Beep, beep.
I jerked awake, my legs knocking off something from the desk as I squinted in the darkness, my head throbbing with a killer headache. Sitting up, I gasped when I realized I was on nothing but my underwear, the unfamiliar blanket draped across my body heavily.
Shit. Where the fuck am I?
Shooting up to my feet, I began to search for my dress frantically. The time read four thirty in the evening and I shrieked in horror. Cora had a lot of assessments to get done at the office so I was the one to pick up Finn. The preschool had dismissed over an hour ago.
God. How could I have let this happen?
I whirled around in fright as the door creaked open behind me. A tall man with wavering blond hair stepped in with a flashlight. I grabbed the blanket to cover myself, yelling. “Where the hell is this place? Who are you?”
He ignored me, taking a few more steps forward. I couldn’t see his face clearly, making me so scared and stiff. Subtly searching for something I could use and defend myself with, I spotted a kitchen knife on a tray with some apples and peaches. That would do. Clamping my hand down around the handle, I raised it to his face, threateningly. “Stop walking and give me the fucking answers I need! Why have you brought me here?”
He halted now, much to my relief, but raised the flashlight to my face, blinding me temporarily. I cried out, holding up an arm to shield my eyes. He lowered it and spoke, his voice surprisingly Australian and fresh. “You passed out.”
“Huh?” I mumbled, disoriented and rubbing my eyelids furiously. “I don’t understand.”
“You were passed out flat on the ground in front of Benson Publishings,” he reiterated, louder this time. “No one knew where you came from, and the CEO told the security men not to get you any help. I had an appointment by two, but I skipped it to help you.”
I wanted to believe him because he sounded so genuine. “Why am I naked, then? If you helped me, then why have you hidden my clothes? Don’t you dare lie to me, you had me raped!”
“I did nothing of that sort,” he stated calmly, putting off the flashlight, and plunging us back into darkness.
“Fuck,” I cussed, rubbing my left temple gently to still my throbbing headache. “Put on the flashlight back,” I demanded. “Please.”
He obeyed, brushing past me quietly to set the light on the table. I caught a full glimpse of his face as he passed me; violet-blue eyes that reminded me a lot of Max, and shoulder-length blond hair, well-trimmed. “My name is Rohan,” he muttered quietly, shoving his large hands deep into his pockets. “I get that you’re afraid, but take it from me, you’re safe. Lying in the dirt for hours, your clothes were stained, so I helped you wash them. They’re out in the back. I’ll go get them now.”
He turned to exit the room quietly. Exhaling in relief, I contemplated dialing Cora to help me get Finn. I still couldn’t trust Rohan. It all sounded so good to be true… and Max…
Oh my God.
I hard-pressed the power button and my screen lightened then went dead.
I slapped a hand over my mouth, eyes widening in horror. Oh, no, no.
No.
Not today, please.
I hard-pressed once more and the screen lightened for a minute longer, then went back off. “Shit,” I cried, sitting myself on the edge of the bed and running my fingers through my hair, trying my hardest not to hyperventilate. A glance at the wall clock read that it was only a minute more before the long hand clocked twelve and it would be five, two hours since the preschool dismissed. I imagined Finn seated on the pavement, all alone, waiting patiently for me.
I tried to fight back the tears, but they fall faster, streaming down my cheeks onto the blanket. “My sweet little boy… what kind of a mother am I? Oh, God.”
I barely looked up when Rohan returned. “Is something wrong?” he asked, plopping down gently beside me. Wrapping a hand around my waist, he drew me closer. “Why are you crying?”
“My son…” I trailed off, my voice cracked, heavy – air-tight. “My son is in preschool and I was supposed to go collect him two hours ago. Today was so fucked up, and I still don’t know how I slept this long… I’m a terrible mother.”
“Don’t say that. It’s still not so late. We can go get him.”
“How?” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “My phone is dead, and I can’t reach anyone. I don’t suppose you have a car, do you?”
“No,” he shook his head. “But I can get a cab for you. Get dressed and come out front. I’ll be waiting,”
I watched him leave, wondering why he was so kind to me. Could I still trust that he was doing everything from a pure place? No, I didn’t have enough time to ponder. Finn was my top priority right now and I had to go get him, then find a way to charge my phone and try Max’s line. I hoped he hadn’t ended up in a cell already.
I got dressed and went out to meet Rohan outside. Turned out that he lived in an estate miles away from the main town. As we stood by the roadside, waiting for a cab to ply by, I got to know more about him. Born to an Indian father and an Australian mother, he was the first boy and last child among four children. His parents wanted him to be a lawyer and live with them in India, but he had a natural love for books and wanted to explore the world. He recently moved to New York five months ago and had since been pitching his debut to different publishing agents. I loved the way he talked about his book animatedly like it was the best thing he’d ever worked on. We spent a long time chatting and we didn’t even realize how fast time sped by.
“Oh, God,” I bit my bottom lip when I saw that it was a quarter to six already, and still we hadn’t gotten a cab. “What’s happening? Why are there no cabs coming up? Finn…”
“Calm down. He’ll be fine. Nothing will happen to him,” Rohan assured me, rubbing my arm comfortingly. “You can use my phone to ring the school and explain that something came up, hence why you’d be coming late.”
“Oh, please. Thank you,” I took the phone from him and quickly Googled the preschool’s number, placing a dial across. It rang for a while, then switched to voicemail.
Hello. You’ve reached El Savio Learning Center. We’re currently closed right now. Please call back during our operating hours of 8 PM to 3 PM, Monday to Friday. Thank you.
“God, it’s the answering machine,” I cried in panic. “My poor son… my little boy. What kind of a mother am I?”
“Your sister must be done with her assessments by now. Can’t you ring her to help go get him?”
I shook my head. “No, no. I don’t know her number by heart. This is the worst day of my life. A fucking nightmare.”
We waited a few minutes more, tensed and frustrated. At last, we sighted a cab meandering down the road slowly, and Rohan flagged it down.
“El Savio Learning Center,” I said breathlessly, folding myself into the neat interior. “Please drive fast. It’s an emergency. Aren’t you coming?” I asked Rohan.
He shook his head, stepping back. “No. My work here is done. Go get your son.”
Tears pooled up in literal seconds. “I have no words to thank you for what you’ve done for me today. I’ll surely come by and visit sometime. Thanks once again.”
“It’s a pleasure meeting you too, Elaine.”
The driver pulled into traffic, and I glanced at my watch, noting that it was six o’clock already. After what felt like the most tortuous fifteen minutes of my life, we finally pulled up in front of Finn’s kindergarten and I flung a ten-dollar bill as I got out, racing madly up the driveway just as the head teacher was locking the front door.
“Thank… goodness,” I panted. “Don’t lock the door yet, my son is inside, Miss Smith,”
She turned to stare at me, puzzled, her eyes sifting over my appearance. “Miss Matthews?”
“Yes, yes. I’m so sorry. Something bad happened and I overslept… I don’t know how to beg for your forgiveness…”
“You overslept?” she shook her head, unimpressed. “Well, thank your lucky stars then. I tried calling you countless times but your line was turned off. If his father hadn’t come and got him instead…”
The ground seemed to move underneath my feet. “Wait… what?”
“After hours of waiting, Finn gave us his father’s number and we called him. I expected a lot more from you, Miss Matthews. You know what time we close,” she consulted her watch. “You’re over two hours late.”
“My sincerest apologies… I’m so sorry,” I stammered, turning to run back to the road. A cab came by and I rushed in, fishing out Max’s house address from my purse and handing it over to the driver.
“Please. Take me there.”