Caught in the Middle, Clearly Jaded [best book clubs .TXT] 📗

Tomorrow, we’ll get to work.”
“But…” I start to complain but he quickly cuts me off.
“If you want me to help then I say we are going to this party.” He says sternly.
I nod, knowing that it is a helpless battle, so I put a fake smile on my face and think about how drunk I’m going to be getting tonight. They might have won the battle, but I will win the war. Whoever the hell “they” are.
Chapter 10
I was in my bedroom, well Gavin’s bedroom, getting ready for the party. I could already hear the boys laughing while they set everything up for the party. I took a shower, shaving my legs and brushing my teeth. I don’t know why, but I have a bad habit of brushing my teeth in the shower. Once I’m finished, I dry myself off and rapidly dry my hair and curl the ends in spirals. I put on the little black dress that Gavin had seemed to like me so much in and a pair of black flip flops with black beaded sequins. I put on a small layer of make-up consisting of; eye liner and shadow, blush, and lips gloss. After taking a quick look in the mirror satisfied with my appearance I can hear the party in full swing downstairs. The music is bumping and I can hear people screaming and laughing. I take a deep breath feeling as if I’m going to my first day of kindergarten all over again. I walk slowly down the hallway and pass a couple heading to one of the bedrooms. I make a mental note to myself to change the sheets before sleeping in Gavin’s bed tonight. I slowly make my way down the stairs and see people running around with drinks in their hand. I head to the kitchen to grab a drink, knowing that it will calm my nerves. I look around, noticing that the boys had went all out on the party including streamers, fog machines, disco lights, and even a tiki bar. I grab a wine cooler as I look for the bottle of liquor that I know is here somewhere. The kitchen cabinets are littered with food, plates, cups, and other dishes. When I finally spot the liquor I grab the whole bottle.
“What are you doing?” Someone whispers in my ear making me jump. I turn around to face Gavin, who has a smirk on his face. When he sees me his jaw drops a little and I can’t help but blush.
I hold up the bottle and put it to my lips taking a big swig and chasing it with my wine cooler. I know it doesn’t sound great, but I intend on getting drunk, and the faster the better.
He grabs the bottle from my hands, “You know it’s illegal for you to drink this.” He says taking a drink right out of the bottle as I had done.
I tilt my head to the side, “I know a couple of other things that are illegal too.” I say pointedly making him frown at me.
“Jules!”
I turn around and see Silas coming to me a big grin on his face.
I smile back as he approaches, “Can I have this dance?” He asks holding out his hand and bowing a little. I flush and nod putting my hand in his. I give Gavin a quick glance leaving him behind as Silas leads me to the living room. Halo, by Beyonce is playing and he puts his hands on my wait as I put mine on his shoulders.
“You look beautiful tonight.” He says as we start swaying back and forth.
I beam at him, “Thank you.”
“I’m probably going to have to get the guys and make sure we keep an eye on you.” He continues.
I give him a frown, Why would they have to do that? “I don’t need a babysitter.” I say.
He smiled at my reaction; it’s different from Gavin’s usual smirk, “I know, it’s just to keep all the guys away that are staring at you right this minute.” He pulls me closer against his body making me blush once again.
I gaze around the room and notice that he is telling the truth. There are a lot of guys glancing at me or right out staring. I see Paul over by the stereo hitting on some girl with really blonde hair and plump lips. Mason and Emily are sitting on the couch cuddled next to each other and I can’t help but smile at them.
“See?” He asks making me look back up at him, “I wasn’t lying.”
I nod, “But I can take care of myself.” My voice coming defensive.
He bends down to whisper in my ear, “I never said you couldn’t.”
The song ends and a faster beat starts playing and we stand there nervously.
“I’m going to go get another drink.” I say loudly over the music.
He nods, “I’ll come with you.”
I don’t want him following me around so I shake my head, “I’ll be ok.”
I make my way to the kitchen to see Gavin leaning against the open door way, the liquor bottle in his hands.
He is staring at me intensely and as I get nearer I see that the liquor bottle is halfway empty.
“What do you think you are doing?” I snap at him.
