Deep Blue (2 page)

I stared at him. I hated that he was treating me like a child, but it was obvious to him, that I wasn’t supposed to be in a bar, so he was probably treating me like one to get me to leave. I snatched the stick from his hand and tossed it back onto his plate, as I reached into my back pocket for my last ten dollars and threw them on the bar top.

“Don’t you want your change?” Roger called out as I walked out of his establishment.

“No thanks!” I called back, opening the screen door with such fury that I almost pulled it off of its hinges.

Halfway around the building as I made my way around to the train tracks again, I heard someone call out my name. Someone who had just seriously pissed me off so much that I was going to be broke for a few days.

“Posy! Hold on there,” Troy said jogging to catch up to me. I turned around and crossed my arms over my chest, tapping my foot impatiently, while he approached with a tired grin. “Listen, I didn’t mean to make you angry. I just have a feeling you’re way too young to be in there and I didn’t want Rog to get in trouble. He’s a good guy earning an honest living, and if a deputy saw you in there, he could’ve lost it all.”

I rolled my eyes, and glanced down the tracks. I don’t know why I stopped, I really just wanted to get out and keep moving.

“Listen, do you know where the old corral is? Big ole spot right on the edge of town? Mostly everyone’s going to be there tonight. They’ll be lots of food and music and stuff. If you’re not doing anything later, you should come down, hang out for a while,” he said, glancing toward the main road as a large truck aggressively honked its horn.

“I don’t think I’ll be here,” I replied shortly.

He sighed and adjusted his baseball cap on his head, before crossing his large arms over his chest, and looking down at me. I was right about that; he
was
tall. I felt myself becoming slightly intimidated by his piercing eyes and stance, so I turned my face away.

“I’m just trying to help,” he said softly.

“You really want to help me? How about ten bucks? That’s my going rate for the pleasure of my company,” I retorted.

“Just come tonight and don’t be sassy. I might be even more tired later and I won’t be able to appreciate the sass as much as I appreciate it now,” he said, before he turned and went back to the building. I stood there and watched him open the door and disappear inside before it closed behind him. Behind me the tracks were calling; they wanted me to go down the way I came and take a left instead of a right this time and see where I would land.

Fuck.

I kicked the rocks with a loud sigh as I ignored my instinct to keep exploring and walked back toward Trackside Tavern.

I
was sitting on a swing in the small park that I had found about a mile away from the bar. I was still amused with myself. When I had went back in, I sat down next to Troy and demolished his plate of mozzarella sticks before I walked out without saying a word.

His laughter followed me on the way out and I spent the rest of the day feeling rather proud for what I had done and to kill some time before trying to find the corral later that night.

At the very least it could be fun and keep me fed for a few days, I had reasoned with myself when I decided to go. There would probably be something I could throw some food in and take with me when I continued my trek to find a place where I felt like I finally belonged.

I sat on the bench until the sun went down, the dropped my legs back onto the ground and slid my feet into my flipflops. He said that the old corral was at the edge of town and since I didn’t know which edge, I decided to head south since i had come from the north.

After about forty five minutes of wandering with the impending night sky turning darker by the second, I could hear music, laughter, and saw a huge fire. Obviously I had chosen wisely.

I was still a little nervous though. I didn’t know any of the people in this damn town with the exception of Rog and Troy and they really didn’t count.

But nonetheless, I held my head up high and walked straight into the town’s little shindig. I walked past some already clearly drunk people and some children that were playing a game of softball. I stopped and watched them for a moment. I was jealous that they still had their innocence at such a young age, but grateful and hopeful that they didn’t go through anything I had went through as a child.

I got lost in the moments I spent watching them only being brought back to reality when I heard his voice.

“Glad you came, Posy!” It was Troy and he was standing next to me with a big smile on his face.

I shrugged, “I didn’t have anything better to do, honestly.”

He tilted his head and smiled at me, causing me to smile back a little. It was obvious that he knew I wasn’t as hard as I was attempting to portray.

