Chapter 1

“I’ll be right back. Try not to set the car on fire while I’m gone.” Mrs. Harris spoke to her daughter. The girl just simply rolled her eyes as she took another drag off of her cigarette. She watched as her mother walked into the grocery store.

After a few minutes of boredom, she noticed her mother had left the keys in the ignition. “Thank God!” She exclaimed, starting the engine. She swiftly turned the radio on and began idly watching the smoke from her Newport drift out the open window. In no time at all she was deeply lost in a daydream.

The sound of the driver’s door slamming quickly brought her back to reality. “It’s about-ah!” She screamed as she turned to see a gun pointing straight at her. An unknown man with sandy brown hair and hazel eyes was sitting in her mother’s seat. He quickly clamped his hand over her mouth to silence her.

“Shh! Listen, don’t scream, don’t talk, don’t do anything. If you do as I say you won’t get hurt, okay?” The man gently spoke. The girl frantically nodded her head that she understood. He removed his hand and sped out of the parking lot.

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After an hour of driving, the man finally looked finally looked over at the girl. She was beautiful. She had long, wavy blond hair and green eyes. He also noticed that she was shaking. “Hey, kid? I’m really sorry about dragging you into this. I promise nothing bad is going to happen to you. Please calm down.” He pleaded.

“I’m not a kid!” She snapped. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. What’s your name?” The guy inquired. “Samantha.” The blond replied. “I’m Randy. How old are you?” He asked. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I just turned fifteen. Do you by any chance have asthma?” Samantha retorted. “No.” Randy replied, looking puzzled. “Damn.” Samantha muttered as she lit a cigarette.

“So, how old are you, Mr. Kidnapper?” She asked after taking a few drags. “I’m twenty-four and it’s not like that. I didn’t mean to kidnap you. It just sort of happened.” He replied. “What do you mean ‘It just happened’?” Samantha asked.

Randy took a deep breath, then answered, “I robbed a liquor store and needed a quick getaway. When I ran into the parking lot, this seemed like the best car because it was already running. You don’t need to be afraid because the first pay phone I see, I’m going to have you call your parents to come and get you.”

Samantha sat quietly for a few minutes before asking, “Why did you hold a gun to my head? Would you really have shot me?” “No, I’ve never shot anyone before. I just needed you to stay quiet or I would have gotten caught. I really am sorry about this, Sam.” He responded.

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A few more hours later, Randy saw a gas station and parked the car. “All right, here we are. After you call your parents, come back and tell me so I can leave.” Randy spoke. Sam got out of the car and returned a few minutes later.

“So, are they on their way?” Randy asked. “I never called them.” She answered, getting back into the car. “What?” He asked. “I decided I want to stay with you. I mean, you said yourself that you aren’t going to hurt me, so why should I pass up an adventure like this?” She explained.

He looked at her incredulously, replying, “You’re messing with me, right? Please, God, tell me that you’re messing with me! You can not stay with me. You have to go home.” “Please let me stay. It’ll be fun. I can help you steal stuff. I swear I won’t be any trouble.” Samantha begged.

Randy shut his eyes and slowly spoke, “You are fifteen. I am twenty-four. Do you even know how bad this looks in the first place? If I got caught hauling you around the states...God knows how long they’d put me away.”

“I’ll do almost anything to stay with you. Please, pretty please, with sugar on top.” Sam spoke.

Randy took a deep breath, and looked at her, “I don’t want to hear you moaning about missing your family if we do this. I have no way of sending you home if we’re in another state. You’d have to manage on your own. I don’t want to hear any complaining, either. And if we get caught do not even think of turning this shit around on me!”

“So, you’re going to let me stay with you?” She asked. “Yeah, I guess I am.” He replied. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You won’t regret this, I swear!” Samantha screamed, flinging her arms around Randy’ neck. His body tensed as she made contact with it. ‘This is wrong! This is extremely wrong! Oh, please stop touching me! Please!’ Randy silently begged.

After what seemed like an eternity to him, she let go. “Finally.” Randy sighed. “Hmm?” Samantha questioned. “Nothing!” Randy quickly replied. Sam raised an eyebrow at him, “Okay...” She lit up a cigarette, then asked, “Do you want one?” “Desperately.” He spoke. She handed him the one from her mouth and lit a new one for herself.

“Well, let’s get this show on the road.” Randy spoke, pulling away from the gas station.