"Stop here." The man says sitting up. Austin stops and puts the car in park where the man has told him to. I feel like I'm about to pass out. We have been driving around for about twenty minutes and now we are stopped at a secluded area. There is nothing here but trees, a dirt road and a little river. Is he going to kill us here? No one would find us here!
The sun is setting casting an orange color across the open sky. I would normally love this but right now it's making me even more nervous.
"Calm down Cate" Austin says looking through the rear-view mirror noticing my heavy breathing. I nod trying to calm myself down which is really hard to do with a gun pointed at me. The man chuckles beside me making me look at him. I finally get a good look at his face. He doesn't look that old. He seems to be about two or three years older than us.
"Cute" He says smirking. "Never expected to see you with someone like her Austin"
What does he mean by that?
"We're not together" Austin mutters. "Just tell me what you want Cam."
Cam? I'm guessing that's his name.
"Well you know what we want Austin, boss wants you back" Cam shrugs leaning back on the seat.
"I have twenty-four hours to decide" Austin says turning in his seat to face the man. Believe it or not this man is even more intimidating than the last who interrogated me on the way home.
"Oh Austin, Austin" He chuckles sitting up and shaking his head. "Do you think you actually have a choice? If you don't do what boss wants then things aren't going to be looking so good..." He trails off turning towards me. "Especially for this pretty little thing" He says running the muzzle of the pistol along my jaw line. He drags the gun under my chin harshly pushing it up making my head raise with a gasp.
"Stop! She's not even a part of this" Austin says grabbing Cam's arm to stop him. "I already explained to you, she's just a family friend that I'm forced to be around. She won't say anything"
I can't tell if this is just an excuse or if he actually feels like he's being forced to be around me. I mean he sort of is but does he still feel like that?
"I know she's not a part of this, but she is someone who has an affect on you" He says removing the gun from my chin. I quickly cower back until my back is pressed up against the door.
"No she doesn't" Austin shrugs with a blank face. Ouch. That stung.
"Oh really? So it wouldn't bother you if I did this?" Without warning Cam harshly grabs my arm and pulls me so that I am closer to him. A squeal leaves my mouth as I struggle to get free. His hand that is holding the gun goes to the back of my head grabbing a fist full of hair making me stay still. His free hand slips down to my thigh which starts caressing my exposed skin.
"Let me go!" I yell squirming around trying to get his hand away from me and get out of his grip. I am scared to do anything more than that because of the fact that the gun if pressed against the back of my head. His hand slides higher as a smirk plays on his lips. His eyes don't leave Austin's face for a second. "Stop it! Stop!" I say putting my hand on top of his and trying to stop him from going any further. Tears are now freely falling down my face as I look up at Austin with pleading eyes. I can't believe he's not doing anything.
He just keeps staring at the man's hand on my thigh. What an asshole! I can't believe he is just watching this happen. I can't believe I actually thought he might feel something for me.
"Cam stop this bullshit!" Austin yells proving me wrong. I flinch as his voice booms through the car also making Cam's hand freeze on my upper thigh as he looks at Austin. "I know you're mad that I left without telling you but you have to stop this!" He continues yelling. Cam withdraws his hands from me letting me cower back once again.
"Fuck you man! You deserve this!" He spits. "Brothers my ass" He raises his voice. Brothers? What? Austin has a brother?
"This is why I didn't tell you! I knew you wouldn't have understood" Austin shakes his head running his fingers through his hair.
"Wouldn't have understood? Are you fucking serious? Did you even bother trying to make me understand? When have I not understood you?" Cam yells slamming his fist on the seat in front of him. What am I caught in between?
"Look I'm sorry, I told you I regret it, just leave her alone" Austin says looking at his apparent brother with guilty eyes. His words make my heart flutter. Ew, that's too cheesy for me. Shut up, you like it.
"Yeah right" Cam scoffs in response. "And you think boss will just let you go?" He asks looking at Austin as if he's stupid. "He even sent me here to threaten you to come back, he's not going to let his best salesmen go that easy"
"Well can't you help me?"
"Why the fuck would I help you after what you did!" Cam yells once again. I can't take this anymore. I feel like I can't breathe in this car. This is all too much. Why am I caught up in this, it doesn't even involve me? I can't stand all this drama anymore! It's not fair I didn't ask for this!
I try to take deep breaths to calm down but I can't seem to catch my breath. I feel like my throat is closing up. I think I'm going to die. I turn around and open the car door and tumble out. My heart is racing so fast I can't seem to see straight. I try to get my focus back by looking down at my hands. I hear muffled voices followed by someone rubbing my cold arms causing tingles to erupt. I look up to see someone squatting in front of me.
"Breathe Cate, breathe" I hear Austin's muffled voice. I nod my head showing him I understood.
"It's okay, just focus on my voice, you're alright" He comforts. It's not doing much but it's still helping slightly. I keep taking deep breaths while looking around trying to make myself aware of my surroundings. Soon my vision starts to clear up and my breathing starts to steady.
"That's it, just keep breathing, you're okay" Austin says once again rubbing my arms. I slowly start to calm down and Austin comforts me the whole time. I look beside him to see Cam kneeling down on one knee looking at me with concerned eyes.
"Should I get her water?" Cam asks looking at Austin.
"Yeah, yeah there's a bottle in the front." Austin responds nodding his head. My hand subconsciously wipes away tears that I didn't even know were falling.
