Picking Up the Pieces

Paige

I stumbled into the door of Tom’s house my heart pounding in my chest. We weren’t nearly done yet. Olivia grabbed my arm and helped me into a chair.

“You’ve got this, Paige,” she whispered. “You got them in the van, and now they’re here.”

I laughed breathlessly. At least the women in my van had seemed to calm down once the men were out of sight.

Sera stepped in with a few of the women. “Where do we want them? The rest of my friends are on the way.”

I swallowed. “Den, for now.”

The next hour passed in a blur. The women poured into the den, then out of it for showers. Sera’s little kidnapping goodie bags ended up being really helpful for keeping track of things. I passed around a couple permanent markers and watched the women scribble their names on every single item in the bags just for the thrill of doing it, of having a name you could call yourself again. My throat grew thick as I watched one woman, Andi, who told me later in a whisper that she had been pregnant when they took