Sonja had been dumped for the hundredth time; this time, she had no idea why. Normally after someone would break up with her, she'd mope about her apartment for an hour or so and then eventually go out with friends, well, her girlfriend's friends, to cheer herself up, but they were all on holiday in Madeira, leaving her freezing in Berlin.
This is why she decided to venture out into the cold and the snow on her own, to a small bar four or five blocks away from her apartment that she frequented when she felt lonely. It was a place she didn't have to worry about anyone she knew stopping by, because as far as she knew, none of her friends or her exes liked the place. It was cozy and just barely fit under fifty people, and was the perfect place for Sonja to hide out, get drunk, and complain to someone for a few hours.
As per usual on a Thursday evening during winter holidays, there was a handful of locals scattered about the place, chatting about themselves and gazing over at the man playing guitar whenever they found a lull in their conversation. Luckily for Sonja, her favorite bartender was working this evening, and had already begun working on her drink as soon as she hung up her coat on the coatrack by the door and stomped the snow off her boots. The bartender, Felix, was probably the only friend Sonja had made on her own and not from a girlfriend or boyfriend. It was a little sad, actually, she just hadn't had the time to build her social life with her career working in public relations for a local firm. She was always out and about and never had the time to sit down with all the complaints from clients and revisions that she had to make constantly. The only time she had for herself was grabbing a drink or two and talking with Felix.
As Sonja slunk into her chair, Felix cheerfully asked, "How goes it, Sosie?" as he placed her drink on the coaster in front of her. He propped his elbows up on the bar and rested his head in his hands, like a schoolgirl eager to hear the latest gossip. While he seemed to always be chipper, Sonja doubted that there was anyone who gave better advice than Felix. Even when she used to go to therapy, she came up with terrible solutions for herself.
"I really don't understand where you get 'Sosie' from, my name's already short enough, but after three years, I guess it's a little too late in the game for you to change my nickname." Sonja said as she sipped at her drink and picked at her fingernails a bit. "And just so you know, Annalise finally broke it off with me." She trailed off a bit, quietly mumbling about how amazed she was that Annalise had stayed with her longer than three months. Her eyes occasionally wandered up to the television which was playing some old, American Spaghetti Western, but for the most part, they were fixated on her drink. Normally, Sonja would be excited to tell Felix about her failed relationships, laughing about the ridiculous reasons why they called it off with her, but she was actually really upset about this one ending.
Felix gave her a concerned look, just about to open his mouth until he was flagged down by a customer. Apologizing, he darted off to grab the man another beer.
In the meantime, Sonja glanced about the bar to see what kind of people were about. Most people she recognized, even though she had never had a conversation or even acknowledged each other's presence. She didn't really care about that, though. It was just comforting to go to a place where the crowd never really changed. Sometimes newcomers would find their way into the bar, like the small group of men that Sonja had noticed in the very back corner. She couldn't tell if they were all in the same color clothing, or if it was just the lighting, but as she turned her head back, she noticed that one of them was staring intently at her, ignoring the conversation around him.
"Sorry about that," Felix said as he returned to his post, making Sonja jump. He had a bit of a questioning look on his face as she began blushing out of embarrassment. "Annalise was the food critic, right?" He looked at Sonja expectantly, worried that he had gotten it wrong this time. All she could do in response was nod. She received a reassuring pat on the head from the bartender as he grabbed liquor from the shelf and began mixing her another drink. "What do you think went wrong?" He asked, trying to talk over the noise of the cocktail shaker.
"I have no idea," Sonja sighed, "well, maybe a little bit of an idea. I was too busy with work, apparently, even though that's how I met her." Annalise had actually been one of her clients back when she was starting up as a food critic. They had known each other professionally for two years, but ended up being each other's blind dates a few months ago. "Just as I was about to tell her that I had dropped a few clients to relax a bit more and enjoy the last bit of my twenties, I come home to a note saying that she gave my plane ticket for our vacation to someone else and that she was calling things off with me." Sonja paused, unsure of what to say, but eventually didn't say anything at all. There wasn't much else to tell about her most recent failed relationship.
Felix had a stunned look on his face. "That's tough shit, man," was the best response he could come up with, but it wasn't long until his usual, stupid grin returned. Before Sonja, there was a martini glass full of possibly the most disgusting looking drink. Felix, giggling like a little girl blurted out, "drink it! Please drink it! I came up with it by myself!" She carefully took a sip, weary of the drink's contents, which tasted just as terrible as it looked.
Sonja struggled to get the first sip down. "Coming up with cocktails may not be your biggest strength, Felix," she laughed as she pushed the drink away from her. He looked a little hurt, but nodded in agreement, walking off to grab her a glass of wine to wash the taste away.
The two of them talked about mindless things for what seemed to be hours. Anything to keep Sonja's mind off her breakup. It was nearing midnight when the other bartender for the evening tapped on Felix's shoulder.
"Your shift's over."
Felix had offered to walk Sonja home, but she refused, wanting to stay out a little longer. It wasn't like anyone was waiting for her at home. She nervously glanced about the bar, curious if the group that had been sitting in the corner before had left (they hadn't). The man was still staring at Sonja, making her shiver and quickly turn back to her drink and finish it in one large gulp. She hated when people stared at her, it's why she took a behind the scenes job, it's why she had a garden-level apartment that was hidden by the landscaping. So when this man slid into the chair next to her, she had no other option but to retreat into the mass of curly hair atop her head.
