The Read And Weep Bundle: Anonymous, Perfectly Hopeless, Run (46 page)

I looked around at the makeshift office, staying at the very edge of my seat. I wasn’t about to get comfortable. Its cracked plastic stabbed into my thigh. I intertwined my fingers, trying to keep it together.

Mason sat down next to me, his chair falling sideways—it was missing a leg. I imagined him falling over and it made me want to laugh in spite all of my nerves swarming my body.

“Well, give me a couple minutes to get things together. Like I said, I didn’t think she was having you come.” He stood up and left the trailer, his feet pounding the floor with hard thuds.

I looked at Mason the minute we were alone. I hoped he wasn’t as stupid as he was acting right now.

“This does not feel right, Mason,” I blurted. Mason looked at me, his expression not changing. He was trying to make sense of it, of everything that was happening. I had already and I knew this wasn’t good.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I’m not sure, but something is not right. We shouldn’t be here.” I stopped trying to convince Mason as soon as the door opened. The man came back in lugging a big black duffle bag. Another man followed in behind him.

He stood in the doorway, his muscular frame evident in the sunlight from the windows. He was tall and tan. The complete opposite of the grizzly man with the mysterious duffle bag, the man in the doorway was clean and handsome. I looked over at him, a small smile flashed across his face as we locked eyes. I didn’t smile back, anyone blocking a door wasn’t friendly. They were there for just that—blocking a door.

“Well come take a look. Your mom asked for my best,” he said waving Mason over. Mason grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me up with him. I looked at the scary man, his expression stayed the same. We both peered into the bag at the same time. There sat a large variety of hands guns and shotguns. I wasn’t feeling any better.

“Guns,” Mason said.

“That’s my specialty,” he said rifling through the bad. He pulled out a long black case, brandishing a large knife. I swore it could have killed a bear with one swipe. “And knives.”

I shuddered.

“I don’t know what she is looking for. And I don’t have any money.” Mason backed up. I looked around the room knowing the only way we were leaving was if we could get by the handsome man at the door.

“That makes sense seeing your mom told us to forget it,” The man at the door said. We turned to face him now. He stepped forward, eyeing the two of us.

“Yeah, she told us you were a piece of work. Mom knows best right? She assumed you would still show up though.” The grizzly man said.

Mason sighed. I held it together surveying the room for anything that could help me if things turned ugly.

“We can leave,” Mason said, he took my hand. “Come on, Kendall.”

I stayed where I was. Knowing that was a stupid assumption to make. We weren’t going anywhere.

“No, I don’t think so, Mason.” The handsome one said. He touched my hair letting it slip through his fingers. He was amused by everything that was happening.

“Look, Kendall has nothing to do with my mom and I,” Mason said. Judging by the look on their faces neither one of them cared.

“Your mom seems to think you need to be taught a lesson. And that’s another one of my specialties,” the grizzly man said, he came around the desk.

I couldn’t contain the fear anymore. As he came around the desk holding that knife I screamed. Payton was insane and I knew we were doomed. You didn’t want to be on Payton’s bad side. I had known for weeks that Mason stepped on to many of her toes. And now everything I thought was coming true. Payton wanted to hurt Mason for going against her.

“Don’t worry none of these are loaded,” the grizzly man said.

“These two are though,” the other guy said, lifting his shirt. Two guns were nestled in the waist of his pants.

“Come on, Sweetie.” The handsome one said, grabbing me by the elbow. Mason jumped in front of me trying to stop him from taking me out of the trailer. He pushed Mason back and lifted his shirt again to remind him who he was messing with. Mason didn’t back off.

“Mason, please stop,” I said. He was broken and filled with regret that he had forced me to come. I felt bad for him.

“I’m sorry, Kendall,” he said. I followed the man out of the trailer only looking at Mason once as I left.

“You can call me Mark,” he said, going down the rickety stairs with me in tow. He held tight to my arm.

