Tares City

79. The Part We Play

NAOMI REID

Naomi found herself waking with a gasp, her head pounding as she came to. Groaning, she moves to her side, willing her vision to clear as she blinked repeatedly.  She looked around in confusion, her hands gripping the strange bed she was on.

Moving to sit on the bed's edge, Naomi thinks back to the last thing she remembers. Sean, the car accident, her mail....the little girl who said she needed help...the parking garage...then nothing. She couldn't recall a thing. Getting up off the bed, she tests her ability to walk before moving around the room.

The room seemed to be a plain bedroom. Beside the bed she woke up on, the only other things in the room were a TV mounted on the wall and a small bedside table with the remote laying on top.

Heading to the door, she turns the knob, finding it locked. Off the other side of the room, she tries the window – only to learn it was nailed shut.

Heading back to the bed, she takes a seat, trying her best to think logically through her panic and fear. Of all the possible scenarios,  she narrows down her situation to the most likely culprit. Josh.

He failed at Avery's house and tried again. But this had to be a stroke of luck for him as she didn't plan to head to her loft today.

She looks around the room once more, searching for anything that could help her situation. Getting up, she walks around the room, back to the window, and then to the  bedside table. There was nothing to help her.

Hearing the click of the door's lock, she instinctively grabs the remote off the table. She turns around as the door opens, throwing the remote in that direction. Josh, who'd been stepping into the room with a plastic cup of water in his hands ducked out of the way – Narrowly avoiding getting whacked in the head, the cup falling. Naomi doesn't hesitate, running full speed at the door.

Her plan wasn't thought through in the slightest, but she didn't care. Something was better than nothing, she told herself

"No, no!" Josh grunts as Naomi collides into him as she tried to squeeze through. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he lifts her off the ground, ignoring her kicking.

"Ow! NAOMI Ouch! Stop that!" Josh complains as Naomi digs and scratches him, kicking and bucking wildly in his hold. "Naomi, stop thi- OW!" He cries out. Losing his grip on her slightly. Re-securing his hold, he pulls her back and pushes her onto the bed.

"Naomi, please!" He says sternly, looking tired with her antics.

"YOU DRUGGED ME AND KIDNAPPED ME!" She screams at him.

"I had to. It was the only way to get you away. To save you and fix you!" Josh declares.

"Fix me! If anyone here needs fixing, it's you, Josh! You need serious help! You tried to have me attacked and kidnapped and now you've taken me yourself!" Naomi fires back, making him cringe guiltily.

"That, that wasn't my finest moment. It was wrong and dangerous of me, I... I was just so angry I didn't think it through. I hope you can accept my apology for that, Naomi. I never want you in harm's way. That's why I brought you here."

"I've told you -" Naomi begins, but he cuts her off.

"No, no." He starts. "You told me what you think you know, but your head has been filled with lies. You've been tricked Naomi, and I'm going to get you to see the truth. Then you'll understand that I'm not the bad guy here."

"Get me to understand?!" She grounds out.

"Yes." He replies, heading to the discarded TV remote. "Sit, please." He says, pointing the remote to the television.