Kidnapped ✨️New Version✨️

It’s just past midnight, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been staring at the ceiling for hours now. I can hear my mom and Frank down the hall, arguing like they do every night when Frank drinks too much. Unfortunately, it’s one of those nights where I’m sure the whole building can hear him.

Two years ago, Frank decided he wanted to try his hand at being a “City Guy”, and convinced my mom that we should leave behind the suburban life for crowded streets, endless sirens and a cheap apartment.

The angry drunken shouts are like white noise at this point, until I hear the conversation shift to me. I can’t help but roll my eyes. My mom used to always stand up for me, but she’s learned by now that things are a whole lot safer and easier if she just agrees to keep the peace. I get it, but it doesn’t make it feel any better.

I feel restless.

It’s my last week of senior year, and I just turned Eighteen. I’m still not sure where I want to take my life next, and I haven’t even thought about College yet. How could I, with the constant yelling and emotional turmoil I’m surrounded by?

I can feel the anxiety creeping in, so I slide out of bed and slip into my sandals, moving towards the window. With a quick flick, I unlatch the window and sigh as the cool night air rushes into the room.

I climb out carefully, landing softly in the grass before tugging the window shut behind me... One of the only perks of living on the ground floor.

The low purr of an engine pulls me from my thoughts, and when I glance up, there he is.

Josh, my frustratingly cute neighbor, who's lounging behind the wheel of his car with his arm draped casually out the open window. His eyes lock on mine and my cheeks instantly burn.

A slow, confident smile crosses his lips. “It’s a little late to be sneaking out, isn’t it? Pretty sure it’s a school night,” he teases.

I feel the heat rise in my cheeks. “What are you, a cop or something?” I shoot back, trying to sound confident.

He grins, tilting his head as his gaze drifts over me. “Well, where are you off to at this hour? Or is that a secret?”

I glance down at my feet, nerves and embarrassment prickling under my skin. “Um… anywhere but here.”

He gets it. Living next door, he’s had a front-row seat to Frank’s tirades.

He lifts his hand lazily, revealing a joint I hadn’t noticed. “Wanna hit it? Relax a bit?”

Caught off guard, I let out an awkward laugh. Josh has literally never paid attention to me, nonetheless asked me to smoke with him. “Thanks but, I’m not that cool” I stammer before I can stop myself.

But he just shrugs and reclines his seat like he didn’t expect me to say yes anyway.

“I better get going,” I say quickly, offering a small wave and stepping past his car. Please don’t trip, I think.

There’s a mini mart just down the street, and for lack of any better idea, I figure I’ll go grab a water and loop back. There’s not much else to do at this hour, but I’d rather be anywhere than stuck in that apartment.

Once I hit the main road, I glance up, searching the sky for stars.

Of course, there are none. Not here. Not in this city.

The walk is short but sweet, the faint breeze doing its best to calm the nerves buzzing just beneath my skin.

I cross the parking lot, the sound of my sandals soft against the pavement, and push open the glass door. A harsh wave of fluorescent light washes over me, followed by the sharp jingle of the entry bell.

The clerk barely looks up from her phone as I step inside, heading towards the back to grab a bottle of water from the cooler. The glass door hisses shut behind me, and I’m abruptly overwhelmed by a heavy weight settling in my chest. My skin prickles in warning. Somethings wrong. I don’t know how I know, but I can almost feel it in the air.

I try to shake it off, to breathe through the anxiety swelling in my throat, and start making my way back to the counter before I spiral into a full-blown panic attack.

But before I even make it past the first aisle...

Brrring.

The entry bell shrieks and the door flies open with violent force.

I freeze, adrenaline shooting through my veins. My body goes into autopilot, and I instantly drop into a crouch behind the closest shelf, my knees hitting the tile hard along with my bottle of water.

The moment breaks into chaos as the sound of a male voice rings out, harsh and commanding, followed by the sound of something heavy crashing against the counter.

I hold my breath, my pulse hammering in my ears, and risk a glance around the edge of the shelf before I can stop myself.

A man stands at the counter in a black ski mask, his body radiating control and coiled aggression. He’s shouting and gesturing wildly, and that’s when I see it. A gun, pointed straight at the cashier.

Oh God, no no no. Frank is absolutely going to kill me when he finds out I snuck out and got myself into this situation.

I shrink back into hiding as the girl behind the counter fumbles with the register. I can hear broken little pleas between the sound of rustling bills and a plastic bag being filled.

I can’t breathe. I can’t move. My vision gets inky at the edges, my heart racing so fast I feel like I might pass out.

