Chapter 2
“Arlene. Just as she hung up the phone, Arlene heard her name spoken softly.
She turned, startled, and saw Paige standing in the break room.
She was just too graceful, too poised. Her gentle smile alone was enough to make Arlene feel like she couldn’t breathe.
“Yes, Ms. Hilton? What can I do for you?”
“I just remembered that we’re still missing a few travel essentials. Could you run out and grab them for me?” Paige held out a small handwritten list.
Her handwriting, like her, was delicate and graceful.
Arlene stared at the paper for a moment, her eyes locking on one particular item, condoms. The words pierced through her like a needle.
“Please keep it quiet, okay?” Paige said with a playful wink.
Arlene nodded stiffly, almost stumbling as she hurried out of the break room.
The first time she slept with Brendan, she had just turned nineteen. It was her birthday and he brought her flowers and cake.
As an orphan, Arlene had never even tasted birthday cake. That gesture, a cake and a bouquet, was enough to make her fall completely, utterly in love.
She let out a bitter laugh. She really was a fool.
who
wered her cake.
like
them. He always made her take the pill.
That was why people said if you raised a girl poor, she would be tricked by the first
In the four years she’d been with Brendan, she had never once bought condoms herself.
But for Paige? Of course he wouldn’t let her take birth control. That would be too harsh on her body.
The drive to the airport was silent. Arlene didn’t say a word.
“Hurry up. We’re tight on time,” Brendan said casually, clearly noticing her mood.
Yes, Mr. Dudley.” Arlene nodded, signaling left at the green light.
The car ahead had just passed through the intersection when a boy suddenly darted into the street, ignoring the red
him and crashed straight into the flowerbed in the center of the road.
“Paige!” The moment of impact, Brendan threw himself around Paige, shielding her with his body.
Thankfully, they hadn’t been going fast. Only the driver’s side had taken the full brunt.
light.
A
swerved hard to avoid
The airbag exploded open. Arlene was pinned to the seat by the twisted frame, her left leg trapped and throbbing with pain so intense it nearly knocked
her out.
“Brendan… Her voice shook with fear.“Help me…”
She couldn’t stand the feeling of being stuck and being locked in a small space with no way to move.
Back in college, Wilma and her friends had once stuffed her into a wooden storage box. No matter how she screamed or pounded, no one came.
The suffocating darkness, the pressure–it had nearly driven her mad.
If the janitor hadn’t seen a puddle on the floor the next morning and opened the box, she might’ve died right there.
“Brendan!” Seeing him about to get out of the car, Arlene panicked. She didn’t care that Paige was there.“Don’t leave me!”
Let the rescue team and the traffic police handle it.”
Brendan got out, still shielding Paige, and made the call for help.
“Arlene is still in there.” Paige cast a suspicious look at Brendan because of how Arlene addressed Brendan.
Brendan wrapped an arm around Paige and looked back at the wrecked car, at Arlene still trapped inside. Then he checked the time. There’s not enough
time. The crash wasn’t that bad. She’ll be fine. Let’s just get a cab to the airport–the rescue team will take care of her.”
Paige nodded slowly, casting one long look at Arlene before turning to follow Brendan away from the scene,
Arlene thrashed against her seatbelt, pounding the window. But Brendan never looked back.
She knew it. He didn’t want Paige to misunderstand.
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< Chapter 2
Watching him walk away, Arlene finally broke down, sobbing.“Brendan! Please! You promised–you promised you’d never leave me!”
“You liar! You said you’d protect me!”
Her panic spiraled out of control. The crushing anxiety, the buried trauma–it overwhelmed her.
The injuries weren’t life–threatening, but sh
Co stop hurting herself, couldn’t stop thrashing.
“Let me out! Let me out!” Arlene screamed, beating on the window with everything she had.
The memory from her freshman year paralyzed her with terror. Then she smelled it–smoke, sharp and acrid, seeping into the car from the engine.
That car’s on fire!”
There’s no one inside, right? I saw them get out.”
Someone was shouting on the street.
Arlene sat there in stunned silence, counting softly to herself.
“One, two, three, four…”
That night in the box, she had counted to 6,788.
That
She wondered what number would she reach before she died this time?
