Sofia’s pov
“This is so much fun!” Kayla shrieked in my face as she bounced sideways, pulling me along with her. I easily let my body go with the beat, because I was indeed feeling so much fun.
“You were right about this being fun.” I admitted breathlessly and Kayla grinned in satisfaction while spinning on her toes. When she texted me to ask me if I’d like to come out to a fair with her, I hesitated because I wasn’t sure of what to expect. I haven’t visited one before which was why I had declined at first, but Kayla reassured me that it was going to be fun, and so I agreed to come out with her today, on a Friday evening.
Thanks to Kayla who made sure we were both dressed appropriately, we were able to easily blend in.
We got a few snacks and munched on them while enjoying the entertainment of the atmosphere. Everywhere was bubbling and everyone seemed to be having a lot of fun.
We spent over two hours there till the sky began to darken, and that was when Kayla and I finally parted ways.
I embraced her tightly. “I had so much fun today, thanks for bringing me with you.” Kayla only snorted and rolled her eyes. “Of course! I had more fun with your presence too.”
We parted ways after that, and I made my way out of the crowd. I sighted Ethan who nodded his head at me and began to lead the way to the car. He held the car door open and I slid into it. I got on my phone after that; scrolling through the pictures and videos Kayla and I had managed to capture.
The car door opened minutes later and Ryan slid into the driver’s seat, starting the car immediately and carefully pulling into the street. It took a few minutes for me to notice Ethan’s absence.
“Ethan isn’t coming with us?”
He shook his head. “No, ma’am. He has an errand to run for the boss.”
I rolled my eyes at his response, mind zeroing on his use of ‘ma’am’.
“Cut that out.” I muttered and Ryan fell silent after that. Not knowing what else to say, I went back to my phone and began to delete some pictures which weren’t beautiful enough for me.
When the car pulled to a stop, I lifted my head and glanced around, noticing that we weren’t home yet. Ryan unhooked his seatbelt and stepped out of the car, and I noticed that we stopped in front of some restaurant.
“I wanna quickly get something, I’ll be back in a minute.” He said and I nodded my head before he closed the door. I returned back to my phone, shooting Luca a text to ask him where he was and if he’d be returning home early.
When the door pulled open sometime later, I didn’t glance up until the engine got started, and that was when shock coursed through me at once that I had to blink a few times till I was sure I wasn’t seeing things. The person who had slid in the driver’s seat moments ago wasn’t Ryan, it was a complete stranger.
“Who are you? What are you doing here?” I demanded as the sound of the locks sliding in echoed through the car, and in the next moment, the car was spiraling down the street.
“Oh my god, let me out this instant!” I cried out as I frantically tried to get the door open. Panic was clawing through every inch of my veins and it was almost hard to breathe. The person had a low mask on which covered half of his face, and I was unable to tell if he was a kidnapper or a thief.
“If it’s the car you want, just let me out and take it along with you.” I offered frantically, tears already sliding down my cheeks. “please.” I added, hands starting to tremble.
The stranger ignored me and continued to drive at an insane speed. I felt too scared to even attempt pulling his hand from the steering wheel to avoid us crashing, and so I ended up screaming my lungs off even though I knew it was pointless.
“Oh shut the hell up.” The stranger snapped and I only increased my screams. I didn’t know what was happening or where I was being taken to. For the first time, Ryan wasn’t here to protect me when I needed him, and Luca was very far away from me.
With that thought in mind, I began to shoot Luca a text.
Sofia: I’m being taken to an unknown place, by a stranger, I don’t know if he’s a kidnapper or a thief
Sodia: I’m scared
Sofia: please help me
Sofia: Luca
Sofia: I need you
Sofia: please come for me
Sofia: I don’t know what to do, I’m scared, please come save me
Sofia; this man seems very scary and dangerous, Luca come take me away from him
I was still spamming Luca when the stranger noticed I was on the phone, prompting him to curse angrily and pull to an abrupt stop, and that was when I noticed that we’ve pulled off the busy road.
