Chapter 3
Thankfully, Joan had her watch still. They didn't take that from her, and she saw that they had been in that house for 2 hours now. Grace was probably really worrying about them. They missed English, and it was now AP Chem. time, and Adam and Joan would be absent for that too. Moreover, Luke would probably be wondering where his sister was.
"Hey Grace? Have you seen my sister? I haven't seen her since our mom dropped us at school."
"No Luke, I was hoping you'd seen her, or Rove. Neither one of them were in English this morning."
"That's not like Joan; I'm going to go talk to my mother later. Bonus for me, I like when it's not me getting in trouble. And Joan owes me for telling my mom that when I sweep up the floor, I just push the dust underneath the rug."
Meanwhile, Joan and Adam were just sitting pretty much in silence. The once very talkative friends had suddenly found themselves speechless. Both of them were terrified, and anything they would usually talk about in school seemed pretty meaningless in the light of recent events. The lock clicked and the door opened, and the men came back. They grabbed Joan by the arm and forcibly pulled her up, and took her out of the room.
"Jane!"
Another blow to the head came. "I thought we told you to shut up kid."
"Adam!"
"Shut up!" They shoved Joan out of the room. The dark haired man stayed in the room with Adam. Joan was taken to a room next door. Joan could hear the man talking to Adam, though it was muffled, she could basically make out what was said.
"Sit up bastard! You think what you did was funny? You and your little girlfriend think you're so funny, don't you. Meanwhile my sister is devastated that her first boyfriend, and the love of her life would dump her for Miss Panty Pic girl."
Adam now knew where he had seen this man before. And his thoughts of who could possibly do this to Joan and him became suddenly clear. He saw the man in a family portrait of Iris's family. This must be the older brother she spoke of.
"Oh crap."
"That's right 'oh crap' Mr. Rove. No one screws around with my family and gets away with it. You made my precious little sister feel like a pile of garbage, and now I'm going to make you look like a pile of garbage in front of your new little girlfriend. She doesn't even compare to my sister."
"What do you intend to do?" This time the man kicked Adam in the chest, and he doubled over in pain and because the wind was knocked out of him. "I'll ask the questions boy." Jane distinctly heard some sort of thud, and tears came to her eyes as she thought of the things that Iris's brother could be doing to him. Then it finally came to her; the reason why she couldn't have Adam as a boyfriend. She felt bad at this thought as one of her best friends was getting savagely beaten in the next room, but she realized that it was because of that fact, that she couldn't be his girlfriend. Everything about Adam was great, except for the fact that despite how much she loved him, she had to admit, he was a bit of a weakling. He never fought back against anyone, and how could Joan date a guy who couldn't stand up for her if she needed it? Meanwhile, in the other room, Adam had just regained himself and found his breath again, but he was in a lot of pain. He supposed that kick had at the very least bruised his ribs, but he felt those steel-toed boots, and supposed it was more than just a bruising. 1:35pm, 7th period, Art. Helen Girardi wondered where Adam Rove was today. She could have sworn she saw him this morning. Possibly he was sick or something, and left early. She didn't give much thought to it at that time and went on with the lesson. She did however notice that on 3 occasions, Grace Polk passed by the door. The bell rang at the end of class, and the kids filed out, and Grace walked in. "Mrs. Girardi?"
"Grace, how are you? I noticed you pacing in front of my door. Were you looking for Adam because I'm sorry, but he wasn't in class today"
"I was afraid of that. He and Joan weren't in English or AP Chem. today."
"What do you mean 'Joan wasn't?' I dropped her and Luke off here myself, I know she is in school today."
"Mrs. Girardi, I don't know what's going on, but neither of them was in class today. Not in 1st period, not in 4th period."
"What are you saying? That my daughter and Adam have skipped school together?"
"I don't know; it's not like either of them to do that sort of thing...and I don't know why I would be left out of the loop."
"Well, like I said, I dropped Joan off this morning, and I could have sworn I saw Adam, actually, he was talking to you at the bagel shop this morning."
"I know that was the last time I saw them. Joan came over to talk to us before homeroom. We were getting ready to cross back over to the school side, and they weren't paying attention, and I ran across the street when I saw break in traffic. I told them I'd see them later, they said "OK" and that was the last I saw of them."
"Alright Grace. I'll check into that, and I'll let you know if I hear from them. You tell me if you hear from them too?" "Sure, Mrs. G."
The blond man and the bald man were staring at Joan. She was trembling, and whimpering.
"What's the matter? We're not really here to hurt you. You are just the slut that Adam left our niece for. You new boyfriend hurt a member of our family, and now he is going to pay the price for that. No good deed goes unpunished...you know the old saying. "He's not my boyfriend." Joan didn't know why she offered up that information, but it didn't seem to make any difference.
