by Anna Joung
“Please go find my granddaughter. She’s the only thing I have left, I can’t bear to lose her.”
“You won’t be losing her, Susan. I promised her I’d keep her safe and that’s what I’m going to do. Chad will get what’s coming to him.”
With that the old lady released me and I rushed out to my bike. Throwing my helmet on, I kicked away from the curb, the engine growling as I tore away from Beltline Fad. Fury boiled through my veins as I headed towards the address scrawled on the scrap of paper in my pocket.
I’m coming for you Kayla, just hang on.
Chapter 4
Kayla
The pain seared through the side of my head. I felt groggy as I tried to open my eyes, the light searing through my eyelids. Finally, I managed to pry them open as I attempted to take in my surroundings. At first, I couldn’t remember anything and then, like a flash of lightning, it all came flooding back to me.
The shop. The voice. Chad.
I caught the scream in my throat as I assessed my newfound environment. I was inside a room; it was dark and smelt damp. There were no windows and the area was bare of any furniture apart from the hard wooden chair I was tied to and a stained mattress at the side of the room. A shiver ran up my spine at the thought of why that might be there. To my left there were stairs running up to a closed door.
I’m in the basement of his house.
My hands were tied with coarse rope behind my back; my legs tied with the same rope to the front legs of the chair. He hadn’t put any restrictions on my mouth which could only mean one thing.
No one can hear me from down here. I can scream all I like but it wouldn’t alert anyone.
I knew that Chad lived alone. As soon as he was old enough to fend for himself, his parents had upped and left, something about wanting to travel the roads. I doubted they would have got very far considering they were never more than a foot away from a bottle of spirit. More often than not, I’d find them facedown, sprawled in the streets of town when I was a teenager. It was no wonder that Chad grew up to be the man he was today.
As the fog in my brain began to dissipate, I began working at the ropes behind me. I tried moving my hands in an attempt to loosen the ropes, but nothing was working. They were tied tight enough so I couldn’t escape but not so tight as to cut off my circulation. I knew I’d have bruises from them nonetheless. I was considering trying to escape my leg ties when I head the door open at the top of the stairs. I whipped my head round in time to see Chad grinning. Closing the door behind him, I watched hopelessly as he locked it, pocketing the key, before making his way down the steps.
“Good morning, princess. I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to wake up. It took a lot of research to figure out how much chloroform to use to keep you under while I got you set-up. Sorry about the head, by the way, I didn’t mean to hit you that hard. I’m sure you’ll forgive me over time.”
I cringed at the sound of his voice. It had taken on a creepy tone that makes my skin crawl. He had gone from regular annoyance to infatuated stalker just from that one incident. I debated remaining silent but I knew I had to buy time one way or another. I knew sooner or later that Cillian or my grandma would realize I was missing, I just hoped they would put two and two together.
“Chad, I’m not sure you’ve thought this over. What you’re doing is illegal, it’s kidnapping! If you let me go now then we can forget this ever happened. Hey, maybe we can laugh about it over dinner sometime? Would you like that?” I somehow managed to fathom a calm voice.
The laughter that came next sent a shiver up my spine. His face contorted into an evil mask as his twisted smile leered at me. Ever so slowly, he took a step closer in my direction.
“It’s too late for that now, my sweet Kayla. How long did I spend trying to persuade you that we were meant to be? Clearly, you were deluded. You must have been insane to pass me up for that guy. What’s his name again?”
I croaked the name, “Cillian.”
“Ah, yes, Cillian,” he took another step closer to me, “He would have been a waste of your time. I mean, did you look at him? All men like that are only after one thing. I, however, wanted to treat you like the queen you are. You do want to be treated like a queen, right?”
“Of course,” my throat felt dry.
He stepped closer once more, his knees almost touched mine as he leaned in, stroking my face. It took all my strength not to whip my head away. I knew that Chad was unstable, one wrong move could result in any number of things happening to me.
