The Florencia Lozano Homepage - Fan Fiction
| GET IT BACK BY SHADY |
CHAPTER 16 |
PART SIXTEEN
...shit...shit...shit...
That's all Blair can think as she drives down to Angel Square, blinking tears out of her eyes...worrying about Starr, not to mention her own hide, which is very much on the line. She'd found herself in this situation more than a few times in her life, but still...for the life of her, she can't figure a way out of this one.
As she pulls up to the diner, she sees Todd's car there, with its crumpled rear end. She makes a face at that...then she turns to look inside. The lights are on, but she can't see anything through the blinds. She shuts the engine off, and falls back against the seat, taking a moment to get herself---and her explanation---together. Panic sets in again, though, as the seconds pass and she still can't come up with anything.
"Shit..." she hisses aloud, punching the steering wheel, letting off a little steam and stress. Then she buries her face for a moment, breathing deeply as she prepares herself.
"Okay...okay."
She sniffs, wiping her face...then with one more deep breath, she gets out of the car. She walks very slowly, looking at the door as if it were some giant monster in her way. Then her foot crunches on something, and she looks down to see the glass all over the pavement.
"Ohhh...no..." she whispers, covering her mouth. Images of Colin breaking into the place rush through her head. She figured he might do something like this...and before now, didn't much care. It was only Tea, after all, and who cares about her anyway? But it wasn't just Tea anymore...and suddenly, the enormity of what she herself has set into motion, hits her hard. New tears race down her face, and she trembles violently, unable to do anything but cry for a moment.
Inside the diner, Todd and Carlotta both look toward the noise. Carlotta starts to get up from the booth she's in; but as soon as she does, Todd puts a finger up to stop her. She looks at him strangely...and he just shakes his head at her. Carlotta stares at him for another second, then reluctantly sits back down. She watches as he simply folds his arms, leaning against the table across from her, perfectly calm. Or seemingly calm. Another moment passes...then finally, Blair steps inside. She sees Carlotta and stops, offering a very weak, half-smile. Carlotta smiles back just as weakly.
"Blair."
"Carlotta."
Awkward silence fills the room...then Carlotta just sighs. Blair looks at her with guilty eyes, already knowing what's happened, but still, having to play dumb.
"So...wha-what happened here?"
"Why don't you tell US?"
Todd's voice slices right through Blair, going right down her spine. She shuts her eyes for a second, dreading having to make eye contact with him. She can feel his eyes burning holes in her skull already. Carlotta watches the two of them from a distance, noticing their obviously chilly relationship...but wondering why Todd would be asking her that.
She really starts to worry when Todd suddenly grabs Starr's backpack off the table behind him, and swings it around, hard. Blair sees it just in time, though, and immediately puts her arms up, protecting her face...where Todd was aiming. She tries to yank the bag away from him; but he keeps his hold on it, reeling her in toward him instead. Blair struggles uselessly, as he lets go of the bag to grab her by the back of the neck.
"Yeah, you tell me...you BETTER tell me...better tell me every goddamned thing you know," he threatens quietly, through clenched teeth...their faces only an inch or so apart.
Carlotta stands up, slack-jawed...too shocked and confused to say anything. She watches as Blair continues to struggle against him, grunting with the effort...but she might as well be locked in a vice. Todd looks down at her, standing taller than she, even in heels; and he just waits for her to give over...which she does, after another moment. She rolls her eyes up at him, and he reacts to her flushed, cried-out face, with a disbelieving laugh.
"The hell are YOU crying for, huh? You knew this was gonna happen, so what the FUCK ARE YOU CRYING FOR?!" he yells, tightening his grip as he does so.
Across the way, Carlotta's eyes grow even wider listening to him. "What?" she whispers, but Todd has clearly forgotten she's even in the room. He just keeps shaking Blair, forcing pathetic, whimpering cries of protest out of her.
