Tag, You're It

Chapter 3

I was at the grocery store, buying late night snacks for myself. As I was walking out to my car, somebody ran into me. All of my stuff fell to the ground and I attempted to pick it up when the person who ran into me caught my attention.

Alec.

I bolt up from my sleep and find myself sweating. My hands run through my greasy, tangled hair, and I let out a shaky breath. I officially loathe grocery stores.

My legs start pacing as I try to calm my erratic heart beat. I sigh and look around the room. After Alec had the private conversation with me, I remember feeling super sleepy and thinking that he must have drugged the food. He probably brought me here to this room, which was large and had furnishings that cost more than my apartment.

I see a bathroom and I immediately enter it, hoping to refresh myself. A clock tells me it's three in the morning but I don't want to go back to sleep. I would be just fine with never seeing that dream again.

My hands fumble as I turn the water on. I strip myself of my grimy clothes and step into the shower. The temperature of the water could be scalding hot, but I refused to allow myself the pleasure of being comfortable and kept it cold, waking my body up even more. As I cleaned myself I realized just how badly I needed this shower.

I stood in that cold shower for a long while, but it was nice to escape from the outside world. When I was finished, I stepped out and dried off with a plush towel that made me jealous of its softness. I wrapped the towel around me and began to look to see if Alec was kind enough to give me clothes.

There were some on the end of my bed. I didn't know whether to be creeped out or relieved that there were clothes. Instead of brooding over the thought, I slipped on the clothes. It was athletic wear. The black shirt fit me snuggly and the blue shorts were a bit big, but there was an adjustable waist band.

I felt clean, and the refreshment brought me pleasure. My hands began to pull my hair back into a braid and I sat on my bed when I was finished. I glanced at the clock to see it was now quarter to five.

What if that wasn't really the time and Alec was going to try to blunt my senses so that if I tried to escape I'd think it was night but it was really midday? I didn't have a window and I doubted any of the other girls did either. I was probably just overthinking this, being paranoid. I ran my hands over my face. Alec wasn't that committed to the game was he?

What if the water from the shower makes my brain show me things that aren't there? I look around to search for anything out of the ordinary.

No, Austen, you're just being stupid.

I start pacing. There's no way I can stay in this room but I'd rather not go to open the door and have it be locked. Such a disappointment would lead me to be increasingly claustrophobic.

My brain was wheeling and I decided to make my bed. After that was done, I realized that had only taken me two minutes. Okay, so let's freshen up even more. I walked to the bathroom and found a toothbrush. My mouth thanked me after I was finished and I found that the normal routined action had calmed me down.

I didn't have much time to contemplate that as there was a knock on my door. Fear crawled up my spine and I walked slowly towards the door. A soft chuckle reached my ears and I stopped. "Good morning, Darling, did you want to open the door for me?"

"Why can't you open it?" I ask curiously. Alec clears his throat in impatience. Instead of waiting for a true response, I opened the door and noticed there wasn't a handle on the outside.