Chapter 4
Chapter Four
ANNIKA
Molly blocks the mirror and eyes me up and down. She then unbuttons two buttons on my shirt and steps behind me.
“Really?” I ask.
“You have nicer tits than I do,” Molly says. “Show them off a little. Those girls must be desperate and lonely.”
“Excuse me? You don't know a thing about my sex life.”
“Exactly. There’s nothing to know. Nothing is happening. Do you have cobwebs between your legs too?”
Molly’s hands are suddenly under my boobs, over my shirt, pushing them up.
“Look at these tits,” Molly groans. “I would kill for these.”
“Are you done fondling me? Which, by the way, you didn’t ask for consent to do so.”
“I don’t see you elbowing me away. Maybe you secretly like it. Huh? You do know some doors swing both ways and there’s nothing wrong with that.”
That’s when I wiggle and elbow Molly away from me. She cracks up laughing and I walk out of my bedroom, buttoning up my shirt. There is no need for me to walk around with my boobs and bra hanging out of my shirt.
You want to see something? Come talk to me. Come earn a chance at it.
I’m not some all-you-can-eat buffet. Fuck no.
I’m an elegant, fine dining establishment.
Now I’m wondering if I just compared my vagina to a meal or not.
“We need a drink!” Molly calls out. “Tradition before we leave!”
“I don’t have any…”
Molly emerges from my bedroom with a bottle of vodka. At this point in my friendship with her I don’t even bother to ask where she just pulled that from.
It’s pretty safe to say that Molly has a serious drinking problem. I’m not here to judge, but I have two eyes and can easily observe.
Molly finds two coffee cups and puts way too much straight vodka into each. I sip mine. She downs hers as though it’s water.
She spins around a few times, letting out happy cheers and dancing. That gives me the chance to dump the rest of my vodka down the drain. We’re then out the door to a waiting car that takes us off campus and into the city for some fun.
A part of my mind is actually thinking about some stupid financial statement analysis work as Molly takes my hand and leads the way into a nightclub. This is my anxiety manifesting as guilt. My anxiety is that I hate clubs. I hate crowds. I secretly have an intense case of claustrophobia to the point where I don’t like closing a bathroom stall door. Now it’s never turned into some kind of full blown panic attack, at least not yet.
I should have definitely drank the entire coffee cup of vodka. Being buzzed or drunk helps with the anxiety.
Once we’re in the nightclub I cling to Molly like a jealous hookup. She goes right to the bar.
The next drink has plenty of vodka in it but it’s mixed with something fruity and sugary.
“Okay, we’ve got one looking already,” Molly says to me. “Four seats down. He’s going to buy us a drink. Then we can find out what his friends look like. Pick our poison.”
“Whoa, Molly, wait a second,” I say over the loud, thumping music that’s flirting with my anxiety. “I’m not here to—”
Molly spins right around and leans toward the bar and waves to the man she pointed out.
Fuck.
I mean, this is no shock at all. Molly loves to drink and sleep with guys.
“I thought we were celebrating me,” I say to Molly over her shoulder.
“Oh, we are,” Molly says from the corner of her mouth. “I’m going to make sure you get some great dick before you flee the country.”
I look at the bartender, who is cute as hell and smirking at me. I nod at my glass.
The music changes to another song and the intro is really fast thumping which is then mixed with some sort of strobe light effect of a bunch of colors. My stomach instantly does a flip and I feel like I’m going to puke. Now that would be a story to have forever.
One drink— well, two if you count that one back at my place —and I’m getting sick?
This is why I need to get out of here. Not just this nightclub. But also SA and the country. I need to travel, study, and hook up with gorgeous men across the globe.
I’m like Molly in some sense, but it’s just that maybe my vagina is a little more sophisticated.
I try not to laugh. And puke. I make it into the bathroom and stand at one of the sinks. I run the cold water and let it touch my fingertips. The cool sensation allows me to take deep breaths and calm down.
The sugar from the drink does not seem to be sitting well right now. I cup my hands under the water and take a drink. The door opens a few seconds later.
“Annika?” I hear Molly’s voice ask.
She turns the corner, sees me and exhales a breath.
“Are you okay? What happened to you? Did you throw up?”
“I didn’t throw up,” I say. “I just felt… overwhelmed. The music. And the sugar in that drink…”
“See? That’s why I like drinking stuff without mixing it.”
“Yeah, you’ve cracked the code on that one.”
“Huh?” Molly asks.
I shake my head. “Nothing. I’m sorry. I feel like I’m ruining the night already. We should just—”
“He thinks you’re cute,” Molly says with an evil smile. “They both do.”
“ They ?”
“Bartender,” Molly says. “That means we can drink all night for free. The other guy who thinks you’re cute? The one looking at us. You and me. That’s what he wants. Tonight.”
“Wait. What?”
“He wants to take us home with him.”
I laugh. “Molly…”
“You’re leaving the country, Annika. You’re leaving everything behind. Why not have a story to tell?”
“We’ve been here five minutes and the first guy who wants a threesome… you’re ready to just leave with him?”
“You don’t like it here. It’s a win-win situation for all of us!”
“I am not having a threesome with you and some strange guy.”
“I’ve seen you naked before, Annika. You’ve seen me naked before.”