"No...Todd, stop it...please!! I---" she stammers, but Todd just lifts her up off the floor...and Carlotta gasps in horror as he slams Blair down on the table in front of her. Carlotta instinctively jumps back to get clear of the melee, with Blair flailing about and shrieking as Todd holds her arms up over her head, pinning her to the table.
"GET OFF ME!! FUCKIN' BASTARD!!" she screams, trying to kick him. But Todd hovers low over her, countering by tightening his grip on her wrists.
"What...you SCARED or somethin'?" he mutters.
"CARLOTTA!!! HELP ME!!! PLEASE!!!" she yells, frantically looking around for her.
Todd looks over and sees Carlotta standing there, hands over her mouth, obviously freaked...and for a second, it takes him out of the situation mentally, allowing him to step back and see just what it is he's doing...and what it looks like. He breathes hard, keeping his hold on Blair as he stares into Carlotta's horrified eyes.
"She knows...she...she KNEW this was gonna happen," he says quietly, and Carlotta drops her hands slowly...but still, looks like she might grab the nearest blunt object and hit him with it.
"You don't know shit!! CARLOTTA!!!!" Blair interjects, still kicking at him.
"I'm TELLING YOU...she KNEW about this!!! This...she...TOLD ME to come here!!" he continues, turning back to Blair. "You knew all along, didn't you??"
"No!!" Blair cries, scared now...really scared. She sees it in his eyes, that point-of-no-return-rage, leaking out of every part of him. Todd feels her collapse in, giving up and letting her tears flow freely. Carlotta takes a step toward them, listening to Blair cry her eyes out with a distinctly remorseful sound to it, that makes Carlotta think...Todd just might be right.
"Please, Todd...lemme go...you don't have to do this..."
"Fuck I don't have to do this," he whispers, his face right over hers. "Ohhh, yeah, you're scared now...scared like you were on the phone, when you screamed at me to get my ass down here. Why'd you do that, Blair? Why were SO DAMNED CONVINCED Starr would be here?? And why were you SO DAMNED WORRIED ABOUT IT?? HUH?? TALK TO ME!!!"
Blair can barely get a word out in her current state of hysterics. "Ohgod...please stop...I'm sorry..."
"Oh, you're sorry...well, that helps a lot. The fuck're you sorry FOR?? WHAT DID YOU DO??!!"
In between sobs, she whimpers, "Tea...just supposed to be Tea..." and at that, both Todd's and Carlotta's eyes widen. They exchange a glance...then Carlotta looks at Blair quite differently, feeling any urge to help her fading fast.
She looks back at Todd. "I'm gonna call Bo."
"NO!!!" Blair suddenly yells, with renewed strength...and Todd refocuses on her.
"Awwww...whassamatter...afraid Wyatt Earp's gonna string you up?" he asks, mocking her with his sarcasm...and she goes back to sobbing, her chest heaving, as he continues:
"Well, you've certainly called him out on ME plenty of times...seems only fair that YOU should get a chance to experience it for yourself. And besides...what're you worried about? You're so damned INNOCENT. Never in a million years would YOU be an accomplice to a kidnapping, right?"
Carlotta's calmer, even-toned voice follows. "Is this true?"
Blair looks up to see Carlotta actually standing beside Todd, looking down at her. She lets out a hard breath.
"Carlotta, please...get him offa me---"
"I asked you a question. Did you REALLY...KNOW...that someone was coming here to kidnap Tea?"
Blair rolls her eyes, letting more tears leak out. "I..." she starts, but then gets so flustered that she can only nod. Carlotta shuts her eyes at that.
"Ohmygod..."
"Please don't call Bo...please," Blair pleads, looking back and forth between them. "PLEASE...you have to believe me, I...of course I didn't want STARR to get in the middle of this...she wasn't SUPPOSED to! Just Tea...I swear---"
"Oh, like THAT makes it all okay," Todd says.
"No! I mean...ohshit...Todd, he's not gonna HURT HER, okay? I swear...I know he won't."
His eyes flash at that, and he pushes his face back down into hers. "WHAT?? Who...WHO?? What, did you ARRANGE all this, or somethin'?! Did you fucking PAY somebody to do this??!!"
