A flashlight in the shadows.

chapter 35: The voices.

The smell of firewood hit my senses first. Then came the taste of fabric. I don't know if you've ever had a towel in your mouth, but that's what it tasted like. I opened my eyes to see that it was still night out. The clock on the side table told me it was 1:00a.m. I surveyed my surroundings. I was tied to a big bed inside what looked like a small cabin. The memory didn't come flooding back, but I eventually remembered what happened. I was still in my dress, but I was now missing my shoes and my hair was flowing freely. My face was wet, probably from sweat. The room was small, but it still held a dresser and a chair along with the bed. I tried moving out of my restraints, but wasn't very progressive. The whole place was silent. You could hear a pin drop.
Until I heard a sound from outside the door. It sounded like footsteps. I scrambled in the bed, trying to get out, because I had a sneaking suspicion that Isaac would be the one coming through the door. Sure enough, not two seconds later, the door creaked open, revealing Isaac. The top few buttons of his shirt were undone, his hair was messy, and his eyes were bloodshot. I bit my gag and stared at him, afraid. He rubbed his face with his hands and grumbled to himself.
"No, I can't. Shut up, that's a dumb idea, no-" he sat down in the chair next to the bed, rubbing the sides of his head. He kept looking between me and the floor. I scrambled and tried screaming. He just shook his head and tightened his eyes.
"Shut up! Shut up!!!" I flinched and became quiet. He finally just shook his head.
"We thought you were special, Sarah. Why'd you break my heart? All I wanted was to be with you, maybe then they'd leave." He untied my gag. I breathed in slowly.
"Isaac, I need you to untie me."
"They won't let me, Sarah."
"Who won't let you?" I asked in a calm voice. He shook his head and shut his eyes tightly.
"T-the people inside my head. They're my friends." I realized something terrible then; he was schizophrenic. 'This is definitely not good,' I thought to myself. He sniffled a little. I breathed steadily and said
"Isaac, if you untie me I can help you."
"No, you still won't marry me, you think I'm just a freak." He sobbed a little into his hands. I shook my head,
"No, I dont think that at all, Isaac."
"Dont lie!" He shouted, making me jump a little. He suddenly got really quiet. He stared ahead at the wall on the other side of the room.
"Oh my god, why didn't I think of that?" He laughed a little, making me shudder. I squirmed a little in the bed where I was tied. He turned slightly to me.
"Holy shit." My heart rate picked up.
"What?"
"You'll have to marry me if you're pregnant." This made my heart stop. What. The. Fuck. Did. He. Just. Say?!?! Marriage is easy to say no to, but a pregnancy is nearly impossible to figure out. My father was born and raised Catholic, so abortion is out of the question. I can't raise my own child, not yet! He quickly took off his shirt, straddling my waist.
"Kiss me," he said, pressing his lips firmly against mine. I squirmed and kicked, trying my best to break from my restraints. He pushed his tongue in my mouth and snaked his hand up my dress, reaching the hem of my underwear. His quickly ripped them off, trailing kisses down my neck. A stream of tears flooded my face as he rubbed my sensitive clit. All I could say was 'stop,' and, 'please.' He took my face in his hands, kissing me on the lips again.
"Shh, don't cry. We'll run away once we're married." He continued kissing me while I continued crying.
"We're going to be happy. You me and our baby, you'll see." He breathed for a second before his hands fled to his pants.
"We don't have any time to waste." I heard his zipper open and he unbuttoned his pants, sliding them down to reveal his already 'pitched tent.' He was about to dive in when we both heard a familiar voice yell,
"Hey!" Isaac spun around just in time to be hit with a giant tree branch.
Isaac screamed in pain and rolled off to the side, revealing Bennett in a black coat and the sweatpants from earlier. I was greatful that my dress was still on and he couldn't see anything.
Isaac got up from the floor and charged at Bennett, tackling him to the ground. All I could hear was some scuffling, and then I saw Bennett straddle his waist and punch him in the face five times. Then, he breathed for a few minutes. He finally got up and rushed to untie me.
