ᴄᴏꜱᴀ ɴᴏꜱᴛʀᴀ

Chapter 1

𝓑𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓪

Serena slides a cup of coffee towards me. I grab the the beverage before it can topple down to the sterilized floor of the hospital I am an inter at. She smacks me lightly on my head as she goes to take a seat around the table.
My mouth pulls into a sheepish smile and I murmur my gratitude.
If coffee poisoning is a thing, I'm willing to bet that that is how I will most likely die.
She spares me a look from her seat and shakes her head of gorgeous blond hair in a disapproving manner and her lips part to let out words.

Before she can start with her daily dose of "Fuck off Bella. Get some actual sleep instead of trying to spend the night here as if you don't have the most inviting bed at home,"- I spring to my feet, ready to vanish off the hospital campus. 

"I was just about to leave. I swear."
I half laugh and half smile as we are well versed in my excuses- excuses that I have been religiously using for almost a year now. She doesn't say much, however she does remind me for the ninth time to drive home safely. Because driving while tried is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
She then pulls out her notes to skim through them and do other "Serena things" she does.

I gather my stuff which isn't much at all. My car keys, my purse and my phone. I make it a point to grab the hot cup of coffee as well, I'll be needing that on the car ride.
I don't bother changing out of the scrubs when the giant clock on the white wall tells me that it is thirty minutes past twelve a.m. Besides, I do look scrumptious in scrubs. All the more reasons to be a lazy ass.
The elevator ride takes me to the ground floor, passing by the waiting lounge where I see quite a number of people doing their own thing.
My shifts as a trauma specialist sucks the life out of me most days. The muscles in my neck are in permanent knots from the strain of the long grueling hours I spent here every day. But it is that immense feeling of fulfillment when I watch my patients gradually completing their recovery that helps me push through.
Every ounce of energy I put into all those hours spent in here, is worth it when I witness their excitement over getting discharged.

I sip on the hot beverage as I make my way out of the sliding glass doors and head for the parking lot. Locating my car I scurry to it.
As much as I hate to admit it- I am not the greatest fan of the dark and this parking lot sure as hell could do with a little more lighting.
It does not help that I had so inconveniently parked my car in a poorly lit corner where it's a little too for my liking. The situation is not at all savory.
I brush off the discomfort as a shudder runs straight down my backbone. The heebie-jeebies. Immediately snagging the keys from the pocket of my scrubs I hurry to unlock my car. However a sudden gust of wind brushes past me and I forced to freeze in spot. My muscles locking themselves in place, my whole body stills as the air becomes eerily calm. Too calm. I have been in way too many situations I should not have been in to know that this isn't going anywhere good.
Yet, no matter how hard I will myself to get inside the relatively safer zone of my car, my body does not oblige.
It is as if I am having an episode of sleep paralysis. Except I was not asleep when it struck but standing in the dumb parking lot of the hospital I work at. Panic starts to seep in as I tell myself that I am just being paranoid, but I know better than to lie to myself. So I summon every bit of concentration and move forward. Something is definitely off.