She just stares at him, unwilling to say...but unable to deny. Todd clenches his teeth, feeling every fuse in his box ready to blow. Blair just shuts her eyes and lies there, bracing herself.
"Please don't call Bo...please," is all she can say. Todd keeps his hold on her for a moment longer...wanting more than anything, to punch her right in the face, as hard as he possibly can. Something holds his arms in place, though...Carlotta's presence, possibly. But then he feels something else...a sudden clarity, and an awareness of lost control. He remembers the time he hit Tea...he had no such clarity then, no such awareness beforehand, when he needed it most. Instead, he feels it now... and even though Blair is more than deserving, he feels the violent urge leave him almost as quickly as it came. He looks back at his ex-wife, a woman he loved at one time...a woman who, despite all of her many faults, had given him the best gift of all...Starr.
With his daughter's face in the forefront of his mind again, he backs off...feeling Starr's eyes on them suddenly, that condemning look that makes him realize again, just what it is he's doing. He backs up into the table by the door, covering his face for a moment. Blair just stays frozen, eyes glued shut, afraid to move.
"Get up," Todd orders. Blair opens one eye...then the other, and sighs with relief when she sees he's moved away from her. She sits up, slowly, swallowing hard as she faces him and Carlotta...standing there in front of her, backlit, a shadowy jury of two.
"Who is it?" he asks, his tone covered with a thin layer of calm.
Blair sighs. "Colin," she admits, then starts rubbing her sore wrists nervously, as it gets quiet. She silently thanks the powers-that-be that Carlotta's in the room...because she's absolutely sure her presence is the only thing stopping Todd from killing her.
"Go on," he replies.
She bites her lip, bracing again. "I, uh...I made a deal with him. The plan was for him to get Tea outta town...to distract you for a while."
"Distract me from WHAT?"
Blair fumbles, unable to force the words out; and after a moment, she sees him straightening up from leaning on the table...seeming to grow to about twelve feet tall. He takes slow steps toward her, stopping a foot or so away.
"You were gonna run, weren't you...you were gonna take Starr and run. Right?" he asks, but she doesn't have to answer. He can see it in those red, puffy eyes...and she just sniffs at him, tipping her head back, smugly. Todd shakes his head back at her, losing his grip again, fast.
His hand tightens into a fist at his side. "You...fuckin'---"
"What, bitch? Yeah, you said that already," she fires back, without even thinking. She regrets it immediately, not really wanting to provoke him...but unable to stop herself. It was just too ingrained in her now. Fighting with Todd came as naturally to her as breathing, and it was the same way with him. This was how they communicated; and in truth, it had always been. Even the threat of violence couldn't entirely cancel out her desire to see him humiliated and broken; and as she sits there, staring him down, she feels her Southern attitude flowing back into her like a shot of whiskey, giving her that reckless nerve.
"I don't care what you call me...I'm not gonna apologize for protecting my daughter," she says, and Todd does a take at that, stunned at her relentlessness...like a boxer who doesn't know when to stay down.
"God, you...you don't even CARE what's happening to Starr right now, do you? You're so fixated on sticking to me all the time, that you can't even see straight!" he replies, stepping closer to her.
"How dare you...how dare you even say that to me!!" she says, her voice rising, as she slides off the table and stands up against him.
"Who raised her, huh?? Who takes care of her when she has a cold and makes sure she has a roof over her head and food to eat and clothes to wear and a school to go to??!! HUH?? YOU??" she continues, stopping to let out a hard breath. "No-no-no...that's ME. ME!!"
Todd has to close his eyes for a second at that, taking the bullet from her not-so-secret weapon...the one she pulled out in every argument.
"Don't even go there right now, Blair..."
