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“You’re even dumber than you look,” the taller man said, “if you think you’re getting out of here alive.”
I ignored him and continued to pull against the restraints.
“Does he know what you did?” the other man asked Charlotte.
She shook her head, dropping her gaze to the floor.
He laughed once. “Well, then. Let’s fill the boy in, shall we?” He leaned against the stainless steel countertop in the middle of the kitchen and crossed his arms over his chest, wearing a smug expression.
Charlotte didn’t argue with him. She thinks we’re going to die. She’s giving up. I was curious about what she’d been keeping from me all this time, but these were not the circumstances I wanted her to tell me under. “You do not have to tell me anything. I don’t care what you did. I love you, and you don’t owe me any explanation.”
Charlotte took an uneven breath before lifting her eyes to mine. “No. You deserve to know the truth.”
Quiet descended upon the room while we waited for Charlotte to continue.
“My father owed them money,” she began. “He got involved with gambling, and lost a lot of money. They bailed him out, so he owed them. One night when we were closing the old bakery in Florida, John and Tommy showed up looking for the money.” She took another breath as she retrieved the memories from that night. “Tommy broke my wrist, and told Dad that he would be back in a couple days to collect the money he owed them.”
Another puzzle piece snapped into place. Tommy had broken her wrist. I will beat his ass first.
“I knew Dad wouldn’t be able to get that kind of money. So, I decided to burn down the bakery. I figured we could disappear before John knew we were gone, and we could collect the insurance money from the fire. We could start over somewhere new.” Charlotte’s shoulders shook as she cried, her eyes now far away. “Dad couldn’t bring himself to burn down my mother’s bakery. It was all we had left of her. So, I had to do it. I doused the kitchen in gasoline. That’s when John showed up.” Charlotte wept even harder.
“Go ahead,” John urged. “Finish the fucking story.”
“He stepped into the kitchen, but he slipped on the wet floor. His head hit, and he was knocked unconscious. I … I left him there, on the floor. I stepped around his body and set the bakery on fire … with him inside it.” Her eyes implored me to understand. “It was the only way. It was the only way we could get away from them!”
“Your sweet little girlfriend isn’t so sweet. She left me there to die!” John exclaimed.
Now, it all made sense. The puzzle was finally complete. Charlotte thought she’d killed John. The guilt must’ve been eating away at her. No wonder she was having panic attacks and carrying a loaded gun. She didn’t want to tell me because she thought I wouldn’t be able to forgive such a crime.
I shook my head. “You almost killed him. I’m so disappointed.”
Charlotte’s face crumpled.
“I’m disappointed that you didn’t succeed in killing this piece of shit when you had the chance.” I swung my head to look at John. “She might have failed, but I can promise you that I won’t.”
“I don’t see you getting out of your chair to come and get me,” John said, snickering. He nodded at Tommy.
Tommy bent down for the gasoline tank sitting at his feet.
I fought to break loose, my wrists and ankles raw from the plastic digging into my skin. We didn’t have much time.
“Please, Tommy!” Charlotte wailed as Tommy dumped gasoline in a circle around our chairs. “Please let Tanner go! Please!”
Tommy smirked and doused Charlotte with the foul-smelling fuel. I fought so hard to break the zip ties that I thought my shoulders were going to pop right out of their sockets. Tommy turned around to dump gasoline on me next. I did the only other thing I could think of, and rammed my head into his midsection while I pushed myself upward with the chair still attached to me. He was caught off guard, and fell backwards.
John charged toward me, but Charlotte mimicked what I had done and knocked into him as he passed her. He shoved her backwards with one hand, sending her tumbling. I continued to yank on the zip ties, ignoring the fatigued feeling in my muscles. Defeat was creeping into the place where my hope once was. How could I get Charlotte out of here if I couldn’t get myself out of this fucking chair?
Tommy and John were both on their feet, but Charlotte wasn’t moving.
“Get the car started,” John instructed. “I’m going to light this place up.”
Tommy walked out, and John lifted his hand in front of his face to reveal a lighter, the flame dancing. The light illuminated his distorted face, and a triumphant grin spread wide. He tossed the lighter onto the floor, and the fire roared instantly.
“Uh, John,” Tommy called from the door. “We have a problem.”
John and I turned our heads in unison to find Tommy walking back into the bakery, his hands raised up to his ears. Behind him stood Charlotte’s father, pressing a gun to the back of Tommy’s skull. A tsunami of hope rushed over me.
“Hey, Frankie boy. Nice of you to join us,” John said, sounding unfazed. “Now, you and your daughter can burn together.”
