Hero
I awake in complete darkness. The smell of damp fills the air. I sit up on the ice cold wooden floor. My hand suddenly reaches up towards my wet head. Water? Suddenly the pain comes flooding back. Blood. Where am I? What happened last night? Who did this to me? My thoughts are interrupted by a slow, ominous creak as a dim light shines onto my face. I only have a second to look around me and notice that I'm in a shed. A tall figures steps into the light, creating an inauspicious shadow. A helpless plead silently escapes my lips as his hands reach down towards me.
The night before
"I am so glad the reunion wasn't held at the high school." I mutter to myself as I park my car outside the grand hotel. I regret not coming earlier, as the only parking spaces left are the furthest away. Never mind, the walk should give me time to decide what to say to my old friends I abandoned ten years ago. I'm not looking forward to this.
When I finally reach the ballroom where the party is being held, my jaw literally drops. Brilliant banners and sparkling streamers hang from the majestic ceiling. A rainbow of evening dresses twist and turn with each other, shining in the glow of the dim, gold lights. Nostalgia hits me as music from my teenage years floats through the air.
My old friends see me, and immediately begin galloping in my direction. I am greeted by a chorus of "Blaine!" and powerful hugs, even a few kisses. We chat about our lives, jobs, and families. I regret not keeping in touch, but none of them seem to resent me running off to New York the first chance I got. We promise to stay friends from now on. After we all catch up, we make our way to the dance floor.
The next hour is filled with singing, dancing and laughing. I didn't think I would enjoy it this much. I didn't realize how much I missed these guys. But my happiness is tainted by the fact I can't help but feel I'm being watched. I turn around to see those cold, piercing blue eyes staring at me from across the room. My stomach flips and I feel the colour drain from my face.
"Blaine? Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost!"
That's because I have. A ghost from the past. Someone I thought I'd never see again. Not even here. Why did I think he wouldn't be here? Of course he would be. I should never have come. I see him snaking through the crowd, making his way toward me. I tell my friends I have to go, leaving them confused. I turn towards the exit and don't look back.
I step outside and the cool air sends shivers down my spine. I hurry to my car and even trip a few times in my haste. I need to get out of here. I reach the car and notice my tires have been slashed. Who did this? But of course I know who. He did. I feel in my trouser pockets for my phone. Panic hits me as I remember I left my phone in my blazer, and my blazer in the hotel. I have to go back inside. I can't stay out here alone. I cross the car park one more time, and relief floods over me as I turn the corner and see the hotel entrance. But that's the last thing I see.
I awake in complete darkness. The smell of damp fills the air. I sit up on the ice cold wooden floor. My hand suddenly reaches up towards my wet head. Water? Suddenly the pain comes flooding back. Blood. Where am I? What happened last night? Who did this to me? My thoughts are interrupted by a slow, ominous creak as a dim light shines onto my face. I only have a second to look around me and notice that I'm in a shed. A tall figures steps into the light, creating an inauspicious shadow. A helpless plead silently escapes my lips as his hands reach down towards me.
He throws me over his shoulder and carries me into the light. I am too weak to fight against him, yet I struggle anyway. He just chuckles. I'm being put in the back seat of a car. He ties my hands and feet. He climbs into the driver seat and then turns to face me. "I'm sorry if I hurt your head. I didn't mean to. I just panicked. I didn't know how else to get you to come with me."
What? I'm too confused and shocked to even reply.
"Hey, don't look so worried, babe. I won't hurt you."
He smiles at me in a way that I think he thinks is reassuring. What is he doing?
"Aren't you going to talk to me?" He giggles.
"Where are we going?" I choke.
"Home, silly!" He looks surprised at my question. I know this man. I know how he thinks. The best idea for me is to just play along. For now, anyway. We're not driving for long, when we pull up outside a lone house. It's an ordinary house, with four windows and a door at the front. It looks like it's been freshly painted, and there are bright curtains in all the windows. The garden has been well kept, and is filled with beautiful flowers.
"Here we are!" he cheers as he lifts me from the back seat and carries me towards the house. He carries me up two flights of stairs, and into a small room. It has a shiny wooden floor, and patterned wall paper. There is a modern wardrobe, a small, round table with a vase of flowers on it, and a large bed. And a window with bars. But the most unnerving thing about this room is the huge banner that reads "WELCOME HOME BLAINE!"
He places me on the bed, unties my hands and feet, then pulls the quilt up to my chin. He sits next to me and strokes my hair. "I'm so glad you're back. I missed you. But it's okay now, we never have to be apart again." Tears fall down his face as he smiles at me. I sit up in the bed and face him. "Look, Sebastian..."
His face lights up as I say his name. I carry on anyway, "I have a family. I have a husband and a son in New York. They need me."
A look of confusion crosses his face. "I need you, Blaine."
"But they're my family." I say, even though I know reasoning with him is futile.
"Well now I'm your family!" he says with a hint of anger in his voice. I can tell he's already getting frustrated with me.