"I'll GO wherever I WANT, 'cause you seem to need reminding. You seem to think that just because you set up a trust fund and gave her a stuffed animal FIVE YEARS AGO, that that somehow makes up for your not being there every day. Well, y'know what, I bet you can't tell me what word she got wrong in the spelling bee last week, or what her favorite movie is...or what she wants to BE when she grows up...can you?" she continues, getting right in his face, scanning it for a response...and when she doesn't get one, she half-laughs.
"No... 'course you can't. So don't you EVEN talk to ME about being 'fixated'...I'M not the one who's FIXATED, you fucking asshole! Starr is EVERYTHING to me...she is ALL I CARE ABOUT, and I'd do a helluva lot more than THIS to keep her away from you and all of your screwed up, self-pitying, mental...ISSUES!" she says, with special, mocking emphasis on 'issues'...and Todd loses it at that, hauling back with that readied fist. But Carlotta jumps in, grabbing his arm just in time.
"NO!! Todd, DON'T!!!" she pleads, as he tries to push her off. Blair just smirks at him, folding her arms.
"Ohhh yeah, come on...come on, you fuckin' limpdick...show me how crazy you really are!"
"Blair, SHUT UP!!" Carlotta yells...but Blair just laughs, enjoying herself.
"Oh, come on, Carlotta, you can't possibly be SIDING with this LOSER...who keeps torturing your precious, surrogate daughter with all his fuckin' bullshit!"
Carlotta struggles to hold Todd back, finally getting around in front of him, placing herself between them. She turns and faces him, putting her face in his.
"Todd, stop...STOP IT, RIGHT NOW!"
"Get outta my way!!"
"NO. BACK OFF!!"
"Don't listen to her, Todd...come on...hit me! I DARE YOU!" Blair interjects, goading him with her finger.
Carlotta whirls around. "I SAID SHUT UP, !!" she yells, loud enough to silence her. Blair's lips close tightly, as she gives her a surprised look. Carlotta shakes her head at her, then uses all her strength to push Todd back a few steps. Then she stands between them, her arms out to distance them.
"God, the BOTH OF YOU are so...STUPID! Do you realize how much time we're wasting here? Do EITHER OF YOU care about Starr, or Tea? Y'know...Starr? Tea? Remember them?" she says, with that motherly authority that shames them. They both look at her with embarrassment, then exchange angry glares over her.
Carlotta sighs, dropping her arms. "Look, if the two of you wanna go outside and kill each other, go right ahead. I really don't care about EITHER OF YOU. But *I*...am gonna get on that phone and call Bo, right now."
Blair jumps in front of her as she tries to walk away. "No!! Please! Carlotta...please don't do that!" she pleads, and Carlotta just shakes her head at her in amazement.
"You are really somethin'. You REALLY ARE, I mean...you'd rather save your own ass than find your own daughter," she says, and Blair clams up for a second, unable to really come back at that. All she can do is take a deep breath, and try to sound reasonable.
"Look...I know. I...I really screwed up, and I wish I could take this all back...but I can't. I'm just...asking you, please...can't we just...find some way to do this without Bo getting involved?"
Carlotta makes a confused face. "What, you mean try to get them back ourselves?" she asks, and Blair just shrugs, weakly.
"You gotta be kidding me, Blair...that's just INSANE. We'd never find them!"
"No! We will," Blair counters. "Colin has to call me. Then we...or I...can just call the whole thing off...get him to bring them back."
"What do you mean, he HAS to call you?" Todd suddenly asks, walking up behind her. Blair turns and faces him, sticking her chin out defiantly.
"I MEAN...if he wants his money, he HAS to call me. I told him I wouldn't release it until I knew he had...Tea," she says, getting a little shaky at end of her sentence.
Todd takes that in, shaking his head at her...still wanting to rip her apart, but just not feeling up to it anymore. All of the night's craziness has finally caught up to him, draining him...leaving only traces of anger behind, throbbing dully in his head. He suddenly thinks of Starr...and Tea...and not knowing where they are, or how they are, sends a strong stab of helplessness through him. He has half a mind to let Carlotta call the police; but he knows how messy that would get, for himself as well as Blair. Bo would be far more concerned with running him in, than in any search. Their longstanding feud would definitely color Bo's judgment...and Starr and Tea would be the ones who would suffer.
