Page 12 of Tied in Knots
Clutching my phone, I wait for my door to be kicked in, but I hear someone peeing instead and it nearly makes me wet myself in relief.
Drawing in shallow breaths, I try to formulate a plan. What the fuck do I do?
The toilet flushes.
Another crash of the door as it opens.
Water running and turning off.
Then the loud music and shouting from the pub, which fades away as the door closes again.
I can’t stay in here indefinitely. They will find me and turf me out at closing, but it’s a start while I figure out my next move. Hopefully, Derek will get his shit together and ring me back soon.
I remove my backpack and hang it on the wobbly hook on the back of the door. Then I take my wet coat off and hang that over the top of it to try to dry it off a bit. Wishing I had some food and water, I climb on the seat of the loo, and seeing as it doesn’t have a lid, I park my arse on the cistern, my feet either side of the cheap, black plastic seat.
Moments later, the door opens again and my blood thunders in my ears, but it’s only someone wanting to barf in the toilet next to me.
Pulling a face as I listen to them heave up the entire contents of their stomach, I’m grateful they at least flush the bog, so I’m not trapped in here with a toilet full of vomit.
They stagger back out after running the tap and I’m alone again.
All alone, terrified, hungry, thirsty and awaiting my doom as the minutes tick by until the landlady throws me out.
* * *
I’m left relatively alone after that. Only two more visits, one by a bloke who seems to have drunk enough to sink a ship. I rest my head against the wall and soon feel my eyes closing.
I jolt awake, hearing the wind whipping outside and the rain smattering against the tiny, murky pane of the window above the toilet I’m still sitting on.
I hear the door open, but this time it’s quieter. The rowdiness from before is gone, but it’s still early enough for the pub to be open. I glance at my phone and see that it’s nowhere near closing time. There isstillno message from Derek, so I turn it off and climb stiffly off the toilet.
“You okay in here?” a female voice calls out.
“Yeah,” I croak out, the fear making my throat thick. I have no plan. I can only hope the men have given up and started to search further afield, at the very least.
I slowly put my coat back on and shiver as I replace my backpack. My stomach growls as I open the door.
The friendly-looking landlady gives me a smile. “You sure? You’ve been in here a while.”
Should’ve known I’d been spotted, even in that crowd. “Yeah, just felt a bit off.”
She nods. “Do you want to ring a taxi?”
I shake my head. I’ve got to go back out there and figure something out. I can’t afford a taxi, anyway.
I’m guessing Derek must be away because there’s still nothing on his phone. I wish I’d paid more attention on how to get to his place, maybe I could’ve figured out the bus route.
She gives me an encouraging smile and shoves something at me. It’s a towel. My coat is still drenched so the desire to wrap it around me is all-consuming, but I will look like an idiot. I can only guess she gave it to me in lieu of a blanket. But fuck it. It’s dry and warm, soft and cosy, and I’ll take it. With a smile of thanks, I take it and ram it into my backpack, even though I can barely zip it back up.
As I open the door and peer out into the cold, dark night, my hand resting lightly on the frame, I step out into the dingy alley, in the rain, in my still-damp coat, with my eyes down. Cramming my hands into my coat pockets, I slip away into the dark night and decide that my best option is to make my way to the nearest park to hole up for the night under a bush, where no one will be able to find me.
ChapterNine
Xander
Lost.
Completely lost.
