Ride or die, Page 8

  “Sure thing! I’ll grab your water and I’ll be back in a second to clear off that table.”

  The blonde waitress skipped away. Kanika waited until she was out of sight, then she hungrily attacked the food left behind by the previous customer. She rammed the food into her mouth, using the fork and her free hand.

  Just as she was about to finish, she looked up from the plate. Her eyes landed right on a man sitting with his wife at the next table. Kanika was embarrassed. She looked over at the wife, who was trying not to make eye contact. Kanika pushed the plate away and wiped her face with a used napkin. Even she was grossed out by what she had done.

  The server came over and plopped the glass of ice water on the table. Kanika grabbed it and gulped it back. The coldness trickling down the back of her throat felt good. The waitress stood waiting, her pen and pad in hand.

  “Are we ready to order?” she finally said.

  Kanika removed the glass from her lips. “Umm, I’m not hungry right now.”

  “Well you can’t stay if you don’t order.” The server’s tone changed. “Finish your water and beat it.” She stuck her pad in her pocket and walked away.

  The man got up from the next table and went to the counter to pay. From the corner of her eye, Kanika could see the wife staring at her. She kept glancing toward her husband to make sure he wasn’t looking back.

  “Here,” the woman finally whispered. She held out a twenty-dollar bill to Kanika.

  Kanika reached out and snatched the bill from the woman’s hand.

  “Buy yourself a real meal,” the woman said.

  “Thank you,” Kanika said.

  “Where you headed?”

  “Nova Scotia.”

  “Alone?” The woman was still glancing up at the counter.

  “Yeah.”

  “You got people there?”

  “Yeah. I got nobody here.”

  “Ready, dear?” the man said as he came back to the table. He smiled.

  The woman got up from her chair. Her husband helped her with her coat.

  “I want to beat that crazy 401 traffic,” he continued.

  “Too late for that.” His wife smiled.

  The man started to walk toward the door.

  “Wait.” His wife called him back. “She’s going to Nova Scotia,” she said, looking at Kanika.

  “So?” He shrugged.

  “We can give her a ride.”

  “Are you crazy? We’re not going that far.”

  “We’re going to New Brunswick. That will get her most of the way.”

  Kanika stared at her hands while the couple argued. She was uncomfortable being the cause of their quarrel.

  Finally the man let out a big sigh.

  “You want a ride, honey?” the woman asked.

  Kanika nodded. She tried not to show how close she was to crying.

  “I am Ella and this is my husband, Tom. We’re only going to Moncton. Maybe you can give your family a call to see if someone can meet you there?”

  Those words stole the air from Kanika’s throat. Picking up a phone and calling her aunt seemed like a dream to her. She was on her way home.

  “Don’t worry, everything will be just fine,” said Ella. She smiled warmly. Kanika felt as if the woman could see all of her problems. “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Kanika.”

  Kanika followed the couple out the door. She was exhausted. She wanted to stretch out across the back seat and sleep. But Ella talked their heads off for about three hours. Tom seemed used to it. Kanika finally dozed off. When she woke, Tom was pulling into a McDonald’s.

  “It’s lunchtime,” he announced. As they exited the car and stretched their legs, Tom whispered to Kanika. “Sorry, I should have warned you about how much she talks.”

  They both laughed.

  Kanika hoped Tom knew how grateful she was for his and Ella’s help. She thought about telling them how she ended up in Ontario. But she wasn’t sure she could trust them. Even though she was driving hundreds of miles with them, they were still strangers. And Kanika was ashamed to expose her secrets.

  As they chowed down on burgers and fries, Ella pulled out her cellphone. She handed it to Kanika.

  “Here,” she said. “Call your family.”

  Kanika’s hand shook as the phone slid into her palm. She wondered if Aunt Becky would be mad. Maybe she thought Kanika had just run away. Maybe Aunt Becky would hang up as soon as she heard Kanika’s voice on the line. How could she explain it to Tom and Ella?

