Chapter 27

The car careened out of the parking lot, leaving skid marks and exhaust smoke in its wake. After nearly tipping on its side, Neil rights it and Sophia dares to look out of the car window. Crowds of students and staff lined the classroom windows, peering out at the escaping car. Shock was evident on their faces and in their posture, even with the ever-growing distance. Shocked because Thorin’s orders were defied. That didn’t happen. That never happened. Neil and Scott helped her, and they would pay, her father wouldn’t stop until they did. She looked out the window again. On the main steps to the school, in front of the hideous double doors, another security guard stood, hands on his hips and expression of uncertainty on his face.

The car sped through town, each passing building or street sign a blur of colors. Sophia sat in the backseat with her knees pulled up against her, hugging them close. Scott sat in the passenger seat in front of her, and Neil was driving. It hurt, the bouncing on the seat, having her knees pulled up, everything hurt. Wanting nothing more than to curl into herself, to shelter her body from being seen, to cover herself from the shame that now consumed her, she rocked back and forth, slowly. Nearly entranced, an out of body experience, she struggled to focus. She was aware of what went on around her, yet it was like she was watching it play out from inside a bloody, defiled shell. This was intentional. If she didn’t, she wasn’t sure she could survive.

She waited for one of them to comment on her being Thorin’s daughter. The daughter of the alpha. The alpha whose orders they just defied. Briefly she wondered if they had known all along. They hit a pothole and Sophia bounced on the seat. She winced, but bit back the yelp of pain. If they knew, she thought, then why didn’t they help her before? Earlier. Before Matthew took the only thing she had left that had been unsoiled by the life she had been forced to live. Matthew...She wrapped her arm around her stomach and gagged. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how skilled she was at compartmentalizing, she knew that she would never forget.

She needed water. Her mouth and throat were dry from the gag that had been shoved in it. Her sandpaper textured tongue swept between her lips so she could wet them. Nothing, nothing but the salty taste of blood. Blood, she winced in shame. She was still bleeding. She knew she was. Sophia could feel it. Without looking, she knew it was seeping through to his seats, and only hoped that it wouldn’t be as much as it felt like. Could they smell it, she thought? She could smell her blood, so they probably could as well. More shame made her lips tremble.

Neil had rounded the corner too fast. From that distant, outside of the body fog she was in, she watched as he struggled to maintain control of the car. The back end fishtailed, and she slid into the door. Scott held onto the ‘oh shit grips’ suspended from above his door. Neil fought to get control and his quick hand action on the steering wheel got the car back onto the right side of the road. He slowed the car to a more controllable speed but was still going fast enough that the world sped by. When the car roared through an intersection, Scott sat up straight.

“Look,” he said to Neil.

“I see him.”

Sophia looked out the back windshield to see who the ‘him’ they had just passed was. Oh. One of her father’s allies and closest friends.

“He already knows.” Scott said.

“Yeah. I’m sure he does.”

Sophia compartmentalized the physical pain she felt, separating her body from her mind. She knew it wouldn’t last long. Today had been...too much. Too much. At least she hadn’t needed to worry about emotions, though. She had none left.

Flying through another traffic light, the neon sign in the store window flashed its pink and yellow. She’d been there before. Once, long ago, to buy an action figure for her brother. Barreling down the main strip, car horns blaring and angry yelling for the many accidents Neil almost caused, she smelled the food. Pizza? She thought. He hit a dip in the road, and she bounced on the seat. She couldn’t hold back the yelp of pain that time.

Neil’s eyes showed in the rear-view mirror. He didn’t ask if she was okay, but he assessed her quickly. Sophia was thankful he didn’t ask. No, she wasn’t okay. She didn’t think she’d ever be okay again.

Neil’s strained voice was talking to Scott. He sounded angry. No, angry was too calm of a word. He sounded irate, furious. Is he mad at me, she thought? It didn’t matter anyway. She was at their mercy now, and she could only hope what was before her was better than what was in her past. As if it even mattered, but still. She stared at him through vacant eyes. His man bun was falling down, and he had a streak of blood on the side of his face that she could see. She blinked in horror. That’s her blood. Oh, goddess. He has her blood on his cheek. She tipped her head against the window. Whatever, she tried to rationalize the embarrassment away. He has Matthew’s blood all over him, so maybe he won’t even know, she thought.

The car just kept going, eating up mile after mile like they were pellets being swallowed in a video game. She briefly wondered how much longer they were going to be. She had been battling waves of dizziness for some time. Blinking the spots away, or just closing her eyes against it. She moaned loudly when they hit another pothole.

Scotts frame rimmed eyes peered at her from between the two front seats. He’d lost a button on his shirt. There was blood spattered on the frames of his glasses. Sophia fought against the spinning and blinking rapidly to clear the fog. She tried to focus her eyes. to keep her eyes, but every time she was jostled, they rolled back in her head at the sharp pain in her core. More blood would slip out, and she couldn’t stop it.

The car had slowed to a normal speed, reducing the bouncing on her aching core. She tried to focus on their conversation, but her head hurt too bad. Her muscles ached. Some words made it through the layers of pain that were crushing her. Their jobs, they were talking about. They’d lose their jobs. They’d likely lose their lives. If they don’t lose their lives, they will definitely lose their freedom. Are they delusional to be talking about their jobs? Don’t they realize what they’ve done? She concentrated hard on their words, but only bits would get through as she moved her head from one shoulder to the next. She squirmed against the pain, trying to find relief, but there was none. Neil looked at her again in the mirror.

“I failed her.” Neil said to Scott.

“Come on, man. We had no idea what was going on. If that kid wouldn’t have told us, we wouldn’t have known until after work.”

“I still failed her.” Neil looked at her in the mirror again. She wanted to tell him it wasn’t his fault, but she couldn’t escape the pain long enough to get the words out. They continued to talk and Sophia heard bits and pieces.

“Did you get it?” Neil asked Scott.

“No. There was no time.”

“Shit. Is there anyone we can trust?”

“No.”

Get what, Sophia thought? She heard them talk about what to do with her now, and where the safest place to hide would be. She says nothing. Scott peered around the side of the seat again and his eyes narrowed on the leather and fabric beneath Sophia. He said something to Neil.

“Shit.” Neil swore loudly. “Look up where the hospital is. Now.”

She tried to tell him no, but nothing came out. She lipped at her lips again, trying to moisten them. She swallowed and lifted her head up. She grit her teeth against the pain.

“No.”

Both pairs of eyes looked at her, one through a mirror and the other from the top of his seat.

“Don’t bother. They can’t help. Won’t help.” Sophia licked her lips again and rolled her head back along the rest from side to side. “It’s mandated.”

Neil and Scott look at each other, disbelief on their faces.

“Son of a bitch. That fucker.” Neil said.

Sophia couldn’t escape the pain. She couldn’t separate. It was too much. She shivered against the cold, though the air in the car was warm. As weak as a newborn pup, she closed her eyes and silently let the tears fall.