

I nodded, already feeling a lump in my throat.

He hit dial and then immediately put it on speaker. He sat down next to me, not too close, but close enough so that I could easily speak into the phone. It rang twice before I heard her voice.

“Hana banana, what’s goin’ on?” she answered lightly, no care in the world.

I couldn’t help it – the sound of her voice, the warmth she instantly gave me, the familiar feeling of home and safety and love - I immediately started to sob.

“Han? What’s wrong?” I heard her after a moment, concern clear in her voice.

I couldn’t bear to open my eyes to see Jack’s reaction, but I felt his hand flick my knee and I jumped with a gasp.

“Em, hey, sorry,” I choked out, gasping for air, trying with all of my might to hold it together.

“Hana, what’s going on?” she repeated.

“I…I just wanted to let you know that I broke up with Michael. I’ve called off the wedding,” I looked down at the paper, not daring to look at Jack.

I heard Emily gasp. “What? What happened?”

“I just…I just finally realized I was with the wrong person. I wasn’treallyin love with him, you know? I couldn’t see myself with him forever,” I paraphrased Jack’s answer key, my breaths hiccuping from all of my sobbing.

“Oh god, Han,” Emily responded, her empathy apparent.

“And,” I cut in before she could continue. “I realized who I did want to spend my life with. The person I thought about every night…while I laid in bed with Michael,” I read, tears streaming down my face.

There was a pause. “It’s Jack, isn’t it?” Emily responded in a knowing tone.

I looked up at Jack once I realized the grin on his voice. He looked so pleased with himself.

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