SKYLAR
I turned my head away from Crystal and closed my eyes tight. I couldn’t believe we were both trapped. I should’ve just left the night Gavin found me at the creek. If I’d called my mom or the police, they might’ve been able to find Crystal. My chest was so tight it felt like someone was squeezing it. I couldn’t get a breath. I sucked desperately at the air. Stop, Skylar, just focus, see if there’s a way out.
My body shook as I looked around frantically at the door, the boarded-over window. I could see sheer curtains at the top, in a burnt-orange color. They must be hanging on the other side of the boards. If anyone looked, they’d just see the fabric.
I’d never be able to rip the boards off with my hands tied. I tried to wiggle my hands over my butt, so I could slide my legs through, but he’d rotated my arms when he taped them, forcing my back to arch painfully. I couldn’t bend my arms enough to step through. Crystal was watching me, her expression sad.
The country music was giving me a headache. He hadn’t turned on the fan and the room was sweltering, making the odor coming off the bucket even worse. I had to try hard not to throw up. My lips were already hurting, and my tongue felt swollen. I was thirsty and I wondered if I’d die of dehydration.
I stood up and looked around the room again, trying to focus on the details. The bed was in the center of the back wall—the only window was on its left side. Crystal was sitting on the floor in a small stream of light, watching me. The foot of the bed, where I was tied, was closest to the door. It looked like there was a closet to the left, with two bifold doors. A closet meant coat hangers, which we could maybe use for weapons or something, but we had to get there.
The dresser was in the opposite corner from me, near the closet. The room itself was fairly large, obviously the master bedroom. I could make out a deer head and a few paintings on the wall, hunting scenes.
He liked to kill things.
I sank to the floor, my back against the mattress, and pressed my head into my knees, my mind spinning with panicked thoughts. What would he do with my car? What was he going to do to me? I looked at Crystal again. She had her arms wrapped around her legs, but I could still see the bruises on her body. Would Gavin rape me too? Did Brian know Gavin had Crystal? Did Riley know?
I thought about my mom. What would she do when I didn’t come home Thursday? Would she call the police right away? Would it be too late?
I’d been so stupid. I thought of all my lies, how clever I’d thought I was to disable the location services on my phone, throwing her off track.
I tried to stay calm, tried to think what my mom would tell me to do. Wait, Skylar. Think. Plan your escape. Don’t give up. I’ll come find you. It comforted me, thinking of my mom searching. She was smart; she’d know what to do. They’d track Crystal like I did, they’d talk to the lady at the motel, they’d find out somehow that I’d been working at the ranch, they’d get the police to search for us.
Then I thought about how Gavin had looked at me, how he’d realized I was Brian’s daughter. Would that change things? Maybe Brian would let me go? My hopes plummeted. Of course he wouldn’t, not after I’d seen Crystal. If he knew I was his daughter, he might even kill me sooner.
He wouldn’t want anyone to ever know about me.
*
As the hours passed, the room got hotter, the stench from the bucket making my eyes water and my stomach surge into my throat. Flies buzzed in the window and into the bucket, an incessant hum. I couldn’t stop thinking about water, how good it would taste, how dry my mouth felt. I hadn’t eaten for twenty-four hours.
We were both sitting with our backs against the bed. Sometimes Crystal would rest her head on her knees, like she was sleeping. A few times I caught her watching me, tears in her eyes. I wondered what she’d been doing every day, imagined her lying on the bed, sleeping or staring up at the ceiling, wondered if she’d been hoping we’d rescue her or if she’d just wanted to die. I felt another wave of shame. It was my fault that she was here, and now it was my fault she didn’t get rescued. I had to find a way to get us out of here.
I studied the bed, the bottom of the posts, hoping there were some wheels we could get off, some metal parts I could use to slice the tape, but it was solid wood. If I could get to the fan I could use the cord to choke Gavin, or maybe bash him over the head with the stereo, but both were out of my reach.