No Way to Escape

LAUREN

An hour later I’m ready to leave this city behind and face the truth. I met Coop outside the front doors of the hotel and told him to take me to the airport. He tried to question me, but when he saw the look on my face, he stopped himself.

I knew I should call Mason, send him a text at least, but the irrational, emotional side of me didn’t want to talk to him. He was the reason I was over here galavanting in Paris instead of spending time with my dad during his last days.

I ~knew~ I should have stayed. I shouldn’t have let either of them convince me to go away.

As we make our way to Charles De Gaulle, I watch as the densely packed city transforms into sparse fields and the bustle of Parisian life falls away.

Before I knew it, the gravity of my new reality hit me like a stone. An unforgiving weight pressed tightly against my chest and I couldn’t hold back my emotions any longer.

The tears start to flow freely and I can no longer hold them back.

“Are you alright, Lauren,” Coop looks into the rearview mirror and gives me a consoling look. Unfortunately for him, that only made me burst into a new round of fresh tears.

Part of me wanted to scream at the top of my lungs and the other part just wanted to be held by the one person who could never do that again.

“It’s.. it’s my dad,” I managed to stutter out. “I got a call from the hospital, he died this morning.”

Saying the words out loud made it all real. My dad was dead. My dad was dead and I was never going to be able to talk to him again.

“I’m so sorry Lauren,” Coop said.

He paused for a moment, looking back in the mirror again to meet my eyes.

“Does Mason know?”

I shook my head as the tears continued to cascade down my face. I still did not want to talk to Mason. My sorrow was too overwhelming and I knew I would say something I would later regret.

It wasn’t Mason’s fault my dad died, but I blamed him for taking me away. For letting me walk away from my father when he needed me the most.

Coop’s voice softened as he spoke to me.

“Lauren, you should tell Mason,” he said. “I’m sure he’s already worried sick about you not showing up to the restaurant.”

“I know Coop,” I said. “I just can’t bring myself to do it. Please, can you tell him? I just.. I just… I can’t. It’s too much.”

Coop nodded. He’d take care of it, but I could tell he didn’t think it was the right choice. Right now though, I didn’t care about making the right decision. I just wanted to get home as soon as possible.

When we got to the airport, Coop helped me carry in the small bag I managed to pack before rushing out of the hotel. It has my essentials and a couple changes of clothes, whatever I thought I needed to sort out everything for the funeral. I’d buy a simple black dress once I got home.

After I bought the ticket, Coop walked me as far as he could go. Before I entered the security line, I threw my arms around him and embraced him.

“Thank you, Coop,” I said.

“It’s been my pleasure, Lauren,” he said as he hugged me back. “Please give my condolences to your family.”

I didn’t have the heart to tell him then that I had just lost the only family I ever had.

***

The flight back to London was quick. When I landed at Heathrow, I headed straight for arrivals to look for a black cab to take me to the hospital.

When I stepped outside into the brisk air, I immediately came face to face with a man in a black suit standing in front of a black car that looked exactly like Coop’s. He held a sign with “Hart” written neatly across it in block letters.

Mason must have scheduled a car for me once he learned what happened. Even after I’d left so abruptly, he was still trying to take care of me.

“I’m Lauren Hart,” I said as I approached the man in the black suit.

He gave a curt nod and opened the door for me. When he closed it, I could hear the lock click before he walked around to the driver side door.

Once he settled into the driver’s seat, he turned to the man sitting in the passenger seat and nodded. I hadn’t noticed the other man before entering the car and it seemed a bit odd to have two drivers, but maybe Mason was just extra worried about my safety since I traveled back without him.

The man in the passenger seat handed me a bottle of water which took with a quick thank you. I opened the bottle and took a big gulp before setting it in the cupholder next to my seat.

I didn’t realize how thirsty I was or how hungry for that matter too. I ran out of the hotel only thinking about how to get home as quickly as possible.

As the car turned onto the motorway, I tried to concentrate on the cars passing by. I would do anything to distract myself from the immense pain I was feeling. It felt so overwhelming, like a wave crashing ceaselessly over me. It would be so easy to just succumb to the pain.

Aside from the pain, I also felt guilt. Crushing guilt. Guilt for not being there for my dad. Guilt for putting my own selfish needs before his health.

But, there was another feeling of guilt that had nothing to do with my father. I felt guilty for leaving Mason behind without talking to him. I knew that the anger I was feeling towards him was not rational, but I couldn’t control it.

My mind wandered between every choice I had made until now. Where had I gone wrong? What was the exact decision that put me here now? What could I have changed?

There must be something I ~could~ have done. There has to be.

I’m only snapped out of my miserable reverie when I notice the car speeding past the exit for the hospital. The driver must be new, he was clearly not sure where to go.

“Sorry, you’ve just missed the exit,” I said. “The hospital is behind us now.”

The driver looked back in the mirror to check on me, but he didn’t say anything. He just kept driving, if anything it felt like he was driving faster now.

“Excuse me,” I said, the anxiousness present in my voice. “You missed the exit. We need to turn around.”

I tried to put my foot down, put some authority in my voice and emulate Mason as best I could, but it had no effect. The driver kept going and the other guy in the passenger seat barely moved a muscle. It was like neither of them could even hear what I was saying.

I leaned forward and tapped the shoulder of the man in the passenger seat.

“Hey,” I said, growing increasingly concerned. “You are going the wrong way. We ~need~ to go back.”

The man brushed my hand off his shoulder and kept his eyes glued on the road in front of him. I was tempted to smack him over the head just to get him to pay attention to me.

“We’re headed exactly where we need to,” the driver said dully.

“No, we’re not,” I said, the anger and confusion building in me. “I don’t know who you think you are, but Mason certainly is not going to be happy when he hears about this.”

I hated having to pull the “Mason Card,” but at this point I didn’t know what else to do to get them to listen.

The man in the passenger seat sneered.

“We don’t answer to Mason Campbell,” he said.

My mind started to spin all over again. If these men didn’t work for Mason, then who the ~hell~ did the work for?

“Stop the car,” I screamed. “Stop the car. NOW!”

“Can’t do that, princess,” the driver said. “You got a date with destiny and we’re your ride.”

What in the world was he talking about? A date with destiny? Had I just been kidnapped by two poorly written action sidekicks?

I tried to take in my surroundings, scanning desperately for anything that could help me escape the situation. My heart pounded as I reached for the car door handle, but it didn’t budge. They’d locked it from the outside. Even if I could somehow pry it open, jumping from a car moving this fast would be suicide.

Instinctively, I reached for my phone, but when I pressed the power button, nothing happened. No signal. The realization hit me. They must have used some kind of jammer. Of course, they’d planned for everything. My phone was useless, trapped in a dead zone of their making.

My brain felt so foggy and my head felt so heavy. I couldn't focus on anything, my mind was so muddled. I wanted to lay my head down and just rest. I leaned my head against the window and my eyelids began to flutter. Everything felt so difficult, just keeping my eyes open was a struggle.

I could barely hear what the two goons in the front were saying. It was like I was listening to them while being submerged underwater.

“Looks like it’s finally kicking in,” the driver said. “She put up a fight for such a small girl.”

What was finally kicking in? I racked my brain for answers and my eyes settled on the water bottle. The only thing I’d consumed all day. They must have put something in the water.

I could feel myself quickly drifting into unconsciousness. Before everything went black one thought came to the forefront of my mind.

~Mason.~