“Hungry?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Not yet.”

“Well, when you are the food’s over there,” he said jutting his chin to the right. I glanced around him and saw at least ten tables filled with different kinds of mouthwatering goodness.

Instinct told me to walk over, grab as much as I could carry in my arms and run. Logic told me that it would be rude. So instead of following my instinct, I nodded and slid my hands into my shorts pockets and turned my attention back to the kids.

“You never answered me you know,” he said giving me a gentle nudge with his elbow.

“Hm?” I asked, turning my face toward him, but keeping my eyes on the children.

“I asked you how old you were.”

What does it matter?

I sighed and looked up at him. “Is there a purpose to that question or are you just being nosy?”

He shrugged with a smile on his face, and I could almost swear I saw a twinkle in his eye. I turned my eyes away from him so I could easily fight the smile that was trying to cross my lips. There was something so charming about Troy that I couldn’t seem to fend off no matter how hard I tried.

“I’m sixteen. I’ll be seventeen in two days,” I finally confessed.

He let out a low whistle and I felt my face turn red. “Sixteen, huh? You’re a young little lady.”

I rolled my eyes. That was exactly why I didn’t want to tell him how old I was; it always resulted in me being treated like a child.

“You know, it’s not like I wear diapers or anything,” I snapped.

Troy threw his head back and laughed as I stalked off toward the tables of food. I wasn’t particularly hungry, but I figured I could at least do some grocery shopping.

I glanced around the area when I got there before I found where the garbage bags were neatly piled, grabbed one, and whipped it open. I walked over the first table and grabbed a handful of rolls, when I felt a strong hand on my arm.

“Wait til the party is over, then you can have anything you want,” he said with a mischievous grin.

Grunting I dropped the bag and let the rolls go. I dropped down in one of the metal folding chairs that had been set up and crossed my arms over my chest.

“Mind if I sit?” he asked, pointing at the chair next to me.

“I’d say no, but something tells me you’d sit down anyway,” I replied examining my fingernails.
Ugh. I need to hit a pharmacy store and grab a nail file soon.

“Not if you didn’t want me too,” he said politely.

“You can sit with me,” I said after a moment of silence.

Troy thanked me as he sat down. He pulled off his baseball cap, scratched his head, and secured it again. He didn’t look as tired as he did earlier in the day and he didn’t smell like sweat and dirt either. He actually smelled like hay and musk; it was really nice in a country boy sort of way.

He leaned back in the chair, stretching his long legs out beneath the table and crossing them at the ankles. I took in his brown bomber jacket, his faded blue t-shirt peeking out from underneath, dark blue denim jeans, and tan heavy boots.

“What exactly do you do for a living?” I asked him.

“I have my own farm,” he replied.

“What kind of farm?”

“Animals mostly. Cows, pigs, sheep, and a stable for when I’m feeling like a cowboy,” he said with a laugh.

“I like animals,” I replied thoughtfully.

“Yeah? You should come by and see it before you head off then.”

“Maybe.”

I glanced at him and smiled. He gave me a half grin in return and stretched his arms over his head.

“So tell me how old you are,” I prodded. It’s not that I really cared, but he knew how old I was now and how old I was going to be in two days, so I felt it was only fair to know his age too.

“Twenty two years young.”

I nodded and glanced toward the sudden uproar of laughter to the right of us. There was one of the obviously drunk people doing some kind of weird dance to the other obviously drunk people cheering him on. It looked like a hoe down, only he seemed to be trying his damndest to stay on his feet.

Troy laughed and I kind of just sat there. I felt so out of place in this little town and I really just wanted to leave, so I got to my feet and reached for the bag again.

“You know, if you’re in that much of a hurry to leave, can I at least swing you by my farm? I’d hate for you to leave without seeing some of my stock,” he said with a kind smile.

I pursed my lips. On one hand, I really wanted to see what a twenty two year old possibly considered an actual farm, but on the other hand, I really did just want to leave.

Make up your mind already.

