Chapter Twenty-Three: Abduction Part II
1393 Words
A week later...
The night wasn’t silent—it pulsed. The hum of streetlights, the occasional rush of cars blocks away, the restless shuffle of branches rubbing together overhead. But to Gabe, all of it bent into rhythm, a background symphony that carried only one melody: hers.
Every step she took, cut through the air like a drumbeat that only he could hear. He had followed those notes before, but tonight was different. Tonight, he wouldn’t just follow. Tonight, he would claim.
The anticipation sharpened his senses. His pulse didn’t just beat—it roared, a river pounding inside his skull. He had rehearsed this in his head countless times, but rehearsals always broke apart when reality intervened. Still, the fantasy clung to him, stronger than any doubt.
And then—there she was.
Aris stepped out of a café, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. The neon lights painted the edges of her hair red and blue, as though she were haloed in fire. Her posture was relaxed, but not careless—her head tilted, eyes scanning instinctively. Always aware. Always alive in a way that made him feel like she was unreachable.
He whispered to himself, “You don’t even know what you mean.”
She moved toward the crosswalk, her steps firm, deliberate. He tracked her from across the street, weaving through shadows. Every ounce of restraint felt like fire on his skin. The plan in his mind wasn’t neat anymore; it wasn’t clean. His obsession burned too wildly to leave room for elegance.
He closed the distance.
Aris’s gaze flicked toward the sound of his shoes scuffing the sidewalk. Sharp as a blade, her eyes landed on him. “You again,” she said, voice low, warning threaded through steel.
“Don’t run,” Gabe muttered.
“I don’t run,” she snapped, squaring her shoulders. “But you’re going to back off.”
Her defiance struck something raw in him. He had dreamed of her trembling, crying, yielding. Yet here she stood, glaring fire into him, as if daring him to try.
He lunged.
Aris twisted aside, shoving him with the heel of her palm. The impact cracked against his chest, knocking him a half-step back. She didn’t hesitate—spun, swung her bag like a weapon, forcing him to duck.
“You’re pathetic!” she barked. “You think I’ll ever go with you?!”
“You don’t get a choice!” His voice was ragged, desperate, the sound of a cornered animal.
She shoved him again, but this time he anticipated, catching her wrist. She struck with her free hand, knuckles connecting with his jaw. His head snapped sideways, vision flashing white, but he didn’t let go. Instead, he yanked, dragging her closer.
Her knee shot upward, fast and vicious. Pain exploded through his ribs. He gasped, stumbling, and she tore free, bolting toward the street.
Rage surged. He couldn’t lose her now.
Gabe darted after her, cutting angles, forcing her toward a narrower block. She fought back with everything—shoving garbage bins into his path, swinging her bag, shouting into the night. “Somebody! Help!”
But no one came. The street was hollow, asleep.
He grabbed her again, twisting, using his shoulder to slam her lightly against the wall. She grunted, twisting like a wildfire in his grip. She clawed at his arm, shoved, spat in his face.
“You’re disgusting!”
His free hand lashed out—not striking, but grabbing at the strap of her bag. He yanked. The strap snapped, the bag dropping to the pavement. Her gasp was sharp, startled, giving him half a second’s opening. He used it.
With a desperate shove, he tried to force her down the alley. She kicked at the wall, pushing off, spinning them both sideways. They crashed into metal trash cans, the crash ringing out like a gunshot.
She scrambled upright, but he was faster this time, dragging her back by the arm. She screamed, voice echoing, raw with fury. “LET ME GO!”
Her words rattled him, but his obsession screamed louder.
“You’ll understand!” he panted. “I’ll make you understand!”
Every part of her was a weapon—knee, elbow, fist, voice. She drove her elbow into his gut, twisted her wrist against his grip. For every dirty trick he used, she countered with one born of instinct and fire.
But he was relentless. When she slipped free, he used the distraction to hook his foot behind hers, pulling her balance away. When she tried to swing, he grabbed her jacket, wrenching it to throw her momentum off. When she bent to grab her bag from the ground, he kicked it further into the shadows.
She never stopped fighting. But each moment cost her energy, and Gabe fed on that exhaustion like fuel.
“TOBE!” she screamed, desperate.
The name sliced into Gabe’s ears like a blade.
Tobe.
The wall. The anchor. The one who made everything harder.
“No one’s coming,” Gabe spat, yanking her toward him again. “It’s just us. It’s always been us.”
Aris slammed her head back against his shoulder, breaking his rhythm. He howled, staggering, nearly losing grip. She broke free again, sprinting, but his hand caught her ankle. She toppled hard against the pavement, breath leaving her lungs in a gasp.
He was on her in a second, trying to haul her upright. She thrashed like lightning, scratching, clawing, kicking. He grunted, felt the sting of her nails across his face.
“You’re not taking me anywhere!” she spat, blood bright in her mouth where she’d bitten her lip.
“I already am,” he hissed, dragging her inch by inch toward the darker stretch of alley.
Tobe was running.
The text she’d sent minutes earlier—On my way home now—was still fresh on his screen. He hadn’t expected silence after that. Aris didn’t go quiet. Not unless something was wrong.
And then he’d heard the crash. Metal, sharp and jarring, somewhere in the direction of the back streets.
He sprinted, calling her name. “Aris!”
No answer. His heart slammed against his ribs. His lungs burned. But he ran faster.
Back in the alley, Aris twisted again, finding purchase against the wall to kick herself free of Gabe’s hold. He stumbled back, swearing, clutching his cheek where her nails had raked blood.
“You think you’re strong enough?” she panted, chest heaving. “You’re nothing.”
Rage flared white-hot. He charged again, but this time he faked left, cutting her off when she dodged right. His hand fisted in her hair, yanking her head back. She cried out, fury laced with pain.
“You’ll stop fighting eventually!” he spat. “You’ll see—”
Her fist slammed into his stomach mid-sentence. He wheezed, staggered, but didn’t let go. Instead, he shoved her into the wall, pinning her with his weight.
Her eyes burned into his—furious, unbroken. “I will never belong to you.”
For the first time, his certainty faltered. But obsession swallowed it whole.
He pressed harder, dragging her arms behind her, ignoring her screams. He’d imagined this moment as triumph. But all he felt was chaos—her fury, her strength, her refusal.
And then—
“ARIS!”
Tobe’s voice thundered down the alley like a crack of lightning.
Gabe froze.
Aris surged, using the break in his focus to shove him backward with everything she had left. He stumbled, crashed into the wall, and she sprinted toward the mouth of the alley.
Tobe appeared, wild-eyed, fists ready. He reached her, steadying her as she nearly collapsed against him.
“You okay?” His voice was raw, fierce.
Aris, panting, nodded once, her eyes still locked on Gabe. “He won’t stop.”
Tobe’s grip tightened. “Then neither will I.”
Gabe’s chest heaved, his hands trembling. His eyes darted between them—the girl who had resisted every fantasy, and the boy who had always been the wall in his way. The shadows that had felt like allies now pressed in on him, suffocating, mocking.
For the first time, Gabe realized he might have lost, even as his hands still shook with the need to try again.
- Writer
