It had been real?
No,no!
I scrubbed my face painfully with cold water and shoved my rat’s nest back. No. I refused to believe that. It couldn’t have been real. It was just my imagination. I had spent the night drinking with Lucy, and I passed out, bought this…this…collaron some delivery app, and my mind brought to life the book I had been working on, that’s what happened. It couldn’t have been real.
But as I straightened, I caught a glimpse of the handprint on the inside of my left thigh, and the red marks around my wrists; my jaw dropped. I could feel the bottoms of my feet throbbing, and I reached back with a shaking hand and found the padlock on the back of the collar, two chains falling several inches down my spine.
Key.
I didn’t have a key.
I squeezed my eyes shut and threaded my hands into my hair at my temples, wincing again at the pain. “No, no, no.” A sob shook through me, but I forced the tears to remain where they were. I swallowed the anger and frustration.No!That wasn’t real. It was in my head. It was all in my head. It had to be. The key was somewhere. On the table or under the couch, somewhere rational. I dropped it when I put this on. There was arational explanation for all of this.
It wasn’t real. It was a nightmare. Just a nightmare and I had thrashed in my bed, hitting my head, injuring my wrists, I had slapped myself last night.
That was it, it had to be it.
I had to lay off the coffee. The sugar. Anything and everything that got my heart racing.
Never again.
Neveragain.
I stormed out of the bathroom. “Lucy!” I called, wincing every time my left thigh jiggled. “Lus!” I whistled, walking into the living area, wearing nothing but the damp panties and sports bra I had woken up in. I must have just blacked out during my walk, I was sure of it.
Too much sugar. That was all. It was rational.
“Lucy!” I barked, only to freeze when I saw her lying in the middle of the floor, completely passed out.
My heart skipped a beat.
I broke into a sprint, skidding on my knees to her side, earning some horrible tile burns, but that didn’t matter. I shook her, grabbing the scruff at her neck, trying to force her up. “Lucy, get up.Get up!” I ordered. “Come on,” I pleaded, my eyes filling again. “Wake up,please.”
“I’ll kill your fucking dog,”his words snarled through me.
Panic ensued.
I jumped to my feet and filled up a glass of water, spilling it over the rim as I ran to her and dumped it on her face.
She jerked awake, scrambling to a stand, snarling and snapping at the invisible enemy.
The relief that flooded through me came in such waves it made my stomach twist. “Oh, thank God,” I said, falling to my knees, wincing at the pain it caused.
Lucy looked around, her ears back, her nostrils flaring as shetried to understand what was happening.
“Lucy,” I said softly.
Her ears perked and she turned to me licking her lips. I wondered if she had cotton mouth too.
I held open my arms and she sluggishly walked into them, leaning into me as heavily as I did to her, that collar digging into my neck.
I had to find the key.
She was okay. She was alive. See? It was all a nightmare. Someone like that would have made good on their promise, I was sure of it. It wasn’t real.
None of it was real.
I hugged her for as long as she allowed before forcing myself to an exhausted, unsteady stand.
