Dirty Little Secret

Emma's POV     My eyes flutter open taking in the rays of sun spilling through a high broken window somewhere above me. A sudden pain shoots through my body as I try to move from my stiff position on what I can see is a cold, concrete floor. My eyes slowly adjust and I realize I am in some kind of warehouse or old factory, but I don’t really remember how I got here. Last thing I can remember is showing up at the assigned drop off location my dad gave me and meeting his business partner with the package I was given to deliver. After that, everything is black. Somewhere behind me, I can hear footsteps approaching and I struggle to sit up and turn around. Pain radiates through me, but I push through, knowing I need to protect myself.     “Well, well, well. Look who decided to wake up and join my little party.” a deep males voice laughs cynically coming out of the shadows towards me. “It’s so nice of you to keep me company Miss. Johnson.”     “Who the hell are you and what do you want?” I speak as sternly as I can, pulling myself from the ground and bracing myself for whatever is to come.     “I’m your worst nightmare sweetheart.” His face is hidden in the hood of a jacket, so I can’t make out any details of his features even though he is now less than 3 feet from me. “And it really doesn’t matter what I want because you’re going to do whatever I tell you to.” any humor his voice may have held is now gone as he reaches in and grabs a handful of my hair and yanks me to him. “Now, I want you to keep that pretty little mouth shut and do as I say or else it will be your life. You aren’t the first one to get some blood on my hands, so don’t think I’m bluffing.” his voice is menacing and should scare me, but I’m only concerned with the fact that I can feel his spit hit my neck as he speaks and the feeling disgusts me. I stay still for a minute before bringing my foot up behind me to kick him, but he grabs a hold of my ankle and throws me forward. Extending my arms out in front of me, I manage to catch myself just barely and immediately push myself back up on my feet. We fight, punch after punch, both of us getting in equal hits before his leg sweeps under my feet, knocking me back to the floor. He grabs me up by my hair again and yanks me up against him.     “Let me go!” I kick and swing my fists. “I swear to God, if you don’t let me go I wi..” my attacker's hand quickly covers my mouth and he leans into me.     “I told you to keep your mouth shut or I’d kill you.” he growls in my ear. Keeping one hand on my mouth, he wraps his other hand around my throat and begins to drag me across the cold, concrete floor. “I’m going to enjoy every second of this.” he laughs aloud, the sound echoing through the abandoned warehouse. He comes to a stop in the center of the room and his grip loosens on my neck as he stands me up straight, my back to him. Acting quick, I bite down on the hand covering my mouth and throw my head back, slamming into his face. He lets go of me and I take off in a full sprint to a door marked EXIT, knowing if I can make it outside, I will be okay.     “You little b***h!” he screams. I turn back for just a second and see blood pouring from his face where I hit him. I laugh internally as I turn my attention back to the door and continue running. “This isn’t over! I will find you and I will kill you!” his voice carries through the warehouse as I burst out the door and my feet hit the gravel of a small paved road. I pause for a moment taking in my surroundings and trying to decide the best direction to go. In the distance to my right I can hear car horns and squeaky brakes and I immediately turn and push my legs to move as fast as they can. Just a few hundred feet in front of me, I can see a busy intersection and behind me I can hear the angry rev of my attackers engine. Pushing myself as hard as I can now, I make it to the intersection and run right out in the middle causing a huge traffic jam. I can feel the eyes of my attacker bearing into me as I continue through the intersection and he is now stuck sitting behind a 6 car pile up. I slow myself to a more leisurely walk, feeling the pain from early returning, so that I don’t draw too much attention to myself, but I can still feel the eyes of strangers on me. I look down, taking in my appearance and realize that more damage than I thought had been done. My once form fitting, baby blue tank top is blood stained and torn at the waist and my denim shorts are covered in dirt and grease. My exposed pail skin is cut and bruising quickly from the fight. The stares are getting worse as I enter into a busier section of town, so I duck down a small side street through some old businesses and continue on my way back home.     Getting home, I go straight into the bathroom, avoiding my roommate who happens to be my best friend as well. I strip from my clothes and thrown them in the garbage can, making a mental note to get that taken out as soon as possible so no one sees it. I quickly shower and bandage myself up where needed before slipping into my room and throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a baggie hoodie to cover everything up. Typically this would look suspicious as it is 104 degrees outside, but I don’t plan on leaving my apartment for the rest of the day, so comfy clothes look normal. I hate having to hide everything from Amber, my best friend, but if she knew what I really did in my free time, it would put both of our lives in extreme danger. What I dealt with earlier was nothing compared to what will happen if I reveal my secret to her. Going back to the bathroom, I bag up the garbage and head out to the front door of the apartment. I see Amber in the kitchen and try tucking the garbage bag under my arm out of her sight.     "Hey Emma! When did you get home?" she calls to me. I reach for the door handle and turn it, pulling the door open, answering her before I step out.     "Just like 15 minutes ago. I walked home, so I was sweaty and stinky and went straight to the shower." I lie to her, but she seems to believe it. "I'm just going to take the bathroom trash out really quick because I noticed it was full. I'll be right back." I darted out the door, barely hearing her reply behind me. I walk down to the dumpster and throw the bag in and then turning and heading back to our apartment. I walk in and go to the kitchen, Amber still in there, cooking something that smells extremely delicious.     "What is that?" I ask walking over to her and looking over her shoulder at the pot she is stirring on the stove.     "I'm attempting my mom's chicken noodle soup recipe. Liam called earlier and said he hasn't been feeling well, so I told him and Noah to come over so I could feed everyone and take care of him."     "Oh awesome! I haven't heard from Noah much today, so it will be nice to see him." I turn and go to the fridge, grabbing out a juice and guzzling it down. Liam is Amber's boyfriend and Noah is my boyfriend; the two guys just so happen to be best friends like Amber and I, so the four of us spend a lot of time together. Liam and Amber have been together for almost 8 years, high school sweethearts, and they introduced Noah and I a few years after they started dating. We hit it off instantly and have been together 4 years now. "Did they say what time they would be here?" I ask walking towards the living room. Before Amber can answer me, there is a loud knock on the door and the guys burst through laughing and cutting up at some conversation they were having on the way over. "Never mind. I see they made themselves to home, once again." I roll my eyes and laugh, plopping down on the couch.     "Hey now! You're the one that gave us the key!" Noah says, walking over and placing a soft kiss on my lips.     "Remind me to take them back." I laugh and jokingly push him away from me.     "I am wounded by your words!" he grabs his chest and dramatically falls to the floor. "She's ripped my heart from my chest!" he cries out and we all bust into a fit of laughter. Noah has always been good at making us laugh no matter what, just one of the many things that made me fall for him. "Okay. I'm done now. When's the food going to be ready?" he jumps up from the floor and sits down on the couch next to me, pulling me into his lap. I wince slightly from the pain in my legs, hoping he doesn't notice. He gives me a strange look, but turns his head to the kitchen to talk to Amber.