Page 63 of Keep This Promise
For a long while, we sit like that—her slowly rocking herself and me a silent offer of support. It isn’t until another scream comes from the back that her fear-filled eyes meet mine, tears starting to pool. “She’s my friend.”
“What is her name?” I ask just above a whisper.
“We don’t have names.”
I know that’s not true, but I decide not to pry. “What are you called then?”
She twists her fingers together. “Two eighteen.”
“And your friend in the back? Does she have a number?”
“One seventy-three.”
“What about your other friends?”
She shakes her head. “Didn’t give her a number yet. The other is two forty-nine.”
I push down the bile in my throat at the fact that these girls have so clearly been stripped of their identities. The number part makes me wonder if they’re random or in order.
The girl closes her eyes and rests her forehead on her knees. After a moment, she tilts her face just enough for her to see me. “Where’s your accent from?”
“I’m from London.”
“What’s it like?”
I tell her a bit about my home. The history, the sights, and my favorite places. I describe what it was like to walk around Piccadilly at night and all about the little shops in Covent Garden. If I try really hard, I could pretend I’m actually there. I can see the cobblestone street and smell my favorite bakery where I would take Eden for a cookie.
The sounds of people talking as they make their way around fills my ears. My hand tightens, remembering Theo pulling me toward the tube as he dragged me to the next thing he wanted to explore.
He was always adventurous that way. I liked to have a plan, and he wanted to let the wind take him somewhere new.
“It sounds magical,” she says. “I close my eyes a lot and imagine being anywhere else.”
“And where do you see yourself going?”
She sighs, head back against the wall. “I’m usually with my sister in our corn field. I hated it before, but now it’s warm and bright. I can feel the sun and hear the sound of her laughter as she chases me through the rows. I go there and stay for as long as I can. I miss it, and I don’t want to be here anymore.”
My chest aches for her. I don’t know anything about the geography of the States or where she’s from, but I understand the feeling of home.
Hopefully what she says will help Emmett, so I ask another question.
“Where were you escaping from?” I ask hesitantly.
Her eyes gloss over as she looks at me, but then her lids lower and a tear falls. “Hell. We’ve been in hell.”
ChapterTwenty
HOLDEN
Sophie and I are sitting in the car out back of Run to Me. Neither of us can speak. Neither of us move much either.
It’s been a grueling two hours. I was able to stitch that poor girl up enough that we were able to transport her to the hospital. Kate offered to ride with her since George was escorting our private vehicle with the other three girls. No one even considered calling the paramedics, and thankfully, Sophie didn’t question it. She is the only one who isn’t aware of how Ryan Wilkinson used his ambulance to abduct young girls. Blakely went as far as to purchase a vehicle, transform it into a mobile hospital room, and hire fully-vetted private paramedics just to avoid ever having to use that emergency service again.
I sit here, my hands shaking slightly as the adrenaline wanes.
Then I feel her hand against mine as she laces our fingers together. I glance over to find her watching me, concern tight on her brow.
I need to say something. To apologize or thank her or something.
