Sadistically Sweet

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On October 16, my life changed forever. There were so many things I could have done differently, but I hadn’t. 

That is why I am in this situation; cold, petrified, and kidnapped.

***

With my beige messenger bag slung over my arm, I walked on the side of the road en route to my house. There were no sidewalks on this side of town - only streets, ditches, and woods. Deep, shadow filled forests surrounded both sides of the street.

Even though children were warned never to go near the forest, I had been walking alongside them since I was thirteen. It was too dark and too deep for children. Nobody knew what may have been lurking around the corner. A few of the town drunks live out there too, so I had to be extra careful.

My parents couldn’t afford the skyrocketing gas prices to drive me to and from the bus stop every day. With Dad's pay cut and Mom going out of work, I really had no option. So I walked two miles every single day. The only thing that separated me from the hazardous woods were three foot-deep ditches.

Although it was a long walk, it could’ve been worse: The school bus had made a special stop just for me, since I was the only student who lived out this far the road had an unimaginable number of forks and dead ends; something a bus driver could get lost in very easily.

I would be able to get my license soon, but it was useless unless I could get a job to pay for a car and the outrageous gas prices; jobs for teenagers in Willow Springs were as rare as a sidewalk leading towards my path to school.

My shoulder began to ache from the weight of my bag. I had homework for all my classes today, which meant I had three thick textbooks to bring home. I really needed to get a bag that didn’t dig into my shoulder blades every time a teacher decided to load us up with homework.

I was in a pretty solemn mood as I turned a large bend in the road. When the trees finally cleared out of my way, I saw a little girl farther up the road. She was only about twenty feet away, and standing on the side of the road, the girl had to be only around five years old - way too young to be on her own, in my opinion.

She continuously bounced a red rubber ball against the worn pavement of the roadside. She wore a pale yellow dress, and matching sandals. The outfit complimented her golden blonde hair well.

As I got closer, she didn't even seem to notice me I decided I might as well talk to her.

"Hello sweetie," I greeted, when I finally reached her. I bent down to eye level, so I wouldn't seem too threatening. "Where're your mommy and daddy?"

She mumbled something that I didn't catch in reply. I leaned closer to hear her, when she squealed.

"My ball!"

Her ball slipped out of her hands, and bounced out into the middle of the road. She ran out after it, but only got halfway before she tripped and fell. She began to cry, right as a car tore around the bend. The driver was zigzagging in his lane, obviously intoxicated. I knew he wouldn't see the child, nor would he slow down. My muscles tensed, my breath stopped, and then the adrenaline kicked in.

"Hey, kid!" I screamed at the girl. The car was swerving closer, and I knew I could not reach her in time. A few seconds could mean the difference between life and death and if I didn't move fast enough, then death would take away the life of an innocent child.

I launched myself against her, grabbed her around the waist, and held her close to protect her. I held her head to my shoulder so it wouldn't hit the hard road. We bounced off the pavement and tumbled into a ditch, right as the car flew by. They didn't even stop as they ran over my discarded book bag.

I opened my eyes, eyes that I didn't remember closing, to see the dying leaves of a tree. They slowly drifted down as a sharp twinge ran through my entire leg. I bit my lip against it. It quickly subsided to a dull throb in my left ankle. I must have accidentally landed on it.

I sat up and scanned my body. My left arm and leg had scratches all over them. Thankfully, nothing had been broken - well, besides possibly my left ankle. I looked around, remembering what had just happened.

The girl was sitting next to me, crying at the top of her lungs. Her yellow dress was dirty and torn in places. I stood her up and quickly examined her for injuries. She only had a few scrapes on her knees and hands, most likely from when she fell onto the street.

"Shh, it's okay," I cooed, trying to sooth her.

After a few minutes of me calming her down, she reduced her tears to sniffles and wiped her eyes dry. Her little face and bright blue eyes were red and puffy. Poor thing.

"Olivia?!!!" A male voice called, desperately.

"Daddy!" The little girl whined.