"I will never...NEVER forgive you for this, Blair...as long as I live. And if ANYTHING happens to them...I swear to god I will fucking kill you," he whispers, with that infamous, chilling calm that makes both Blair and Carlotta shrink back a bit.
Todd lingers on his ex-wife's face for a moment...and Blair sees his eyes misting up, before he turns on his heel and storms out. The doors fly open as he barrels through them, hitting the walls with loud BANGS, and sending more glass flying. Carlotta and Blair exchange worried glances, shuddering in his wake.
*********************
The soothing sounds of the tide rouse Tea out of her sleep, gently. She breathes the salty air in as she sits up and stretches, then brushes the sand off of her arms and out of her hair. She feels right at home, as if she had always slept on this beach. And for some reason, it doesn't surprise her to see her late father sitting beside her.
"Hey, Papi...you're back," she says, as she yawns. He nods, staring out at the water. A quiet moment passes, as Tea moves closer to him, resting her chin on his shoulder.
Her father sighs. "Tea...what is it you want?" he asks, simply, still looking at the waves. Tea makes a face, tipping her head to look at him.
"What do you mean?"
He turns, and moves back a bit to look at her. "What do you WANT?" he asks again, and there's another silence as she realizes what he means. Sorrow instantly covers her face, and her father gives her a sympathetic smile.
"You see? You're not happy here," he says, and Tea tries to disagree...but she can't. She looks away from him, saying nothing...and after a moment, her father lifts her chin.
"You thought coming here would solve your problems...take away that sadness. But it hasn't, has it?"
Tea closes her eyes, letting the tears leak out. Her father wipes at them, carefully, with affection...then he pulls her to him, hugging her and rocking her like a baby.
"Oh, Papi..." she cries, softly. "...please...please, don't send me back...just let me stay here with you."
He sighs. "It's not up to me."
"Please...I can't go back there. I can't do it anymore, it's too hard...nothing works...and I can't live like that again!"
He holds her away, shaking her a bit to make her look at him. "Tea...you have to go...and I'll tell you why. Because you are NEEDED...don't you realize that?"
Tea sniffs her tears back, taking that in...then she lets out a breath that sounds like a laugh. "Yeah...people need me. People like Todd, right? Yeah, well...let me ask you this. What about ME, huh? What about what *I* need? I gave him EVERYTHING...I gave and I gave and I gave...and what did *I* get back? PAIN...misery, that's what. Pain so bad that I felt like I had to slit my own wrists just to get free of it! That's not good, Papi...that's no kind of life. And if THAT'S all I have to look forward to, then y'know what? You can forget it," she says angrily, as she stands up and starts pacing.
"Tea---"
"NO, Dad," she interrupts. "No. I'm sorry, but you weren't there. You don't know what I've been through with him. His 'need' ruined my life...it wiped out all traces of ME, don't you see that? How can ANYONE live like that? Well, I'll tell you how...THEY CAN'T!!"
She turns away from him at that...and her father watches her, with a sad look, feeling her pain. After a moment, he gets up and walks over to her, but doesn't touch her. Instead, he just waits for her to look at him.
"I know all that, Tea...I know. You say I don't, you say I haven't been there, but...I know what it's like to love someone like that."
Tea touches his arm, with an instant, apologetic look. "Oh, Papi...I'm sorry. I...didn't mean to---" she starts, but he just shakes his head.
"Just because I'm dead doesn't mean I don't know what love is...or what pain is...or that I can't understand what you're feeling," he says, cupping her face in his hands. "Tea...you're my only daughter...you think I WANT to see you go back to a life of misery? Of course I don't."
"Then why send me back?" she asks, as she takes his hands away from her face and clasps them tightly in hers. "What good's it gonna do? It's..." she trails off, trying to think of the right word.
"...hopeless."
