Caged

A Close Call

Throwing her bag strap over her shoulder, nineteen year old Savannah Davis got ready to leave the bar in which worked.

It was currently 1:30AM in the morning and the place had been packed out all night. She hated working at a bar, what with all the drunken guys coming in with their lamest pick up lines, but the reason that she stuck it out was because it was necessary. If she were to save up enough money to get out of town, then the job was her only option.

Despite how much she disliked the job, she disliked going home to the apartment that she shared with her boyfriend Matthew even more. It wasn't that she didn't love him - she did. With all her heart for that matter. The problem wasn't their love, but rather his behaviour.

Matthew, or Matt, had a very narcissistic personality. Aside from that he was controlling and neurotic, almost everything was all about him. He never really cared for her and she could see that clearly. Even more so since they had been living together.

"I don't have anywhere else to go." She whispered to remind herself.

It didn't matter how much she saved up, because she could have all the money in the world and still have no where to go. She couldn't go back to her parents - they had turned her room into an office for her father almost straight after she'd moved out. Her brother Sylvester was out of town and had recently settled in a one bedroom apartment after graduating college. The rest of her family remained in Australia.

"Goodnight Krissy!" She called to her colleague that was just taking over her shift.

Luckily it was a Saturday night, or rather early Sunday morning, which meant she would have the day to rest before college on Monday.

She headed out the door, the bell ringing as she did so, and made her way down the two steps and then turned right to walk to the bus stop which wasn't too far away.

As she began walking the empty streets, she heard the sound of quiet footsteps behind her. Rather than stopping to look behind, she instead picked up her pace and began walking faster until she reached the bus stop. Once there, she took a minute to catch her breath before looking up at the times.

The next bus wasn't until ten to two. Just her luck to have to wait in the freezing cold for twenty minutes.

Looking around the familiar area as she waited, with her arms folded against her chest to keep warm, she caught sight of a man stood waiting at the bus stop. She made a quick glance out of the corner of her eyes, and then inched away hoping that he wouldn't notice.

Unfortunately for her, he did.

"Good evening miss." The stranger greeted.

Savannah's stomach dropped. This was exactly what she was hoping to avoid, but by stepping away, she had drawn his attention to her.

"Uhh...Good evening?" She spoke back cautiously.

"Cold out here isn't it?" He questioned.

This time she didn't speak back, just nodded. Horrified, she watched as he inched towards her.

"Excuse me, I'd really rather you kept your distance Sir. Nothing personal, I just like my personal space." She requested, her attention now fully on him.

Rather than respecting her boundaries, the man, who she couldn't quite see because of how dark it was, took another- rather large - step. Now being directly in front of her.

She could feel her heart rate picking up and see her breath puffing out in huge clouds of air against the darkness. Something about him made her feel unsettled, and she sure wished that the bus would come sooner.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing out here, alone, at this hour?" He asked, completely disregarding her request.

"W..work." She stammered, her lower lip trembling.

She watched, frozen with fear, as a smirk crawled onto his face. Then she realised her mistake. Without realising it, she had just confirmed to him that she was in fact, alone. Frantically searching her mind for something to say that would get her out of this situation, she came up with nothing - too distracted by his every move.

"It's okay sweetheart. No need to be nervous...just relax." He told her.

That's when it happened. She swallowed nervously, trying to think of anything to say that would put him off, but before she could say anything, he brought his hand to her mouth and silenced her.

She whimpered and brought a hand up to the one he had placed against her lips, attempting to pull him away. But he was just too strong, and instantly managed to smack her hand away and shove her against the cold glass of the bus stop. Her body began to shake as she anticipated what he was going to do. She watched him as his eyes scanned her body.

"Don't scream. I don't wanna have to hurt you." He threatened, and then added, "Don't try fighting me either. I have a knife and I will use it if necessary." He finished.

Scared of what would happen if she dared to fight him and run, she stilled. Her heart felt like it was going to explode as his free hand slid down her body to where the waistline of her skirt, which was a reasonable length, and began to tug at it.

