Chapter Text
Her skates were beginning to feel constricting around her aching feet. Mackenzie had been at it for nearly 7 hours now, constantly rushing from table, to the kitchen, to another table. It was nearing midnight and her shift would be over soon; she couldn’t help but look forward to her bathtub and a nice glass of wine that was waiting for her at home. There weren’t many patrons in the diner at the time so she took advantage of the rest period. She leaned against the counter and rested her chin in her hands, letting her mind drift back into her memories.
He came home close to 3 a.m. She had been up all night in the October chill waiting for him, worried sick. “Luke, oh my God..” She whispered upon seeing his bruised and battered skin. “What the hell happened to you?” She reached out to cup his cheek, but he quickly pushed her hand away.
“I’m fine, Mackenzie. You need to go home.” Luke glared at her. His heart was beating faster than he could fathom. This was going to hurt him just as much, but he had to. It was the only way to keep her safe.
“Luke, what are you talking about?” Mackenzie couldn’t wrap her head around what was happening. He was bruised and beaten and needed her help, what was he trying to say?
“Mackenzie, you have to leave now.” Luke’s eyes turned dark and Mackenzie took a few steps back.
“What the fuck?! No Luke, I need to help you. You’re hurt. You need to be cleaned up.” She turned to get the first aid kit he kept by the front door.
This was it he thought. He took a deep before letting it all out.
“Mackenzie! I don’t fucking want your help! Why can’t you just listen to me?! Why won’t you leave me alone?!” Luke screamed, throwing his hands up in the air. He knew this was the only way. He couldn’t keep putting her through this. She deserved better. She needed someone better than him, someone who wouldn’t lie to her about the extent of his night every time he came home.
“What?! Luke! I love you asshole, and I hate seeing you hurt like this! Now, what the hell has gotten into you?! Why won’t you let me help you?” She screamed back, running a hand through her already tangled hair. Tears welled up in her eyes from frustration and fear of finding out what was happening to Luke.
“Well, I don’t love you! So why don’t you just leave me alone!” Luke screamed back. The air seemed to leave the room completely. Both of them were at a loss of breath. The tears that formed in her eyes were now freely streaming down her reddened cheeks. “I don’t want your help. I want you to leave and never come back.” Luke’s voice was quieter now. He was trying to keep himself from breaking down completely. Mackenzie covered her mouth to keep the sobs from echoing in the large foyer of Luke’s house. She picked up her shoes from the floor, trying to keep her emotions in and pushed past Luke. She ran out of the house and down to the sidewalk before letting her emotions get the best of her.
“Mackenzie?” Her boss, Anthony, asked approaching her. “Mackenzie!” He barked when she didn’t respond. She snapped out of her thoughts and turned to face him, tears starting to well up in her eyes again.
“Y-yes, Sir?” She stuttered, trying not to let her emotions show, wiping away at the tears in her eyes.
“There’s a table that needs you.” Anthony cocked his head toward a table of men in fitted suits. Mackenzie furrowed her eyebrows. The same group of 4 men had been in the diner at the same time the day before and days before that. She had seen them many times over the course of the last 4 months. She nodded and grabbed her notepad skating over to the table.
“Thank you for coming to Tony’s, can I start you off with some drinks?” She asked in her best retail voice.
“What time do you get off, sweetheart?” The man with the full beard asked in a sultry voice. Mackenzie pursed her lips and tried not to show her confusion.
“The sooner the better,” she mumbled softly. “What can I get you to drink?” She asked, shifting her weight from her left foot to her right.
“We’ll all just have water.” The bald man spoke, grinning up at Mackenzie. She nodded and skated to the kitchen where she filled 4 glasses with water and ice.
“It’s midnight, go home and get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow night.” Anthony said as he approached her, patting her back and taking her notepad. “Have a safe walk home.” He smiled as she removed her apron.