“Kendall,” I said. I kept my eyes glued to the ground. I could hear the man in the trailer, his voice louder than before, I wondered what he was going to do with him. Were they going to kill him? Were they that crazy?

I started to cry at the thought of it. A slow crawl of tears slid down my face. This wasn’t abnormal for either of us. It was just a surprise this time.  Maybe I could have seen this coming eventually, but I never wanted to face it—not now.

“Why are you crying?” he asked. As if I was supposed to be happy.

“Mason, doesn’t deserve this, sir.” I wouldn’t look at him.

“Whoa now, don’t call me sir. That means you think I’m old. I’m thirty seven, not fifty.” He unlocked a door to a small garage. Inside were several cars and a bunch of boxes. Tools lined the peg board on the walls. It was a brilliant choice, I knew many ways to defend myself and the garage supplied many tools to do so if I had to.

“Sam is a big teddy bear. He’s doing a favor for an old pal. You know it’s not often the women line up for him,” he said, a big grin on his face as he stared at me. He shut the door and leaned against it.

“Mason doesn’t deserve this,” I said again. I wondered if I was just supposed to wait while Mason was killed or beaten half to death.

“Some might say that’s an opinion. Others don’t agree with you.” He crossed his arms. “You guys run around with that crazy broad?”

I nodded.

“She’s a looker, but she’s nuts.”

I wondered how Payton knew these people.

“Are you going to kill us?” I asked finally. I watched him closely. His arm stayed crossed, his posture relaxed.

“I’m just the doorman,” he said short.

I knew he was full of crap. It was written all over him. I knew he would kill me in a heartbeat and not bat an eye. People who wouldn’t become defensive, he was used to it. And I was doomed. I knew now I had to find a way out or I was in danger of whatever this man was capable of, which seemed like anything.

“What are you about eighteen?” he asked. I nodded my head agreeing with him even if he was wrong, it didn’t matter.

“That’s when a person is the most naïve. You make a lot of mistakes at that age. Probably like the one you made today.” He came closer, his eyes staring me down. I wondered if he was debating what it was he was going to do with me. His blue eyes didn’t remind me of a sleazy man. He didn’t look like the kind of man willing to kill a girl like me. I never realized there were so many kinds of awful people in the world.

“I like to think I am furthest thing from naïve,” I said, my voice so low I barely heard my voice.

He pulled the gun from his waist, running it along my cheek and back down to my lips. I blinked back the tears at his sick game. He finally stopped the gun at my temple, my pulse fighting against the pressure of the cold metal.

“Do you think you are a good person, Kendall?”

“No, not at all,” I said, swallowing down the misery of my honest answer.

“Really?” he asked, one eyebrow lifting in confusion. “Are you afraid to die?”

I wished I could spit in his face for making everything so hard. I wished he would just pull the trigger and end it already. But a small part of me was begging and pleading internally that he wouldn’t shoot me.

“No, I’m not afraid to die,” I admitted, I closed my eyes and the tears fell quickly. “I’m not afraid of much in life. I’ve seen too much to be scared.”

He let out a sigh. I opened my eyes. He pulled the gun away from me.

“Well, damn. How the hell am I supposed to kill someone so miserable?”

I looked away. Even in death I was pitiful.

He moved to the door, turning his back to me. I hurried to the boxes behind me and pulled out a dumbbell. I quickly hid it behind me in a hurry before Mark caught me. He was none the wiser.

“Well Kendall, we got two options,” he said, staring around the garage. I nodded, my heart pounding erratically in my chest as he came closer. I squeezed the barbell tighter so it wouldn’t fall to the ground. My fingernails dug into the skin of my palm.

I no longer heard anything he was saying. The adrenaline in my body took over and I focused on his head. I took a deep breath and swung before I had time to chicken out. I connected with the side of his head, dropping the barbell, his features pinched together in anger and the moment he tried to make sense of what happened was the moment I got out of the door.