He glares at me, “What are you talking about?” He slurs.
“Are you trying to give yourself alcohol poisoning?” I ask grabbing the bottle from him knocking him a little off balance.
He sneers at me, “I can take care of myself.”
Damn he sounds like me.
I smile at him teasing and raise the bottle to my lips taking a big long chug until he pulls the bottle from my lips.
“What do you think you are doing?” He seethes.
I bat my eyelashes at him, “Whatever do you mean?” I ask all innocent.
He groans pulling me against him in a rush, running his fingertips over the side of my face. He leans in about to kiss me and I hold my breath, a million thoughts running through my mind.
Before he can bring his mouth down on mine a girl wearing a mini skirt and tube top steps between us. “Where have you been, bad boy?” She asks running her hand down his chest. He grabs her hands and pushes her away, “Don’t touch me Gabby.” He says through clenched teeth.
“But baby, we had such a good night the other night.” She whines and I feel my chest constrict and I don’t even know why. Gavin glances at me and she makes another move distracting him. I slip away, liquor bottle in hand and make my way outside to the back yard. There are a few people out here, mostly couples making out in the shadows. I make my way closer to the woods, content to be by myself and away from the noise. I pick a nice quiet spot on a rock and take a seat. The moonlight shining over the trees making it look romantic. I am sipping on the bottle of liquor and am feeling a bit woozy when I hear crunching of foot steps behind me. I turn around quickly but no one is there and I glance around widely.
“Stop scaring yourself.” I whisper and take another swig just as a hand covers my mouth, muffling my scream.
Chapter 11
I’m being led farther and farther into the woods and there is nothing I can do. It feels like I have been walking for hours, even though it has probably been about 30 minutes. I haven’t actually got a good look at my kidnapper, but I do know enough that he is male. Every time I try to glance behind me to see his face, he grunts and pushes me roughly.
“What do you want with me?” I whine, trying to get some kind of answer out of him.
He just grunts and pushes me again, so much for getting answers.
We walk in silence, since I know that I will not get any answers, I better be on my best behavior. I’m thinking of how I can easily get away from him when I hear a freeway a little distance away. If I could only make a break for it, I can get help. Before I can do anything, he grabs me by the arm and pulls my back against him. I struggle as I realize he is trying to tie my hands around my back.
“No!!” I scream and buck trying to get away from him, but he is much stronger. He pushes me to the ground and gets on top of me to finish tying my hands. I’m crying in the dirt, and I can taste the texture in my mouth. Once my hands are tied securely, he picks me up, and immediately puts a gag in my mouth, which is the right name for it since I start gagging. I’m struggling even more once I see that he is trying to put a blind fold over my eyes. I start panicking and try to lunge away from him. He is quicker than me and snatches the back of my hair before I get too far, my cries muffled by the gag. He finishes with the blind fold and I’m wondering how I’m going to see to walk when he lifts me up over his shoulder like a bag of dog food. With every step he takes I can’t help but start getting motion sickness. When I swear I’m going to throw up if he doesn’t put me down, he tosses me off his shoulder and I grunt at the hard impact. I hear other footsteps and my breathing becomes more and more ragged.
“Is this the one?” I hear a gruff voice say and a grunt. I recognize the grunt from my kidnapper. I feel hands grip my chin and for my head up as I jerk away.
“Feisty one we have here, no wonder Jackson kept her around.” The man said gripping my chin again, but rougher this time. “Get her on the car, we’ll figure out what to do with her later. Lock her up in the cellar.” He adds and lets go of my face as another pair of hands pick me up and place me in a car slamming the door shut. Once the car starts and the seconds turn to minutes, I know my chances of being found diminish. I cry to myself, making sure that whoever is in the car with me doesn’t hear. I don’t want them to think that I’m just some helpless girl that can’t take care of herself. I swallow my tears and decide that I’m going to be tough and get through this. Instead I think about what the man said about Jackson. Does this mean that Jackson is a prisoner as well? Do they have him locked up somewhere and gagged too? My heart yearns to see his face and even though I’m scared, I’m also anxious. I want to see Jackson, I need to see him.
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