Room With No Windows

I drove nearly nonstop since leaving and getting on the road. I've only stopped for gas and to eat and use a restroom, and only if it was absolutely necessary. I couldn't worry about much else when I was concerned about Elsa. My mind was flooded with thoughts, assuming the worst. What if that asshole had her locked up somewhere, tied up and helpless? I feel my skin crawl at the image of her figure curled up on the floor.
No, I tell myself. I've been thinking this way ever since I began this road trip. I had to stay calm for her sake. She would be okay. She had to be.
Paranoid, I give Nicky another call. It was probably about the seventh time I'd called her, but I didn't care if I was annoying her.
She picks up and I put my phone on speaker. "Hey, Nicky, I'm in Missouri and almost in Illinois, so it shouldn't be long now."
"Okay," she croaks. Well, I guess I'd just woken her up.
"Have you heard from Elsa?" I ask, biting my lip.
She sighs. "No, I haven't. Remind me why you're doing this again?"
I shake my head. I couldn't believe she could be so oblivious her own sister's odd behavior. This guy has caused her nothing but trouble, and I was determined to get her away from that.
"She doesn't want to be with him," I answer. "But she's still being forced to and I don't understand why."
"Because they've known each other far too long and she is too afraid to let that go, John."
I frown. "I don't think that's she's afraid to let go. I think she's afraid of what will happen when she does."
Nicky's voice fills with curiosity. "What makes you so sure?"
"Because," I mutter, staring at my hands on the steering wheel. "She put her engagement ring in my pocket before she left."
There was silence. I think about the ring I'd brought with me sitting in my back pocket. It held a message that I still hadn't been able to figure out.
"She what?" Nicky finally whispers.
I nod, giving her a moment to digest the information.
"That...that makes no sense," she breathes incredulously.
I sigh. "Exactly what I said. She wouldn't do that unless she had a reason. And I'm going to get to the bottom of it."

Eight hours later, I find myself arriving in Ohio and feel a mix of relief and nervousness. This meant I was closer to seeing Elsa again, but also closer to discovering why she had chosen to leave the ring behind with me. One thing was for sure: she wouldn't be staying here unless I knew for a fact she was safe.
I was still conflicted on whether I should bring her back home with me. I didn't want to strip her away from her family, but she had told me once before she liked being around me. And God, how I wanted her around me, too.
My jaw clenches as I think about Isaac. He was the one that had gone and ruined everything. I'm almost positive that if it had just been her sister that showed up, she would have understood; she would have let her stay, and Elsa and I would still be together. Plus, I wouldn't have had to waste so much goddamn gas money if it weren't for him. It was all of that asshole's fault.
I search for the address Nicky gave me by using my GPS and getting directions to her house. She said that from there, we'd get in contact with Ellie and try to get her to come over. But she couldn't know I was here until then.
Nicky calls me once I'm close and I park in front of her apartment building, waiting for me by the entrance. I pull her in for a quick hug and sigh. "Thanks for helping me."
She nods. "It's no problem. Besides, you're right. If she did that, it probably can't be a good sign. I wish I'd listened to you before-"
"Don't worry," I assure her, "Elsa's going to be fine. We just need to find her."
She guides me up to her apartment and lets me in, explaining that she had already called their mom and that she hadn't heard from her daughter, either.
"I thought she might be staying there, but I guess since she's not she must be with Isaac."
The hairs on my back stand on end. Just hearing his name made me cringe. The thought of her even with him made me want to strangle him.
I think back to his smug smile before leaving and clench my fist. I couldn't wait to be face to face with him.
Nicky sits down at a small table and insists I seat myself as well. I run a hand through my hair. "Have you tried calling his number to see if she picks up?"
She shakes her head. "I don't get an answer. The only time I've gotten to talk to her is when she came over the other day. That was when I told her you'd called and gave her your number."
My eyebrows furrow. "Did she seem off to you that day? Because she sounded like she was crying when she called..."
"No," she mumbles. "She looked fine."
I bounce my leg, trying to think. When she'd called me, it had been a different number than Nicky's. What if it was Isaac's?
Pulling out my phone, I search for the number, my heart pounding. But what if he picked up?
Before I could press dial, the exact same number pops up on the screen and I answer. "Hello?"
"Hello?" Elsa answers in a whisper.