I drop my purse. Fuck that. I need my hands free. Then I make a grab for the door handle with my right hand.
The hot cup of coffee still clutched tightly in my left hand. It is the only thing I could use as a weapon if need be.
I almost make it inside my car when someone grabs me by my waist, wrapping two bulky arms around me.
I scream. A blood curdling scream.
My heart lodges itself straight in my throat as one of the arms come flying in with urgency to muffle my voice.
It is Deja vu all over again.
Every few years it seems I circle right back to this position. An incessant cycle of viciousness that chips and thaws away at my strength.
The man's palm is massive enough to almost cover my eyes. I thrash wildly in his grip. I'll be damned if I let these pricks take me out of this parking space without putting up a fight.
I absolutely do not care if the last thing I do on the planet is foolishly try to fight off a muscled pig who is twice the size of me.
Blindly I feel for the lid of the coffee cup and manage to get it off. I use my right elbow to gut the man straight against his rib cage.
For a split moment his hold loosens, I use the brief second to hurl the contents of the cup right where I assume must be the man's face. I hope it scorches his flesh. I hope that it feels like concentrated acid.
For a second his grip vanishes from around my waist. My mouth is no longer gagged and I suck in a lung full of air to soothe the ensuing panic.
A howl from the man follows my inhale and I lunge face first for my car. I take a step forward before I am being pulled back again, a string of colorful words from the men pierce through my panic induced haze.
A wet piece of cloth is instantly shoved in my mouth. My knees buckle and give away, I drop to my knees and eventually I am being held face down against the concrete.
Three men tie up my wrists and ankles as my heart continues to beat a mile per second.
The cloth keeps me from screaming which launches my brain into overdrive. I attempt to recall every video I have watched about what to do if I ever find myself in a situation like this.
Willing myself to calm down I try to think more and panic less, I fist both my palms as they continue to tie me up. I make sure to keep my wrists a tiny bit apart so the ties loosen when I  try to wiggle my wrists free.
My ankles are bound next and everything seems to fall apart. I can not think of a single way I can get out of this situation. The more I think, the more my chest begins to heave. If they take me to a second location, odds are I won't make it out alive.
Calm down. Count from twenty to zero.
I try to blink the tears away to prevent being blinded by them. I try not to wriggle as the concrete is already ripping my scrubs and I can feel my skin being rubbed raw.
I focus on what I can feel, on things I can smell, what i can hear.
The panic bubbles just beneath the surface of my skin, threatening to take me down when it spills over the surface like an overflowing sink.
I can not bear this a moment longer.
One of the men hauls me from the ground and over his shoulder as I pray that atleast a single person notices what is happening and calls 911.
But I know it is mere wishful thinking. No one will come here. No one is going to see any of this. And I can't do anything for myself other than just hope that I survive the night. The best I can do is look for opportunities and use every single one I get.
They put me in the back seat of a car. Thankfully they haven't blindfolded me so I can see that the three men are engaged among themselves. One is on his phone barking something in Italian that I don't understand. I take deep breaths.
Stay calm. Think rationally. Stay still and don't draw attention.
I count each passing second. When it's been exactly 5 minutes, I gingerly unclench my fisted palms. The rope is tight but not enough that a little struggle won't be able to get me free from.
I thank the heavens for my slender wrists, things I haven't really been grateful for ever.
I wiggle slowly, making sure to not draw any attention to me as they have a clear view of myself in the rear view mirror. The windows have the darkest tint I have ever seen. And the inside of the car is fairly dark for my movements to go mostly unnoticed. I bend my thumbs into the center of my palms as much as I can without breaking them, then i continue to wiggle until the thick rope loosens enough to slide through.
I successfully free my hands. The ankles next.
It takes me well over 5 minutes to free myself. I keep the cloth in my mouth so when they look at me they don't get suspicious. Then I lay back down in the same position, with both my arms behind my back to give the impression of still being detained.
"Do you think she is knocked out? Why isn't she fussing around?" one of the men asks and another grunts his answer. The third keeps driving silently.
Now how do I get out of here? Three behemoths against one female couch potato sounds as thrilling as bear trap against a pesky rodent.
I wrack my brain for a plan but come up empty. Pretending to be bound in the back seat of a car with three men that have abducted me, I am prone to thinking that someone must have performed some sort of woodoo shit on me for this badluck to stick with me like a fucking succulent.
What biological DNA of mine did they use to get me so good?
Was it the hair that I chopped off for shits and giggles then hid in a dumpster as a kid? Or was it the tooth that my dentist plucked from my gum but never gave me to preserve as trinkets?
It must have been the damned syringe that nurse used to draw blood with when I was seven. It has to be that. Bitch gave me the nastiest bruise- bruising isn't even supposed to happen! That stupid woman. I'll wring her neck like a damn wash cloth!
I bite down on my bottom lip to halt myself from going off on a tangent inside my own head. I keep my eyes shut and ears sharp. I can wring as many necks as I want when I make it out alive. I just need to outsmart these three mountains for men. I can do it.