Bound by shadows

The Visit

"Well, you heard the lady. She is mine. Now, let her go," he commanded, walking towards them.

The men hesitated, the scarred man brought out a knife and charged at him. Mr. Arrogant moved swiftly, dodging the knife and twisting the man’s arm behind his back, forcing him to drop the weapon. He then delivered a sharp elbow to the man's nose, making it bleed.

The tattooed man released me and charged as well, but Mr. Arrogant kneed him in the groin and smashed his face against a nearby light pole. The third man, seeing his friends beaten up, decided to run. He pushed me to the ground in his haste, but before I could hit the pavement, Mr. Arrogant caught me, his strong arms wrapping around my waist.

"I can walk," I said, trying to pull away.

"Yeah, I know, but I much enjoy the pleasure of touching you and seeing how you react to my touch," he replied, tightening his grip.

I squirmed, trying to get down.

"Stay still," he ordered, and I obeyed, puzzled at how I easily agreed.

He carried me to his car, setting me down in the passenger seat. I inhaled sharply as his fingers brushed against my breasts, even through the fabric of my shirt. He noticed my reaction and smiled, a hint of amusement in his eyes. I glared at him to hide my embarrassment.

"Where are we going?" I asked as he started the car.

"I am taking you home," he replied.

I nodded.

"I stay at—"

"I know," he cut me off, just as I was about to give him my address.

"How do you know my address?" I asked, surprised.

"I told you, darling, I can get any information I want, especially about people I’m interested in."

"Is that how you knew where to find me back there? By getting information about me?" I asked sarcastically.

He smirked. "No, I simply followed you."

"Oh, so you're not just arrogant, but you're a stalker too," I snapped.

"Well, this stalker just saved your ass."

He was right. He had saved me, but the thought of him invading my privacy made me angry.

"Who is this man anyway?" I wondered.

Then, suddenly a thought crossed my mind.

Could Mark find her as easily as Mr. Arrogant had? He certainly had the connections. The thought sent chills down my spine.

"That's ridiculous, Kate. You're just overthinking things. There’s no way Mark can find you since he’s locked up," I told myself, trying to calm down.

The car came to a halt in front of my apartment. I heaved a sigh of relief. He got out and opened the door for me. I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out, looking up at him.

He was studying my face.

Suddenly, he reached out and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. My eyes followed his every movement.

“Are you alright?” He asked, still studying me.

I was surprised by the hint of concern in his eyes.

“I am fine. I have been through worse”

His gaze became dark when he heard my reply. He looked furious at something and I didn’t know why.

We stared silently at each other for a few seconds. I cleared my throat to break the silence.

“Thank you for today” I said

“Hmm” He replied.

“But that doesn’t mean I forgive you for what you did though”

He chuckled.

“I don’t expect you to, darling, but in due time you will doing more than just forgiving me”.

I ignored his words as I head up to my apartment. I felt his gaze still on me as I entered into my apartment. As I got in I heard the sound of a car driving out so I went to my room window. I opened the curtains lightly as I peeked from it.

I saw he was just driving out. I heaved a sigh as I pulled back the curtains. The events of today came flooding back to my mind and with it came old memories of my past that I thought I had buried.

My chest felt heavy and my heart hurt. I walked to bed and laid down, curling myself like a ball, i clutched my chest and let tears flow.

****

It was a Saturday, the sky was cloudy but it made no sign like it was going to rain. It’s been a week since the incident that happened on my way home. Since that day, I had been extra careful about the time I get off work. Work was going fine, and I had managed to complete the tasks that the previous web producer left behind, having room to focus on my main responsibilities.

Also, I had not seen Mr. Arrogant anywhere again after that night. He had probably taken a hint and decided to leave me alone. Sometimes, I worry about what could have made him so furious that night.

Since I had nothing to do this Saturday, I decided to pay Julia a visit. So, I dressed up, putting on a black tank top and a Jean trouser. I took out the toy car that I had bought for Liam from a toy shop when I went for gorcery shopping.