A large man ran over, and picked up the girl by her outstretched arms. He held her tight, tears welling up in his eyes; I sat still on the ground, my ankle throbbing steadily the man looked relieved and repeatedly asked if she was okay. He looked her into her little eyes, which matched his own, and told her never to run off again. I assumed the girl was his daughter.

When he finally put her down, he realized I was there. He looked astounded as his eyes scanned me, probably trying to find out when I appeared.

I had to admit I felt a little uncomfortable here I was sitting on the ground, scrapes and tears all over and a man twice my size and age is just staring down at me: He was very tall with short brunette hair, and looked as if he would be in his early thirties.

Not sure what to do, he looked back to Olivia and asked her what happened.

"That old lady pushed me! Then she let my new ball get run over! She is a meanie," she whined at her dad. First off, that was a complete lie, and secondly, I wasn’t old! Age seventeen thank you very much.

Of course I didn't say this out loud. My childcare teacher repeatedly told me not to provoke the children as a freshman. She said it so often that I guess it stuck.

The man looked quizzically at me, and asked what really happened, so I told him. His hand flew to his mouth, not believing his daughter had been so close to death. When he was over his shock, he spoke to me once again.

"Oh my, I don't know what I would've done if Olivia was hurt," Olivia's dad said. He repeatedly thanked me for saving his little girl.

When he realized I had not stood up, but was in fact still on the ground, he put out his hand. I grabbed it, and he carefully helped me stand up. I winced as I put pressure on my left ankle.

"Oh no, I hope you're not hurt," he said worriedly, as he ran his hand through his hair. He must have seen my wince.

"It's nothing, I'll be fine." I winced again as I said that.

I didn't need help; I could do things perfectly on my own. Depending on another person will make you vulnerable; weak.

He did not see me wince, though. Instead, he picked up Olivia, who looked bored out of her mind. He held her on his hip with one hand and looked back at me.

"Sure you're alright?" he asked once more.

"Yes," I lied. The throbbing in my ankle didn't hurt as much now, but I knew as soon as I put pressure on my ankle it would hurt again.

"Well, thanks again. I'm glad you're not hurt. By the way, my name is Francis, and this is my daughter Olivia," he pointed the little girl in his arms.

"Haitlin Brooks," I replied without thinking. I really shouldn't have given away my last name.

"That's a pretty name," Olivia piped in.

Most people thought my name was strange, since my mom had made it up at birth. She had always loved the name Caitlin, but added an 'H' instead. At least was original.

"Thank you, so is Olivia," I replied. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree when she realized it was a compliment. So cute. "Now I must be getting home."

I put my hand on my hip - where my bag would normally rest - but I remembered it had fallen off when I tackled her. I put my hand to my forehead; the poor thing had gotten ran over!

Francis saw me looking at my road kill-of-a-book bag and put two and two together. He jogged into the middle of the road and picked up my bag with his free hand. When he came back, he handed it forward and I placed it over my shoulder. My poor bag was torn, the contents crushed. At least I had a good reason not to do homework.

"Bye," Francis said. He and his daughter waved as he carried her back down the road and around the bend.

I breathed a sigh of relief. He was finally gone. I still had a long way to walk, and my limp wouldn't get me far.

I had to admit, the man intimidated me. I was seventeen, yet he was twice my size and towered over me. Standing next to him, I felt weak and fragile; I hated that feeling. Growing up with a cop father, and an older brother; I learned to be strong and not to fold at the slightest challenge. That man may have been nice, but he had been everything my parents told me to stay away from. Big buff men who appear in the forest? Sounds like a twisted version of a Grimm Brothers fairytale.

Soon the skies darkened and rain began to pour down. It made my blonde hair stick to my clothes and the back of my neck. I really needed a haircut; it already reached halfway down my back. My blue sweatshirt was soaked, but luckily I wasn't wearing white.

The mud made it hard to walk with my limp, and I almost fell several times I tried to stay on the side of the road, but I was afraid someone would not see me and accidentally hit me. The last thing I wanted, though was to fall into one of the ditches.

Eventually, the roar of a car came from down the road I moved more towards the ditch, just in case it was another drunk driver, but I didn't slow down.

