Page 11 of His Obsession

The energetic smile slipped from her face. “Party pooper!” She pouted, sticking out her bottom lip like a dramatic five-year-old. “Give me five more minutes to finish things up.”

I nodded. “Okay, I’ll be over there.” I pointed to our usual booth against the wall.

She clicked her tongue, winked, and snapped two pointer fingers at me simultaneously. She twirled around and was off to her own world again.

Five minutes.

I would be on my way to my soft bed in five minutes. I collapsed onto the cushioned booth seat, brought my knees to my chest, and laid my forehead against my bony kneecaps.

“In my mind” by Dynoro, coaxed my heavy lids to close. The music was getting quieter and quieter as if it was being turned down. Then, it was silent.

Nothing.

I opened my eyes. The lights were dim like after hours, and the sound of feet hitting the floor was non-existent. The panic in my body was building like an inflating balloon trying to free itself from my chest. I could tell the place was closed. What the hell? Why would Lucy leave me here? I kicked my legs out and ran to the front entrance, pulling on the door. It wouldn’t budge, the sound of chains clanging in the enormous room. Shadows whirled across the walls, but one, in particular, caught my attention. It ran across the employee exit with a purpose—the perfect silhouette of a man.

"Wait!" I yelled, running towards the shadow. "Please help me, I can't get out."

I raced around and looked behind the decorative curtains. When did they get curtains? Where could he have gone? I ran up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, and pound my fist on the doors. No response. No one was here. Hunched over, I rested my hands on my knees to catch my breath. The other entry, I forgot about it as I tried to find the stranger. I ran downstairs and kicked at the employee entrance door, but it wouldn't yield. I rammed the door with my shoulder as I had seen done in the movies a million times.

“You can’t leave,” the stranger’s voice announced behind me.

I spun on my heel, my eyes desperate to see who was talking. A figure stepped out from the darkness, the man's face staying hidden by the shadows. I stepped away, that gut feeling telling me he was bad news.

“Why can’t I?” I asked, scrunching my brows together.

“Why would you want to? You belong here.” Aggression was thick on his lips.

Putting my hands to my eyes, I rubbed them hard. “This can’t be real, this isn’t happening,” I pleaded.

I felt strong arms wrap around my body in a gentle pull. I opened my eyes to find the shadow man soothing me, running his hands through my hair.

“Don’t wake up, Liz!” he begged.

“What?” I asked, confused. The sudden change in behavior was a whirlwind on my senses, and I didn’t know what to think.

“Come with me.”

“I can’t, I need to find my friend.”

“You can’t leave me.” His grip was getting tighter around my body as I struggled to leave. Nailing him in the nuts, I broke free from his hold. I cut and run away from him, a flash in his hand catching my eye. The stranger ran faster than humanly possible. Picking up speed, he raised the knife and lunged at me.

Hands holding me down, obscure words being uttered, but I couldn’t make them out. Was someone screaming? I blinked back the blur in my eyes and saw Lucy hunched over me. Her lips were moving, but I couldn’t comprehend what was being said. My heart was pounding, I couldn’t suck in air, and my chest was on fire. Lucy raised her hand and slapped me across the face. The sting spread across my cheek like a million little bee stings, bringing me to tears.

“It’s just a dream,” she cooed, her eyes pleading and panicked.

I nodded and sat straight up in the booth.

The terror clutching my chest still had its hold. I grabbed Lucy into a massive bear hug and held her tight. The panic subsided, and I could breathe again.

“I’m going to have the biggest fucking bruise, dude. You kicked me like Chuck Norris.”

I wiped the tears away, laughing. “Yeah, well, you deserved it. I’m never watchingPsychoagain.”

Lucy snorted in my ear.

She always resorted to getting someone to laugh in a situation she wasn’t comfortable with. We all picked up our little quirks in foster care. Lucy said mine was my internal war that raged with no one to abate the conflict. Just a bunch of ideas warring with each other, causing chaos in my mind. I told her it wasn’t a quirk but probably a mental disorder. My cheeks flushed as the realization that I just had an arm flailing, leg kicking, nightmare in the club. An uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach. People were watching me… they had to. Who could ignore the psychotic girl in the booth screaming? My eyes darted back and forth, searching for those people that noticed me and spotted a broad-shouldered male towered above the crowd, walking in this direction. Dale.

He placed his hands on Lucy’s shoulders and peered over her to see me. “I was told to ask if she was okay.”