A Summer to Remember

After I finished reading the note, I looked up. The guys were all staring back at me, with the same expression on their faces. Fear. My eyes started to water as I realized that this meant one thing. She was alive.

We sat there in silence. Tears started pouring down my cheeks. I didn’t bother to wipe them away. They were tears of joy. I noticed that Cameron and Nathan were starting to cry too. We all cried together, until we were able to talk.

“So, what do we do now?” Cameron asked; his voice shaky. We all exchanged looks, all thinking the same thing.

“We can’t go to the police,” I stated. “And we have to get $4,000.”

Nathan agreed, and stood up. He started pacing around the room. I laid down on the bed, and ran my hands through my hair. I closed my eyes, and sighed.

“How are we going to get $4,000?” I asked. I heard some murmurs and grumbles, before someone said anything.
“I have some money in the bank,” Nathan finally said.

“So do I,” Cameron stated.

“Yeah, I’d do anything for Sarah,” Michael agreed.

I sat up, and we figured out a plan. We left our hotel, and got into our van. We drove to the nearest bank, and walked in. There, we each withdrew $1,000. That way, if you put all of our money together, we would have enough.

We stopped at a burrito restaurant before driving back to the hotel. There, we camped out in our hotel room until half past 8.

The whole time, the level of my nervousness gradually increased. I had butterflies in my stomach, and I was sweating like there was no tomorrow.

It was fifteen minutes until we had to put the money in the garbage can. Earlier, I bought a black bag that I was going to put the money in. I put on my shoes, and tied them at least ten times over and over again until it was time.

“It’s now or never,” I said as I opened the door. In my hand, was the black bag full of twenty dollar bills. Together, we walked out of our hotel room and down the stairs to the lobby. No one spoke the entire way. We walked through the spacious lobby full of innocent bystanders until we made it to the front doors. The automatic doors detected our presence and flew open. We stepped out into the warm summer air. The air was damp, making my shirt stick to me.

I looked around for a garbage can. There weren’t many people outside, however Tom was nowhere in sight. I walked around, until I found a garbage can. I slyly, threw the black bag full of money into it. I quickly walked away, back to the entrance of our hotel. I sat down on a bench, and rested my head on my hands. Cameron came over to me, and sat down beside me.

“What time is it?” I whispered. I was dizzy.

“8:57,” he responded. I picked my head back up, and started watching the garbage can to see if anyone approached it. I watched for what seemed like hours, before a guy I’ve never seen before walked over to it.

He was a burly man, with strong shoulders, and tattoos running up and down his arms. His hair was cut short, and his eyes were sunken into his skull.

The mysterious man reached one hand into it, while he searched the surrounding area to see if anyone was watching him. His eyes locked with mine. I instantly got chills shivering up my spine. He pulled out the black bag, and quickly walked away into the parking lot. I saw him slip into a black SUV. The windows were tinted, so I couldn’t make out the driver’s face. I watched them for a few minutes, until the passenger door opened. The man slipped out, and went to the back of the SUV. I heard a door slam, but I couldn’t see what was happening. The man ran back to the passenger door, and jumped into the SUV. The driver peeled out of parking spot, and out of the lot. I got up off of the bench, and started in a full sprint over the where the car was parked. I heard Cameron running behind me.

When I got to the parking lot, I was out of breath. I walked over the empty parking spot. I saw a girl, crumpled up in the back of the spot, laying on the ground. Her hair was matted with blood. I walked closer, and reached my hand out to the girl.

Feeling my touch, she looked up. It was Sarah. She had scratches all over her face, and a black eye. Her pupils were dilated, her eyes darting back and forth quickly.

“Z-Zach?” she whispered. I nodded, pulling her in for a hug. She immediately stiffened, and didn’t hug back. Tears fell out of my eyes, and ran down my cheeks.

I pulled away, and took in the state she was in. She was shivering, and only had a t-shirt and panties on. Both of those had large rips in them. She had dark purple bruises all over her arms and legs, along with countless cuts. Sarah obviously had lost weight, her ribs jutted out.

“I’ve got to get you to a hospital,” I said.