“Not like that ,” I say. “How does it even work? He’s got one cock. We each have our own… I can’t believe I’m talking about this.”
“So we get drunk and just go with whatever happens.”
“Molly, you’re going into territory I’m not okay with. There’s nothing wrong with it. I’m just not into it.”
“You know, in other countries, this is considered normal.”
“Name one country?”
“There’s a lot of them.”
Molly whips around and I quickly grab for her right wrist.
“What?” she snaps at me.
“Don’t get pissy with me.”
“Too late.”
“Molly!”
“Annika!”
“Stop it.”
“You stop it.”
“This is supposed to be my night.”
“Right,” Molly says. “Then we might as well go to a fucking bookstore and buy some stupid history book or a math book.”
“Fuck you,” I snap. “Maybe I’ll go take both the bartender and the other guy back to my place alone. They want me, right? Not you.”
Molly smiles. “You’d never do that. I’m sorry for getting bitchy. I’m going to miss you when you leave. I’m uneasy. I feel left behind and left out. I just thought we could get drunk and go nuts.”
“What you want to do has nothing to do with nuts ,” I say with a grin. “You really want to touch me? Or go down on me?”
“Not really,” Molly says. “I did it once before. Wasn’t that much fun.”
“But you’ve never tasted mine…”
“Oh, so now you’re going to tease,” Molly says. “I’ll play that game. I’m going to tell the guy we’re going with him.”
Molly pulls away from me and hurries out of the bathroom. I sort of chase her but the music and lights start to drive me nuts again.
I turn to my right and see an exit sign glowing, tempting me with freedom. I move in that direction, staring down at my feet. When my body collides with the door, it doesn’t move at first. I give it another hard push and it opens up.
Fresh air engulfs me and I stumble out into an alleyway. The door shuts behind me and I look back, realizing there’s no latch or handle, meaning I can’t get back inside the nightclub.
“Fuck,” I whisper.
Before I can think, I hear a thudding sound and some gurgling. When I look to my right, I see a man on the ground, curled up, left hand clawing at the ground.
I figure it’s some guy who had way too much to drink and got tossed into the alley to puke and sleep it off.
He lifts his head.
That’s when I see blood coming from his mouth.
* * *
Holy shit! He’s fucking bleeding!
Now I’m thinking this guy got too drunk, was tossed out on his ass, and he ended up hurting himself.
The guy reaches for me, gurgling, blood squirting from his mouth. My stomach turns as I reach for my phone.
“I’m going to call for help,” I tell him.
“That is not a good idea,” a deep voice says from behind me.
Chills paralyze me and I feel an intense presence closing in. My body starts to shake.
“Give me the fucking phone right now, doll,” the deep voice growls.
I ignore the command.
“If you don’t give me the phone, I’m going to kill you.”
“I saw nothing,” I say. “I came out for some air and there was a drunk guy on the ground. That’s all. I didn’t see anything el—”
A hand clamps around my wrist super tight. I look down as the feeling in my hand leaves and my cellphone drops to the ground. My body lifts from the ground and I’m thrown into the closed door.
I put my hands up to protect my face but it still hurts being hurled into a steel door. I fall to the ground, look up and see the person who is attacking me.
Dressed in all black. A black robe. Head to toe. Wearing a black mask.
He reaches down and grabs for my shirt and picks me up with ease. He pushes me against the steel door and holds me there.
“What the fuck are you doing out here?”
“I hate the music and lights. I needed air.”
“Fucking stupid.”
His large, gloved hands grab my shirt and rips it open, sending buttons scattering to the ground.
I open my mouth and try to scream, but it’s merely whimpers. I scream in my brain to fight back. Except… I don’t.
He spins me around and pushes me face-first against the steel door. In one aggressive motion he strips me of my shirt. His body presses against mine.
“You fucked up,” he growls. “And you refused to listen to me. For that, you’ll be punished.”
“Please,” I beg.
He uses my shirt and wraps it around my mouth, pulling it tight, then tying it behind my head. He spins me around so I face him again.
“If you try to run I’ll throw this knife into your back,” he says as he produces a long blade. There looks to be blood already on it.
He steps toward the man on the ground and rolls him on his back. There’s blood all over the man’s shirt, at his stomach.
He’s been stabbed numerous times.
I shake my head. I whimper. I try to scream, finally.
“Now the fun part,” he says.
He drops down to one knee and plunges the knife into the man’s right eye socket. The sound is squishy and then crunchy. The man’s hands flail out and shake horribly for a few seconds before stopping.
He’s… dead…
I instantly vomit, puking all over the shirt wrapped around my mouth. The puke soaks the shirt, dribbles down my chin. Some has shot up into my nose, smelling hot and bitter. I turn to my right and start to run.
What else am I supposed to do right now?
My knees are like rubber. I’m dizzy, confused, and terrified. I’m not sure I make it five steps before an arm wraps around my body and pulls me close, squeezing so tight I can’t breathe.
“Still can’t fucking listen, can you?”
The voice growls with devilish fury.
“Now I have no choice, doll,” he says.
His hand moves over my face, his palm squishing my nose. I’m breathing really fast and then I feel a sharp pain at the back of my head.
All I hear is a buzzing sound.
It fades, then I’m swallowed up into darkness.