He smiles at that...sadly. "Like I said, querido...it's not up to me. You have to go...and all I can tell you is that...there's a reason for it. A very good one, otherwise...you'd be able to stay."
Tea busts out crying again at that, as if someone just told her that she has to die all over again...like she didn't do it right the first time. Then she realizes that...that IS what he's telling her, pretty much.
"Your life...is NOT finished, Tea. That's why you survived this," he says, holding her wrist up to her. She looks at the line across her skin, where she opened up the vein, trying to get around all that pre-decided, destiny crap...and it didn't work. Someone had pulled her back into the world before she could leave it; and she wonders why...why it is that so many people can make that decision for themselves, but she can't.
"So I have no say in this? Does NO ONE CARE about ME??" she cries, rolling her eyes up to whoever, or whatever might be up there.
"Tea, don't you understand? This is ABOUT YOU," her father says, shaking her a little. "This has to do with YOUR life. Staying here now isn't going to fulfill you...and it's not going to make you happy, no matter what you might think. YOUR happiness...is still back in the world."
"No..." she argues, shaking her head. "...no, it ISN'T, Papi. Trust me, I've looked."
"You KNOW what I'm saying is true. Because if you were MEANT to be here...you wouldn't be feeling THIS..." he replies, wiping at her tears again, showing them to her.
"...this isn't peace, mija. It's loss. It's regret. Misery of a different kind, yeah...but it's still misery...and THAT'S not good, either."
Tea takes that in for a moment...then she looks down, defeated. "Oh, Papi...please...I can't do this again. It's too much...I don't have the strength left."
He lifts her chin, looking into her big, brown eyes...then he leans in, kissing her forehead. He hugs her to him, whispering into her hair as he holds her tightly.
"Tea, you...YOU are the strongest person I ever knew. It's in you, it always has been...and it always will be. You have to believe that...and believe that THIS is what's best. You may not think you matter...but you do. Very much."
Tea buries her face in his shoulder, holding onto him tightly...fearing that he's about to disappear again. He kisses the top of her head, and rests his cheek there.
"I love you, Tea...remember that."
***
Tea starts gripping onto him tighter, not wanting to let him go. "No...Papi, wait..." she says, as her eyes flutter open, and adjust to her new environment. Slowly, she realizes that she must've been dreaming again...because she's definitely NOT on a beach...
...and she's definitely NOT hugging her father. Instead, a still-unconscious Starr lies in her arms. The sight immediately jars Tea out of her dopey dream-state, and she tries to move...but then realizes what an awkward position they seem to be in. She grunts, trying to wiggle, trying to push...but it's as if gravity isn't working right, like they're...
...upside down. She looks around, and sees that they're lying on the roof of the car, not on the seats.
"Ohmygod..." she whispers, putting things together in her head. The situation becomes clearer with every second, as she hears the hissing of the engine, and sees the broken, crushed body of the car around them. She makes a face, unable to remember what led up to this...then she feels her arms, legs and face, to make sure she's not injured. She doesn't seem to be...nothing hurts...right now, anyway. So she looks to Starr, gripping her face and looking at it in the dim moonlight. Blood trickles down from a cut on the little girl's forehead; and Tea grimaces, wiping at it with her sleeve. It looks deep, but probably not life-threatening in itself...so she shakes her a little, trying to rouse her.
"Starr...Starr, can you hear me? Starr??" she asks, but the girl won't respond. "Shhhit," Tea mutters, looking around again. The front seat appears to be empty, so she wiggles out from under Starr to see what else she can see. The driver's side front door is gone...the keys dangle from the ignition, and she sees papers...a jacket...and a tote bag of some kind. She grabs it, and dumps everything out, including a big bottle of spring water. Tea's eyes brighten, and she opens it, taking a quick gulp for herself, before dumping some of it on Starr's head.
Starr immediately moves, shocked into waking up. She flails about, disoriented and dizzy, muttering intelligibly. Tea wipes the girl's face again, then grabs her chin, making her look at her.
