Chapter Eight!

Ronnie hadn't been able to concentrate in any of her classes, but she had been relieved that nobody had asked her about Chad's absence. She didn't realize Eric had already called the school to explain the situation to the principal, who had passed the message along to all of his teachers.

Ronnie wasn't able to concentrate at her basketball practice either, as she kept messing up her lay-up and didn't shoot a single basket. Luckily her coach hadn't given her a hard time about it; she knew Ronnie had a lot on her mind.

Practice was over and Ronnie was the last one out of the change room. As she tied her shoelace, she heard the door open and out of the corner of her eye, she saw her coach, Ms. Taraway walking in slowly.

"You're still here Ronnie?" Ms. Taraway asked, as she sat down on one of the benches. Ronnie nodded.

"Almost done." She said simply as she threw her jersey in her backpack. "Sorry about today."

"Hey, you have nothing to be sorry for. Trust me; I can't even imagine playing basketball when I'm going through stuff. You didn't have to come today you know." Ms. Taraway said as Ronnie zipped up her bag.

"I know, but championships are coming up. It's okay. I'll be alright. I'll do better next time." Ronnie replied as she picked up her bag.

"Well you just do the best you can, okay?" Ms. Taraway smiled. "Do you need a ride home?"

"Thanks, but I think I'll walk home. I think I need some time to myself. It's kind of hard to get that with six brothers and sisters at home, who will not leave me alone unless they know I'm okay." Ronnie said as she rolled her eyes.

"Hey, you're lucky to have a family who loves you. A lot of people don't have that, you know." Ms. Taraway winked as she said goodbye to Ronnie and left the change room. I just hope Chad gets it one day too. She thought sadly as she sighed. She gathered her things together and headed out.

She noticed she was one of the last people to leave the school. She didn't see any of her team mates in the hallways; she only noticed a few teachers lingering around, studiously working at their desks.

Ronnie left the school and began walking home. She remembered Annie had offered to pick her up after practice, but Ronnie had insisted she needed the time by herself. Annie had agreed after making sure Ronnie promised to come straight home and not to take any unexpected detours.

Where would I go anyway? Ronnie thought bitterly as she walked down the empty street. She felt eerily alone as silence followed her down the street. She hated walking home alone. On days where Eric or Annie were unable to pick her, Simon and Lucy up from school, Ronnie typically had the company of Simon and Lucy, sometimes even Chad.

Ronnie began to walk a little faster as she began to sense danger approaching. I'm overreacting. I just hate being alone. She thought, but still, she quickened her pace.

She didn't realize that a few blocks back, the man that had watched her enter the school that morning had started following her close behind from a distance. He noticed she had started walking faster and he took it as his cue to act. If he was right, he guessed Ronnie would cut through the park, which was always abandoned. A few years ago, the city had torn out all the playground equipment and practically nobody went there anymore. He would take that as his opportunity to strike.

Ronnie crossed the park and never noticed the old blue Chevy pulling up alongside the park. She made her way to the sidewalk slowly, not seeing the man getting out of his car. He walked right up to Ronnie, who turned around quickly after she had heard footsteps behind her. She startled, and felt nervous as she recognized him immediately.

"Mr. Delano!" She exclaimed as a shiver ran down her spine, remembering the first time she met him. Luke smiled down at her slyly, as he raised his eyebrows. Ronnie felt scared, not sure what he wanted.

"Well, uh, I have to get home." She swallowed hard and as she turned to leave, Luke grabbed her arm and pulled her around to face him. Ronnie let out a little squeal, as his grasp on her was strong, and he was hurting her.

"Sorry dearie, but you ain't going nowhere!" Luke said through clenched teeth. Ronnie felt her heart racing as Luke pulled her toward the Chevy. Ronnie tried to pull away, but Luke was too strong. In the struggle, Ronnie's backpack fell off her shoulder, but she didn't notice.

"Let me go!" She screamed out as Luke lifted her off the ground and shoved her in the backseat of his car. He lowered himself into the backseat as well, pulling out a roll of duct tape and quickly ripping off a piece, roughly sticking it over Ronnie's mouth.

"Nobody takes my kid away from me and gets away with it!" He said as he grabbed Ronnie and pulled her toward him. She struggled fiercely, but Luke overpowered her. He was too strong for her as he grabbed her arms and wrapped duct tape around her wrists, binding them together. He held on to her for a long time, breathing heavily, and stroking her hair softly. Ronnie tried to scream, but the duct tape prevented her from making much noise. She tried to wrestle out of his grip; he was scaring her.

"Listen baby, you'd better not make any noise, because believe it or not, I do have a gun, so you'd better do everything I tell you, or you might find it's the last thing you do." Luke said as he pushed her away from himself and put her seatbelt on. He stared into her brown eyes for a moment and sighed deeply.

"Beautiful eyes." He said as he stroked his hand on her cheek. She pulled away.

"We'll see how your dear old dad likes it when someone takes his kid away from him." Luke got out of the backseat and quickly ran around the car to the driver's seat, where he started up the car, and sped down the road, keeping mainly to the back roads.

Ronnie's backpack lay forgotten on the sidewalk.