He Never Did

Taken

I wake late and sit around the house writing and writing, thinking about last night and what it could mean. Lindsey and I are really struggling to find common ground, and my date and our work throughout the week had gone well. He seems like such an easy-going guy in comparison to Lindsey, and he gave me attention without the thousand strings attached I was used to with Linds. Maybe things are about to change for all of us.

The phone rings and I answer with baited breath. I think of course, as I hear Lindsey's voice, reminding me that in all honesty my love for him just has to be lived with at this point.
"You ok?"
"I'm good yes, are you?" What a joke I must seem to him, speaking as if everything is wonderful.
"Great. I was wondering if you w-"
He cut off abruptly and I sighed as I tried to call him back again and again to no avail. Figuring some type of technical difficulty, I resign myself for now. There's a knock at the door and I answer it to find a man dressed in an old-fashioned chauffeur uniform, a vintage, cream convertible parked in the drive.
"Is Madam ready to leave?" He offers a sizeable bouquet of reddest roses to me.
I have a mini-panic, suddenly aware I'm in minimal makeup and jeans.
"Oh, uh..."
"All of this is for you, I will wait here until you feel divine enough to step outside, though I see a divine woman before me anyhow."
I biliary, thanking him as I run upstairs to freak out over my hundreds of dresses. I find the long black one with a gathered waist that I know he loves, and add some more powder and eye make up. I find that the the roses have been placed in a vase by the mirror I keep by the door, and I tear the stalk from one, placing it in my hair before stepping outside.

We drive out of the city, stopping at rows of luxury beach houses almost in the middle of nowhere, but for a restaurant or two. "Madam, let me show you to where you'll be staying." He led me into what appeared to be the grandest and oldest of the houses, appearing almost like a castle.
"Hello?" I shout, almost tripping over something on the floor. Bracing myself, I see that it's a pile of gifts wrapped in shiny purple paper. A notecard above reads:
FOR STEPHANIE NICKS AND NO OTHER,
JUST AS I WILL ALWAYS BE
My heart just about breaking, I meticulously unravelled the first. God he is about to get forgiven multiple times on that four-poster bed...
I hear a sound behind me and I shake. I turn and see him holding a bottle of mineral water. I'm rather surprised at his efforts, expecting that someone I had known for so much longer was behind it, but fuck it what do I have to lose?
"It's real hot isn't it, I thought you'd need this" he smirks as I gulp it down.
"Anything stronger around here?"
"Go and look for yourself."
I brush his crotch with my hand as I stand up. "Stevie?"
"Yes?" I beam.
"You look gorgeous."

Passing through the hallway and into the kitchen, I feel hands clench over my mouth before I even sense someone behind me. I try to scream but (his?) fingers are almost down my throat. The lights are out and I can barely see anything as he drags me. I am damning myself for not having Karen around today, realising my carelessness is about to get me killed. My son is only four and a half. Will he remember me once he's grown up? What will Lindsey ( I think of Lindsey, oh Lindsey, where did we go wrong?) tell him about me? How will Kristen treat him? How I wish I had time to say goodbye. Hot tears are making my face itch but I am using all my energy to try and pry the hands off me. I feel a sharp pain as his knee collides with my groin, a dull pain remaining there as I'm pulled down the yard. I need to vomit. We reach the space behind the summer house where there's a gate leading to the open street behind.
"Make a sound and you're dead."
He removes his hands to take a key from his pocket and unlock the gate, offering me his hand.