True to her words, the friend she spoke of arrived five minutes later. The moment the black Audi stopped next to us, Imelda approached it, while I craned my neck, trying to see the driver. A puzzled frown graced my face when I noticed how he covered his face. The face cap he had on concealed the little his face mask couldn’t close.
Why did he cover his face?
I wondered, gaping at him like a fool.
Imelda turned when she noticed my stare. “Oh, pardon him for this. He has a cold and is afraid of spreading it. I hope you don’t mind?”
“Oh, it’s alright.” Nodding, I continued to look at him. Oddly enough, I felt like I had seen him somewhere. Though I couldn’t see his face, there was this familiarity I sensed from him.
“Bella?” Imelda waved her right palm across my face, smiling. “You are staring.”
My cheeks turned blood-red at her words when I realized I was intent on gawking at the man. “Sorry.” I tucked some loose strands of hair behind my right ear, gulping. “I just…..”
“It’s okay.” She took my hand in her and led me towards the other side. “Get it. We are almost late. I made a reservation.” Winking, she opened the back door for me, and I got in before she closed it and walked over to the passenger’s side to sit.
I understood why she did that. It would seem odd for us to sit at the back while the friend stayed alone at the front.
“I apologize for this, miss. I have a cold, which is why I covered up. I don’t want to infect you ladies with it.” Imelda’s friend spoke for the first time as he locked his eyes with mine in the rearview mirror.
I blinked, wondering where I had seen those beautiful black eyes. I knew I had seen them somewhere. Not only his eyes, but his voice sounded familiar. “Have we met before?” I demanded, wondering if he was someone I knew.
He coughed. “I’m afraid, not. I would have known if we had met before. There was no way I would forget a lovely woman like you.”
I frowned at his words. Though he claimed we hadn’t met, I knew that wasn’t the truth. Either he didn’t recall the meeting or he was lying.
“Chill, Bella. I bet you haven’t seen him before. He’s not the only one with black eyes, is he?” Bella threw over her shoulder. “Louis hasn’t been here for a long time. He arrived a week ago. I doubt you have seen him before.”
“A week ago?” I frowned, still watching him. “Oh, I must have been mistaken then.” As I relaxed in the car seat, I kept stealing glances at him.
“Do you mind if I put on some music?” He asked after a few minutes of driving.
“Not at all.” I smiled at him when I realized I was the one he was speaking to, and not Imelda.
“Do you have a favourite genre?”
“Any would do.”
“Okay. I guess I will just put my favourite.”
Soon, the soft sound of the violin filled the entire car. The melody was soothing, the same with the voice of the artist.
I inhaled deeply as I relaxed in the car seat. There was this calming scent in his car. It was so wonderful, it almost made me doze off, but I fought it off.
Halfway to the restaurant, my head started feeling heavy. At first, I thought nothing about it, believing it was because of how much I had worked the day before. Gradually, my eyes started getting heavier.
Blinking, I sat up on the seat and shook my head, trying to rid it of the dizziness. I looked out of the window, puzzled when I noticed we were driving along private properties and not streets like I thought.
“Where are we going?” I whispered.
“To the restaurant, of course.” Imelda turned to look at me, smiling as she added, “Louis took a shortcut to the place. Relax, we are almost there.”
“Oh.” Nodding, I tried to loosen up, only to sit up when I felt the familiar wave of dizziness. Worried, I placed my right hand on my forehead as I looked towards Imelda.
“Are you alright?” She turned as if she could feel my stare.
“I guess. I’m just feeling dizzy.” I slurred the last word, barely keeping my eyes open. “I don’t know what’s happening, but ….” I trailed off, not knowing what I was saying. My mind was disoriented. I couldn’t tell what was going on with me or what I was thinking.
I overheard voices in the background. I could have sworn I heard Imelda laughing, but I knew that wasn’t possible, not with the way my mind kept on mixing facts that weren’t even real.
“Imelda?” I called out, trying to fight the dark that threatened to steal in like a thief. I felt its claws as it tried to tug me into the gloom, to let me swim with it.
I fought. I knew I did. With my eyes closed, I blindly reached out for my phone. My first instinct was to call my lovers, to let them know what was going on, but the moment I grabbed the phone, I felt something heavy on my wrist and had to drop it.
Wincing from the pain, I tried to open my eyes, to know what was keeping my hand captive, only to free fall into the welcoming hands of the darkness, that wasted no time in grasping me, holding me tight in its embrace, not ready to let go.
….
Voices rumbled over the surface of my consciousness as I stirred from a forced slumber. I didn’t immediately open my eyes. I took my time in prying them open, so I could check my surroundings.
I half expected to find myself back in the office with my lovers, or at the restaurant with Imelda, looking worried as she waited for me to wake up. But the reality was far from my expectations. Not only was I in a strand room, but I was freaking tied to a chair.
Puzzled, I looked towards the door, wondering what was going on. Could this be a prank? I glanced around the empty room, wondering what I was doing in it.
The voices that woke me up from the darkness stopped as if they knew I was awake.
“Hello? Who is out there?” I called out,