  Kanika slowly punched in the numbers. She held the phone close to her ear. She held her breath as the phone rang.

  “Hello?” Aunt Becky’s voice sounded weary.

  “Aunt Becky?”

  “Who is this?”

  “It’s me.”

  “Kanika? Is that you?”

  “It’s me.” There was silence on the other end of the line. Was Aunt Becky about to hang up? Kanika waited. Still nothing. “Aunt Becky?”

  “I’m here,” she said at last. Kanika could tell she was crying.

  “I’m coming home.”

  “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick. I thought you were dead.”

  Kanika looked up to see Tom and Ella staring silently.

  “I can’t explain on the phone. Can you meet me in New Brunswick?”

  “New Brunswick?”

  “Yes. I’m in . . .” Kanika pulled the phone away from her ear. “Where are we?” she asked Tom.

  “Quebec.”

  “I’m in Quebec right now,” she said into the phone.

  “Tell them we will be in Moncton in about ten hours,” Ella jumped in.

  Before hanging up, Aunt Becky asked Kanika why she had run away. Kanika ignored her question and brought the conversation back to the meeting spot. Aunt Becky pleaded with Kanika and made her promise they would have a long talk when Kanika was home. Kanika agreed. Anything to be back in her own room and bed again.

  Chapter 21

  The Rescue

  Kanika sat up all night telling Aunt Becky about her ordeal. She told about Crystal, and how they were driven to Ontario by two thugs. She wasn’t ready to talk about what happened with the men who paid to have sex with her. But she told about Panama and Dragon and Ru. She talked until her mouth was dry.

  Aunt Becky grew more and more upset as Kanika told her about Dragon and the girls in the house.

  “It’s time for battle,” Aunt Becky said.

  Those were the last words Kanika heard before she dozed off to sleep.

  The next day, Kanika woke to the smell of breakfast. She didn’t want to leave her bed, but she was hungry. When she entered the kitchen, Aunt Becky motioned for her to sit down.

  “I’m making your favourite,” Aunt Becky said.

  As they sat and ate, Aunt Becky spoke, “I never stopped looking for you, Kanika. I figured you took off because you were angry with me. Because I didn’t like that boy you were hanging out with. I felt guilty. I thought I had been too hard on you.”

  “You were kinda hard on me, Aunt Becky.”

  “Only because I wanted to keep you on the right track.”

  “Guess that didn’t work.”

  “This wasn’t your fault, Kanika. But I can tell you, when I heard your voice on the other end of the line, I almost passed out. I called the rental place right away and guess what?”

  “What?”

  “The wheels of that rental car didn’t touch the ground until I pulled into that train station in Moncton.”

  Kanika laughed.

  “My heart kept beating fast. I kept saying, ‘please don’t let this be a joke.’”

  Kanika replied, “I was so happy to see you standing there when I stepped out of Tom and Ella’s car. It just didn’t seem
real.”

  “You are one brave cookie, Kanika Grace Adams.” Aunt Becky leaned in and kissed Kanika’s forehead.

  “Now we have to get Panama out,” said Kanika. She wouldn’t feel right until Panama was home, too.

  “Her parents and I are already on it. We spoke this morning.”

  “So what’s the plan?”

  “Well, this is where you come in. The police here and in Ontario will help find her and bring her back. But you are the key to making that happen. So, the police want to come and talk with you today. How do you feel about that?”

  “Anything to help Panama. I owe her that.”

  Within a few weeks, Kanika found herself back in Ontario. This time, her aunt and Panama’s parents were with her. The four of them were in room one hundred and fifteen of the Westside Hotel outside Scarborough. Crammed in with them was an Ontario Provincial Police detective and several officers. Kanika had told them how to find Panama. She had told them what they needed to know to help the other girls trapped under Dragon’s cruel thumb. Kanika sat in a chair in the corner, trying to be invisible.

