The bar was loud, and she'd had a lot to drink. An awful lot more than she was planning to, in fact. She'd had a terrible week, everything that could have gone wrong seemed to go wrong, so she thought she'd treat herself to one drink in here, the fanciest bar in town. It didn't matter that none of her so-called friends could come, she had come on her own. She'd dressed up in her very best: a tight, black dress hugging her curves, and her nicest heels. Her black hair hung in loose curls, tumbling down to her shoulders around her pale and boldly made-up face. Obviously, her look had caught the attention of more than a few guys, but none could keep her interest. Until this one, a taller gentleman, dressed in black. His green eyes, set in his pale, sharp face, seemed to fix her attention, and he seemed like someone she could really get along with. All night they had laughed together and joked about books and movies, and other things. And he must have been pretty well off because he'd been buying the drinks non-stop. How many had she had now? 8? 10? She couldn't quite remember. But she could certainly feel the effects. Blinking hard she squinted at her watch, trying to read the time, but concentrating on it made her wobble, her high heels offering no support at all.
"Hey, hey," he exclaimed in a caring tone, as he put an arm around her to catch her fall, "I think you've had enough for tonight. Why don't we get you home?"
"But," she protested, looking up to him with a pout on her face, "I'm having funnnnnnn!"
"No, c'mon. Home. I'll walk you to the bus stop," he insisted. His voice was soft and kind, but firm, like that of a natural-born leader, and she liked to be lead. "C'mon."
"Fiiiinnnneeeee," she agreed, as he was already shepherding her towards the door. His touch was light but quite irresistible, she found.
After a few minutes of stumbling around, cold air hadn't sobered her up any, if anything it had made her feel even drunker, but she was still with-it enough to know this wasn't the right way.
"Heyyyyy," she complained, "this isn't the bus stop!"
"Nope," he laughed back, "it's late, the buses stopped hours ago, I'm taking you to get a taxi, the app says he's waiting for us just down here."
Before she could reply he was leading her down a cut between two buildings, and despite her state, she noticed that one of them was the bar they had left. Had he been leading her round in circles?
"Heyyyy! Are you-" she was cut off by a hand covering her mouth. Immediately she went into panic mode, trying to scream, trying to lash out at him. His other arm quickly wrapped around her neck and squeezed. Her heart raced, adrenaline coursing through her veins as she desperately tried to get free. But in seconds she felt weak, her vision blurred, her brain began to shut down.
"Down girl," was the last thing she heard as consciousness slipped away.
She awoke again unable to see. Her arms were bound tight, something metallic holding them still. Handcuffs, she deduced. From the complete darkness and difficulty breathing she realised she must also have a bag on her head. Closing her eyes she tried to focus her other senses and heard the heavy metallic click of a large door being closed, and then the sounds of footsteps approaching. Again an arm gripped her throat, and again her grasp of consciousness slipped.
~~~
A dull light shone through the window as she awoke in a large, comfortable bed. The sheets were made of luxurious white cotton, and the pillows were stuffed and fluffed up to perfection.
"Oh my god, my head," she groaned, pressing her hands Into her temples. Looking around she took in her surroundings: the large bed in which she lay occupied the centre of the minimalistically decorated room Flanking it were two bedside tables, each with a lamp giving off a warm, dim light. At the side of the room, there was a desk with a chair and a large wardrobe, both made of the same beautifully grained hardwood as the bed and tables. It was certainly cosy, and oh so nice and warm, just how she liked it. But how did she get here? It didn't have the feel of a hotel, and she thought it unlikely that she'd have booked one for herself when a taxi ride home would have been much cheaper. Was it a guy's house? Racking her brain she tried to remember, tried to pull the information from the drunken fog. Suddenly the door opened, and she had her answer.
"Morning, gorgeous." He said with a smile, his green eyes instantly recognisable. "How are you feeling?"
"My head is killing me," she complained, sinking into bed and pulling the covers up to her face. The guy from the bar, of course! She was relieved that someone so sweet had been around to look after her, she could have ended up anywhere!
"Aww, I'm not surprised," he laughed, "you had a lot last night, but breakfast is nearly ready so that should help you feel better. I'll get you some painkillers too." Without waiting for a reply he went back out, closing the door behind him with a heavy thud. Again she tried to figure out what had happened. She was still dressed: a dressing gown lay nearby but she was still wearing her dress. 'Obviously, we've not had sex at least' she thought, relieved, 'maybe he is just really sweet, and brought me home to look after me.' Something was playing on her mind, but she couldn't tell what. Before she could think any more about the door swung open again and he entered, carrying a tray of breakfast. Instantly the smell filled the room, restoring her a little.
"Sausage and egg, bacon and beans, toast and tea," he recited as he walked across the room towards her, it was just what she needed. "Enjoy," he beamed as he handed her the tray, "I didn't know how you took your tea so it's just black in the pot, there are some sugar and milk on the tray though."
"Oh, thank you!" She replied, smiling as she saw the food he had prepared, "that's really lovely. Where's yours though?"
"Oh, mine is downstairs, I thought I'd leave you be in case you wanted to get up and get dressed or anything, if you need me just shout, I won't be far."
"Thank you, that's very considerate, you're really lovely," she told him, before her mind shifted to something else. "But what happened last night?"
He laughed as he told her "Oh, I met you in a bar, and we had a few drinks together, I tried to send you in a taxi home, but you were so pissed you couldn't even remember your address, so I brought you to mine. Don't worry, I didn't feel you up or fuck you or anything, I just put you to be and let you sleep."
"Thanks," she replied softly, feeling grateful for his kindness and also guilty that she'd been so bad. There was something else playing on her mind, but she couldn't tell what. Something wasn't right, something that was hidden in the drunken haze.
"No problem," he continued, "you're welcome to stay as long as you want. I'll leave you to enjoy your breakfast."
Breakfast was as good as it smelled, this guy could really cook. Each bite made her feel better, and a few tablets were doing wonders for her headache. After breakfast, she stood and rolled out of bed, her feet landing on a thick fluffy rug that covered the hardwood floor. Reaching around she found her glasses on the bedside table, but there was no sign of her phone or bag. No sign of anything with the time on either, she noticed. From the fact she was hungover, but no longer drunk, and from the light coming through the window she estimated it must have been early on Saturday afternoon. Slowly she stepped onto the hard floor, the cold running up her spine as she did, and began to walk around the room looking for them. Not by the bed, not on the desk. The wardrobe was locked.
"Weird," she thought aloud to herself, looking out of the window while thinking. Something wasn't right, 'Am I just THAT hungover, or does that window not look real?' She wondered, taking a step towards it. No, definitely not real, rather a large TV playing a generic street scene.
"Oh fuck," she worried out loud, "this isn't good. What the fuck is going on?" Immediately she darted for the door, it was locked. Knocking on it she listened to the thud, no way was it a normal wood door, probably a wood veneer over solid metal, she thought. This was not good, not good at all. Then she remembered, she remembered getting lost, going down the back alley, the arm around her throat.
"Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck," she cursed, pacing around the room, trying to formulate a plan. But there was no time, the door was swinging open again, acting quickly she pressed herself against the wall, so she would be hidden from his view as whoever was on the other side stepped into the room. As her captor stepped through the doorway she lunged at him, pushing into him with all her strength she managed to make him wobble, then darted for the corridor he had come from. But before she'd even taken her second stride he had grabbed her, pulling her back from the doorway, in one movement throwing her to the ground. Turning to face her he kicked the door closed.
"That wasn't very nice." His voice was icy cold, and his words were quiet, measured and calm, quite the opposite of Grace's as she screamed back at him.