Be My Escape

Chapter 1: Monsoon

This book started as a draft in 2016, so this first chapter is something I wrote almost three years ago exactly. It was the last thing I wrote since I started college, so it's a little special to me. I hope you guys enjoy.

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The darkness seemed to close in on her as she tiptoed down the shabby alleyway. Her shoes clicked noisily on the pavement, ruining her attempts at being quiet. She silently cursed her choice of shoes; she hadn't exactly had this endeavor in mind as she had chosen her attire this evening.

She wasn't the best at spying. In fact, the very man she was attempting to follow had seen and heard her coming from a mile away. She stumbled awkwardly over every piece of trash, and her dress was far from inconspicuous. He had to give her props, though, because even though she seemingly lacked any and all skill in blending in, she had enough courage to follow him through this dank and dangerous alley.

A loud noise erupted from the right of her, causing her to jump and nearly scream. She just barely stopped herself in time when she noticed the cat scurrying away. As she turned back to start her journey again, she couldn't stop the scream that escaped her mouth when she came face to face with the man she was pursuing.

"Oh my!" She said, thinking quickly. "You scared me half to death! What are you doing out here at this time of night?" She accused.

"I could ask you the same thing." He said calmly. Crap, crap! She thought to herself as her mind raced.

"Well, it's quite embarrassing really--" she started, her outward appearance calm as her mind fought to keep up with her mouth. "I'm new in town, and I've lost my way. Would you mind telling me how to get back to the club Monsoon? I have friends there and they must be looking for me by now." She said.

"What a coincidence. I just came from there myself. Are you sure you weren't following me?" He asked, his facial expression deadly.

"Well...to be honest," she started to explain. She had always hated lying, and was never any good at it, anyways. "I was following you." The man's face didn't hide his shock at her confession. "Right when you left, I had stepped outside and saw you. You were heading down this alley, and you...well...you looked like you'd had a couple of beers. You were stumbling a bit and I know from my friends' advice that this particular part of town is not very friendly. I was worried that yo-," he cut her off, the face that had held shock before turning angry.

"I don't need a good samaritan. I'm fine, so you can run along now." He said, annoyed.

"Are you sure? If you need a place to stay-,"

"Do I look homeless to you? Besides, it's not safe to invite strangers inside your home. Now, if you know what's best for you, you'd leave me alone." He said, aggravated by this girl's naivety.

"Well...okay. But I was serious about before...I have no idea how to get back to the nightclub." She said, now embarrassed by how off her intuition was. She had just wanted to help, she wasn't used to this kind of reception to her normally kind behavior. She wished he would just accept her offer. She hadn't even been talking to him for a minute now and she was already worried for his well being.

He sighed heavily. "I'll take you back. It's not safe for girls like you to be out here alone, especially not looking like that."

"What?!" She cried, now indignant. She had prided herself on not letting her friends persuade her into wearing something inappropriate. Though a bit ostentacious, her dress was barely above her knees and showed little to no cleavage. "I am dressed perfectly fine, thank you very much."

He eyed her. "Men are dogs." Literally. "Doesn't matter how appropriately you're dressed, if you have a nice enough body and a decent face, someone will try to take you home. Sometimes those men don't wait for consent, either."