“Thanks, Anthony.” She forced a smile. “Deandra can take table number 8.” She said, looking over at the table that was now empty. The 4 men in suits were now gone. She shook her head and skated to the back where she kept her bag. She took her skates off and shoved them into her bag. She slipped on her Vans and slung her bag over her shoulder after sliding her jacket on. She pushed the door to the alley open and stepped out into the muggy New York night. One thing she didn’t love about New York was the weather in September. She began walking down the street toward her apartment building when her phone buzzed in her bra. She pulled it out and slid her finger across the screen to answer.
“Kenzie! Thank God, I’ve been trying to re-” Before she could finish, Mackenzie stopped her.
“Sarah, I had the flashback again. I haven’t seen him in two years, but I can’t stop thinking about him. What the hell does this mean?” Mackenzie sighed as she kept walking through the empty streets back to her shared apartment.
“Mackenzie, you need to listen to me. Something’s not right.” Sounding concerned. “I think something is going to happen.”
“What do you mean?” Mackenzie asked, looking around. She thought nothing of the black van that was driving down the street. Mackenzie stopped on the sidewalk and looked up at the moon. The van stopped next to her and the door was flung open. She turned toward the van and screamed as the same man with the beard from the diner got out and grabbed her waist.
“Keep it down, bitch. You’ll get us caught.” The man sneered as he slapped his hand over her mouth. She screamed against his hand and kicked her legs, trying to get free. The man shoved her into the back of the van, her bag slipping off her shoulder and onto the street. Her hands were pinned to the floor as another man closed the door.
“Help! Someone help me!” Mackenzie screamed, kicking her legs at the man. The back of the man’s hand came down and connected with her cheek.
“Shut the fuck up.” The man rolled his eyes. “Romeo, drive!” The van began to move as Romeo, the bald one, began driving, and Mackenzie’s breathing sped up.
“What do you want from me?” She begged, looking up at the man.
“You don’t get to ask questions, bitch.” The man scowled at her and grabbed the duct tape. He ripped off a piece and slapped it over her mouth. He gripped her elbows and flipped her onto her stomach. He pulled her arms behind her back and tightened a zip tie around her wrists. She whimpered at the tightness and struggled to move her feet beneath him. She pulled one of her feet free and kicked the man in the throat.
“Al, get the fucking girl!” Romeo yelled from the front of the van. “Keep her still.” Al rolled his eyes and gripped Mackenzie’s ankles. ”What do you think I’m doing, asshole?” She was crying by now. She was terrified. She whimpered against the tape as Al secured the zip tie around her ankles. “We’re here. Get the girl to the boiler room.” Romeo demanded.
“Can’t we have a little fun with her first?” Al smirked and rolled her onto her back. She winced as her body weight was splayed on her hands. Al ran his fingers along her jaw. “She really is very pretty. I bet she’s got a good little mouth.” Mackenzie looked up at Al, fear evident in her eyes. “Aw, the wittle girl is scared.”
“Al, don’t touch her. We need to leave her pure or else Luke won’t want her. We need him to want her so we can win this,” Mackenzie’s eyes widened at the mentioned at the name Luke. Was it her Luke they were talking about? She hadn’t spoken to him since the night he kicked her out, the night he completely shattered her heart. She didn’t want to see him, or talk to him, ever again after that night. She wanted to forget him. Forget everything he put her through after he broke up with her.
“Look at her. She better get ready to tell us anything we need to know.” Al chuckled, tying a blindfold over her eyes before gripping Mackenzie’s ankles, dragging her out of the van. She screamed as her head hit the concrete beneath her.
“Hey, dipshit, we’re not trying to kill her.” Romeo smacked the back of Al’s head. “Carry her inside and take her to the boiler room,” Romeo instructed. “You can take the tape and blindfold off her when we get her in. She needs to be able to talk to answer our questions.” Al nodded and picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder. He brought her inside and to the boiler room, just like Romeo had told him to. He set her up in a chair and grabbed a rope, tying her upper body to the chair. He gripped the end of the tape and ripped it off her mouth before untying the blindfold.
