"I want you." With a touch as light as a feather, Cillian hooked a thick finger under her chin to get a better look at her face. "Look at me."
Slowly, her eyes cracked open, but she didn't dare meet his eyes. His grip tightened ever so slightly, a w...
"And though I'm still battered and bruised, I forgave the world the day I met you."
~ Matilda Mann, The Day I Met You
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8:03 p.m. Just a few minutes past closing. Sophie already took care of the board and train dogs that were spending the night, ensuring they had everything they needed before she headed out for the evening.
The whole building was dim, the only light radiating in was from the dim streetlights that shined through the windows by the exit- which is where she was heading to as quickly as she could right now. It didn't matter that she was 26, she would always be afraid of the dark.
Just before she could get out the door, she went skidding across the floor and landed harshly on her butt. She grimaced at puddle of dog piss she slipped on and was currently sitting in, most likely left by a careless and entitled owner. An irritated groan escaped her and she hurried back behind the counter for some paper towels. She squatted down and felt around under the cabinets, too dark to make out anything more than shapes and shadows.
Sophie had co-owned this dog training facility with a friend of hers for about a year now. Being from a smaller town in Tennessee, they didn't have many dog trainers in the area. It didn't take long for their shared business to boom. Sophie loved her job. She was one of the few people that got to say she enjoyed her job and even looked forward to it. The only thing that made her not like her job at times were the customers. The human ones, not the dogs.
The bells above the door chimed, signaling someone entered the premises. She sighed and straightened from her crouched position to tell the customer they were closed for the evening, only for the words to die in her mouth when she found no one there.
"Hello?" She called out.
No response. She cursed under her breath. This just had to happen when all the lights were off. She just should have left the piss to deal with in the morning.
No response meant one of two things to her:
1. Whoever just broke in was mute.
2. Whoever just broke in was a psychopathic murderer here to kidnap and eventually brutally murder her.
Were there more possibilities than that? Sure. Could she rationally think of them at the moment? Absolutely not.
There was a sudden shuffle from the front of the store, just to the right of the exit- which meant she had to pass by whoever or whatever just broke in. She swallowed hard and stepped a tad closer. At the very least, moving closer brought her closer to the light from outside.
She heard the shuffle again, making her gasp and freeze in her steps. From the help of the dim streetlights, she saw... something. Her guard faltered, realizing it was too small to be a person. It was bulky but short, in the front corner of the store. It didn't even come up to her hip. Maybe an animal found it's way in? She drew closer and realized she couldn't have been more wrong.