An old pickup truck slowed to a crawl next to me, and Francis stuck his head out the window.

"Haitlin!" I heard him yell. "Get in the car, I'll drive you home!"

"No!" I yelled back. The rain distorted my words, making them barely audible.

I had watched enough Lifetime movies to know that I should never go into a stranger's car. Even if it was raining and you couldn't see five feet in front of your face.

Right then, I tripped over a hidden tree root and landed on my face. Thank goodness I fell on the pavement, my clothes would at least be mud free my bag fell off my shoulder and plopped into the ditch, the water swallowed it with no hesitation.

I heard the truck door open and Francis's footsteps as he ran towards me he soon had me on my feet, but my ankle hurt too bad to stand upright. He had to partially hold onto me and I didn't like it:  at this proximity I could smell his aftershave.

"Come on, let's get out of the rain!" he yelled. I didn't want to, though, but I knew I had to. I would only fall over if he let go, and end up like my drowned bag.

"I...I can't walk,' I whispered, looking down. Before I knew what was happening, he picked me up bridal style and ran to the car. Being picked up like that for the first time, in the pouring rain, was anything but fun. I was afraid he would drop me, but at the same time I wanted to get away from him. He was very warm, though, and made me realize how cold I was. I started to shiver before he even put me in the passenger's seat.

Francis closed my door and ran around to his side. Once he was in the car, he slammed his door and rubbed his hands together for warmth. He turned the heat on full blast and reached behind my chair.

"Here, this will keep you warm up while the heat kicks in," he said, handing me the large, worn, brown coat.

"T..t..t..thank you," I stuttered through chattering teeth. I took the coat and used it as a blanket to keep in the warmth. I could smell his distinct aftershave on the coat, and it didn't smell too bad.

He soon pulled on his seat belt, and I did the same, before putting the car back into drive.

I looked into the back seat to see that Olivia was sound asleep. She looked adorable that way. Her hair was thrown around her as if she had tossed and turned. A coat, similar to the one that covered me, covered her. She snuggled into it as she slept.

"How's the foot?" he asked quietly, not to wake Olivia.

"I can hardly move it, but I'll be fine."

"How far should I go?"

"Until it forks, then take a left."

"That's pretty far, why do you walk?"

"It's good exercise," I lied.

I looked out my window to avoid any eye contact, but there was nothing to see except rain. I caught his reflection scanning me, though I was glad to have his coat over me, so he couldn't see my wet clothes tightly hugging my body.

My stomach curled into knots and I started to freak out. Why did I get in the car? I directly disobeyed everything my father had taught me! His rules were simple and easy to follow, but I had blown them all.

One – never talk to strangers. How couldn't I talk to Francis though? I had just saved his daughter’s life!

Two – never give away your full name to anyone, unless they had an official badge.

Three – always keep pepper spray on you, should you encounter any creeps.

Please, I threw out that thing years ago.

Four-

My thoughts were interrupted by Francis.

"You're really quiet everything okay?"

"No everything's fine, I am just tired," I admitted.

"Oh okay," he replied. Now it was his turn to be quiet.

My eyes soon began to droop and I could barely keep awake. The smell of his aftershave, the blasting heat, and the hum of the engine helped lull me into a shallow sleep. My body slowly slid down into an awkward sleeping position, where my knees hit the dashboard on any little bump.

I felt the car pull to the right, something that caused my eyes to flutter open. I bolted straight up in my seat, so fast that the seat belt cut into my neck a little bit. My eyes widened as I looked out the window; we had gone the wrong way. My heart began thudding against my chest, adrenaline pumping in my veins. I tried to fight off a stutter of complete fear as I spoke up.

"Francis, I think you went the wrong way. We were supposed to go left," I told him.

Every ounce of my being hoped he forgot, that the rain had blurred his vision, anything but what I was about to hear.

"I know It's alright though; I'm bringing you to your new home."

My gut dropped and I started to panic. My heart pounded even faster, and a sweat developed in my brow.

"I love the way you say my name. Say it again," he ordered softly, brushing a stray hair out of my face.

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