Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been

I was really drawn into the story and was held captive from the time Arnold Friend and his buddy Ellie showed up to Connie's house in his car.  The conversation between Arnold and Connie started off like a flirtation but I soon realized he was some type of lunatic or stalker when on page 329 Arnold states, "Connie, you ain't telling the truth.  This is your day set aside for a ride with me and you know it."  With them being out in the country in the middle of nowhere, I could see the scene being set up for some type of tragedy taking place.  As I read, I became ever on edge of my seat until I got to the end of the story.  Once I got to the end I about fell off my seat when I felt it came to an abrupt end.  I hated the ending.  We are left to imagine our own ending.  I felt as though she went willingly in the car so they would not hurt her family and once they left I imagined they brought her out to some desolate place and raped and murdered her.  I was so disappointed in the ending that I went online to see how the movie ending happened and it ended the same way, abruptly.  So, when all said and done, I felt this was a classic thriller of a story until the end, and then I wanted to have a word with Joyce Carol Oates (The Author of this story) and tell her she forgot to write an ending!!!!  Unfortunately the ending destroyed the story for me.