"Here" Cam says rushing over to me. I grab the plastic bottle from him and drink the warm liquid which has been sitting in Austin's car all day. Surprisingly it helped me calm down a bit more.
"Feeling better?" Cam asks taking the bottle from my hand.
"Yeah" I nod with a shaky voice. My phone rings in my pocket. Austin removes his right hand from my left arm so that I can grab my phone. I pull it out with trembling hands. I look at the caller ID and see it's my mom calling. I can't talk to her, my voice is still shaky, she will know something's up. Austin grabs the phone from my hand and presses answer putting it on speaker.
"Hello Mrs. Smith" Austin answers.
"Hi Austin?" My mom greets in the form of a question. "Where is Caitlyn?
"She's just in the bathroom" He replies sounding casual.
"Oh alright, I was just wondering when you guys are getting here"
"We'll just be leaving as soon as Cate gets back"
"Alright, get here quick though, the food is getting cold" My mom chuckles. Hearing her voice helps right now.
"Will do" Austin chuckles back.
"See you soon" My mom says hanging up. Austin hangs up handing the phone back to me. He helps me stand up then looks over at Cam.
"Are we allowed to leave?" Austin asks raising his eyebrows.
"What the hell am I supposed to tell boss?" Cam says slightly spreading his arms.
"Caitlyn, you want to go sit in the car?" Austin asks expecting me to do as told.
"No?" I say looking at him slightly squinting.
"Just go Cate" Austin clenches his jaw and raises his eyebrows. I look towards Cam and see him standing there with a frown and his gun in one hand. Alright, there goes my confidence. I turn around walking towards the car. I step in to the back seat and lay down on my back. I take a deep breath and close my eyes letting it out.
Is Cam actually Austin's brother? Why haven't I heard of him before? Do I even know anything about Austin? I hate being stuck in this grey area. No matter how hard I try I seem to be getting nowhere with finding out the truth. I am in too deep now to ignore these things. I want to know. I need to know.
I quickly wipe away a tear when I hear the car door open. I don't say anything as they both climb in. Austin starts driving looking much calmer than before. I sit up and stay seated in the middle so I have a clear view in front of me.
"Sorry" Cam says suddenly. I look over to Austin and wait for him to respond but he doesn't. Cam turns his head to look at me.
"Oh, me?" I ask pointing at myself. I didn't realize he was talking to me.
"Yeah" He chuckles.
"Oh" I look down. I don't accept his apology.
"This is the part where you say 'it's okay'." He says making Austin chuckle slightly. How can they just go from screaming at each other to joking?
"I don't accept your apology" I shrug looking at him. He laughs nudging Austin with his elbow. Austin chuckles shaking his head then looking at me through the rear-view mirror with amusement clear in his eyes.
Are they making fun of me or something? A blush creeps up on to my cheeks from embarrassment. Was it something I said?
"Leave her alone Cameron" Austin says noticing my awkwardness. So his name is Cameron.
"Awe, I'm just playing around love"
I don't respond sliding towards the window and opening it. I stay quiet the whole ride to Austin's house. My mom must be fuming by now. It's been almost half hour since she called.
We pull into Austin's drive way and we all step out.
"You're sure your dad's not home?" Cameron asks as we reach the door.
"Yeah I'm sure" Austin says opening the door. "He won't be back until tomorrow, relax"
"Alright, I'm just going to wash my face" Austin says running up the stairs leaving Cameron and I in an awkward silence.
"Can I come over too?" Cameron asks taking a seat on the couch. I scoff rolling my eyes at him. "Oh, come on I said I was sorry" He pats the spot beside him gesturing me to take a seat.
"Well sorry doesn't cut it" I say walking over and taking a seat on the chair that was diagonal to the couch.
"I'm serious, I was angry at Austin and I thought it would be a good idea to get back at him through you, I'm seriously sorry" He says all playfulness disappearing from his tone. He seems genuinely sorry.
"Whatever" I shrug not wanting to talk about it any longer.
"Let's go" Austin says climbing down the stairs. I stand up and walk towards the door. "I'll be back soon, if my dad does show up - which I highly doubt - just sneak out through the kitchen door." Austin says putting on his shoes. I bite my lip from the urge to ask why he has to do that.
"Alright, have fun you two" Cam responds smiling. We both step out of the house and walk towards Austin's car.
"Bye Caitlyn" Cameron calls out. I turn to see him waving at me with a cheeky grin plastered on his face. I lazily wave back making Austin chuckle. We get in and Austin pulls out of his driveway. Once again we are driving in silence to the sound of music.
"I didn't know you had a brother?" I soon blurt out breaking the silence.
"Yeah, I do" He says shrugging. I frown at his response. I was expecting more of an explanation. I don't ask anymore seeing him pull up to my drive way. We both step out and walk towards my door. I open my door to see my parents sitting in the living room.
"There you guys are!" My mom says standing up from the couch when she sees us.
"What took you guys so long?" My dad asks walking over to us.
"My fault, my car broke down, sorry" Austin says before I could answer. Thank goodness because I would have just been a stuttering mess.
"Oh, that's okay" My mom jumps in swatting her hand.
"I'll just be right back" I say leaving Austin with my parents. I really need to pee and get out of these clothes.
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This is a pretty long chapter, I hope it wasn't boring.
I tired to make it slightly intense.
I really like when you guys comment, I love reading them so keep commenting!
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