Stolen

If there was one person Carmen never expected to see, it was Vincent Davenport. But there he was: even more handsome than he had been in high school. His blond hair was the same but he was tanner and had more muscle. He was standing by the couch in tight jeans and a black wife beater. Just like her brother and Tara, he looked worried and curious.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Carmen mumbled.

“Carmie,” Kevin began.

“Kevin, can I talk to you?” Vincent said and pulled her brother down the hall.

Carmen closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Tara sat beside her again and held her hand. She didn’t know Tara that well but she could tell Tara was pregnant and married to her brother. It was hard to imagine: Her brother’s life had continued when hers had fallen apart. Had he given up just like everyone else? Had he abandoned her?

“How did you get here?” Tara asked.

“Ran,” she said. “Guess it’s a good thing I did track….”

Tara ran a finger over the spots where they had stabbed her with needles and Carmen jerked her arm away.

“Sorry,” Tara said quickly. “I just-.”

“It’s okay,” she said.

An awkward silence followed until the men returned. Kevin looked annoyed.

“Vincent says you can stay in his room until you’re feeling better,” he said.

“I should probably go to the station,” she said but he shook his head.

“Absolutely not. We’ll let the police know once you’re healthy again.”

She sighed. “All right. I’ll sleep on the couch, though,” she said, not meeting Vincent’s eyes. “Thanks but I don’t want to oust you from your room.”

“You’re not,” he said and took her right elbow as Kevin took her left. “I’m used to sleeping on couches. Come on.”

She was too weak to fight so she let the two of them help her down the hall. She passed by a room that she assumed belong to Tara and Kevin. Tara had told her that they married a year ago and she was almost 7 months pregnant. She also told her that Kevin never stopped talking about her.

But he stopped looking for me, she thought bitterly.

Vincent opened a door at the end of the hall and she looked around. The walls were light blue and had pictures all around the walls. He helped her to the bed while Kevin pulled the sheets back. She was surprised at how neat everything was. This wasn’t the Vincent she remembered.
The bed was very comfortable and, as soon as her eyes were shut, she fell asleep.

=

She woke up to the sound of someone typing and an irritated sigh. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, swearing quietly as some of her wounds reopened.

“I’m sorry,” Vincent said, swiveling around in his chair and looking nervous. “Did I wake you up?”

“No,” she mumbled. “But I need to get some more bandaids….”

“Wait here,” he said and walked out.

While he was gone, she glanced at his computer. It was a desktop and had a picture of the map of the area around them. She frowned and stood up, limping to the computer chair. She sat down. There were marks made from Paint; little ‘x’s around the grass and trees.

“I’ve also got- What are you doing?”

She jumped and looked up. He was back with some food and his first aid kit. When he saw what she was looking at, he turned a little pink and gestured to the bed. She sat back down and let him work on the marks on her back once she had covered her middle so he couldn’t see anything she didn’t want him to. Neither of them spoke as he was working and she looked at the computer again.

“Hunting,” he said and she nodded.

“I didn’t know you liked to hunt.”

“Something I took up on after high school,” he said. “It helped pay for some of my college.”

“Oh. What are you going to college for?”

He lowered her nightgown. “Let me see your feet.”

She moved on the bed and lifted them onto the bed. He took the socks off and shook his head. They were bleeding again and she winced as he cleaned them.

“I’m glad we got these taken care of quickly,” he said. “They would have been infected otherwise.”

“How do you know so much about medicine?” she asked.

“My mom,” he said, “before she kicked me out.”

“Why’d she kick you out?” she asked, shocked. “That’s not like Ruby!”

“A lot has changed since you….”

He trailed off and didn’t speak until he was done with her feet. When he was done he looked out the bedroom door.

“Your brother wants you to stay in bed for a few days but….”

“You don’t agree,” she said.

He ran his hand through his hair. “Look, you’ve been gone for five years, Carmen, and-.”

“What?” she asked, dropping her fork. “What did you say?”

“It’s been five years. You didn’t know?”

She put her plate on the nightstand table, her appetite gone.

“They don’t exactly give you a calendar when you’ve been kidnapped,” she said. “Have I…. Have I missed much?”

He cleared his throat. “Well…. I guess the biggest thing you need to know for now is that Donald Trump is the president.”

She stared at him and laughed, coughing when it started to scratch in her throat.

“Trump?” she repeated and he nodded. “Wow. That’s hard to believe.”

Vincent nodded. “Personally, I think you should let the police know you’re back.”

“I agree,” she said. She took a deep breath. “And I need to tell them… what I know.”

He stared. “You’re ready to talk about it already?”

She rubbed her eyes. “Vincent, I knew I was gone for at least two years.”

“How?”

“Not important,” she said, blushing when she remembered how she had encountered her first period with them. “But I learned some things and now that I know how close they are to Kendrick, they need to know now.”

“Wait. They’re close by?”

She pointed to the ‘x’ near the center of the forest. “About half a mile east.”

“Half a mile?” he repeated, going to his computer. “I was off by just half a mile?”

“What do you mean?” she asked but he didn’t answer. “Whatever. Can you get me to the station?”

“Kevin will kill me,” he said.

“Kevin doesn’t need to know,” she said.

“Don’t be stupid. You know he’ll figure it out the second he finds out we’re missing.”

She shook her head slowly so she wouldn’t hurt herself.

“Just take me, Vincent. It’s important.”

Before he could answer, they heard Kevin come in. He came in and smiled when he saw her awake.

“Hey there,” he said. “How are you feeling?”

“Take me to the police station,” she said but he shook his head immediately.

“No.”

“Kevin, you have to take me there. If you don’t… bad things will happen.”

“Like you being kidnapped for five years?” he snapped. “Your life will turn into a media nightmare!”

“It doesn’t matter how long we wait,” she argued. “It will become a media nightmare regardless.”

“She’s right, Kevin,” Vincent mumbled. “Just do it.”

“This is a bad idea,” Kevin said. “I don’t like this.”

“Does Tara have anything I can borrow?” Carmen asked, looking at the nightgown. “I’m not going anywhere dressed like this.”

“No,” he said.

Vincent rolled his eyes and opened his dresser, getting out a pair of sweats and a long shirt.

“I don’t think you should walk on your feet a lot just yet,” he said. “I can- I can carry you, if that’ll make it easier….”

Carmen sat in thought. It was his porch she came out on and he was the one to clean her up. But that was putting him in danger, too. She didn’t want that even if they hadn’t gotten along in high school.

“I can walk,” she said but, after taking a few steps out the door, her feet gave out and she stumbled into the wall.

Vincent sighed and picked her up. They got into his Mustang and he put her in the passenger’s seat while Kevin laid the seat back all the way.

“You’re sure about this?” he repeated as they made their way to the station. “Because we can turn back any second. None of this has to-.”

“Shut up,” she mumbled, closing her eyes. “I’m feeling sick and you’re not helping.”

“You just got back,” he continued.

“Kevin,” Vincent said. “Remember what I said last night.”

Kevin just huffed but didn’t say anything else.