  Being back in Ontario just a few short months after struggling to make her way home gave Kanika a really sick feeling. All she wanted was for Panama to get away from Dragon and be safe. Maybe Kanika and Panama could be close again. Panama’s parents insisted that Kanika be there to help them bring Panama home. Kanika had told them that Panama’s wish was to make Dragon happy and that she was afraid to leave him. That Panama had had the chance to escape with Kanika but refused. With Kanika close, they believed she could help convince Panama to come home.

  The plan was to have a police officer act as a trick wanting a night with an Asian girl. Dawn set up the date for him to meet with Panama, not knowing that she was talking to an undercover. The detective set up shop in the room next to where Panama was to meet her trick.

  Through the speaker, Kanika and Panama’s parents could hear everything as it happened. Everyone was silent as Panama knocked on the hotel rooom door.

  “Come in,” said the undercover police officer.

  “Hi.” Panama’s voice was soft as she stepped inside.

  “Is your pimp outside waiting?”

  “Yes.”

  “What . . . um . . . what can I get for two-hundred dollars?”

  “One hour, whatever you want. But no anal.” Kanika shot a look at Panama’s parents. Her father seemed to be in shock by what his daughter was saying.

  “Okay. Here’s the money. I’m just putting it in your hand, okay?”

  “Okay, move in on the perp downstairs. Now!” Kanika heard a detective shout through his walkie. “Carson and Craig, get in there, now! Take the father with you.”

  Kanika heard Panama scream as the officers barged into the room.

  “Who the hell are you guys? What is this?” she yelled.

  Kanika heard a scuffle.

  “Get off of me, you assholes!” Panama screeched.

  “Panama, they won’t hurt you! It’s me, Dad!”

  Everything grew deathly silent in the hotel room. Over the walkie, Kanika could tell that they had Dragon in handcuffs in the back of an unmarked car.

  Kanika could barely believe it. Was Dragon finally going to jail? She wondered if the back of a car, or jail for that matter, could really contain him.

  “Kanika?” Panama and her father entered the room with the two officers. Panama hugged her mother then ran to Kanika.

  “You’re alive! I thought Dragon caught you and got rid of you.” Panama hugged Kanika tight.

  Kanika suddenly felt a hint of resentment. Panama wouldn’t escape with her. She left Kanika to do it all alone. Now Kanika helped Panama get rescued. As happy as she was to see her friend, Kanika wished they could have found their freedom together.

  “I thought about you every day since you left, Kanika. You were so brave. I will never be as brave as you.”

  “Did Dragon come looking for me?” Kanika asked.

  “Yes. He sent people to Guysborough. But after a while he just stopped. I’m not sure why.”

  * * *

  Back in Guysborough, Kanika spent a lot of time at Panama’s house. Panama was having a hard time being back. She often called Kanika to come over to talk through what she was feeling. She told Kanika that she still didn’t feel as if she could talk to her parents. They didn’t know how to help her and couldn’t figure it out. But Kanika understood Panama and Panama understood Kanika.

  They sat around talking about what they went through in Ontario and how their friendship had changed. Each time, they felt like another brick had been chipped away from the walls they’d built around themselves.

  Chapter 22

  Normal

  Kanika thought of her parents often. She thought about Ru all the time. One day as she made her way to Panama’s house to visit, a tear formed in the corner of her eye. She felt she played a part in Ru’s death. But she hadn’t been able to share that pain with anybody. By the time Kanika got to Panama’s house, she was fully in tears. She told Panama everything about Ru’s death. She told her about what she had found out about her parents.

  “I’ve been thinking about what you said,” Panama told her. “You know, about wanting to move to the city?”

  “Yeah,” Kanika replied.

  “Were you serious? I mean . . . do you want to leave Guysborough?”

  “Oh, really, really badly.”

  “Let’s do it!”

  “Okay.”

