There was a rumbling beside my ear. I was trying to place the sound. Was it a car engine? The last thing I could remember was the asshole who held me captive stabbing me. Was he taking me somewhere now? Hopefully a hospital. Then without thinking I moved my hand down to feel where my shirt was soaked with blood. It was dry. It took some work but I pushed my lids open and glanced down. I couldn’t see in the dark, but I could feel I was wearing what felt like a hospital gown. Now I was confused.

The space I was shoved in had to be a car trunk; I could tell by the sounds around me. Then the vehicle slowed and eventually stopped. My heart rate increased as I wondered who was in the driver’s seat.

The lid to the trunk lifted, and the man I grew to know all too well loomed over me. “Oh, you decided to finally wake up. Good, this will be more fun.”

The sunlight was intense. I threw my hand over my eyes. “Fun? You call all this fun?”

“Well, it is now,” the asshole said and grabbed my arm to tug me from the trunk. He was wearing an orange jump suit with a set of numbers on the front left breast pocket. “Oh, yeah, ignore this thing. I need to find something in your closet to wear.”

“My closet?” I finally brought myself to a standing position and looked around. We were parked at the back of my house. This all made no sense. I noticed how my side didn’t hurt. How was that possible?

“Let’s get inside before anyone sees us.”

I started to analyze the situation. If I was in a hospital and this man just took me from there, someone had to know I was gone, right? I started to hold out hope that they would search my home. Yet, the thought of someone taking me to my house seemed extremely obscure.

He pushed my body forward, causing me to stumble and fall to the ground. “Get up. I’m not carrying your ass.” As I attempted to stand, he kicked his foot forward and pushed my body again. “Come on, can’t you stand up?” I knew he was just playing with me. Somehow, I had to stand up before he had the chance to kick me again. It took all the strength I had left along with visions of Tyler fighting in a ring. I could remember how he would get to a standing position by what looked like a flip that used all his abdominal strength. Did I have the ability to do the same thing? As I thought about how to stand, the fucker kicked me again. From the ground I took in a deep breath and attempted the flip to a standing position. “Well, look at you. Did your boyfriend teach you that?”

I stepped out of his reach finally and walked toward my house. “What do you want with my place?”

“Clothes, dummy. Can’t you tell orange is not my color?” He stepped up beside me on the porch. “Where’s your hidden key?”

Normally I didn’t keep a hidden key outside. For some reason the other day I set one under the welcome mat in front of my door. After spending time with Zoe, I thought about how Tyler and Zoe should have access to my place. It was a big step for me to take, but I knew it was what I wanted.

I hesitated before bending down and grabbing the key.

“I knew there had to be one.” He laughed and took it from my outstretched hand. “I don’t know why everyone feels the need to hide a damn key. No one has learned a lesson yet on how bad of an idea it really can be.” He continued to ramble as he stepped into my space.

It felt odd being home. Something felt wrong. I turned my head to the side and caught a flash of something. My mind wandered trying to imagine what the flash could be, but my instincts told me to ignore what I saw just in case someone was here. Then I realized that was an insane thought. I was alone in this fight and I had to figure out how to survive.