Jane August
780 Words
Jane
The first thing I felt was the softness beneath me.
The second was the pounding ache in my head.
I slowly opened my eyes, blinking against the morning light spilling through floor to ceiling windows draped with expensive gray curtains. The room was enormously larger than the tiny apartment my mother and I had shared for years.
My breath caught.
I wasn’t home.
I sat upright too quickly and immediately froze.
I wasn’t wearing anything.
A gasp escaped my lips as I pulled the silk duvet tightly around my body, my pulse racing so hard it hurt.
“What…?”
My eyes darted around the room.
Dark wood furniture.
A crystal chandelier.
A fireplace.
Fresh flowers arranged on a nearby table.
Everything screamed wealth.
This wasn’t a hotel.
It felt… lived in.
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to remember.
Last night.
I had begged my mum to go home because she’d been coughing all afternoon.
“I’ll close the shop,” I’d told her with a smile. “Go home and rest.”
She’d argued for a minute before finally giving in.
I locked the shop just after nine.
I remembered walking toward the bus stop.
The streetlights.
A black SUV slowing beside the road…
Then….
Nothing.
My stomach twisted.
Had I been kidnapped?
Drugged?
Had someone…?
The thought made my blood run cold.
Tears blurred my vision.
Before panic could consume me, the bedroom door opened.
A man stepped inside.
He looked to be in his mid twenties.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
Dark hair that looked slightly messy, as though he’d just run a hand through it.
His fitted white vest stretched across a muscular chest, while gray sweatpants hung low on his waist. In one hand, he carried a steaming mug.
But it was his eyes that held me captive.
Gray.
Cold enough to intimidate.
Gentle enough to confuse me.
For one impossible second, I forgot how terrified I was.
He looked like someone who belonged on the cover of a magazine, not standing in front of a frightened stranger.
“You’re awake,” he said.
His voice was deep and calm.
I instinctively pulled the blanket higher.
“Who are you?”
He didn’t answer.
Instead, he walked toward the bed and placed the mug on the bedside table.
“You should drink this.”
My heart hammered.
“Answer me.”
Silence.
“Where am I?”
Still nothing.
“Were you the one who brought me here?”
His jaw tightened.
“You are safe.”
“Safe?” I almost laughed. “I woke up naked in a stranger’s house! Does that sound safe to you?”
His expression barely changed.
“I understand why you’re frightened.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.”
“Then let me leave “
“I can’t.”
The words hit harder than I expected.
“What do you mean you can’t?”
He looked toward the window before meeting my eyes again.
“There are people looking for you.”
A chill crawled down my spine.
“What are you talking about?”
“You were taken.”
The room spun.
“So… I was kidnapped?”
“Yes.”
“And you?”
“I’m the reason you’re still alive.”
I stared at him, unable to tell whether he was lying.
He looked too composed.
Too controlled.
“Who are you?”
He hesitated.
“My name is Caleb.”
“Caleb… what?”
“Wick.”
The name sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it.
“I want to go home.”
“I know.”
“My mother is probably looking for me.”
“I know.”
“I need my phone.”
“You don’t have one anymore.”
My eyes widened.
“What?”
“It was destroyed.”
I swallowed hard.
Everything felt unreal.
Nothing made sense.
Caleb took one slow step backward toward the door.
“Get dressed. Someone will bring you clothes.”
“I don’t want your clothes.”
“They’re not mine.”
Before leaving, he paused.
Without turning around, he said quietly,
“And Jane…”
My heart skipped.
“I never told you my name.”
“I know.”
He finally looked back over his shoulder.
Those gray eyes locked onto mine with an intensity that stole the air from my lungs.
“I’ve known who you are for a very long time.”
Then he walked out, shutting the door behind him.
I stared at the closed door in stunned silence.
Who was Caleb Wick…
And how had he known my name before I ever spoke it?
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