This is an idea that I could not get out of my head while I was working on High School Never Ends. I fully intend on finishing that story, but here is an interlude for you while you wait.
I did write this in 1st person with the want to familiarize myself with multiple writing styles and not limit myself to just one. Also my apologies for any errors as this was written on my IPad and autocorrect is a bitch to deal with.
*****
It was a beautiful summer night and I already had 2 strikes against me, I had a term paper due and I was stuck dog sitting my cousin's border collie while he was out on summer vacation. There were a few summer courses I needed to take in order to graduate early, as planned, and Josh, said cousin, had a rental across the street from campus; so he made me a deal, I watch the dog while he and his frat go to their conference in Houston and, in return, I get free food, (whatever is left in the fridge anyway) wifi, lodging, and easy access to campus.
What kind of cousin would I be to say no family. It didn't hurt that the deal was pretty sweet for me and Josh and I were close enough he didn't really need to bribe me to do a solid for him. I mean I wouldn't live with him or anything, he loved the ladies and the ladies loved him. My being there would've cramped his style and I wasn't too keen on dealing with random females on the regular. The thought alone was able to force me back to the task at hand, the white and black glowing from the computer monitor taunting me, silently chanting unfinished.
It was so hard to stay focused. This paper was the last thing I wanted to deal with and this damn dog was doing everything in her power to gain my attention. And it wasn't as if the paper was even on that was hard to write,
Promising myself a swift kick in my own behind, I buckled down and managed to get in a good writing groove, the evening news becoming a low drone in the back ground when a sharp cry startled me out of focus.
That was one thing I couldn't drown out, this dog and her cries. They were so high pitched and jarring I was sure they were going to put my heart in an arrhythmia. Between that and her need to play fetch with her ball, it's a wonder I get anything accomplished. As I made my way to get her leash, a particular news story caught my attention, 6 men were found dead in an abandoned warehouse with their throats slit and bodies mutilated. They weren't releasing any names of the victims until the families were notified. It was pretty close to home, taking place in my current state of residence and the next town over. They were pinning it on the Steeler, saying it was his M.O. Basically if someone slighted this guy or lied to him, they would taste his steel and that was it. Needless to say I wasn't looking forward to going outside after dark, but I prepared myself and Bee for our much needed walk.
It wasn't unexpected that the streets were empty with it being summer break. I actually enjoyed the quiet and solitude. The summer heat licked my brown skin and a wayward breeze occasionally cooled it down. Just another distraction keeping me from my current grind. With my unease being pacified by the serenity of the night, I could stay outdoors for another hour or two at least, but that paper wasn't going to write itself.
"As much as I enjoyed this little excursion to take you out Bee, It's time for Auntie to get back to work. Let's go home."
The walk back was just as uneventful. Bee took off inside the house, just before I did and as I turned around to lock the door behind me, I felt an arm around my waist and a knife to my throat.
"Scream and you're dead."
His voice was controlled, emotionless. I could feel his breath on my neck my body, resonating with the vibrations of his voice, shook with fear. Bee's eyes darted between myself and my attacker, watching the 2 of us with excited interest.
Fucking useless, not that it was her fault. She was only 6 months old and not trained to be a guard dog it didn't help that she loved people I was silently cursing my cousin for not training the bitch.
"Go to your house."
And as if to prove my point, Bee took off, at his command, to the closet where her crate was located.
"Follow her."
The order was laughable since I couldn't get my limbs to cooperate. I heard the door close and lock behind us. The whole thing could only have happened in a matter of minutes, but it felt like an hour had past.
"Move, now."
The knife nicked my lower back the sharp pain startling me out of my stupor. The sting of the prick kicking my motor skills into gear.
Bee was patiently waiting for us to let her into her bed. I hadn't even fully closed the closet door separating her house from us before he was on me, his presence overwhelming mine making me back up against the adjacent wall. I was eye level with his chest and that ever present blade was whispering at my neck keeping my body hyper state of awareness.
This whole time I had yet to see this guy's face and I was sure that was by designed. He had successfully maneuvered me so I wasn't able to. With my back pressed against the door and his chin above my head, I could feel his breath move my hair, but could not move my head up.
His body was flushed against mine, the strength of him prominent and overpowering. The dampness of my thighs caused my eyes to clench shut in embarrassment. As the moisture continued to collect and dampen my panties, my confusion continued to build.
I could fucking die today and all my body seemed to react to was the overwhelming masculinity of my attacker, his hard body against mine while his hand moved from my hip upwards, following the dip in my waist his finger tips, a whisper of a caress along the side of my breast, before flattening his hand on my sternum.
"I can feel your heart racing."