“Let me go!” Mackenzie screamed wiggling herself in her chair.
“Where is Luke?” Al asked, pulling a pocketknife from his pocket, pointing it to her threatenly.
“I don’t know! I haven’t seen or spoken to Luke in two years.” She explained, keeping her eyes on his knife. “Please, just let me go. I don’t know anything!”
“Not until you tell us where Luke is, bitch. If you tell us where he is, we won’t hurt you.” Al reasoned as he twirled the knife in his fingers. “That bad,” he added with a twisted smile.
“I’m telling you the truth. I don’t know where Luke is. I haven’t seen him since he left me two years ago.” Mackenzie sniffed. “I can’t help you. He doesn’t want me anymore.”
“You’re lying, bitch. You know exactly where he is!” Al yelled, slicing her collarbone with his knife. Mackenzie let out a scream and tilted her head back, praying that someone would save her.
“Fuck, I don’t know where he is!” She cried, tears soaking her skin. “Please. Let me go.” She begged and looked up at Al. He smirked and took out his phone.
“Let’s send Lukey a little video, shall we?” Al smirked and the door to the boiler room creaked open.
“Is she talking yet?” Romeo asked, walking over.
“Nope, she claims she hasn’t spoken to him in years but I don’t believe a word the bitch is saying.” Al looked up at Romeo and twirled his knife between his fingers. “I have an idea. I think I want to send a video of her to our friend Luke, see what he thinks of his little girlfriend not co-operating with us.”
“Mm, that’ll for sure get his attention, maybe then she’ll talk,” Romeo smirked. “Get the tape back on her mouth. I don’t want her telling him where she is, or doing anything that he will understand.”
“I don’t know where I am! I don’t know what’s going on! Please! Let me go! I can’t help you” Mackenzie screamed. Al’s palm connected with her cheek and she let out a sharp gasp.
“Shut up, bitch.” Al rolled his eyes and slapped the tape back on her mouth. “Fucking ridiculous.” He gave Romeo his phone and bent over to be eye level with Mackenzie. “You’ll never get out of here alive.”
“Hey, fatass, you wanna cut the shit and let me get a video,” Romeo demanded, pulling Al by his collar. Romeo aimed the phone’s camera at Mackenzie and she tried to steady her breathing.
The more I freak, she thinks, the more pressure is placed on my anyone who sees this.
“Give her a matching wound on the other collarbone,” Romeo smirked at Al. Al walked back over to Mackenzie and pulled out his knife.
“This is going to hurt.” He smirked and dragged the knife across her skin as Romeo recorded. Mackenzie screamed against the tape, tears rolling down her cheeks. She cried and closed her eyes, trying to think of something to keep her mind off the pain.
***
Drinks after drinks were being handed to Luke at the bar across the city. All he could think about was what drink would be given to him next and who he would be taking home tonight to temporarily dissolve his loneliness for the night. The blonde girl at the end of the bar seemed to be very interested in him. She would have to do for tonight. He downed his glass of scotch and pulled his phone out of his pocket. New Video Message from Unknown Sender. He furrowed his eyebrows and opened the message, playing the video. The second he saw Mackenzie sitting there, tied up in a chair and being cut into by some creep, his stomach dropped; he suddenly felt completely sober. “Fuck.” He gulped and ran to the other end of the club. He shoved a some club goers aside as he ran to a table where his friends were sitting. “Ashton! We need to leave now!” Luke yelled over the music. “We have some trouble to take care of,” trying to get his friend’s attention away from the girls in revealing outfits who were pressed up to him.
“Who? Trouble, hm that's our middle name.” Ashton giggled, clearly a little more intoxicated than any of them intended to be that night. Luke shoved his phone into Ashton’s hand and played the video. “Oh, my God. They have Mackenzie.” Ashton looked at Luke, eyes going dark as he sobered up right away.