Harley’s POV
“Miss,”
an elderly voice called.
I blinked and then rubbed my eyes, waking up from my sleep.
An elderly man stood in front of me.
“This is our last stop,” he said as I quickly sat upright and looked around.
I was on a bus and the only one besides him.
“I’m sorry, but where am I?” I asked seriously.
“We are in a country …”
“Country! Did you just say country? How did I end up here? The last thing I remember was making a phone call in a booth to my friend Molly,” I said in nearly a scream.
“Miss, you boarded the bus like the rest of the passengers and rested most of the time,” he answered.
“That’s impossible. No, how long will it take for me to go back to where I boarded from?” I asked loudly.
“A week,” he answered.
I sprang from my seat with my mouth wide open.
“What? A week!” I exclaimed.
“Miss, I don’t understand why you are reacting like this. But you boarded the bus knowing very well it was going to another country, and you took breaks like everyone else for a few hours whenever our bus made a stop. You talked to no one and kept looking out the window whenever you were awake. You were so reserved; that’s why I kept checking on you a few times, because I have only come across a few passengers like you. But when we reached the last stop, you didn’t come out. That’s when I saw that you were sleeping, and I decided to wake you up,” he answered.
“Jade, were you the one who boarded this bus? Where the hell did you take us?” I screamed in my mind.
It wasn’t the first time that I found myself at a different location that I didn’t remember going to because it was usually her doing. But this was the first time I was finding myself in a different country!
“Miss, you have to step out now. We aren’t going back today. If you want to return, you will have to do that tomorrow,” he said as I forced a smile on my face.
“Um… sure, thank you for waking me up,” I answered and then got off the bus slowly.
I watched with a painful heart as the bus drove away.
“Jade,” I called again, but there was no response.
I looked around, feeling uncomfortable and a little scared. The town I was in was unlike the one I was from. It had only a few people walking around when the stores were open, and the people were looking at me with cold, murderous gazes as if I were a robber or some suspicious person.
There was a huge, beautiful fountain a little further away, which made me sigh in relief. I quickly went there and sat at the edge, avoiding the cold gazes that were directed at me.
I had no idea where to start looking for a hotel or hostel to rest in. I had no money or luggage on me; the money I had, I had used to make a phone call at the booth, and the rest was obviously used by Jade to board the bus without my consent.
Was I going to sleep on this street? I wondered.
I was getting more scared with each passing minute.
I looked up and smiled at a kid who was looking at me seriously from afar.
She glared at me coldly and then ran away.
I lowered my gaze and kept thinking of how to go back for what felt like forever when I heard heavy footsteps approaching me.
“Are we in luck or what? She looks so innocent,” a creepy voice said.
I looked up and noticed two tall men looking down on me with smirks.
“Are you lost, human girl?” one asked as I frowned.
What did they mean by “human girl”? They were definitely creepy.
“If you are, you can come with us,” they said as I quickly stood up and turned to look at them seriously.
I needed to seriously decline because if I agreed, then I would be giving them the power to do whatever they wanted to me in secret.
Like in the orphanage, whenever I went with them, they hit me in secret and later denied it all. Whenever I refused openly, they left and found a way to approach me whenever I was alone. As long as I stayed in the open, these men were going to do nothing to me. My worry was what would happen at night.
“I thank you for your offer, but I’m okay. I will find my own way,” I answered seriously as their smirks disappeared.
One grabbed my wrist tightly but quickly let go when I flinched and groaned in pain. They both looked so terrified.
I was astonished when they bowed low.
“We apologize for our disrespect and approach; we will never do it again,” they said in a low, respectful tone and then quickly walked away.
I stood still for a few seconds, trying to understand what had happened.
One thing I was certain about was that the place I was in was very dangerous. If they could come at me like that in daylight, then they were even worse at night. I needed to move and find a place to stay or a way to go back.
I also needed to ask someone to lend me their phone because I needed to make a call to Molly. Her cell phone number was the first and only number I had mastered because I knew that one day I might use it.
When I turned and bumped into a hard chest, I froze in fear. A wave of comfort, which was hard to explain, washed over me, and I felt so at ease instantly.
Whoever it was, he was the one those creepy men feared and ran away from, meaning he was more dangerous, if not worse.
I had to see who it was, even when my conscience was against it.
I took a deep breath and looked up.
I was stunned and speechless when he smiled down at me.
“You?” I asked in a soft voice.
“If that’s your way of flirting with me, then I absolutely welcome it,” he said in a deeper voice that had an accent.
I stood still for a second and then frowned.
I was losing it, right? Because the Glen I knew looked nothing like that. But he definitely looked like him; there was no denying it.