“I think I’ll pass this time. Who knows? Maybe I’ll come back one day and see your animals then,” I said scuffing the grass with my foot.

“It’ll only take ‘bout fifteen minutes to drive there and maybe twenty more to show you around, Sassy Posy. Then I can drop you off anywhere you’d like, give those pretty little feet a break for once,” he said, glancing up at me.

I put my hands on my hips and thought some more, but when Troy got to his feet and held out his arm to me, I just couldn’t say no to him.

After all, what was the worst that could happen?

“W
ake up, Posy,” a voice said gently. I felt someone giving me soft nudges, trying to rouse me from my sleep and I tried to open my eyes.

“Come on little lady. It’s your birthday and we have to celebrate!” the voice said a little louder this time. The nudging persisted, but what got me to snap my eyes open was the feeling of something licking my face.

I brought my hands up and pushed it away. The voice laughed and I used both of my hands to rub my face. Yawning I finally managed to crack my eyes open and saw myself looking at a black and white dog of some sort. I was pretty sure it was a Border Collie, but until the grogginess went away, I couldn’t really tell.

“Get out of her face, Scout,” the voice commanded. Two seconds later the dog’s face was gone from sight.

I closed my eyes again and groaned. I wasn’t sure what the hell happened but I had one hell of a headache. I felt a pair of gloved hands grip my arms and easily lift me to a seated position. I was propped up against a wall that felt like it was made of wood. My chin fell against my chest for a moment as I tried to regain some kind of memory of where the last two days had gone. Even through my haze, I knew the voice told me it was my birthday, but that meant that I had lost time for some reason.

“It can’t be,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I got a little carried away once I got you back here. Forgive me?” he asked, as he sat down next to me.

Yes. It was definitely a he, I was sure of it now by the size of the hands hidden inside of the rugged gloves he was wearing.

“What did you want to do today?” he asked, giving me a gentle, yet familiar nudge.

I closed my eyes tightly, rubbing my face again with my hands, and tried to pull my legs up but for some reason they were stuck. Confused I pulled on my legs again only to be met by resistance once more.

“What the fuck?” I mumbled.

“Sorry about those too, Posy. I told you I get carried away sometimes, but those have to stay on for now,” he said with a chuckle.

“Troy?” I asked groggily.

“I’d like to think so.”

“Where are we?”

“Technically? In a stall, surrounded by hay bales. Don’t you remember, Sassy Posy? I brought you to my farm. You said you wanted to see my animals before you left.”

“Why can’t I move my legs?”

“You can, just not very far. I had some old chains and irons lying around. I have to keep you here until tonight. That way I can give you your birthday present.”

“I don’t want it,” I said, forcing my eyes open. “I want to leave.”

Troy laughed and got to his feet. “You’re going to leave me, Posy. But not yet, not until tonight. Anyway, I’ve got some stuff to do around here. Want Scout to keep you company?”

Scout? The dog? You’ve got me chained up in a fucking horse stall and you’re offering your dog?!

I shook my head, slid back down onto the hay covered floor, and rolled onto my side. Troy stood over me for a few more seconds before he sighed and walked out of the stall, locking it securely behind him.

I knew this town was creepy. I should’ve just kept going.
I sighed as tears sprung to my eyes, but then I wondered if maybe he was just into role play or kinky sex? Maybe that was why he had told me he would let me leave tonight? He maybe just wanted to give me some birthday sex then let me go?

It made the most sense so I decided to let myself fall into the false hope that he was just some kinky, birthday sex having country boy, and
not
a crazy, potential serial killer that wanted to keep me locked in his stall until he was ready to put me up on a hook and flay me.

That scenario is a sure fire sign that you watch too many horror movies,
i thought as I felt my eyes starting to flutter.

I didn’t want to sleep. Not now, not ever, not until I knew for sure what it was that he was going to give me as a “birthday present”. I didn’t want to admit it but I was kind of scared. I mean, I was pretty sure it wasn’t anything I hadn’t already been through before, but I was still scared of the unknown.