I opened my Uber app and booked a ride that would take me to Julia’s apartment. After a few minutes, the Uber driver called me to let me know, he was outside. I took Liam’s present with me. I got outside my apartment, the Uber driver looked through his window.

“Kate Dawson?” He asked.

“Yeah” I replied, before opening the car door and getting in.

The cab driver was not a chatty person, unlike the one I met when I first got here.

When we got to Julia’s apartment, I got out of the car and paid the cab driver. I walked to Julia’s apartment and knocked on her door. When there was no response, I rang the bell but still no answer. Feeling disappointed, I was about to turn back when I heard a sound coming from the apartment. I knocked again.

“Julia,” I called.

But no one replied. I turned the doorknob and saw that the door was open. Seeing the door open, a wave of panic rushed through me.

“Someone has broken into Julia’s house,” I thought.

I walked inside, retrieving my phone from my bag. I dialed Julia’s number again; it rang, but she did not answer. Scared, I called the police.

“This is 911, what is your emergency?” a male voice came in from the other end.

“Someone has broken into my friend’s apartment,” I whispered, so the intruder wouldn’t hear me.

“What’s your address, ma’am?” the male voice asked again.

I gave them the house address and ended the call. I noticed the sound coming from upstairs, so I walked to the kitchen to grab a weapon. I took a mop stick that was resting against the kitchen wall. I followed the sound to where it was coming from. As I climbed up the stairs, the sound got louder. I stopped at the door where the sound seemed to be coming from and noticed that it was the door to Julia’s room.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I gripped the mop stick tighter. Carefully, I opened the door a crack and peeked inside.

The moment I opened the door, I was greeted by Jonathan butt staring right at me. Jonathan and Julia were having s*x. He had her pinned to the war, grinding into her. Julia’s legs were wrapped around his waist, her hands in his hair as his hips moved back and forth in rhythm. Her moans filled the room.

“Kate!” She screamed when she noticed me. Jonathan quickly pulled away and ran to the bed, grabbing the bedsheet to cover himself from the waist down.

“Sorry” I mumbled, closing the door quickly as I rushed downstairs.

I sat on one of the chairs by the dining table. Julia came down five minutes later, putting on a robe that didn’t reach her knees.

“Kate, you didn’t tell me you are coming”

“I wanted it to be a surprise but it looks like I am the one who got surprised. Also, I called you when I got here but you didn’t pick”

Julia chuckled.

“ I am sorry, I was busy” she said, blushing.

“Obviously” I said while smiling.

Just then, we heard a knock.

“Did you order something?” Julia asked.

I shook my head and then suddenly remembered.

“s**t!” I exclaimed.

“What?” Julia asked, moving toward the door.

With a shy face, I said,

“I might have called the police”.

“You did what?” Julia whispered, looking at me incredulously.

“Well, I knocked on the door, and no one answered. Then, I rang the bell, and still no one answered. I was about to leave but then I heard a sound coming from inside and saw the door was open. I thought someone had broken in, so I called the police.” I explained quickly, barely pausing to catch my breath.

Julia stared at me and I gave her a pleading smile, silently begging her not to be mad at me.

The knock came again.

“Open up, this is the police,” a voice called out.

Julia opened the door to find two officers standing on her pavement. She smiled at them.

“What can I do for you, officers?” She asked, smiling sweetly at them.

“Miss, we‘ve been told that this house has been broken into”, one of the officers said.

“Actually, officers, it was a misunderstanding. No house was broken into,” Julia explained.

The officers looked at her skeptically.

“Are you the one who called us, ma’am?” The other officer asked.

“No, but this my house. So…” Julia began

“Can we speak to the person who called us, ma’am?” the first officer asked, cutting her off.

“Yeah, sure” Julia said, turning to me.

“Kate, they want to speak to you”

I walked over to the door, my face flushed with embarrassment.

“Ma’am, you were the one that called us?” The first officer asked again.

“Yes, but it was a false alarm” I replied sheepishly.

The officers looked at me displeased.

They asked us a few more questions before leaving.