I had been waiting for this special day my entire life. Every detail had been planned and then re-planned many times. I'd been engaged for almost five years when my wedding day finally arrived. My fiance, Cory, and I had been exchanging excited text messages all day long. The wedding was set for the early evening with a candlelit dinner to follow.
I didn't feel incredibly nervous. I was excited about my new life with Cory and about being a wife. We already lived together, so it was merely a ring and a piece of paper that made it all official. Of course, the wedding was supposed to be beautiful. Doves were to be released when we walked out of the church together as husband and wife. It never happened.
I had been suspicious of Homberto from the start. I had even complained to Cory about his abrasive and sexual behavior around me. The morning of the wedding we had our last argument about it.
"Homberto told me I have nice tits! Is that how a lawyer is supposed to talk to a client?" I asked Cory.
"That motherfucker said that to you? Doesn't he know that you're my fiance?"
"Of course he knows! He's the one doing our prenup, remember?"
"Oh, that guy? He's just some ugly, old dude. Don't worry about him. He probably never gets any pussy."
"There's a better way to phrase that," I corrected Cory. He knew I hated it when he used curse words, but he still did it all the time. I wasn't sure if he could actually control it or not, but I really wished he would grow up a bit and act more like a man.
"I'm sorry, babe," Cory apologized. It was just another argument, and by then, we had gone through many fights and come out just fine. This time it was different. We had no way of knowing that there wouldn't be a next time.
"I have to go sign the papers with Homberto. Did you already sign them?"
"No, I didn't know that was something I had to do." Cory looked dumbfounded. "I thought we signed everything back at his office last week."
"Me too, but he said there was one more thing I need to sign. I'll see you in a few hours at the church!"
"I love you," Cory said and waved.
"I love you too." We didn't even kiss or hug as we parted ways, something I lamented over for years as I thought back over our last good-bye. We simply took for granted that everything would proceed as planned and that this was only the beginning of our lives together.
I pulled into the church's parking lot, and I could see Homberto in a big, white van eating a bag of potato chips. He waved as I approached, and then he asked me to get into his van. "Make sure you bring your purse. You never know who is lurking in a parking lot like this waiting to steal from you."
"Oh, okay," I said and went back to grab my purse. I wasn't in my wedding dress yet, and it pisses me off that I never actually go to wear it. I spent so much money on it that it's almost embarrassing how much Cory and I spent on one celebration. It all seems so wasteful now.
I got into the van on the passenger side. Something smelled a little gross in the van, but I couldn't put my finger on the scent. I instinctually knew that it was death that I smelled. My senses kicked into high gear, and I could see in Homberto's eyes that he knew I was about to run.
"Oh no, you don't! You stupid bitch! Get back here!"
I opened the door and jumped from the van, landing so hard that I fell forward, scraping my hands on the asphalt to brace my fall. It took me a few seconds to get back to my feet and begin to run, my purse dangling from my shoulder and rippling with the weight of its contents. Homberto was right behind me, chasing me down, but he was old and overweight. I was confident I could outrun him, but I didn't realize that he had another weapon.
I heard something whizzing through the air, but by the time I turned to look, it was already in my back. I looked over my shoulder and saw some kind of dart that had injected me with something. I instantly fell to my knees. I couldn't keep walking or moving for that matter. I fell face-first into the concrete, and my last thought before I lost consciousness was of Cory. I wondered if he would be able to save me or if it was already too late.
***
It was cold and dark when I opened my eyes. I couldn't see a thing for quite a while, but my eyes began to adjust to the pitch black with time. I could make out some shadows, and I moved toward them.
"You're awake!" A voice cut through the darkness. It was a female voice, and she didn't sound like she was far from my age.
"Who are you? Where am I?" I asked, confused about how I had gotten here. I remembered the dart and Homberto, but that didn't tell me where I was now.
"I'm Kim. Homberto attacked me and took me prisoner last year at my bachelorette party. I hated him at first, too. Don't worry. You'll like it here soon enough."
"Wait. Did you just say he raped you?"
"He already raped you too. I watched him fuck you for three hours earlier today. He fucked you in the ass too, and it was pretty rough."