"I knew you'd be like this. I knew! Well you'll learn to love me soon enough. You will. But until then, you're staying here. I'm sorry, Blaine, but you leave me no choice."
"Sebastian!" I yell after him as he slams the door and locks it behind him.
I spend the next few hours pacing back and forth my confined space. I accepted there was no way to escape after the first half hour. I just have to wait for Sebastian to come back. I think about my family. My husband, Kurt, and our son. They must be so worried. They'll be wondering why I didn't come home last night. Are there police already looking for me? They will be, soon enough. But will they find me? In time? I go cold thinking about what Sebastian might do to me. He's dangerous. I thought I'd escaped him all those years ago. But I guess not.
There's a knock at the door and Sebastian enters, carrying a tray. He looks upset. "I baked you a cake? To apologize. For getting angry at you earlier. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I never want to upset you."
He puts the cake on the table, and walks towards me. He puts his arms around me and pulls me close. "I promise to never upset you ever again."
"Sebastian..."
"What is it, hun?"
"You need to let me go. I'm not happy here. I need to be with my family."
"We've been through this." He says with finality. "You're not leaving me. You can't turn your back on me again. I let you the first time, but not again."
I think back to Dalton, when Sebastian and I were best friends. But then he wanted too much from me, and I couldn't do it. He became obsessed, following me everywhere, calling me everyday, not letting me speak to anybody else, and getting extremely jealous if I did. I still believe he's the one responsible for Nick's disappearance. Even though he was never found guilty, deep down I know he had something to do with it. That was when I stopped talking to him, stopped answering his calls, began ignoring him, avoiding him. I tried distancing myself from him in every way possible. But he always found a way of creeping back into my life.
"You're staying here until you realize that you do actually love me. Because I know you do. And when that day comes, you can come and live in the house with me. We're going to be so happy." He kisses my forehead before leaving yet again.
I stay in this room for days, alone except for when Sebastian brings me food and drink. It seems he's giving me just enough to stay alive. I have no extra energy, I'm constantly weak and tired and going crazy from being trapped in this hell. In the day time, I gaze through the bars of the window, watching the outside world. I spend all day wondering about my family and how they must feel right now. They won't be able to find me, we're in the middle of nowhere, there isn't another building in sight. I've lost all hope.
At night, I dream of escaping. I think up all sorts of crazy plans, but none of them possible. Until one night, when an idea hits me.
I memorize the times in the day when Sebastian visits me. When I hear him walking up the stairs, I know I don't have much time, so I have to get ready. I pick up the vase and stand behind the door. As predicted, he enters the room. "Blaine? Where are you? Are you hiding?" He says with amusement.
As he steps into view, I do what I have to. I drop the heavy vase onto his head and watch him fall to the ground. Blood flows and swims through the broken glass. I run down the stairs. I run across the hallway and down more stairs. I see the front door. I leap towards it. My hand is on the door knob when I feel a crash against my back. I yell out in pain as I turn to see Sebastian standing behind me, blood pouring down his face.
"Blaine, I'm sorry, but you're leaving me no choice. You have to stay here." Sebastian hisses at me.
I curl my hand into fist and and hit him with as much force as I physically can. He falls backwards, but gets straight back up. He runs at me with his arms outstretched, and I duck to the left. I'm in the kitchen. Sebastian strides towards me again and jumps at me just as I find a knife.
"Wow, Blaine. You don't have to do this. Just put the knife down, and we can go back upstairs."
"Let me go." I threaten.
He laughs. "Never."
I have no other choice. I move forward with my knife outstretched. I'm too slow. He grabs my arm and twists me around, now he's holding the knife against my back.
"Oh, Blaine. I can't believe you're going to make me kill you." Sebastian says holding back tears.
My blood turns cold. "Why are you going to kill me?"
"You've made it obvious you're never going to love me. I gave you a second chance but you blew it. And if you don't love me, you're not going to love anybody else. If I can't have you, nobody can. This is the only option."
His hand moves up my back towards my throat. I can feel the ice cold blade against my skin. "I'm sorry." He whispers into my ear. "This is the way it has to be."
The knife feels sharp under my chin. I know this is the end. I close my eyes as I hear a smashing behind me and then gunfire. Sebastian's grip immediately loosens and I feel him fall to the floor. There are voices behind me and I turn to see a swat team, all holding guns, aiming at his body on the floor. One of them rushes up to me and gives me a blanket, as the others surround him.
Silence suddenly fills the room as Sebastian turns his head towards me. The team get ready to shoot when I shout, "Wait!" They all look at me, wondering what I'm doing, and I'm wondering the same. For a reason I don't know, I crouch down beside Sebastian, and lift his head to face me. I need to hear what he has to say.
"Blaine...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted you to love me back." He coughs up some blood and winces before adding, "You were not only my best friend, you were my everything. My hero." The last part was whisper. His head then drops to one side, and immediately the team is around him again and pulling me away. I'm being lead towards a police car. I turn around one last time and realize that I am finally free. Free from the house, and free from Sebastian Smythe.