Lynn turned the corner on the busy street and dodged the foot traffic of the afternoon. She was headed for the subway station. It would be out of the rain and cold of early October in New York. She had managed to scrape together enough for today's fare. It would give her a chance to warm up, as much as her bare legs and almost bare feet, wet sundress and hoodie would let her. As she scuttled down the sidewalk, she kept an eye out to keep out of others' way. She looked at the cars parked at the street and noticed one she recognized. A beat up old Pathfinder, the old kind before stow and go seats, where the back seat only folded down. The stickers one of her ex-boyfriends had put on the windows were still there. They had split up about a year ago, but stayed friends. She had helped her ex sell the suv six months ago. She noticed there were three parking tickets on the windshield and a boot on the front wheel. She could also see several of her things still in the back seat. Her fairy blanket that had been stowed in the cargo bag, the most noticeable.
"Jerk must have abandoned it." she thought. She cautiously approached the driver's side door on the street, watching for both people and cars. Her ex had added keyless entry, but it looked unlocked. She tried the door. It popped open easily. Oops. She climbed up into the SUV on all fours to check the glovebox for the keys. It was locked. She was pulling back onto her knees when a hand grasped her calf and she yelped.
"Hey, what the fuck?" a man's voice yelled. Her first reaction was to kick back to get her leg free. There was an oomph as her flip-flop clad foot made connection. She scrambled to the passenger seat to try to escape onto the sidewalk. As she went to reach for the handle, the locks activated, and when she pulled on the handle, nothing happened. Then she remembered that you had to unlock the doors to open it from the inside OR out, unless you just turned off the ignition. She felt the SUV rock as 'he' climbed into the Pathfinder and slammed the door.
"Lookie what I caught." his southern drawl got her full attention. It had to be the guy they sold it to, Billy. She curled as close to the passenger door as she could and turned her head to look at him. She knew the hem of her dress had ridden up, and it was apparent she had on no undergarments. One of her flip-flops had fallen to the floor on the driver's side while she had tried to escape.
"Well, I'll be damned. It's the lyin' fuckin' whore who sold me this heap o' junk." He swore. Lynn shook her head, afraid to actually speak.
"Oh, yeah, still lyin', I see. What you need is a punishin'." he said, reaching for her.
"Wait, look, mister. I'm sorry for whatever you think I lied about." Lynn shook her head, her soaked dark auburn hair looking darker in the dimness of the suv. Droplets fell from the shoulder length hair.
"I don't think, I know. This damn thing won't run right, and overheats any length of time. I call bullshit. You said it runs fine. I want my money back. That damn skeez never would return my calls, then changed his fuckin' number." He grabbed her bag and pulled on it. The already weakened fabric gave at the seam, and he had her life in his hands. All she had in the oversized purse was her ID, her change for the subway, and a couple sanitary pads, although, they were probably ruined due to the rain from the last two days. He opened the bag and reached in, hearing the change jingle. He pulled out the pads and tossed them into the backseat. He reached in again and pulled out her ID and a one dollar bill. Billy tossed the ID into the backseat, and stuck the one between his teeth as he reached back into the bag. Lynn went after her ID, that was $25 to get replaced. And most of the time, you had to have proof of address, which she did not at this time have. They mailed them to you.
He ignored her, there weren't any doors in the backseat, so she wasn't going anywhere. He kept digging in her purse, tossing a pack of gum, throwing away bits of trash and crap, and when the broken purse was empty, he tossed into the passenger seat floor.
"Five fuckin' dollars? That's all you have? No cards, no shit? Not even any god-damned makeup?" He turned to yell at her. Lynn had snatched up her ID and scooted further back into the trunk space. The windows were tinted limo black, she was hoping he couldn't see her well. There was an internal latch to open the back hatch. He narrowed his eyes at her as she started digging in the blankets to reach for it. He grabbed hold of her ankle and yanked her towards him. Lynn yelped again.
"Oh, no you don't. I'm gonna take that thousand outta your hide, bitch." Billy then started to climb into the back with her. Lynn started crying, seeing her miserable life of twenty years flashing in the back of her mind. First her dad walking out on her and her mother when she was fourteen, then her mom dropping her off at her grandmas' at sixteen, to never return or hear from again. Boyfriend after boyfriend letting her crash at their place after her grandma died two years ago, most of them druggies and abusive. It was a wonder she had kept clean all this time. Lynn pulled her blanket over her as he got closer. It smelled musky, a scent she didn't recognize.
"You think that's gonna help you? Think again." he sneered as he pulled on the blanket. Lynn heard the fabric starting to give and released it, not wanting it to tear like her purse did.