"Are you alright Sarah?" I nodded and sobbed as I wrapped him in a hug.
"Thank you!" He sighed and hugged me back. Then he patted my back and said,
"Come on, let's get you home. The police should be here soon." I nodded and we walked out to his car together. The ride home was mostly silent, except for my cries of sadness. We pulled up to my house in silence. Bennett sat for a second before he turned and asked,
"Do you want me to stay a while?" I nodded and sniffled a few times.
"If it's ok with you." He nodded,
"Of course." We walked inside to the kitchen. He grabbed a cup and ran it under the faucet, pouring me some water. He handed it to me and sat at the seat in front of me, staring at me with concern.
"Tell me the whole story, start from the beginning." I nodded and told him everything. From the restaurant to the spot on the hill to the schizophrenia. He listened without nodding out of context or asking questions. I felt comfortable once I had said everything. When I finished, he sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Alright. Are you ok?" I smiled and nodded.
"I'm lucky to have a friend like you." He sighed and reached across the table, holding my hand in his. He looked into my eyes.
"I promise no one will ever do that again, ok?" I nodded and sniffled some more. He came to my side of the table and wrapped his arms around me, letting me cry into his chest. The steady beat of his heart calmed me down enough to make me stop sobbing. I pulled away, catching my breath.
"I'm sorry Bennett-"
"There's nothing to be sorry about, Sarah. You did nothing wrong." He said, calmly staring into my face. I sighed. He smiled,
"What do you say we talk about something else for now?" I sniffled and then smiled.
"Sure, like what?" We talked about chestnut and my grandparents and everything but Isaac. I started to feel better. We got quiet for a while, but then Bennett said something shocking.
"I don't suppose you have a date for prom?" I whipped my head at him, wide eyed.
"Huh?" He immediately looked down.
"Never mind." I shook my head numbly for the second time in one night.
"No, why?" He looked up, blushing a little.
"Well...it was stupid."
"No, what Bennett?" He looked down at his hands, then scratched his neck and said,
"I, well, you're just so beautiful and kind...I wanted to know if you'd go to prom with me?" My emotions were so incredibly mixed up at that moment that I didn't know what to think. I acted worse than I should have, that's for sure. I thought about how I'd seen him with Sabrina earlier, how he didn't resist her embrace. I thought about how I was almost raped earlier and how vulnerable I seemed to be. I thought about Hannah and Kendra's determination to get me a date for prom...
"Did Kendra and Hannah set you up to this?" I asked with edge in my voice. He frowned in confusion,
"What-"
"Dont act fucking stupid, did they set you up to this?!" I yelled. He frowned and shook his head.
"No, they did-"
"I should've known better than to trust you!" I interrupted, upset. He stood up,
"They didn't ask me, I swear!"
"Yeah right, you're just an asshole like the rest of them, how could you toy with my emotions like that?!" I asked, not really understanding myself. He clenched his fists and yelled,
"Really? Your going to call me an asshole?! Who else do you think knows I wear glasses? No one! Who else knows my dad beats the shit out of me every chance he gets and my step dad is in a ritualistic cult? Nobody! Who else knows I like painting and writing poetry? You're the only one Sarah." I felt a rush of regret as I stared back at him. I wanted to say I was sorry, but he was already starting towards the door. I sobbed and asked softly,
"Where are you going?"
"Out." He shouted. He zipped up his coat and opened the door. He took one step outside the door and stopped. He whipped his head to face me. His eyes were red and puffy, he was already crying.
"And by the way, Sarah. I don't go around calling every girl I meet beautiful, I meant..." He trailed off, then picked up,
"I mean it." He left without saying anything else. I ran to the door, but by the time I opened it, he peeled out of my driveway and went screeching down the street.

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Hope you liked it and please don't hate the adult subject, bye for now! ;)