I just have to buy time.
“See, you know that you want me. Have you been playing hard to get all this time?”
I couldn’t bring myself to speak, only nodding my lie. Before I could react, his lips were upon mine. They pressed in hard and rough, his tongue trying to push between my lips. I felt bile raising up in my throat. Shaking my head, I tried to rid myself of the man now forcing himself upon me, but his hands slapped onto my cheeks, holding me in place as he came in for yet another kiss. I scrunched my eyes closed, tears now streaming down my face as I surrendered to the inevitable.
BANG!
My eyes jumped open as I turned to see the door to the basement fly off its hinges, crashing down the stairs until it landed a few inches from the back of my chair. There, in the doorway, stood the man I had been waiting for – Cillian. A surge of elation flooded through my system before adrenaline took hold. The look on Cillian’s face terrified me, I had never seen such pure hatred on anyone’s face before. It was directed straight at Chad.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Cillian’s words filled the room as he came pounding down the stairs.
Chad barely had time to step back when he was hurled into the nearest wall. I heard the crack as his head collided with the brick. I flinched at the sound, terror making my blood run cold as I realized just how angry Cillian was.
He’s going to kill him.
Cillian’s fist smashed into the side of Chad’s head before he landed a boot into his ribs. I could see the blood dripping down onto his shirt and I knew I had to act. I couldn’t let him kill a man in front of me.
“Cillian!” I screamed, “Leave him be!”
His hand was raised to take another swing when he turned around to face me. I could see the fury in his face but when he locked eyes with me, his face started to morph back to something recognizable. Slowly, I watched as the redness from his features settle as he released Chad’s shirt and took a step back. Chad was a bloody mess on the floor, I didn’t think he had any intention of moving at that point.
“Stay there,” Cillian spat at him as he came sprinting over to me.
He cupped my face in his hand, gently brushing the curls from my face as he tilted my head up. He looked deep into my eyes, “Are you okay?”
“Much better now you’re here. Please untie me.”
Planting a gentle kiss on my forehead, he set to work, unknotting my hands before kneeling down and dealing with my legs. I kept an eye on Chad the entire time, making sure he didn’t move. Instead, he just moaned and kept a hand to the nasty gash on the back of his head.
“What do you want me to do about him?” Cillian snarled in his direction.
Standing up, I placed my hand on Cillian’s chest, “I think it’s time we let the law take over. This isn’t you anymore, you’ve left that world behind.”
I could see Cillian visibly clenching his jaw as he fought away his past instincts of teaching the guy a lesson. Looking at Chad and then the mattress to the side made it very difficult for me to contain my own emotions but, somehow, I kept stable as I pulled my phone out from my pocket. I was lucky not to have lost it when Chad first knocked me out.
“911, what’s your emergency?”
***
Cillian
I watched as she finished her phone call and tucked her mobile back into her pocket. She gave me an unconvincing smile as she joined me out on the deck. Taking a drag of my cigarette I listened t
o her.
“My grandma said she can’t thank you enough for saving me. She’s still in shock but one of her friends will be staying with her tonight for comfort.”
“And are you sure you don’t want me to take you home?” I asked.
“There’s nothing more I want than to be here right now, with you. I can’t believe you rescued me. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to show you how grateful I am. I don’t know what Chad would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
A bubble of anger popped in me as I growled, “I do. Did you see what he had in that dingy basement of his? I think we both know exactly what that scumbag had in mind.”
I saw her shiver before she moved in close to me. Her arm snaked around me as she rested her head against my chest. I tensed for a moment, still unused to the touch of another human, but then warmth flooded through me. The relief of knowing she was safe made everything better.
Leaning back, she looked up at me before balancing on her toes to plant a quick kiss on my lips. It sent an electric shock running through me and I felt my body respond. Knowing that she had just been through a traumatic event, I pushed my natural urges to the side and swallowed. It wouldn’t be right for me to proposition her at this time, after everything that had happened in that cursed basement, I felt like a changed man.