  The girls hugged as Kanika headed out the door to go home. It was getting close to suppertime. Kanika was in the mood for the pork chops she’d seen thawing on the counter earlier in the day. She walked in to the smell of pork cooked in mushroom sauce with garlic mashed potatoes.

  Aunt Becky watched Kanika eat.

  “Please stop staring,” Kanika finally said.

  “I’m sorry, Kanika. I’m still worried about you. You won’t really talk about what happened. I’ve been telling you that I’m here for you. But you won’t let me help.”

  “Here we go again.”

  “I mean, they said I should give you time. But this has been too much time.”

  “Aunt Becky, I’m moving out,” Kanika announced.

  “What? Where did that come from?”

  “Panama and I have been planning it a while. It’s time for us to get out of Guysborough.”

  “Leave Guysborough? Kanika, are you sure you’re ready for that? You’re only sixteen. Where do you plan to go?”

  “Halifax. There’s nothing here for us. It’s like a trap. We want to get an apartment in the city, find jobs and get some freedom.”

  “I give you lots of freedom.”

  “Yes, for a ten-year-old. I’m not a kid anymore, Aunt Becky. I stopped being a kid when I stepped into that car with Danny.”

  Kanika couldn’t face the confusion in Aunt Becky’s face. She knew she was letting her aunt down. But her aunt had let her down as well.

  “I saw the article,” Kanika said.

  “What article?”

  “My mother was a sex worker. My dad was her pimp.”

  “Oh, Kanika. I’m so sorry about that.”

  “Why didn’t you just tell me? I had to read about it in that article in the garage.”

  “I was trying to protect you. Waiting for the right time.”

  “But I had so many questions. You had the answers.”

  “I didn’t know how to tell you. I was only thinking of you.”

  Kanika knew in her heart that her aunt wanted the best for her. Aunt Becky had proved that when she hopped in a car and drove all the way to Moncton to pick her up. And when she helped to bring Panama home.

  “I didn’t want you to end up like her,” Aunt Becky explained. “Your mother got caught up. Just like you. I did everything to help her
get out, but she didn’t want to come home. She was my little sister and I tried to protect her. But she was in love with Fred and no one could tell her anything.”

  “My mom wasn’t forced into it?”

  “No. That’s how they made their money.”

  “But why did she want to do that? And why did he let her?”

  “Your mother fell in love with a pimp. That life was all he knew and she didn’t care. I think she loved the thrill of the game.”

  Kanika thought of Ru. She thought she finally understood her mom and Aunt Becky.

  “Please let it go, Aunt Becky. Don’t judge my mother anymore. She wasn’t any less of a good woman than you are. She had a heart and feelings.”

  Kanika could tell that Aunt Becky was shocked. But then she sighed. “You are right, Kanika. And I think that was my biggest mistake. Your mother was truly a beautiful person with a good heart. But all I could see was how she made her living.”

  “Everybody judges.”

  “That’s why I don’t want you to go, Kanika. I lost you once. And I don’t want anything to happen to you again. This is your home and you belong here.”

  “Aunt Becky, Panama and I don’t belong here anymore. You can pretend it’s not true if you want to. But you can see it. People stare at us. We know they talk about us all the time. I thought it would stop at some point. But we’ve been back a long while and nothing has changed. I’m tired of feeling dirty. I’m tired of stupid questions from old women from the church who see me at the store. They treat me like I’m the devil.”

  “You have to ignore them.”

  “Even if I ignore them, how do I get the nightmares out of my head? This is where I was taken from. I feel like any day Dragon will show up and drag me back to Ontario. Do you know how scary that feels?”

  “Kanika, Dragon won’t be coming back to Guysborough for you.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Aunt Becky began to tear up again. She dropped her fork onto the plate and placed her half-eaten food on the counter before she left the kitchen. Kanika heard her aunt’s bedroom door slam.

  Kanika finished her supper and left the house. A walk along the lonely gravel road to Panama’s house was just what she needed.