Chapter Five - Sleepover interrupted
Hailey's hair was red today. A deep intense red that shimmered in the sunlight like stained glass as she sat in front of the school.
"Sorry I'm late. Mrs. Johansen wouldn't stop talking, kept us after the bell for ten minutes." Lindsey tossed her backpack on the ground and joined Hailey on the curb.
"I hate when teachers do that. Don't they realize that we have actual lives outside of school?" Hailey sympathized with her friend.
"Obviously not," Lindsey muttered. "So, has my mom shown yet?"
"No sign of her so far." Catherine was scheduled to pick of the two teens and take them to the mall, where they were going to watch a movie. Tonight, Hailey was sleeping over at the Willow's house. It was their first slumber party, after almost a month of hanging out together. The duel bonds of shared detention and relatives who worked together had been a breeding
ground for friendship. Hailey and Lindsey had become best friends overnight, in the way that only teenage girls can do.
"So, I was thinking we could stop off at Hot Topic after the movie, pick up some more dye so that we can do your tips tonight."
"Good plan. I'm thinking blue." Lindsey played with the edges of her hair as she spoke, trying to envision what they would look like blue. Trying not to envision what her mom's face would look like when she saw her hair dyed blue. "Speaking of color, I think I almost have my mom talked into letting me paint my room. I would love to do something like you did."
The first weekend after she moved to town, Hailey's uncle had taken her to the paint store and told her to pick any color scheme she wanted. If she was going to be living with him for a year, he wanted her to have a space that was all hers. Hailey had taken him at his word, picking a deep purple for the walls. With neon pink she painted thin stripes every six inches, to
match the hot pink and black bedspread he had let her pick out at Linens and Things.
"Awesome. I would love to help." Hailey already had visions of paint samples in her head. "A mural could be cool."
"I still have to convince my mom. Maybe you can help tonight."
As if thinking about her mother summoned her, Catherine's car palled into the school parking lot. "Hi girls. How was school?"
"Just peachy," Lindsey responded sarcastically.
Hailey and Lindsey slid into the back seat, enjoying the cold air of the car. The end of September in Vegas was still hot, especially sitting on the pavement in the sun.
"Do you have everything you need, Hailey, or should we stop by your uncle's house?"
"No need, Mrs. Willows, I brought my bag with me." Lindsey jabbed her friend in the side at the polite 'Mrs. Willows.' It was not at all how Hailey normally talked.
"Can we leave our stuff in the car, mom? We don't want to have to cart it all around the mall."
"Sure thing. So, have you decided what movie you're seeing?" Catherine asked.
"I think we're going for Red Eye. Susan saw it last weekend, said it was great," Lindsey told her mom.
"Plus, Cillian Murphy is so cute," Hailey added. "I loved him in Batman Begins."
"Lindsey, you know the rules. No rated R movies"
"But mom..."
"No buts. No rated R unless I go with you." Catherine considered herself to be rather liberal, but there were some things she didn't want her daughter to exposed to. She was far from naive, knew that Lindsey saw far more then she would have liked, but there were some things she could control as a parent and this was one of them.
"Pick a different movie, girls."
"Come on, mom. Just this once can't you relent?" Lindsey couldn't decide if she should look sullen or sweet, and wound up with a rather comical expression on her face. Looking back in the rear view mirror, Catherine had a hard time not laughing.
"Keep it up, Linds, and I'm buying you tickets to whatever movie Disney just released."
At that threat, both girls started making gagging noises. Disney, to a pair of teenage girls, is the antithesis of cool.
"Fine," Lindsey sighed.
"I guess we can go see Transporter 2," Hailey tried to cheer up Lindsey. After they had watched the first one.
"Two tickets to Transporter 2." Catherine had insisted on parking the car and walking them up to the box office to purchase the tickets.
"That'll be sixteen dollars," the bored looking man in the red vest told her. Catherine paid the fee, and then turned to give the girls a mini lecture before she left.