A tear fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek as she squinted her eyes shut, not wanting to see what was happening. She felt his hand creeping towards her private area and felt when he tugged at his belt, and got it loose. She prepared herself for the pain that would tear through her....

But it never came.

"Hey you!" Another voice shouted.

Savannah's eyes flew open and she watched as the man's head jerked up and looked in the direction that the other voice had come from. He quickly yanked up his trousers and fled the scene, leaving her stood against the glass absolutely terrified.

Curiously, she looked in the direction that the man had, wanting to know who had frightened him away. Despite more tears threatening to fall from her eyes, she stood up straight as another stranger approached the stop.

"Miss, are you okay?" They asked, stepping into her line of vision.

Taking in the sight of him, although she was still very shaken, she gave him a small smile.

He was fairly tall, and had sandy blonde hair that almost glowed in the dark. Despite what had just happened, she took a step forward so that he could see her clearly.

"I..I think so." She stammered. "Thank you." She added, relieved that he'd come along - dreading to think of what would have happened if he didn't.

"That man was a real creep huh? Look, it was no problem." He replied.

His voice was warm and gentle, not at all like the man that had just tried to get his rocks off with her.

"So...where are you headed?" He asked.

"Not too far. The bus stops right outside of my apartment....Hill Side." She informed him, her voice was becoming slightly more steady as she regained herself.

"Oh really? That's awesome. I live in one of the Hill Side apartments too." He told her.

"Wow! That's such a coincidence... though I've never seen you around before, did you just move in?" She questioned.

"No. I've been there a few months, but I couldn't go out for a long time because of...issues. This is my first time out. The name's Theo, by the way." He explained, introducing himself.

She nodded in understanding and found herself calming down a little as she took note of the warmth in his eyes.

"Well...thank you Theo, you really saved me. I'm...my name's Savannah." She introduced herself.

Before either of them could get another word in, the bus pulled up and the doors flew open.

As they both boarded the vehicle, he let her go in front and stood behind her, but when she put the money into the little metal box, she requested a companion ticket from the driver and pulled the receipt out once it was printed before turning to the boy who had just saved her.

"No need to worry about bus fares. I got you covered." She informed him as they went to sit down.

She sat on one of the seats near the front of the bus, and he stood for a moment, hesitating whether or not he should sit next to her.

Noticing his hesitation, she patted the empty seat next to her and watched as he sat down.

"You know, you really didn't have to pay my fares." He told her.

"Oh come on, it's the least I can do after you scared that creep off." She replied.

"Well, thank you." He concluded.

"No need." She smiled.

Barely anyone was on the bus barr a few drunken clubbers - as expected for that hour of night. It was nice and peaceful, which she appreciated after her ordeal back at the bus stop.

It didn't take long for the bus to get them to Hill Side, and as they got off she stopped and turned to Theo before entering the building of multiple apartments.

"Door number 20. Incase you ever need anything." She informed him.

Many would call her crazy for telling him that information, but she didn't care. If anything, she was grateful that he had stopped something awful from happening to her and had been kind enough to check if she was okay afterwards.

"Thank you. But honestly, it's no big deal. That creep was doing something that was beyond wrong. I wasn't going to stand and watch it happen....now do you have anyone with you?" He questioned, genuine concern in her voice.

"Uh..yeah. My boyfriend Matt. He's probably waiting for me." She answered him honestly.

"Cool. Well he is one lucky guy. A little foolish too...if I had a girl as beautiful as you, there's no way I would let her travel home alone at this hour without meeting her to bring her back." Theo said softly, as he held the door open, allowing her to go through.

"Thank you." She nodded as she stepped into the empty hall.

"And he always likes to wait back at home for me." She informed him.

"Shame that is." He replied and pulled out a pen.

"Hand?" He requested.

Hesitantly, she held it out to him and then watched as he scribbled something across her palm. Trying not to squirm as the tip of the pen tickled her sensitive skin.

"My number. Incase you ever need anyone to help you out." He informed her once he'd finished.

"Thanks..I think." She smiled and then nodded a goodbye at him before heading up the stairs to her apartment.

If she knew what was awaiting her as soon as she stepped through the door, then she definitely wouldn't have bothered.