Last Night

Part 25

I almost couldn't tell the difference between my eyes being open and being shut. There was only the tiniest streak of light from underneath a door. It wasn't my door though, well, not any of the doors in my apartment. A heavy grogginess clung to me, but it wasn't enough to make me forget that. I expected to be in a different place than where I passed out. It was apparently becoming a habit, a habit I really needed to break.

I sighed and rubbed my eyes, hoping they'd adjust to the darkness quicker. I hadn't really done much to prevent this ridiculous thing from happening to me. I mean, I literally sat there and let them do that for minutes. What kind of moron am I? But who the hell lies about ice cream? What kind of monster does that?

Perverts and kidnappers.

Fuck.

Slowly, I sat up and scratched my head. Strange that nobody thought to tie me up or handcuff me or anything. I wonder if it was because I was so compliant earlier. Now that I've regained my senses, it would be their loss. I guess that worked out for me in the end.

I had no idea what type of room I was in other than it smelled damp and the couch I woke up on wasn't the most comfortable. There were more than a few springs broken and the cushions could use extra stuffing.

With the couch helping to steady me, I gingerly stood up. I might be thinking clearer, but my body was still slow to shake off the sands of sleep. My hand reached out and found the rough, cool wall so I could lean against it and trace my way out. Was it made of cement?

I passed by what felt like a dresser and as I neared the door, voices echoed around the crevices and reached me. There was too much of an echo to understand anything other than the fact that they were drawing closer.

If they found me up and wandering around looking for an exit, there would most definitely be bindings next. Desperate in my rush back to my bed, I slammed my shin into the couch. Fear of being discovered and biting my tongue were the only things that kept me from crying out. My body shuddered as a wave of pain spread out from my point of impact. It was definitely going to bruise. In and out, breathe in and out. I tried focusing on evening out my breathing, but it was taking everything I had not to suck in a gasp and start rubbing the tender area.

The door squealed as it opened slowly. The voices had stopped, but I wasn't going to turn over yet. Maybe I could catch the person off guard and knock them out. What was that line from Miss Congeniality? Sing? Shit, the only part I remembered was nose and groin. Why didn't I take up any self-defense classes in college? There were plenty of cheap ones then. Hopefully only one creep would walk in and either of those areas would be presented for an attack.

Whoever entered I guess decided to just use the light from the hall because nobody flicked on any lamps or light switches. That was not reassuring. I could hear the footsteps, a heavier-set that practically stomped as they went. My skin crawled as the figure neared my back. The heat from a hand closing in on my arm made me shiver involuntarily.

I was afraid that the hand would grip my arm and I'd never get free so I swung myself up and threw all my bodyweight into whoever was reaching for me.

What I hit was a somewhat squishy wall. The fact that I practically bounced off of the person stunned me. I was a fairly large woman, both tall and decently solid so I ought to have at least made someone stumble, but that wasn't the case here. I could only see an outline of a man not much taller than me as my eyes struggled to adjust to the bright light behind him.

Then, I saw a raised hand, a moment too late.

My face tingled and burned as my ears rang. I fell over onto the corner of the couch, my hands and instincts preventing me from hitting the floor. Tears stung my eyes and something warm pooled around my lips. The headache, this pain felt familiar as if from a nightmare. I couldn't form any words yet as my brain still felt like it was jostling around inside my skull, but I could hear.