"I'll pick you up right here in four hours. Don't leave the mall. Don't..."
"...talk to strangers or accept a ride from anyone who isn't you, grandma, or one of the guys from the lab," Lindsey interrupted. "We know, we won't, now go." She gave her mom a quick hug to counterbalance her words.
"Well aren't you just little-miss-know-it-all." Catherine shook her head even as she smiled at her daughter. "Four hours, here. That's 7:30. Got it?"
Lindsey agreed, then hurried with Hailey into the multiplex. After buying a tub of popcorn, extra butter, and two sodas, they handed their tickets to the attendant. When they were sure his back was turned they ducked into theater 12, currently showing Red Eye.
They claimed seats in the middle of the theater as opposed to on an aisle, reasoning that it would be harder to see them in the dark, and therefore harder to be kicked out. Slouching down in the chairs, a further method of not being noticed, they whispered and giggled until the lights dimmed and the previews began. The talking continued through the previews as they voted on which future movies they wanted to see, but as soon as the starting credits rolled they both quieted.
"That was awesome." It had been the perfect movie, full of blood and gore and things popping out at unexpected moments.
"So, are you as starved as I am?" Hailey asked.
"I'm so thinking hamburgers. Mickey D's work for you?"
"Perfect. Food, then Hot Topics. We have an hour and a half until you mom comes, which should be plenty of time." Lindsey and Hailey walked through the mall, stopping often to covet items of clothing hanging in store windows. Thirty minutes later, empty stomachs appeased, they were walking back though the mall on their quest for hair dye.
"Dark blue, or more of a turquoise?" Lindsey sought a second opinion.
"Turquoise. It would never work on my hair, dark as it is, but would look sweet against your blond hair. You're lucky; you don't have to deal with bleach." The hair coloring was quickly chosen, but there was still a whole store full of merchandise to peruse. It was 7:25 when Lindsey noticed the digital readout on her cell phone. They ran out of the store, racing down
the halls until they reached the entrance to the movie theater. One minute to spare, but it was apparently enough, because Catherine was not yet there. The only vehicle parked along the curb was a black van.
Catherine hit the first speed dial button again, hoping for a different result. Lindsey was not answering her phone. Knowing her daughter, Catherine assumed that she had turned off the ring for the movie, and had subsequently forgotten to turn it back on. Hopefully she would check it soon. Catherine had been called to a crime scene right after dropping the girls off, and was only just now getting off. She was going to be at least half an hour late picking them up, and that was only if there wasn't any traffic.
"Come on, Linds. Pick up the phone."
It happened fast. One minute they were sitting on the bench, making up exaggerated stories to tell Catherine about the movie they had been supposed to watch. The next, the doors to the van in the parking lot opened and three men jumped out. Dressed in jeans and black turtlenecks, with ski masks covering their heads and faces, the men ran towards them, grabbing the two girls before they understood what was going on. One held down Hailey from behind, so that no matter how much she kicked and struggled all she was doing was fighting the air. One of the other men yanked Lindsey from the bench, dragging her in the direction of the van.
"It's this one, the blond," the man said in a low thick voice. On hearing the confirmations, the third man returned to the van, entering the driver's side. Hailey struggled even harder when she saw her friend being manhandled into the back of the van.
"Lindsey!" She tried to shout, but a hand was covering her mouth.
"Quiet, little girl, or worse will happen to you." It was spoken in a whisper, but the threat behind the words was clear. Hailey didn't care. She had to do something. A small corner of the man's flesh found its way between Hailey's teeth, and she bit down, hard.
"Help!" she screamed. Something hit her from behind, then, and she fell to the ground. The last thing she saw before she blacked out was the man who had held her captive running to the van and jumping into the back as it pulled away. She squinted as everything became gray. R14. The first digits of the license plate were R14. She repeated it to herself as she slipped into unconsciousness.
To be continued...