I sigh, relieved, and I lurch up from my chair. "Elsa, where are you? Whose phone are you using?"
"It's an old one I keep for emergencies," she replies, her voice still quiet.
Emergencies? Why was this an emergency?
I meet Nicky's eyes, seeing the worried look on her face. "What's going on?"
"I need you to come get me," she sobs. "As soon as you can, please. I can't take it anymore."
I clutch my phone with a viselike grip, my stomach twisting. "Where are you? Tell me now. I'm going to come get you."
She gives me an address and I quickly jot it down. Little did she know I was closer than she thought.
"Hurry," she whimpers. "I-"
I hear a voice in the background. A male voice.
"N-no one," I hear her stammer, "Just my sister."
"Elsa, tell that bastard he better not touch you," I spit, my face red hot. "If he lays one finger on you or hurts a single hair on your head, I'm going to-"
The line went flat.
She hung up?
"What happened?" Nicky asks, rising to her feet. "Where is my sister?"
I shake my head, snatching up the paper I wrote the address on and bolting out the door. I was getting her right fucking now.
My truck's tires screech as I hastily pull out of my parking spot, going in reverse before taking off onto the road. I could feel my blood boiling. I swear to God, if she wasn't the exact same way she looked a few days ago-
I jump as my phone rings. It was Nicky, but I ignore her call. I would explain later.
The street lights were in my favor, luckily, or else I probably would have gotten some tickets for running red lights. Although i was running the same risk for speeding.
The place was actually closer than I expected, and I pull onto the side of the curb, leaving the engine running and jogging toward the house that had the same numbering on it as the address.
I didn't bother knocking; turning the knob, the door gives way and I make my way inside, hearing the raised voices in the next room. I hear a small cry and race inside.
There, at the foot of a bed, was Isaac, her hair in his fist while he twisted her wrist with his other hand. Her cheeks were wet with tears and she was begging him to stop.
"You've been going behind my back, haven't you? That's why you don't have your ring, you didn't fucking lose it. You're trying to get back at me, aren't you? AREN'T YOU?!"
Those three seconds of watching him degrade her were all it took for me to stride over. I grab him by his shirt, separating them before reeling my arm back and hitting him right in the jaw, feeling my knuckles scrape painfully and my wrist snap. FUCK!
I let him fall to the ground, shaking my hand off and gritting my teeth. "You fucker."
He groans and I look at Elsa, wearing a shocked expression. I instruct her to go to my truck and she shuffles to her feet, running out the door. I give him a good kick in the gut before bending down to take him by the collar of his shirt again, the adrenaline pounding in my ears. I glare at him, his face inches from mine. "You get anywhere near her, I'm going to do way worse to your pathetic ass."
I stand, turning on my back and walking out. The fucking coward.
Once I reach my truck, I climb into the drivers' seat and slam the door shut, trying to ignore the throbbing in my fist. I cup it with my other hand, groaning. "Fuck."
"Did you break your hand?" she asks incredulously, looking concerned. Out of a million of the things she could ask me, she chooses that. If I wasn't so pissed, I would have laughed.
"Yes," I answer. "But I would do it a thousand times more if I had to."
She throws her arms around me, clinging tightly to my neck. I pull her into me, shaking from the relief. She was okay.
I give Nicky a call to let her know Elsa was with me and that she was now out of harm's way. As long as she was with me, I would keep her safe, no matter what it took. Elsa assures her sister that she was going to let me take her back to Arizona, which I felt thrilled about, but also guilty. Was it the right thing?
Maybe not, but it was right to me.
As I drove along the highway, Elsa wouldn't let go of my waist. Although I couldn't complain; I liked having her all sidled up to me.
"You came for me," she says matter of factly.
"Of course I did," I murmur, kissing her hair. "The minute you called me, I knew what I had to do. I wasn't going to leave you behind, darlin'. Not ever. I told you I wouldn't let you go."
She smiles softly, causing me to notice how tired and sunken her eyes looked. Her face looked so thin.
I bite my lip, wondering what he'd put her through these past few days. "What did he do to you?"
She removes her arms from around me and stares down at her wrists, branded with his finger marks. It only angered me further. He'd bruised her.
"I'm not ready to talk about it," she mutters. "Are you sure you can drive with your broken hand?"
I press my lips to her head once more. "It's nothing, Ellie. It's a privilege to drive with a broken hand knowing I punched that idiot in the face."