Stealing Roses

Chapter 3

“It’s for you I live. You taught me how to love.” A gravelly voice said from across the hall. I thought Kyle was trying to humiliate me, but taking one look at the peroxide blonde currently wrapped around him, I knew better. Kyle whispered stolen words into her ear and pulled her closer. That used to be me. I didn’t care anymore about what Kyle had said to me, but seeing him seduce other girls with my writing, my poetry, was too much. I could feel tears pricking at my eyes, threatening to spill over. I closed my locker door and walked to the bathroom as calmly and nonchalantly as possible. My tears burned as they fell and I cursed myself for being so weak. Seeing my red-rimmed eyes in the dirty mirror sobered me up. I looked so ridiculous, like all the other girls that came in here, locking themselves in graffiti covered stalls to cry over some high school romance that had screwed them over. I don’t need this. I wiped my face clean and stepped back into the main corridor.

The hallway was barren, everyone having already gone to class. My footsteps echoed ominously and the almost silence was deafening. I could feel someone’s eyes on me and I spun around, searching for them. The prickling on the back of my neck grew to sharp stabs and my veins turned to ice. I started to run. Why isn’t there anyone around? I pushed myself forward and rounded the corner, running headfirst into someone.

“Oh, my god,” I stuttered. “I’m so sorry.” I felt so foolish.

“That’s alright, Rose.” The person I had run into was a boy who looked to be in his early twenties. He was wearing a dark hoodie, black jeans and baseball cap that covered dark brown hair. He had haunted brown eyes, eyes that had seen way too much. His mouth was turned down in a permanent grimace. He was eerily familiar. I wringed my hands and nervousness was bubbling up again. Something felt off. From this spot, it was at least a couple of hundred metres to the next classroom and I had a feeling this guy could outrun me.

“Do I know you?” I was sure we had. “Have we met before?”

“I’m here to tell you that it’s time you came back with me.” He gestured to the back of the school.

“What are you talking about?”

“You’re coming with me.” He grabbed my wrists and started tugging me towards the car park. “I set up the spare-” I didn’t let him finish. I managed to get out half a scream before he realised what I was doing and grabbed my mouth. “What are you doing?” He looked hurt. I swung out with my right hand, clawing part of his face. He didn’t let go though, just pulled me in closer. Fear engulfed me so completely I couldn’t breathe. There was no way I was getting off school property with him. My heart was hammering and my hands were shaking so violently they blurred around the edges. I thrashed around but couldn’t get any momentum. “Is that how it’s going to be? Fine. I can work with that.” He pressed a dirty rag under my nose and across my mouth where his hand had been. A pungent odour coated it and started to make me woozy. I screamed, but all that came out was a muffled cry. The only thing I could hear was a high pitched ringing and my vision started to blur.  I was like a mouse trying to escape from an eagle. The last thing I saw was the grey of the pavement as my head came crashing down to meet it.

I awoke to extreme cold and darkness so thick it choked. Something wet dripped into my eye and reaching up, I could feel a wicked lump on my forehead, dripping blood. Groaning, I tried to remember what had happened. Everything was fuzzy and hard to reach, so I settled for figuring out where I was. Reaching out with my hands, I could feel cobblestones beneath me, forming a cold, hard floor. Using the wall I was leaning against as a guide, I crawled my way around the edges of the room.

“Damn it!” I jammed my elbow into something hard about four inches above the ground. Running my fingers lightly over it, I realised it was a step. Where do they go? They go up, I thought sarcastically. I pulled myself up with my hands and it took all my mental power to fight against the rising panic that had me close to retching. Memories started to come back slowly but nothing was quite concrete. When I reached the top step, I fumbled around with the door for a handle. Feeling cool, smooth metal, I turned the knob slowly, pushing the door open with my palm. From my position crouched on the floor, I could see a kitchen and a dining room. This must be the guy’s house. Crap. Crap. Crap. How incredibly mundane everything looked, with its cheery yellow walls and scuffed linoleum floors. It seemed so well used and homey, this was the type of house I would raise my children in. Everything was so…banal compared to the nightmare I was now living. Disregarding any previous thought I had about subtlety, I darted for the front door, my fingers fumbling with the chain lock.

“Hi, Rosie.” His voice whispered in my ear. “Going somewhere?” I took a deep breath and thrust my elbow backwards. But he anticipated my move and caught me, using my momentum to make me face him. “You can’t leave now, we’ve only just begun.”

“Don’t get upset, you’ll make me upset.” He pulled me into his embrace, ignoring my cries and banging against his chest. “You can make me better; you love me so much it has to work.”

“I don’t know who you are.” I shoved at him, but to no avail, he was holding on tight.

“It was funny once, but now it’s just hurtful.” He leaned back to look in my eyes, not expecting me to spit in his face. “You stupid, stupid girl.” His hand cracked across my cheek, sending me reeling into the dining table. He grabbed my arm and thrust me back into the basement, looking at me sharply before slamming the door and bolting it with a snap.