Under the Spell of the Kidnappers

pte

g to strangers, and always letting them know where we were going. You know, the stuff they say a million times a

till ten," Kyrn snickered, he

r dramatically. "Apparently being eighteen doesn

cause the second we reached the car, she gave me

aid with her mom-gl

said with a sly smile, giving them ea

sternly, pointing a finger at me like a war

s be honest, if I ever forgot, she'd probably show up

of strict that makes you text every hour or risk being grounded at the age of eighteen. Still, I

f sight. As soon as they turned the corner, we both started

d, pulling out my new debit card like it was a golden ticket. "

"Finally, no more begging Mom for

mall. "And maybe, just maybe, we can find outfits

start planning your fashion takeover, you better hurry up and sh

e. "I'm gonna be late! I had a who

e sprinted toward my car. "

ng his picture taken with me, right? So I got this custom picture frame with his favorite photo o

s gonna flip. That's actu

why he likes the Packers. I'm a Vikings

eadpan look. "Y

innocently. "You

with a laugh, raising her

ts. She threw in the "Immaculate Reception," and I countered with the Vikings' Minneapolis Miracle.

Good luck," Kyrn said, gathering her bag

giving her a quick wav

d out my outfit days ago. I wanted to look good, but not like I was trying too hard. Casual cute. I curled my

checked my makeup at every stoplight and smoothed my dress at least a dozen times. I didn't know why I was so ji

d glanced at my reflection one last time before unbuckling and getting out.

wondered as I ra

ans

, just to

l no

essages. No unread texts. No missed calls. I trie

'd be home all afternoon. I

trying not to let my imagination run wild. Maybe he

pped

sn't in th

isted in

pick something up. I sat down on the front step and waited for ten minu

th

callin

no a

up, biting my lip.

heart jumped-until I saw that it wasn't

jorly, just little things. Late replies. Cancelling plans. Saying he was tired a lot. I tried to shak

he gift down on his welcome mat, tucked safely in the

d to no one in particular, then

ot to cry

eason. Maybe he'd call b

n the back of my mind w

nded a lot