My heart sped up even faster, fresh air filled my nose surfing down into my lungs and giving me the courage to run.

“You didn’t even get to hear my options,” he yelled after me, starting to pick up speed. I ran back toward the trailer and came to a quick stop. With all the guns inside I would have been dead as soon as I hit the door.

My insides shook as the memory of the two guns Mark had flashed in my vision. I turned in a circle frantic. I didn’t know what to do next. Dust swirled around my feet.

“Mason!” I screame
d. I wondered if he was alright, if he could hear me or if I was too late to do anything.

My feet hit the ground hard and pushed me forward. It felt like I was stepping on every rocks and nail that laid sprinkled around the junk yard. My body froze as a single gunshot rang out. My shoulders drew up in defense mode and I dove to the ground behind a big heap of metal, my breath fast. It hurt to breathe but I couldn’t stop myself.

I had been in many situations but never one where the person was actually trying to kill me. I wanted to scream, my whole world felt like it was crumbling around me. Payton and Wanda had gone off the deep end. If I knew Aunt Wanda, I knew she would have stopped me from going if she didn’t agree with the plan.

And now as I sat behind the metal I wondered if Mason and I even had a chance to get out of this mess alive. Maybe he was right. Maybe we were sitting ducks.

“Peek a boo!” Mark yelled, jumping out of nowhere as if it was all a game to him. I jumped to my feet and kicked him in the shin. I tore across the junk yard like lightning, fear nipping at my heels as I tried to lose him again.

Another gunshot echoed the junk yard. I wished for the cops. I might have done a lot of messed up things, but I didn’t deserve to be taken out
for no reason, just because this man was deranged.

I landed on my face at the back of the trailer. I hurried up the steps, the door was boarded up. I tried looking in the window to get a glimpse of Mason or that giant ogre of a man. I couldn’t see anything. I pulled at the board with my nails trying to pry the board loose, but only manage to break my nails.

I jumped down just as Mark found me again. He ran faster until he caught me by the arm. I screamed as my body slammed against the trailer. He grabbed me by the hair jerking my head sideways and sent me flying to the ground. I clawed at his legs as his big boot pressed down on the side of my head pinning me in place. The rubber sole dug into my skin.

“You’re not very smart are you?” He pushed his boot down harder making my skull ache. I pulled at his foot and finally his foot slid off of me. I crawled across the dirt scrambling to my feet, the fear of being shot sending me into panic mode. I ran behind a tree. Mark took his time to find me. He twirled the gun around his finger, walking around me slowly. It really was a sick game to him.

“Now Kendall, are you ready to hear my options?” he asked out of breath. I leaned against the tree my chest on fire.

“Sure, why not?” I breathed, closing my eyes.

“In no way did I ever say I was going to kill you. It’s not my job to end lives,” he said stalking around me like a lion about to devour a deer. One arm neatly behind his back, a faint sign of blood showed on his forehead from the blow he suffered in the garage.

“Have a little faith in your fellow man. You never know what he can do for you,” he said.

I pushed off the tree standing up straight, confused. “What?” It wasn’t often I was wrong about people. But this man was proving to be rather hard to gauge.

“You both are young kids. He only wants to show your friend the meaning of respect. And to make Payton feel like she got what she wanted. You see, everyone’s happy. You understand?” He came closer to me. I flinched, waiting for a fist or something violent, anything to prove I was right. But I got nothing.

“Mason’s a good kid. You should be teaching Payton a lesson not him,” I said, letting out a relieved sigh. I was still alive. All the fear and agitation settled in my stomach, I felt like I had won the lottery.

Mark took me by the arm and we headed back into the trailer. I was apprehensive, but after the cat and mouse game I knew he could have killed me a long time ago and he didn’t.

“Are you sure you’re not going to kill me?” I asked, just to make sure.

“Will you calm down? I am not going to kill you. I told you,” Mark said. I hurried through
the door eager to lay eyes on Mason so I knew this was all a big misunderstanding.