by Ginny Lynn
“Felicia, listen. I’ve been taken to another apartment inside my complex. I don’t know where I am. I’m tied down to a rollaway bed and feel drugged. Can you hear me?”
“Sam, are you there? I’m having a problem hearing you. It sounded like you said you were tied up in someone’s apartment.”
“Yes. I’m tied down and have to use the loudspeaker. Please get someone to find me before he comes back.”
I heard laughter on her end, “You’re funny. Now seriously, where are you?”
Wanting to scream, I held it in while I tried to talk to her again.
“Felicia, this isn’t me trying to pull a prank on you. This is a code red. Do you hear me, code red?” I had to use our signal of trouble from our childhood and hoped she caught it.
“Code Red, holy shit! You’re not kidding. Tell me what’s around you.”
Thankfully, she had caught on.
“I think I’m in the same complex as my apartment since the floor plan looks the same. I don’t know how long I’ve been here or even how I got here. I’m tied down to a bed that I rolled into the hallway in order to get to my phone. No one’s here. I’m not sure how long I’ll be alone.”
“I’m on my way there now. I’m calling the police on my work cell phone. Don’t hang up on me.”
I heard some noise and then voices, “Sam, do you notice anything else around you?”
“I smell fresh paint and new carpet. I must be in a refurbished apartment.”
I heard her repeat this to the other person and Felicia came back on to tell me they were on the way to me. I heard her dialing again before a guy’s voice came over the speaker. I thought it was Conrad but couldn’t be sure.
Felicia came back on with me. “The police have someone already in the neighborhood and will start searching the empty units. Dispatch will call the property manager for keys. Conrad is on the way too. Stay on the line with me.”
“I’ll try, but my hands are numb on this button.”
“Keep the line open while I drive there. If someone comes in then I’ll hear what happens.”
It felt like razor blades were holding my wrist down. After a few minutes, I heard someone running up the stairs and whispered a prayer to God.
“Are you still with me?” Felicia asked.
“I’m here. I hear someone running up the stairs outside. What if he’s back? What do I do?”
I held my breath as it got quiet again.
“Just stick with me. I’m almost there. The police are everywhere out here. Did you sleep with someone famous at the police station?”
We always tried humor to break tension.
“Yes. The mayor, his son, and the family dog. You can have all the pictures if you just get me out of here.”
I heard a beep and craned my neck to see that my battery was low. I informed Felicia. She groaned.
“Save your battery in case this takes longer. I don’t like the idea of disconnecting, but you need that phone in case something happens. Go ahead and turn it off, but keep it next to you.”
I heard her car door slamming as she got out at the parking lot.
“Hang in there babe. I love you,” she stated before cutting her phone off.
I turned mine off and tried to slip it under my butt to keep it hidden. I didn’t know how long it would take for them to find me. I decided to keep moving toward the front door while I was stuck in this purgatory.
I knew it had to be dark outside since there was no light around the windows or door. Being as tired as I was, it took several tries to get all the way to the kitchen. I had run into the wall a couple times before getting a few feet from the door. I was blocked by more furniture and barely had the strength to push it out of the way.
Hearing more footsteps I started crying out for help. If it was my attacker, then he’d be upset that I had gotten this far. I heard a loud noise accompanied by more voices, one of them sounded familiar.
I screamed for Conrad as loud as I could. I began shaking the bed so they could hear me. Then the door was flung open. My eyes couldn’t adjust to the bright light pointing daggers into my head. The figure coming toward me was reaching out. I heard him say my name.
“Are you okay? Please tell me you’re okay.”
He stood beside the bed with his hands tracing my face.
“Thank God you found me, Conrad.”
I rubbed my face against his rough palm and tried to stop the tears. Several people were with him. One of them waved the flashlight over my body and over the straps holding me down.
“Oh my God. I need to get these off of you. It’s not going to be pleasant.”
I nodded. He pulled out a pocketknife. He swung it open and began to saw at my restraints, to only be stopped. The police needed to keep his fingerprints from being on the evidence. A gloved officer came up with scissors and completed the task.
Two police officers went to look around the place for any evidence that could be collected. Once freed, I attempted to jump from the offending bed, only my legs folded under my weight. Conrad was quick enough to catch me before I fell to the floor. Wrapping my arms around him, I held on tight. He gently rocked me. I wasn’t able to say anything. The lump in my throat barely allowed me to swallow. Feeling him swing me up into his arms, I hung on as tightly as I could with my stinging hands.
He walked out into the dark and stopped at the stairway just outside the doorway. He slowly slid down to sit us on the stairs. He kept me in his lap the entire time. I didn’t want him to let me go.
“Where do you hurt?” Conrad asked while he brushed the hair from my face.
He ran his hands down my body to assure himself that everything was intact. I gasped when his hands brushed my wrists. He gently lifted my hands to the light for inspection.
I heard him grind out, “If I ever get my hands on him, it’ll be the last thing he ever feels.”
