He flings me onto the bed, cuffing my hand to the headboard. He places a black bag on the bed then reaches into it to pull out a syringe and a vial of clear liquid.
“Time to say goodnight, Eliana.”
“Please, just let me go! I don’t know what my father did, but I’ve done nothing! You can’t do this to me!”
“Shh, the more you fight, the harder it will be, little one. I’m just going to give you something to make all of this easier to bear.”
I cast another glance at Ethan, tears burning my eyes. He was an asshole, but he didn’t deserve to die. This man is a monster.
“What, you’re not glad I saved you from him?” He looks over his shoulder.
“You didn’t save me, asshole, you’re just a whole other level of evil.”
He laughs. “You’re as dramatic as I’d imagined. It’s no surprise, your father was always one for theatrics.”
I try to struggle but it’s in vain. The needle pierces the skin of my arm, and within a few seconds I am feeling slack, my head lulling back, my hands twisting in agony as I fall into the blackness. Where are you, Brax?
* * *
Icy, cold air bites against my skin. I open my eyes, but it’s completely dark. I try to move, but my hands are cuffed above me, and my legs are spread eagle and bound too. A light switches on overhead, and I look down at myself, see that I’m wearing only a flimsy lace bra and panties. Knowing that someone undressed me and put me in this, the thought of filthy hands on my body, makes me gag. God knows what they did to me while I was out. I look around me and realize I’m in a glass box of sorts.
“Help!” I shout. “Somebody help me!”
I hear a laugh, but it’s not in the box or room I’m in. It’s distorted, sounding like it’s coming from a speaker.
There is no sound to alert me to someone entering the room, but I feel that someone else has come in. The hairs on my skin stand on end, an eerie feeling overcoming me.
I hear calculated footfalls as they get closer to my bed. “There’s nobody here to help you, Eliana.” my head whips toward his voice.
“You aren’t going to get away with this, my father will be looking for me, and Brax will!”
“The same father who had you taken in the first place? And that drunk boyfriend of yours? He couldn’t even keep you safe while he was in the same room with you.”
I let out a scream, and he just shakes his head. “Behave, Eliana, that screaming is so unladylike. What would your mother say about your behavior?” He runs a hand over my arm, and it makes me shiver in disgust. I feel a lump in my throat which I swallow down. I will not show this monster my fear. It’s odd how you read about these things in the news, girls being kidnapped, sold, and you feel terrible about it, but you never think that girl could be you. We create these glass cases around our fears, and it takes one moment for it all to come crashing down around you.
“Now there a number of people here who are dying to see you, and I need you to be on your best behavior.” His words hold a warning, despite the smile on his face.
“What are you talking about?” I hiss, tugging against my restraints.
“You’ll see.” His eyes turn dark.
He pulls out another syringe, a yellowish liquid in it, pressing it into my vein. There’s a sting then a burning sensation that travels down my arm and over my chest.
This time I don’t pass out. Instead, it gives me a heady feeling, like being overly drunk to the point where the room is spinning. I’ve been dirty drunk before, I spoke a lot of shit at the time, admitting to having a crush on my best friend’s very married brother, and I had a one night stand with a guy whose name I don’t remember.
The warmth from whatever he injected me with eases the tension in my chest, and I’m suddenly not afraid of what’s to come. I see faces before me, none of whom I recognize. They fade in and out of view, and I wonder if I’m imagining them. Hands stroke my face and my body. It’s nothing invasive, they just feel like prickles on my skin. I feel like I’m floating on a cloud. Everything about this feeling is wrong, but I can’t do anything about it.
I think of Brax and the first time he kissed me, the way my body came alive in the middle of that club. I’d wanted to be kissed like that my entire life. Had I told him that?
I reflect on all the times he made love to me and the times he chased me naked around the apartment until I shrieked with laughter.
I want to drift off, but sleep won’t come. Maybe if I ride this high for long enough, I’ll tire, and then I’ll wake up and realize I’ve been dreaming all along.
I’ve never taken drugs before, I never saw the appeal. Casey sniffed coke once. She was at that stage where she was dating biker guys, and they got her into it. I knew I was on some kind of drug. The lights were like a kaleidoscope, the colors brilliant, shifting and changing every few seconds. My skin is no longer cold, warmth filling me from the inside, and I wonder if this is what it feels like to die.
