Page 43 of Roped in Chaos
I turn my back to the stairs and grab the handle of the suitcase with both hands. I overpacked it, so it was overweight. This shit is heavy.
I heave it up one step and already feel the backache forming. One after the other, I rip at the bag to get it up one more step before I walk backward up the next step. I finally reach the top, and I bend over, resting my hands on my knees. I’m sweating and out of breath. Holy shit, this was way harder than it looks.
I pop the handle back out so I can roll it down the hallway into my room. I open my door and give it a small smile. Everything is the exact same. The pictures of Daddy and I still sit on the nightstand next to the bed, my stuff is still thrown about.
I walk in and close my eyes, letting the feelings take over.
All of a sudden, I feel a breeze, and before I can process what is going on, a hand wraps around my mouth. I go to scream but a prick in my neck has my eyes falling heavy quickly.
“I told you not to tell,” the man says in my ear. That’s the last thing I hear before it all goes black.
* * *
Fuck, my head is pounding. It feels like there’s sandpaper behind my eyelids. I squint to open them, and the light is blinding. I shrink away from it, but realize I can’t move more than just my head. There’s something preventing me from moving. Despite the pain, I open my eyes and look at my surroundings. I don’t know where I am. There are cinder block walls surrounding me, like I’m in some basement. There’s the one light above me, and I’m sitting on a wooden chair with rope tied around me. I feel my heart rate start to skyrocket, and I wiggle to try to loosen my restraints. Tears wet my face as I try to scream.
“Screaming won’t help you,” I hear from behind me.
I pause all my movement, listening to what happens next.
“Your daddy had to pay for fucking me over. He lost me so much money, and then you just couldn’t fucking listen. I gave you a chance to live, but here you are.” He clicks his tongue at me and walks around to face me. The man is older, but a gut that sticks out over his pants. He’s all sweaty like it was a struggle to get me to where I am.
“You’re gonna play nice, so I can have fun before I kill you.”
“Please, no.” I try to mumble around the gag in my mouth.
“Shhh,” the man says as he strokes my cheek. I try to turn my face away, but he just laughs.
“No one is coming. Might as well get over yourself now.”
Chapter34
Whiskey On You
Asher
Iwake up on a random couch. My mouth is dry, my head is pounding, and there’s a continuous scribbling sound.
“What the fuck?” I groan as I sit up and take in my surroundings. I press the heel of my palm into my eyes to put counter pressure on the throbbing happening behind them.
“Well good morning, sunshine,” a voice calls from my left. My eyes shoot open, and I take in the back of the man who was just talking. He looks over his shoulder, and I recognize him as the owner of this place.
“What the fuck happened?” I ask.
“What the fuck happened is you had five too many and tried to pass out on my bar top. I threw you back here to sleep it off, and sleep you sure did. I’m just about done with counting the drawers.”
I watch him paperclip a stack of fives, and then he turns to give me all of his attention.
“I don’t know who she is, but you either need to go get her ass back or get the fuck over her, son.”
I go to speak up, but he holds up a hand to cut me off.
“Listen, I don’t care about what you gotta say. Go home, drink some water and shower. You have whiskey leaking out of every orifice. Once that’s done, think about what I’m saying. Now get out.”
I don’t question what he says and instead get up and leave. I have a lot to think about.
* * *
I’ve showered, eaten some breakfast, and drank enough water to fill a small pond. The headache is still there, but anything to help distract me from the pain in my chest will do. I hang my head in my hands and try to think about what the bar owner said to me. I need to talk to Peter, and soon. I need their side of the story and to figure out why exactly they didn’t tell me that she was leaving so soon.