"Starr...Starr! Look at me!" Tea says, stern and loud enough to make Starr focus.
"Wha..." she starts, blinking water and blood out of her eyes. "...wha...whas happening?" she asks, as Tea continues to wipe her face.
"Tell me your name...what's your name?"
"Ssstarrrr..."
"Good...what's MY name?"
Starr squints at her for a moment. "Tee," she whispers, hoarse. Tea smiles at that...thankful for any sign that she's okay. Starr puts a hand up, trying to touch the gash in her forehead, but Tea stops her.
"No-no-no...don't do that," she says, as she rips part of her sleeve off.
"But it HURRRTS..."
"I know, sweetie...I know. Here, press this down," Tea replies, pressing the cloth of her sleeve against the cut. "Take a drink," she then says, as she hands her the water bottle. Starr takes a long swallow, then coughs.
"What happened...where are we?"
Tea looks out the windows. "I, uh...I dunno where we are, but...this car must've fallen down a hill or something...we're upside down."
"I...don'remember getting IN a car..." Starr mutters, getting woozy again. Tea looks back at her and shakes her a little.
"Hey...HEY! Don't do that...stay awake, sweetie...I need you to stay awake."
"Bu...my head hurts...I'm sleepy..."
"I know, I know...but you gotta stay awake for me, okay? We gotta get outta here," she says, as she looks around for the best way out. She comes up with the plan quickly, then makes Starr look at her again.
"Okay...I'm gonna wiggle out first, I'm gonna go out that way," she says, pointing toward the hole where the driver's door was. "Then I'm gonna pull you out, okay? Ready?"
Starr nods, trying to focus on Tea as she maneuvers around, sliding between the jammed-in seats and out the door. Then she reaches in to Starr with both hands.
"Come on!"
Starr has an easier time of it, sliding through without much difficulty. Tea pulls her out, then walks her a few steps away, and sits her down. She goes back to the car and puts everything back in the tote bag...then she yanks it out. She stands up for the first time in a long time...feeling just about every joint popping back into place, as she gets her first good look around.
As she suspected, they're at the bottom of a hill. She looks up, following the path of broken tree limbs and dents in the dirt, to the wide, smashed gap in the wooden guardrail. She sighs...then suddenly wonders where the driver is. She glances at Starr, checking on her...then starts looking around, walking around to the front of the car. Nothing. She looks to the sides...
...and spots a body...a man's body, lying not too far away. She hesitates...her first instinct being to just leave him. But her curiosity gets the better of her, and she walks over, slowly. She squints as she approaches...recognizing the face.
"Oh my god," she whispers. She looks Colin up and down, lying there in a grotesque sort of way, bleeding from several places...one leg twisted and obviously broken. But his chest still rises and falls...so he isn't dead. Tea swallows hard...not at all sure what the hell to make of all this. But still, her instinct to leave him is strong...and after a second, she decides to go with it.
She turns to go...then a thought pops into her head. So she walks over and kneels down beside him, feeling around in his pockets. She pulls out his wallet, and his cell phone. Her eyes widen with relief, as she dials 911...then close with disappointment, as the phone makes all sorts of weird noises...obviously busted. She curses to herself, tossing the phone away...then she goes through his wallet. She takes out all the cash, and drops the wallet on his chest. Colin stirs a little, but stays out...and Tea shakes her head at him.
"Bastard," she mutters...then jumps when she turns around and sees Starr standing there. "Oh god..."
"Who's that...?" she asks, fascinated by Colin's broken body. Tea turns her face back to look at her.
"That...that's the driver, I guess," she replies, standing up. "Come on, we gotta move...we gotta find some help."
"But what about him? Is he dead?" Starr asks, looking back at him worriedly, still holding the cloth against her forehead.
Tea looks down at him, with a different emotion...or lack of it. "No, he's not dead. But if we don't get him some help, he will be soon. So come on," she says, taking her hand and leading her away...starting on the long, tricky journey up the hill.
*************************
2002 Copyright by Shady
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