A better man. She made me a better man. She saw right through me and knew that I wasn’t the man I appeared to be. She truly is different from the rest.
“You must be exhausted,” I said as I stroked her face, “It’s been a long day for you, I can’t even begin to imagine. I’ve already got the bed all set up. Obviously, you have nothing with you but I can lend you one of my t-shirts to sleep in if you want? I’m sure I can dig something appropriate out for you. I’ll be right outside on the couch, so you don’t have to worry…”
Her finger came to my lips, silencing me. It was then I saw the smile spreading across her face but it was the look in her eyes that gave her intentions away. I watched as she slowly drew her tongue across her lips, moistening them as she did so. The gleam of her saliva lingered in the moonlight as her mouth came once again to mine. This time there was an urgency in her kiss, she moaned as I bit down gently on her lower lip, her arms curling around my neck. Reaching down, I grabbed her from underneath, her legs automatically linking behind my back as I carried her back into the house, leaving the doors open, not caring. I placed her on my dining table, our mouths still joined as we kissed passionately. I was just about to start removing clothes when guilt stabbed at me and I abruptly pulled away.
“I can’t do this. I’m taking advantage of you. After all, you’ve been through,” I stammered.
“Shut up,” she clawed at my back, dragging me in until I felt her breath hot against my ear, “I want you to take advantage of me.”
With that one line of permission, I could resist no longer as I pulled my shirt over my head. I allowed her nails to run lines down my chest as I started to work at her clothes, pulling off her top and admiring the perky breasts encased in their lacy bra. My teeth grazed her throat as I hooked a thumb into her bra, brushing against her erect nipple. She moaned as I popped her breast from its casing, my mouth instantly descending upon it, sucking and flicking it with my tongue. I treated the twin to the same treatment until I could feel my own erection throbbing with need. My tongue laced a silvery path down her chest, looping her navel before nipping at the top her of jeans. Instantly, she reached down, unbuttoning and unzipping, she started to wriggle free from the denim captivity.
I couldn’t wait any longer as I gripped the waistband and tugged down hard, practically throwing the pants out the open sliding doors behind me. Underneath were a matching pair of panties to her bra. It took me less than a second to grip either side and pull, tearing them straight from her legs as she gasped. My fingers teased her inner thighs whilst my hand worked upwards until it reached her mound. They dwindled at her lips, stroking up and down until her wetness soaked them entirely before I plunged two fingers deep into her. She cried out as I worked at her in a steady tempo, her head tilted back as she lay splayed against the dining table. I was only a minute in when she looked up at me, hunger in her eyes.
“I want you inside of me. Right now.”
I didn’t need to be told twice as I pulled my fingers out, instantly unhooking my belt and freeing myself from the confines of my own jeans. I parted her legs with my hips as I positioned myself, rubbing my tip across her entrance as she moaned out in ecstasy. It was then I pushed in, filling her completely with my length. Her joyous scream filled the air as she scratched tracks down the center of my chest before dropping flat back onto the table, allowing me to build the tempo. Our flesh slapped against one another as I pounded, my hands placed either side of her head on the cool wood of the table. I could feel her clench around me as the impending orgasm built up within her, my own core tightened with it and soon I knew we were both on the precipice. One final push and I felt myself emptying out into her, my orgasm ripping through me as she wailed, her legs shuddered and her back arched. I collapsed forward, trapping her against the table with my weight as we held onto one another, sweat mingling between our bodies.
“Holy shit, that was amazing,” I could hear her breathing was uneven.
“You feel amazing,” I started to laugh.
Soon we were both laughing as I rolled off of her and stood up. Offering my hands, I assisted her to her feet, her legs unsteady after so much raucous activity on the table. I could see the red marks on the back of her thighs from where she had been pushed into the wood for so long. We both grinned at one another as I grabbed her hand and led her to the bathroom.