"Whatever you say little lady. All we do know he left our Iris because of you. She came home crying saying you influenced Adam to dump her. You made fun of her voice and that isn't very nice. You'll pay for that one later. But right now our instructions are to watch you squirm. Later on, we'll call your families for ransom." The bald man stopped his blond partner, "Hey stupid, do you think you should be so readily volunteering this information to her?"
"What's is going to hurt? She's obviously not going anywhere." At this, both men laughed. Jane cried a little more loudly. So loudly in fact that Adam heard her.
"What are they doing to her?"
"Some people never learn." He punched Adam again, this time in the stomach. "How many times must I tell you not to speak?" He grabbed Adam and threw him on the floor and repeatedly kicked him until he spat up blood. He then picked him up and threw him against the wall shared by the adjoining rooms. Joan jumped at this sound.
"ADAM! Oh my God, what is he doing to him? Tell him to stop please! He's hurting him."
"That's sort of the point little missy." Joan was now openly crying. The two men left, and were heard going next door. Adam was lying on the floor gasping. He was looking at the three men who were discussing their next plan of action. Then much to Adam's dismay, the three men came over to him and kicked and punched him into unconsciousness. Then they left the room.
It was 3:00pm, and Joan was not home from school yet. There was no word from Grace, Luke didn't know where his sister was, and the both he and his mother were now getting worried.
Will Girardi was sitting at his desk when his phone rang. "Girardi."
"Will, its Helen...have you heard from Joan?"
"No, why, is something wrong?"
"Well, that's just it, I don't know. I dropped her off at school this morning, and she and Adam Rove have seemed to have disappeared. Neither Grace nor Luke has seen them all day. I'm beginning to worry."
"Now Helen, let's calm down. When was the last time either of them were seen?"
"They were both seen last by Grace, who left them across the street from the school around 7:40am. "
"Alright, I'll put out an A.P.B on the both of them. I'm sure they will turn up soon. I see the way they act with each other. They're probably just off doing the things that young people in love do.'
"Will! I don't want them off doing that!"
"Helen, calm down, they are both good kids. I'm sure they're just out, maybe grabbed a bite to eat, and saw a movie, or headed to the mall or something. I'll have some men check out the hip teen hangouts. Don't worry hun, they'll turn up soon."
"I hope you're right." How wrong they'd all turn out to be.
Thankfully, Joan had her watch still. They didn't take that from her, and she saw that they had been in that house for 2 hours now. Grace was probably really worrying about them. They missed English, and it was now AP Chem. time, and Adam and Joan would be absent for that too. Moreover, Luke would probably be wondering where his sister was.
"Hey Grace? Have you seen my sister? I haven't seen her since our mom dropped us at school."
"No Luke, I was hoping you'd seen her, or Rove. Neither one of them were in English this morning."
"That's not like Joan; I'm going to go talk to my mother later. Bonus for me, I like when it's not me getting in trouble. And Joan owes me for telling my mom that when I sweep up the floor, I just push the dust underneath the rug."
Meanwhile, Joan and Adam were just sitting pretty much in silence. The once very talkative friends had suddenly found themselves speechless. Both of them were terrified, and anything they would usually talk about in school seemed pretty meaningless in the light of recent events. The lock clicked and the door opened, and the men came back. They grabbed Joan by the arm and forcibly pulled her up, and took her out of the room.
"Jane!"
Another blow to the head came. "I thought we told you to shut up kid."
"Adam!"
"Shut up!" They shoved Joan out of the room. The dark haired man stayed in the room with Adam. Joan was taken to a room next door. Joan could hear the man talking to Adam, though it was muffled, she could basically make out what was said.
"Sit up bastard! You think what you did was funny? You and your little girlfriend think you're so funny, don't you. Meanwhile my sister is devastated that her first boyfriend, and the love of her life would dump her for Miss Panty Pic girl."
Adam now knew where he had seen this man before. And his thoughts of who could possibly do this to Joan and him became suddenly clear. He saw the man in a family portrait of Iris's family. This must be the older brother she spoke of.
"Oh crap."
"That's right 'oh crap' Mr. Rove. No one screws around with my family and gets away with it. You made my precious little sister feel like a pile of garbage, and now I'm going to make you look like a pile of garbage in front of your new little girlfriend. She doesn't even compare to my sister."