I press my back into the wire rack behind me, trying to disappear, but the unintentional crinkling of chip bags fills the air.

A frantic whimper escapes me before I can stop it. It’s barely audible, but the damage is already done. Even through the chaotic sounds of the robbery, I can feel it. The deafening silence wrapping around my corner of the store. He heard me.

My whole body goes rigid. I squeeze my eyes shut, begging the Universe to let me disappear, and then I hear it. The thud of his boots, slow and heavy and headed right for me. I can hear the cashier, still sobbing, but my ears start to ring and my head starts to feel dizzy as I hear him getting closer.

And then all at once, the sound of his heavy footsteps stops. I don’t want to look, I’m too scared to see what I already know is right in front of me. But the silence, the weight of his presence is unbearable. My lashes flutter open.

He towers above me, his broad frame swallowing the light until all I can see is him. His head tilts, the mask unmoving as he studies me. I’m shaking, trying my best to shrink away from him while silently pleading for him to move along.

His eyes are dark and unreadable through the cutouts as they lock with mine.

I can’t move. I can’t scream. I can’t even blink.

My stomach drops, and before I can even process it, before I can think, he moves.

A blur of motion, and then his hand closes around my arm. I’m yanked upward like I weigh nothing, my sandals slipping off as my feet scramble for balance. A strangled scream escapes me, raw and panicked.

His grip is possessive and firm, fingertips digging into my arm roughly as he pulls me in close. The heat of his body radiates from him as he pulls me in until there’s no space left between us. I can feel the solid muscle beneath his shirt, his steady breathing, the tension thrumming beneath his skin.

His eyes drag over me slowly, deliberately, and a terrified flutter coils low in my stomach in response.

Then he exhales, deep, pleased, vibrating softly through his chest.

“Well,” he murmurs, his voice low and indulgent. “What a nice surprise.”

Each word is dark with amusement, hunger, interest. Like he’s already made up his mind. Like I belong to him now.

I thrash, twisting in his grip, but he doesn’t budge. If anything, it excites him.

He breathes in sharply, a quiet inhale that sounds too close to satisfaction. His fingers tighten, bruising around my arm as he drags me toward the front of the store.

“Stop!” I cry out, panic cracking through my voice. ”Please!" I shout.

His reaction is instant and brutal.

He slams me against his chest, knocking the air from my lungs as his grip locks me in place, his voice a growl against my ear.

“Don’t fucking do that,” he warns, low and seething.

I freeze, the scream dying in my throat as his threat consumes my senses. And then... his gaze lowers. Slowly. Lazily. From my eyes to my lips, and back again.

My stomach knots, heat and fear warring inside me.

My eyes shoot toward the counter, toward the girl still crying behind the register. But it’s too late.

With a jolt, the man crashes his shoulder into the front door, blasting it open with a violent slam. One arm wraps around me, the other clutches the bag of cash.

I scream again, kick, fight, but it only makes him move faster. He throws open the back door of a car and shoves me inside.

I hit the seat hard, knees slamming into vinyl. I scramble, but I don’t even get my bearings before the door slams shut behind me. Sealing me in.

I hear the lock. Trapped. The panic hits like a punch to the chest. My limbs won’t listen. My voice won’t rise. I claw at the handle. Try to scream again. But nothing comes out. Another door opens... driver’s side.

He climbs in and starts the car in one fluid motion. For a second, he glances at me, and even through the mask I can see that his expression is nothing short of excited.

He throws the car into reverse.

I fly forward, body crashing into the seat in front of me. But the pain barely registers through the shock.

Tires screech. The city blurs, and my world disappears behind us.

I curl into myself, breathless, shaking. “This isn’t happening,” I whisper. “This can’t be happening.”

But it is.

My arms wrap around my knees, forehead pressed to trembling hands as nausea twists through me. I should be in bed. Not here. Not in this stranger’s car. I don’t know how long we drive. Minutes? Hours? The road becomes white noise, broken only by the dull hum of tires and the pounding in my ears.

Then, the crunch of gravel. The car veers off the road, abruptly coming to a stop. My head snaps up, eyes frantically searching the windows for any clue as to where we are... But all I see is darkness.

The engine dies. He doesn’t move...he just sits there. Almost like he’s waiting for something.

I try to speak. To beg. To scream... But nothing comes out.

Then his door opens and slams, and I’m met with the sound of boots rounding the car to my side.

They stop, right outside my door. I stop breathing. I’m completely frozen as I sit there helplessly.

Waiting.

And then...there’s silence.

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