“Who the fuck were you texting?” He demanded and I shrieked in fright because next, he alighted the car and wrenched the back door open, retrieving my phone from me with an insane force and smashing it on the ground, and then he stepped on it till it was completely broken.
“You bitch, you won’t ruin this shit for me, do you hear me?” He whispered darkly as he grabbed my hair and tugged my head backwards sharply. Pain shot through my scalp and tears slid down my cheeks as I nodded my head docilely.
He let me go and proceeded to tie my hands next.
When he shoved a dirty cloth in my mouth, I gagged but he snickered and tied it firmly. “That’s for almost screaming my head off like a little whore.”
He made sure to backhand me before shutting the door firmly and sliding into the driver’s seat once again and as I silent cried, I sent a prayer to the heavens to help me reach out to Luca so he’d come sans me at once.
~~~
In a cold corner on the ground was where I was thrown in, and this time, my legs were also tied. The stranger opened his face this time, but it was of no use to me because I do not recognize his face. He blindfolded me after that and locked me up in the room alone.
It felt like ages before the door got pulled open, and this time, light footsteps echoed on the ground. My heart was in my throat and the cloth over my eyes was soaked through with my tears. When a hand settled on my head, I screamed loudly in fright while wondering what these people wanted with me.
“Shh, it’s okay princess.” A soft voice whispered as fingers carefully card through my hair and I stiffened at once at the familiarity of the voice, but it took a moment for me to remind myself to stop deluding myself.
“You must have felt extremely scared.” The voice continued and that was when it hit me that I wasn’t imagining things.
“R- Ryan?” I whispered shakily, and then a pair of lips pressed into my hair for a moment.
“That’s right princess, it’s me.”
Relief flooded every inch of my body at once and I felt myself sag against him like a bag of beans, and I felt relieved tears began to soak my blindfold this time.
“Oh my gosh, I feel so relieved right now.” I whispered, voice shaky and uncleared from my tears.
The blindfold loosened and my eyes got assaulted by a wave of bright light for a few fleeting seconds, before Ryan’s face came into focus. He loosened the rope around my hands and a sob bubbled in my throat as I threw my hands around his shoulders, holding him tightly.
“I was so scared.” I whispered through my tears and he shushed me with his hands holding me carefully against him.
“You’re safe now that I’m here, you’ll always be safe with me,” He murmured and I slowly pulled away from his arms, eyes darting from his face to the face of the stranger who had abducted me.
“How did you–” I began to speak but Ryan rose to his feet and took a step closer to the stranger.
“I did a good job, right boss?” The stranger asked, referring to Ryan, and it felt like I got dumped into a bucket of cold water.
“You didn’t.” Ryan responded and I watched as dread enfolded the stranger.
“B- but…”
“Did I ask you to manhandle her? A scratch isn’t supposed to be on her.” Ryan continued, voice cold and completely different from the one I know.
The stranger began to inch away from Ryan, face losing color. “I d- didn’t…”
“I didn’t ask you to tie her up, didn’t ask you to treat her like a lowly slave. She’s a fucking princess… my princess.”
The stranger fell to his knees now, tears streaming down his face and I could only stare with my mouth still hanging open, mind still yet to fully princess what I was listening to right now.
“You fucked up.” Ryan continued, and then he reached for his gun hanging outside his pants. “And you know what I hate most in life?”
The stranger’s eyes widened as he frantically shook his head, eyes darting to me as if asking me for help.
“I hate fuckups.” Ryan concluded as he pulled the trigger, and I could only watch as the stranger collapsed backwards in a pool of his own blood, and a terrified scream tore past my throat.
When Ryan turned towards me, I didn’t recognize him. As he inches towards me, the gun already put away, dread engulfed me as I began to crawl backwards.
“Don’t run away from me, princess. I finally have you with me where nothing will ever hurt you.”