Stolen

Vincent heard someone fall in his yard and immediately grabbed his gun. He flipped his back porch light on, ready for another confrontation with the James brothers. Instead, he stopped short.

“Holy. Fuck.”

Carmen Jones was passed out, bleeding heavily and covered in marks he didn’t recognize. He looked around but no one else was out. It was almost midnight and his roommate hadn’t gotten back from his date with his wife yet.

If anyone would need to know, though, it would be him.

Vincent put the gun down and carefully picked Carmen up. She moaned but didn’t wake up. He put her on the couch then got his gun. After putting it back in the safe, he got his phone out and dialed Kevin’s number.

“Hey,” Kevin said.

“I know you and your girl are still out, but you need to come home. Right now.”

“We just have a few more-.”

“Right now, Kevin.”

Silence. “What’s up, Vince?”

Vincent stared at Carmen. “There’s someone here you have to see.”

He hung up and put his phone on the table. He had just finished putting up the tree, intending on decorating it tomorrow with Kevin and Tara. He looked over Carmen’s body while he waited. She was covered in dirt and her skin was a little blue from the cold so he got some blankets and towels. He soaked the towels in warm water and brought out his first aid kit. It wasn’t going to do much, but it was a start.

He rolled her gently on her back and winced at the cuts. He didn’t know what made them but he knew they had to be cleaned. He dipped some cotton in the peroxide and dabbed at her back. She cried but still didn’t wake up.

When the bleeding stopped and her back was bandaged, he moved to her feet. They were worse and took longer to clean. By the time he was done, he heard the garage door open. He stood up and stopped himself from running his hand through his short blond hair; he had her blood on his hands and arms.

Tara was laughing when they walked in but stopped when she saw him standing there.

“Is that blood?” she gasped.

“Why did you call?” Kevin asked, frowning.

“It’s Carmen,” Vincent said and Kevin gripped his hands into fists. “Dude, I’m not lying. Look.”

He pointed at the couch and all the color drained from Kevin’s face. He walked slowly to his unconscious sister as Tara gasped again, tears in her eyes. Vincent put all the dirty supplies into a plastic bag then washed his hands. He was about to suggest calling the cops when Carmen woke up and started screaming.

The first thing she tried to do was go for the window but Vincent blocked it, trying to get her to calm down. His words were drowned in her frantic screams, though, as she bolted for the door. Kevin caught her.

“Carmen, calm down!” he said, shaking her a little. “Come on, relax! It’s me! Kevin!”

She stopped and stared. “Kevin?” she repeated, her voice hoarse. “Is it- Kevin?”

Kevin nodded and Carmen erupted into loud sobs, falling into her twin. He held her tightly and cried with her. Even though the police and their parents had given up, Kevin never had. His room was full of clippings of missing people. Only recently had he taken a break when Tara announced she was pregnant.

The last time anyone saw Carmen Jones, her brown hair was long and wavy. Now it was chopped short with some tufts missing around her ears. She had an athletic body in school but now it was emaciated and dirty. She was in a dress that looked like it belonged in a hospital. It barely covered her.

As Kevin continued to hold her, Vincent put a hand on her arm. He frowned.

“What are these marks?” he murmured.

She had fallen asleep again, though, and Kevin put her back on the couch. He pushed the little bit of hair out of her face and put a long kiss on her forehead. When he stood up, he embraced Vincent so hard he could barely breathe.

“How?” Tara managed, now sitting on the couch with Carmen.

She lifted Carmen’s head so that she could put it on her lap. Tara didn’t know Carmen growing up; she had moved here during their junior year. They had been somewhat friends because Tara was dating Kevin. Now, though, Vincent wondered what that would change….

“I don’t know,” he said, leaning against the table and sticking his hands in his pockets. “I had just filled the bowl with water when I heard someone fall in the backyard. I thought it was one of the brothers but it was her. Kevin, she’s got some strange injuries. I think we should call the cops.”

“Not yet,” Kevin said immediately. “No, not yet. If people find out she’s back, it’ll be a nightmare! I’ve seen those movies!”

“This isn’t a movie, Kev,” Tara said, rubbing his arm. “Things like that don’t happen.”

He stared at her with a hard look.

“That’s what we thought when she was kidnapped.”

No one had a response to that. He was right.

Vincent sighed. “Well, the first thing we need to do, then, is get her healthy and clean again. She’s not had enough nutrients, that’s for sure.”

“I’ll get a bath going,” Tara offered.

Vincent nodded and opened the fridge, looking for something he could make her. He kept glancing at the couch, though, remembering the last encounter he had with Carmen Jones.

Vincent and Carmen glared at each other from either side of the cafeteria table. Both had their arms crossed stubbornly.

“You’re not going anywhere until you talk this out,” the principal said.

“I have nothing to say,” Carmen said.

“Obviously you do,” Vincent taunted, “or you wouldn’t have talked just now.”

“Shut up, Davenport,” she spat.

“You shut up, Jones!”

“Enough!” the counselor said. “Now what happened?”

“All I did was suggest she get a pregnancy test,” Vincent said with an innocent shrug. “It’s not my fault her brother was there to hear.”

“You two are best friends!” Carmen snapped. “He’s always around you!”

The principal was frowning. “Carmen Jones, are you pregnant?”

She threw her hands up in the air. “Of course I’m not! This idiot has been looking to get back at me ever since I beat him at track!”

The counselor sighed. “You two are going to graduate in two days,” she said. “Honestly. You’re too old for this. Why are you always at each other’s neck?”

“Because he’s a dick,” Carmen spat and Vincent rolled his eyes. “And a small one, too.”

“Shut up, bitch!” he yelled, resisting the urge to reach over and smack her.

No one knew but Vincent had been harboring a secret crush on Carmen since their sophomore year. By then their rivalry had hit its peak, though, and he refused to let her – or anyone else – know. When she went missing, he had done private research of his own. Two years into her kidnapping, Kevin moved in with Vincent and found out his secret.

“Think we should call your parents?” he asked but Kevin snorted.

“They gave up on her after just six months,” he said in a disgusted voice. “They’re the last people that need to know.”

“Come on, Kev,” he sighed. “They’re her parents. Don’t they have the right to know?”

“No,” he snapped. “Don’t you dare.”

“It’s your choice,” Vincent mumbled and got out some eggs, what was left of the bacon, and some frozen hashbrowns.

While he cooked, Tara and Kevin bathed Carmen. Vincent was seriously considering calling Faith and Howard but he didn’t want to get on Kevin’s bad side. He heard Carmen scream and closed his eyes, shaking his head in pity. He was burning to know what happened to her but his professor had taught them that, nine times out of ten, if you demand answers from a victim immediately they’ll shut down.
Unfortunately, it was Christmas break and he had no way of contacting his professor now.

Vincent started doing online classes when his mother kicked him out. He found this house for a decent price and taking Kevin in made paying rent and bills easier. He wanted to be a police officer after what happened to Carmen. So, since he couldn’t afford to go to a regular college, he found some courses online.

Half an hour later, Tara was helping Carmen walk to the couch again. Carmen was in one of Tara’s old nightgowns and he piled her plate with food. He grabbed a fork and held it out to her. He expected her to reject it but, the second her eyes landed on it, she snatched it from him.

“Slow down,” Kevin said as she shoveled the food into her mouth. “You’ll make yourself sick.”

She didn’t listen, though, and he shook his head. She was done in a matter of minutes and Vincent brought her a glass of juice. She gulped it down and let out a long sigh.

“Thanks,” she said though her voice was still hoarse.

“Carmie,” Kevin whispered, “what happened?”