Holiday Hostage

Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

I 'm sitting in the living room waiting for them to be ready to drive me back into Harmony. My heart is breaking knowing this is goodbye forever. I don't want it to be that way. I want to stay here more than anything. It's not even just for the sex either.

I feel comfortable here in a way I've never felt before. Before I know it, tears stream down my face, and I'm trying to hide it from Eli sitting beside me on the couch. Unfortunately, the way my body shakes when I cry makes it impossible to hide.

“What's wrong?” Eli asks, pulling me into his arms for a hug.

“I don't want to leave. I want to stay here with you guys. I promise I can pull my own weight. I won't be just a liability,” I cry out, looking around at Koda and Bryce as they walk into the room and watch me.

“This is a good thing. You're going back home, and you’re going to save your bakery,” Bryce says, kneeling on the floor in front of me. “You'll be much more comfortable going back and living a normal life than you would be staying here with us.”

Koda sits beside me and grabs my shoulder with his hand, squeezing it gently while he looks at me. “It might seem like we live a calm life here, with the exception of the occasional bank robbery. But that's not true. Living a life here with us would mean living a life on the run. You would never know the comforts of a normal life ever again.”

“As much as we like having you around, we can't subject you to that,” Eli says, finishing the thought for all three of them. “You're better off at the bakery where you'll be safe, and you can build a life for yourself.”

I can see all of them have made up their minds. There isn't a doubt in my mind that they want me to stay. I can see it in their eyes; they’ll miss me when I'm gone. I just wish it didn't have to be this way.

I nod to let them know I understand, reluctantly standing and following them to the car. It feels like years ago that I was being tossed into the back seat of one of their trucks and being crushed by Bryce's body. What I wouldn't give to go through it all over again, living this past week infinitely in limbo away from the stress of the outside world.

We drive back into Harmony, and the closer we get to the bakery, the more my stomach swirls with nerves. Returning to this town only reminds me of all the awful things I've had to endure. I think of Mr. Jenkins at the bank and how he rejected me for the loan I needed to keep a small business that had become a staple of this community afloat. I think of living a life here all alone without Grammy by my side. I think of the emptiness I'm going to feel after this car drives away, leaving me standing in front of the bakery I don't even want.

As soon as we stop outside of Sweet Treats and Savory Eats, I stare at the wooden sign hanging over the door with heaviness in my chest. The three of them watch me, waiting for me to get out of the car and unlock the door, stepping back into the life I was saddled with.

Tears stream down my face once again, and before I know it, diarrhea of the mouth spews all over the car.

“I can't do this! I can't go back here. I never wanted this. I never wanted to be a baker. I can't even bake. The last time I tried, I almost burned down the entire building, which might have even been better because I could have taken the insurance money and ran—” I spew out before Bryce grabs my shoulders and forces me to look him in the eye. I stare into those blue eyes that immediately pulled me in when I saw them in the bank and feel my nerves calm.

“We've been over this, princess. You have to go back,” Bryce says, pleading with me for my own good. “This is what you wanted, anyway. You have the money to fix things now.”

I shake my head quickly, looking at them with an intense expression on my face, feeling the need to stress to them how important this is. I take a deep breath, forcing myself to admit what I'm feeling. It's even hard for me to admit to myself. “I never wanted this. This wasn't my dream. All it is is a way to make my grammy happy, and she's not even here to see it. I've always wanted to be a designer, but I've never had the chance, and I don't think I can go back here knowing that. I lied to Grammy, I lied to myself, and I lied to all three of you.”

They look at each other, confused as to what I've been lying about. I look down at my hands, nervously wringing them in front of me. I don't know how they’ll react to hearing this, but it needs to happen. They need to know the truth if they're about to cut me loose, never to hear from me again.

“When I told all of you I was on birth control, I lied.” I look at them, staring into each and every one of their eyes while I try to gauge their reactions.

They all look surprised at the news, clearly taken aback by the sudden change. I'm sure when they thought sleeping with me was consequent-free, it was much more exciting. But now, a lot of possibilities hang in the air between us. The three of them look at each other, once again having some sort of silent communication while they figure out what to do among each other.

“Is this what you really want?” Koda asks me, cocking an eyebrow at me as he turns to look me directly in the eye from the driver’s seat. “There's no going back after this. We don't know where we'll be in six months or even a year.”

“I want this,” I say, nodding my head fervently while I grip my pants tightly from the anticipation.

Koda nods and puts the car in drive, pulling away from the bakery. I'm so relieved I feel like I could cry. In fact, tears do drip out of the corners of my eyes.

Eli turns around from the passenger seat in front of me and offers me a warm smile. “If you really want to stay with us, we'd be happy to have you. We love you, and we want to stay with you too.”

“We want to stay with you forever,” Bryce adds, smirking at me with a familiar glint in his eyes.

I look over my shoulder as the bakery fades into the distance with the rest of Harmony. If I never see this town again, it will be too soon. There's a life I'm leaving behind here, and I'm perfectly content with starting over fresh in a small cabin in the woods, surrounded by three bank robbers on the run. That would have been a nightmare a week ago, but now it's a dream come true.