Whipe Off That Makeup, What's In Is Despair

Work in progress, incomplete.

ONE:

Simple moments change your life.
This statement rings true for me, on so many levels.At any given moment we have a choice. Do I want water or juice with lunch? Do I get the train home or catch a cab? The blue or black dress? Left or right?
They all make a difference, they all add up. Choices and moments, they can make and break your life. Every little thing adds up and brings you to where you are today; every little thing has added up and brought me to where I am today.
Here I am, sitting at my desk, working hard and nursing the headache from hell. I knew I had the headache because I was working too hard, because I was having trouble sleeping. I should have taken the day off, I should be resting, but here I am sitting at my desk, sick as a dog.
I couldn’t take it anymore, the pounding in my head, the bright computer screen, I needed to go home.
I packed up my things quickly, patching a quick call through to my boss explaining why I was leaving. The moment I hung up I thought about ringing my boyfriend to tell him I’d be home early, but I thought the better of it. He was probably working and wouldn’t want to be disturbed.
I jumped into the nearest cab, wanting to get home as quick as possible. I hated days like this, days when everything became too much to bear.
I couldn’t wait to get home.
I dragged myself from the cab to the stairs of my apartment, scrambling through my bag for my keys. It was bright and sunny, making me feel like an idiot for forgetting my sunglasses. After five minutes of searching I finally found my keys, dropping them once before finally getting the door open.
In triumph I dropped my bag at the door, kicking it shut with my feet.
“Daniel it’s me” I called out into the apartment. “Daniel?” I called again when no answer came. It was rare that he wasn’t home, he was a writer. He barely left the house unless he needed to when he was writing, and now was one of those times.
“Dan?” I asked, pulling my off the jacket to my work suit and walking towards the bedroom. “Daniel?”
I pulled open the door to the bedroom; it felt weird that Daniel wasn’t home.
As small startled scream escaped my mouth as I was hit with the scene in front of me. “Oh my God” I breathed.
“Becca!” came a startled response from Daniel. “This isn’t what it looks like...” he trailed off. We both knew he was lying.
In front of me was something that I would never have to witness. In front of me was my boyfriend of three years and my best friend, naked and in my bed. There was nothing that needed to be explained to me, there was nothing that was unclear.
At that moment questions were running through my pounding head, anger was building up, hurt was bubbling over, I didn’t know what to do. Clutching my jacket tightly in my hands I ran, ran through the now unlocked door and down the steps I had stumbled up earlier.
“Becca wait!” I heard him shout, but I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t need to hear it, I needed to get away. Clutching my things to my chest I ran down the street, not caring where I was going or where I ended up.
How could he do this to me? How? After everything we had done together, after all the time we’d been together. I was beyond hurt; tears were streaming down my cheeks.
I spent hours just walking the streets, heels in hand, makeup running down my face as the tears continued to run. I couldn’t, no I wouldn’t go home, but I didn’t know where else to go. Everyone I knew was somehow connected to Daniel, everyone that I could go see would remind me of Daniel. We had been together for so long; our worlds had merged into one.
I didn’t know exactly how long I had been walking around for, but I knew it was starting to get late. The sun was on its way down and it was starting to get cold. I looked around for a cab, searching the empty streets.
I was reaching through my bag for my phone when everything went black.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Stupidly she fought against the restraints that bound her, it was instinct, he knew, but that didn’t make it any less amusing. In the corner he sat, he waited. When she finally gave up he would show himself. He’d been watching her for years, what were a few more hours?
Everything had gone according to plan, her stupid boyfriend had done exactly what he thought he would, and she had reacted the way he expected. Now she was his, all his, and there was no one who could get in his way.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I was tied up to what seemed to be a bed, I didn’t know if it was rope or leather around my wrists and ankles, but whatever it was it was doing its job. I couldn’t move.
Despite the fact that I knew struggling was useless, I kept trying to break free, wishing that my binds would just break.
I didn’t know where I was, or who had taken me, but I did know that wherever I was, I didn’t feel safe.
The room around me was dark, and the bed was hard. There was no other furniture, no couches, no chairs, no other shapes I could make out. I couldn’t even tell if there was a window, I couldn’t really see far enough to make out the walls.
“You should stop struggling, it really is worthless” said a voice from the darkness. I didn’t know exactly where it had come from, but it sounded amused.
“Who are you?” I asked tentatively, my voice hoarse in the dark room.
“Does it matter?” laughed the voice.
“It matters to me” I replied softly. I could feel the welling of tears in my eyes, I bit down on my bottom lip in defiance, I wasn’t going to cry. I would not let myself cry.
“Why?” they laughed. “So you know what name to scream?”
“Scream?” the question escaped my lips before I had time to think. It was a stupid question; of course I would need to scream. I was with some sick and twisted person who wanted to torture me in every possible way.
“What are you going to do to me?” I asked in a soft whisper. Wouldn’t it be better to be prepared? To know at least in advance what to expect?
“Ah sugar, that would be ruining the surprise now wouldn’t it?” came the amused reply. I had a feeling that I was in no way, shape or form going to enjoy this surprise.
“For now I think you can wait” they sneered. “Let the excitement build.”
I felt sick to my stomach. What was this sick bastard going to do to me? Better yet, why me?
I wasn’t someone special, I wasn’t someone of worth to kidnap and torture. They would get nothing out of it, no one would come looking for me, and no one would pay a ransom for me. Daniel would give up hope after a few weeks, move on and forget me. I’m sure he’d settle back into his life with ‘the other woman’ just fine.
My heart sank. How could I not have known? How could I have been so stupid?
This person had me for as long as they wanted me and no one would care. My family had cut me off; they had gone so far as to disown me. The only person who I thought cared for me was cheating on me, I was worthless.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

He smiled as he walked out the door, locking her into the room. Everything had gone according to plan, but he still had one thing to deal with; her stupid boyfriend. He had so much as crushed her, and that did not sit well with him. Her boyfriend had taken her for granted and now he had to pay, he had to know exactly what he had lost.
“Watch my girl for me Bob” he muttered as he started for the door.
“Gee what is all this about?” asked Bob from the couch in the corner. “Why is she here? What exactly are you up to?”
“Nothing” shrugged the other man. “Just watch her Bob, and stop asking questions.” Bob rolled his eyes and shrugged.
“Fine” muttered Bob from the couch, he knew the girl couldn’t escape even if she was a genius. Gerard wouldn’t have been that sloppy, the man was like a machine, exact, perfect, calculated, reserved and he had never made a mistake. Not once, in all the time that Bob had known him he had never once made a mistake.
“I’ll be back soon” said Gerard before walking out the door. Bob sighed as the door slammed shut, in all the time that he had known Gerard nothing had changed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I struggled against the restraints that bound me. This couldn’t be happening, this couldn’t. It had to be some sort of nightmare. This was not real.
I would wake up tomorrow and everything would be fine. I’d wake up in my own bed, my headache would be gone and Daniel would be there, lying next to me. Everything would be fine, life would go back to normal and this nightmare would be nothing but a distant memory.
This was a dream; this whole thing was a dream. I just needed to wake up.
I heard the door creak open and then shut softly, the small moment of light hurting my sensitive eyes.
“Honey I’m home” the voice from before was back. This time he sounded happier, almost as if he was a child who had just gotten exactly what he wanted for Christmas. I didn’t reply, I didn’t say anything. Just because this was all a dream, it didn’t mean I had to fight fair.