The shower was sensual, we both cleaned one another under the steamy jets. I hardened once more but decided that we had both been through enough that night. It was time to put the day behind us. After we had dried off, I gave her one of my old t-shirts to sleep in and I decided a pair of boxer briefs would suffice and we clambered into bed. She nestled her head into my arm as we snuggled together, only the occasional hoot of an owl outside to break the silence. After a while, she turned over to look at me.
“Thank you for rescuing me and thank you for stopping today.”
“Stopping?” I questioned.
“I knew that you would have killed Chad if you had kept going. I was half-tempted to let you. But I knew that wasn’t you, I knew you weren’t the person you have been so desperately trying to run from all this time. You moved here for a better life and to be a better person. Now look at you, you’re a hero. You’re my hero.”
Her smile lit up the darkened room as I replied, “It was you that made me change for the better. You’re right, I wouldn’t have stopped if it wasn’t for you. You were the one that made me realize I had a choice. It’s time for me to stop running, stop running from my past and to stop running from society. The scars on my body don’t define me, it’s the choices I make do. And right now, I choose you Kayla. After today, I won’t ever waste another minute without telling you – I love you.”
I felt a huge weight lift off my chest as the words feel freely from my mouth. She propped herself up on her elbow, smiling as she looked deep into my eyes.
“I love you too, Cillian.”
Epilogue
Kayla
The bell above the door jingled, sending a cold sweat running down my back. A year had passed, and I still found myself scared that Chad would walk through the door at any minute. I knew I was being silly. I knew he was locked up in a high-security psychiatric hospital in a different state. Nevertheless, I attended my counseling sessions on a weekly basis hoping one day the fear would dissipate altogether.
“Ready for our walk?”
I was already smiling as I looked up into the face of my boyfriend. Cillian maintained his rugged bad boy look but I knew just how warm he was deep down. Today I caught something different in his look.
Is he nervous?
“Sure, let me just get Rusty and we can head o
ut.”
“Actually, I was hoping we could go into the woods today. Near me. I wanted to take the bike.”
Confused, I nodded and headed upstairs. I wrangled my curls into a bun and put on my comfortable sneakers before applying a thin layer of lip gloss. Back downstairs Cillian grinned, and I grabbed my helmet from behind the counter. Locking the door behind me, I clipped my helmet into place before jumping on the bike behind Cillian. As usual, I wrapped my hands around him before the engine came to life beneath me. The wind tickled my bare neck as we headed out towards the wood, up the familiar winding path until we reached the dead end. We had only been back to Hamtara Waters a few times that year, but each time had been magical.
“What’s the occasion?” I asked as I placed the helmet on the bike.
“You’ll see,” he grinned as he took hold of my hand and we started our walk towards the lake.
We chatted for a while, I asked him about his automotive shop. He had seen an increase in numbers over the weeks after people began to realize just how talented he was. I knew it was also due to the fact that his prices were so low and, on occasion, he even did services for free. I remember how proud I felt when he had rushed out in the middle of the night to help a stranded mother, or the time he had helped free a child from a locked car. He was a changed man indeed.
The reflection of the waters came into view and a gentle breeze sent ripples across the surface. A fallen tree made an excellent perching place as we sat together, staring out across Hamtara Waters. We had been sitting for about five minutes when Cillian turned to me, his calloused hand holding mine.
“This year has flown by with you by my side. You helped with setting up my shop and you taught me how to market myself. Not only did you get my business up and running but you’ve shown me how to be a better man. I can’t believe just over a year ago I was living a life outside of the law, not caring who I hurt in the process. Now I enjoy helping people and I’ve found a community in which I have a place. It’s you who’s made me this better person. Last year I thought I was saving you but in reality, you were the one who saved me. I’ve always known there was something different about you and I was never able to quite put my finger on it but now I know – you’re the one. That’s why I brought you here today because this is where it all started. This is where I ask if you’ll do me the honor of becoming my wife?”