His resounding voice was once again resonating in my bones. His breath fanning my face as he spoke, suggesting he was angling his head down to me as he spoke. Again a methodical move, considering I was now unable to tilt my head up, not that I wanted to at the moment.
"Are you scared?"
He whispered his words this time, his lips grazing my ear as he spoke. His overall nearness was unnerving and his hand moving from my sternum to encircle my neck was terrifying.
"You will speak when spoken to, otherwise; I can give you something to truly fear." His fingers tightening their hold, was making it harder to take in air.
"This will be the only time I repeat myself."
His grip continued constricting my throat like a vise. I wanted to remain calm, show this man I was not afraid of him even though I was terrified and my lack of oxygen was causing my panic to build. I couldn't remain composed and collected, my pain was rising along with my anxiety at the new symptoms I was developing thanks to my brain and lungs being deprived of oxygen, symptoms like light headedness and darkening vision was fueling my fear and my hands grabbed at his wrist, his fingers, at anything I could get a grip on in my attempt to pry his hand from around my throat. I was no longer on solid ground, my toes barely scrapping the floor as he lifted me completely at his mercy.
I wasn't strong enough to get him off of me. My legs were flailing as I used his tree trunk of an arm as my perch to lash out at him. Any thing just to get him off of me. He pressed himself even closer to him, which I didn't think was possible, his other hand was on my hip, the blade poking at my lower ribs. He had effectively ceased my efforts to kick out at him when he used his body to step in between them, before his hips crashed into mine, bouncing my body against the wall.
My vision was blurring and I was dizzy. The darkness was moving in from the corner of my vision.
"Are you afraid?"
It took awhile for his voice to reach my ears, my own pulse was drowning him out. My head was extremely foggy by this point. But when his question did finally register in my oxygen deprived brain, it took a while longer for me to respond, my voice lost behind the death grip I was under. I nodded my head, and however slight the movement was, he noticed.
"You should be, Jo."
He release my throat and I feel into him once my feet hit the floor. I was so grateful for the lungful of air was inhaling, I almost missed it. My head was jerked back, his fingers were now tangled in my coils using my hair as leverage while I took desperate gulps of air for my starved lungs. The moment was so jarring it took me a few minutes to register my name leaving his lips and my eyes now staring into his dark brown ones.
"How do you know my name?" My voice was small and unrecognizable to my own ears and I watched the muscle in his jaw tick.
"And you were doing so well."
I could hear the disappointment in his voice and was put back on edge. His dark brown eyes hardened before he steered me, by my curls, to Josh's room, the room I was currently occupying during my stay. The tears were falling freely down my face the closer we got to the room. My lungs constricting with each breath, putting me on the verge of hyperventilating. Dread was creeping up my limbs building a steady crescendo. Each step brought me closer to a terror I had yet to experience. Some unknown torture that brought me unimaginable pain was all I could imagine and at the peak of this dread, my body took a life of its own and moved to fight against him.
I shoved at him with my shoulder, no longer caring where the knife was. He swore when a particularly good kick connected with his shin, his grip loosening just enough for me to break free from his hold. I hardly felt the knife nick my neck as I spun away from his arms and sprinted towards the door. It was only a few feet away and I was moving faster then I had thought possible.
I ended up having to use the door to stop my momentum, while simultaneously fumbling, with shaky fingers, to get it unlocked. He was on top of me before I was able to finish, his forearm around my waist and his hand over my mouth before I could even let out a scream. He lifted me, kicking and thrashing back to the bedroom. The force of my body hitting the bed, after he carelessly tossed me through the opened bedroom door, had me gracelessly sprawled across it and I rightened myself just in time to witness the door being locked by his hand, before he turned to face me.
It was the first time I was able to assess my attacker. He was strong and powerfully built, the evidence was in the corded muscles of his arms and his thighs, thick and solid they were visible through the pants he wore. The seemingly effortless way he carried me throughout the house confirmed the vitality of this predator that was slowly advancing towards me. He was toying with me, patiently awaiting the opportunity to pounce.
And even with the knowledge of the imminent danger I was in, I could not deny his beauty. Could not discredit the effort and care that was taken when God created him. Hard lines and high cheek bones framed his face and almond eyes were the focal point. The depth of his dark brown eyes appeared to make the irises black, an illusion that made him all the more potent when combine with his full lips and umber skin. He was radiant, a favored child of the sun. His hair appeared coarse in texture, but I recognized it to be as soft as my own, the tight coils were cut close to his scalp in a fade on the sides, and longer at the top, his hair free to kink and curl naturally.This guy would be stunning under normal circumstances and my body was more than willing to remind me of that no matter how hard I tried to be unaffected by it.