Glancing up I saw the fury that passed across his face as he looked at my raw flesh.
“How did you find me? Where am I?”
“Felicia called me when she had you on hold. I’m already your designated rescuer, remember?” He forced a grin.
“Where am I?”
I tried looking around, but he was blocking part of my view. Swiveling my head around I saw it, my front door was right behind us.
“Oh, God help me. You mean I was next door to my apartment the whole time?”
I started shaking at the rage building inside of me. He held me tighter. I sunk into his warmth.
“We started searching all the apartments that were empty and came to this one last. No one would ever have thought to check here first. It explains why no one saw you leave. I’m so sorry, honey.”
I just kept staring at my door as if it would have the answers to my questions.
“Is it broken? How did I get next door?” I stammered up at him.
“No one seems to know. Your door is intact, so we’ll only need to check on anything being missing,” a police officer said as he came up behind us. “Ma’am, may I have your key to check your apartment for any evidence?”
I nodded up at him. A female officer came to us with my purse and cell phone in her gloved hand. She asked my permission to get the key out. I nodded again.
All of a sudden it hit me, “I have to call Felicia. She’ll be worried about me.”
“I’m right here, Sam.”
I heard her voice from below us. Looking in between the steps, I saw her standing with a large male officer. He was keeping back anyone trying to get up the stairway, including my friend. The officer moved aside and she bolted up the steps toward me. I don’t know who squeezed me harder, Conrad or Felicia.
“Please tell me you’re really okay,” she said as she looked me over.
I nodded at her. She noticed Conrad holding my arms just above the tortured skin.
“Did he do that to you?”
“No, I did that trying to escape.”
I looked at my wrists for the first
time and bit my lip. They were raw, blistered and had blood dried on them. Flexing the muscles, I realized they looked worse than they felt.
She had the same questions I did and Conrad gave her the same answers.
“I don’t remember much after lying down on the couch. The first time I woke up I thought someone was talking to me. I was alone the second time. I thought it was Bella.”
I frowned at my gap in memory.
“You’ll have to tell the detective everything you can remember. He should be here any minute,” Conrad said.
“I’m right here folks. Sorry to be seeing you all under these circumstances,” Detective Montrose said as he came up the steps.
“Why don’t you stay with our young lady while I talk to the officers on site?” Montrose asked Felicia.
“Samantha, I’m going with Detective Montrose to look around. Felicia will be here with you the entire time. Try to go over everything in your head, no matter how small. We’ll need every little detail,” said Conrad.
He placed a swift kiss on my lips before sliding me off his lap. I saw him follow the detective inside the now lit apartment and wondered what they could be looking for.
Felicia got the female officers attention and asked for some bandages to cover my wrists. Though the officer needed everything as evidence, she radioed to someone and nodded to Felicia who was clucking her tongue in frustration.
The large officer who was at the bottom of the stairway came up with a first aid kit. He smiled at Felicia as he handed the small box to her and both of them started taking things out to bandage my wrists. It was like I wasn’t there. They administered to me as if I was a child, and I let them. I didn’t want to be aware of any of this. I wanted to stay numb.
* * * *
I didn’t feel like talking, even though I knew I would have to when Detective Montrose came back. I wasn’t even aware of the time until I glanced at Felicia’s watch as she fiddled with the first aid kit contents.
I gave my statement in a blur. Conrad ushered me into his truck with my backpack at my side. Felicia had already called Raven and Chastity to tell them what had happened and inform them I was staying with Conrad tonight. I didn’t speak to either of them during the calls.
I was aware of all the steps being taken for my safety, but was in a separate state from my body as it was planned out for me. Prior to being ushered into the truck, I had been checked over by a physician who had declared me in shock followed by a package of pills being offered to me. I had swallowed two of the pills as Felicia had instructed and now sat as the scenery passed by me through the truck window.
Rain streamed down the glass and I just stared at the patterns it made. It reminded me of a spider web where one thing was connected to another and formed yet another line coming from it. If this was true, then Jason was the spider and all of these actions were a direct result of him being what he was. I shook my head as I realized the image I was creating. I wanted to be back in reality again, even if it hurt. The next thought I had was something on my hand and it startled me.
“We’re here and it’s still raining. Stay where you are while I get the front door open.”
He grabbed my backpack before shooting out into the night. He came back with an umbrella in hand. He quickly led me into his cabin as lighting streaked the sky. We shook the water off our bodies.
“Let me show you around.”
His hand slid to my waist and led me around for the tour.
“As you can see, there isn’t much to it but I call it home. This is the den and on your left is the kitchen. The hallway leads to the bathroom, the utility room is before the staircase that leads to the loft bedroom”
I took in my surroundings. The den in front of me was warm and inviting with a large stone fireplace, couch, loveseat and a wood rocking chair. There was an amazing picture window opposite the sofa. The kitchen was all medium tone oak with black appliances and a butcher block in the middle. It had a tiled bar that faced the den with padded stools under it.