"What do you intend to do?" This time the man kicked Adam in the chest, and he doubled over in pain and because the wind was knocked out of him. "I'll ask the questions boy." Jane distinctly heard some sort of thud, and tears came to her eyes as she thought of the things that Iris's brother could be doing to him. Then it finally came to her; the reason why she couldn't have Adam as a boyfriend. She felt bad at this thought as one of her best friends was getting savagely beaten in the next room, but she realized that it was because of that fact, that she couldn't be his girlfriend. Everything about Adam was great, except for the fact that despite how much she loved him, she had to admit, he was a bit of a weakling. He never fought back against anyone, and how could Joan date a guy who couldn't stand up for her if she needed it? Meanwhile, in the other room, Adam had just regained himself and found his breath again, but he was in a lot of pain. He supposed that kick had at the very least bruised his ribs, but he felt those steel-toed boots, and supposed it was more than just a bruising. 1:35pm, 7th period, Art. Helen Girardi wondered where Adam Rove was today. She could have sworn she saw him this morning. Possibly he was sick or something, and left early. She didn't give much thought to it at that time and went on with the lesson. She did however notice that on 3 occasions, Grace Polk passed by the door. The bell rang at the end of class, and the kids filed out, and Grace walked in. "Mrs. Girardi?"
"Grace, how are you? I noticed you pacing in front of my door. Were you looking for Adam because I'm sorry, but he wasn't in class today"
"I was afraid of that. He and Joan weren't in English or AP Chem. today."
"What do you mean 'Joan wasn't?' I dropped her and Luke off here myself, I know she is in school today."
"Mrs. Girardi, I don't know what's going on, but neither of them was in class today. Not in 1st period, not in 4th period."
"What are you saying? That my daughter and Adam have skipped school together?"
"I don't know; it's not like either of them to do that sort of thing...and I don't know why I would be left out of the loop."
"Well, like I said, I dropped Joan off this morning, and I could have sworn I saw Adam, actually, he was talking to you at the bagel shop this morning."
"I know that was the last time I saw them. Joan came over to talk to us before homeroom. We were getting ready to cross back over to the school side, and they weren't paying attention, and I ran across the street when I saw break in traffic. I told them I'd see them later, they said "OK" and that was the last I saw of them."
"Alright Grace. I'll check into that, and I'll let you know if I hear from them. You tell me if you hear from them too?" "Sure, Mrs. G."
The blond man and the bald man were staring at Joan. She was trembling, and whimpering.
"What's the matter? We're not really here to hurt you. You are just the slut that Adam left our niece for. You new boyfriend hurt a member of our family, and now he is going to pay the price for that. No good deed goes unpunished...you know the old saying. "He's not my boyfriend." Joan didn't know why she offered up that information, but it didn't seem to make any difference.
"Whatever you say little lady. All we do know he left our Iris because of you. She came home crying saying you influenced Adam to dump her. You made fun of her voice and that isn't very nice. You'll pay for that one later. But right now our instructions are to watch you squirm. Later on, we'll call your families for ransom." The bald man stopped his blond partner, "Hey stupid, do you think you should be so readily volunteering this information to her?"
"What's is going to hurt? She's obviously not going anywhere." At this, both men laughed. Jane cried a little more loudly. So loudly in fact that Adam heard her.
"What are they doing to her?"
"Some people never learn." He punched Adam again, this time in the stomach. "How many times must I tell you not to speak?" He grabbed Adam and threw him on the floor and repeatedly kicked him until he spat up blood. He then picked him up and threw him against the wall shared by the adjoining rooms. Joan jumped at this sound.
"ADAM! Oh my God, what is he doing to him? Tell him to stop please! He's hurting him."
"That's sort of the point little missy." Joan was now openly crying. The two men left, and were heard going next door. Adam was lying on the floor gasping. He was looking at the three men who were discussing their next plan of action. Then much to Adam's dismay, the three men came over to him and kicked and punched him into unconsciousness. Then they left the room.
It was 3:00pm, and Joan was not home from school yet. There was no word from Grace, Luke didn't know where his sister was, and the both he and his mother were now getting worried.
Will Girardi was sitting at his desk when his phone rang. "Girardi."
"Will, its Helen...have you heard from Joan?"
"No, why, is something wrong?"
"Well, that's just it, I don't know. I dropped her off at school this morning, and she and Adam Rove have seemed to have disappeared. Neither Grace nor Luke has seen them all day. I'm beginning to worry."
"Now Helen, let's calm down. When was the last time either of them were seen?"
"They were both seen last by Grace, who left them across the street from the school around 7:40am. "
"Alright, I'll put out an A.P.B on the both of them. I'm sure they will turn up soon. I see the way they act with each other. They're probably just off doing the things that young people in love do.'
"Will! I don't want them off doing that!"
"Helen, calm down, they are both good kids. I'm sure they're just out, maybe grabbed a bite to eat, and saw a movie, or headed to the mall or something. I'll have some men check out the hip teen hangouts. Don't worry hun, they'll turn up soon."
"I hope you're right." How wrong they'd all turn out to be.