I saw a dimly lit hallway that lead to the left and noticed beautiful hardwood floors through out the house. Going into the bathroom I glanced over the antique style tub and sink that were on the same hardwood floors. There was a white faux fur rug next to the tub.
He opened the door to the utility room where I saw floor to ceiling bookcases of wood beside his washer and dryer. The utility sink in the other corner held a large pair of rubber boots. He seemed embarrassed about his clothes lying in a pile near the washer, so I acted as if it wasn’t there.
He directed me up the wood stairway to the loft bedroom. As with the den, it was warm earth tones and simple wood floor. There was a set of French doors that led to the balcony I had walked under at the front door. The bed was an antique four poster of darker wood that matched the dresser and nightstands against opposite walls.
Turning around, I saw him place my backpack on the bed.
“You can sleep here tonight and I’ll take you back home tomorrow. There’s no rush. I have no plans and can take you back whenever you’re ready.”
I nodded and then realized why there was no rush to get back home. The images played in my mind, as if it was a movie, and tears started streaming down my face.
“Oh, honey,” Conrad whispered as he wrapped his strong arms around me in a tight embrace.
I just stood there as the fear seeped out of my body. When the tears subsided Conrad slid his hand around to lightly grip my chin.
“You don’t have to go back there until you’re ready. I want you to feel safe. I have plenty of room and have no problem sharing it with you. We’ll just take this one day at a time.”
He placed an impossibly soft kiss upon my lips and hugged me as I tried to control my breathing.
“I’m going downstairs to fix you something to eat while you get comfortable, okay?”
I nodded before releasing him and turned to the window again. The sky wasn’t as ominous as before, yet rain steadily beat against the windowpane. I unzipped my backpack to see what had been packed for me. I didn’t know who packed it or what I would need before returning home.
I saw two camisoles, two boxer shorts, a pair of jeans, two t-shirts, underwear and my brown leather sandals. Unzipping the side pocket, I saw the toiletries were still in there. Hanging the empty bag on the closet door, I decided to head downstairs to see what Conrad was making for me.
The smell I inhaled as I sauntered down the steps was wonderful and slightly comforting. Coming around the corner, I saw him flipping sandwiches without a spatula. He slid a grilled cheese sandwich onto the plate by the stove.
“My parents always fixed these for me when I was feeling bad. I hope you like them. It was the only thing I could think of on short notice.”
He smiled sheepishly as he slid the plate over to me.
“I love them, especially when they’re extra gooey.”
I took the plate over to the bar and sat on the center stool before taking a bite of the warm crust.
“Yummy. Thanks for the thought and also for rescuing me yet again.”
I swallowed the treat down before realizing just how hungry I was.
“Since it’s after midnight, why don’t we call it a day and try to get some sleep?”
He stacked the dishes in the dishwasher before coming up behind me at the bar. Holding out his hand to me, I took it before sliding back off the stool to follow him back upstairs. He smiled when he saw my things lying across his bed, as if he liked seeing them there.
“Go ahead and change while I get the couch ready for myself downstairs. And don’t think that I’ll be uncomfortable because I bought it for its comfort. I’ll grab some things to change into before I go. Yell for me to come tuck you in after you’ve changed.”
I started getting out my night clothes as he fumbled through his dresser. He reached over me to get my toothbrush and said he was heading downstairs to the bathroom.
I didn’t start undressing until I heard the bathro
om door click shut. After getting into my camisole and boxers, I folded my dirty clothes in a pile on the edge of the dresser. Beside it was a copper statue that matched the wall hanging beside the bed. The pieces were smooth and cool to the touch with intricate pieces weaving through a center ring. The statue was tall and slim and the wall piece was more elongated. Studying them thoughtfully I knew there was a theme to them that wasn’t natural to the naked eye. It was like those pictures that have a dual meaning, if you can stare at them long enough.
I heard Conrad come out of the bathroom and he shouted up a warning to me before climbing the steps. I had already told him to come on up as I continued to analyze the beautiful wall piece.
“You like that?” Conrad questioned as he came up behind me at the bed.
“Yes, it’s beautiful. I know they’re symbolizing an embrace but I can’t quite grasp the entire idea. It’s on the tip of my tongue, so I need help figuring it out. Where did you get such intriguing art work?” I asked as I kept looking at it.
“Out in my barn.”
He smiled at me as he placed his arm around my waist.
“You made these?” I asked in amazement, not realizing he was capable of such graceful work.
“Yeah, I did those and a hundred more like it, just not exactly like this one. These are solely my idea and none are exactly alike. You’re correct in thinking there was an idea behind them.”
He reached behind us for the matching statue and brought it closer for a better look.
“You see these pieces at the bottom? These are the legs of the man and these are the legs for the woman,” he said as he worked his way up the copper. “These are the arms that wrap around each other and the center is a wedding band”
Immediately, I saw what he had designed and it was a couple in a heated embrace. Looking up at the wall I realized it was the same couple, yet they were lying down instead of standing. It was brilliant and sensual at the same time.