"Did I startle you?" He asked as Sonja peeked out from her curtain of hair. She inspected him, now that he was in the light. His skin was a dark olive, his hair was dark and curly, but cut short and his breath smelled of mint when he spoke. He had this intense, hungry look in his eyes that almost frightened her. However, when he flashed a smile and leaned back in the chair, his whole demeanor softened.
Sonja brushed her hair behind her ear and shook her head. She could feel her face flush, unsure if it was because of the alcohol or because she was embarrassed. "No, you're fine," she mumbled, pulling out a box of cigarettes from her bag. Speaking was a lot more difficult than she thought it would be. It had been awhile since she had stood up, so it was very possible that she was at least a little drunk.
"I couldn't help but overhearing you talking with the bartender earlier, I'm sorry about your breakup," He said as Sonja lit a cigarette. He flagged down the bartender and turned to her with a friendly grin, "can I buy you a round of drinks?" His tone sounded genuine and she still felt like drinking. It wouldn't hurt her if she accepted this man's offer. She'd have a few more drinks, and then take a taxi home. Plus, she was a big fan of free drinks.
Sonja nodded and accepted the man's offer. The two chatted idly about her life, but he oddly never revealed anything about himself. Not that it really mattered, she was actually quite fond of talking about the things she did. Not a lot of people were interested in what she did. She was having fun, a lot more fun than she thought she would be having, even though it was mostly just the alcohol talking to her.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry, I've been babbling nonstop," Sonja said clumsily, glancing over at the corner, where the man's group was still sitting. "You probably want to go back with your friends and I probably need to go home, so thank you for the drinks, you made my night a little more enjoyable." She stood up abruptly and shoved a wad of cash towards the bartender. Sonja stumbled a bit, almost falling over until a pair of hands sturdied her.
"I can't let you walk home alone," He chuckled. Had Sonja been paying attention, she would have noticed him pass a sly grin to his friends in the back. She mumbled a drunken 'whatever', and carefully made her way over to her coat and scarf.
It was snowing when Sonja stepped outside, followed by the man. She blinked up at the sky, looking at the colorful Christmas lights. Normally she'd be excited for the upcoming holidays, but she wasn't excited to spend them alone. Maybe tomorrow she'd stop by the Christmas market and go people-watching.
The last thing she remembered was stepping off in the direction towards her house with the man.
The warm sunlight woke Sonja the next day. She blinked her eyes open and yawned, pushing a tangled wad of her hair aside. The clothes she was wearing last night were thrown about the room. She threw her legs over the side of the bed and peeled her underwear off, grabbing a towel from her armchair. Her head was splitting; she had way too much to drink last night. A shower was probably the best thing right now.
Sonja's headache lessened thanks to the steam from the shower. She inspected her body in the mirror before wrapping herself in a towel. Her tawny skin was spotted with dark freckles, as if someone had spattered paint all over her body. She loved her freckles.
Steam poured into her bedroom as Sonja wrapped her towel around her, it just barely covering her entirely. She was about to change into fresh clothing when she saw a figure in her living room. Was it the man from last night?
Sonja was greeted by the whole group of men that had been sitting in the back corner of the bar. "Good morning, princess," the man who had bought her drinks chimed. She stood dumbfounded, unsure of what to say or how to react to this sight. Here she was, dripping wet, covered only by a towel, standing in front of a group of five men. Her hands shook ever so slightly, fearful of what happened or what may happen.
"I didn't... we didn't..." she stammered, "did anything happen after I got home?" Sonja was actually scared at what his reply would be. She had a habit of sleeping with people she had just met after getting drunk. Most of the time they were very nice people sober, but she had a sinking feeling that these were not very nice people. Many of them had the same intense, hungry look that the man had last night when he first approached her.
One of the men, tall and lanky with sandy blonde hair chuckled and stood up, taking a step towards Sonja. "Nothing happened, baby," He said, pushing his hair back, "but something can happen now that you're awake." He reached for Sonja's face and stroked it gently. "We're not in the business of spoiling a pretty thing like yourself when you're asleep. Plus, I bet you're much more fun when you're awake."
Sonja shivered in fear and stumbled backwards into her room. Normally, she'd run away or try to defend herself, but there was nothing in her room save for dirty laundry, and darting over to the fireplace to grab a poker would be useless.
The man grabbed Sonja's neck and spun her around, ripping the towel from her body. "You're a pretty little thing. I can see why Basta took an interest in you. We could even convince our boss to keep you around," he cooed in her ear, nodding towards the man with the dark hair. He ran his fingers up her stomach, exploring her with delight. "And you're so soft, like you haven't worked a day in your life." One hand held her arms tightly behind her back while the other was now brushing her hair off of a shoulder, tracing the curve of her neck. Sonja let out a cry as she was pulled back into her living room for all the others to see. Tears rolled down her face as she felt the stares of the other men when suddenly, she was let go.
Sonja dropped down onto the floor, curling up as much as she possibly could. "Go find her some clothes, Hugo," the man with the blonde hair demanded, "this girl's coming along with us." Hugo, a babyfaced boy no older than twenty quickly darted off towards her bedroom.
Coming along? What did he mean? Sonja wasn't going to go anywhere. She pushed herself up and darted into the bedroom with one large stride, pushing past the blonde man before he could grab at her again and slammed the door behind her, locking it. Now, she didn't care that she was naked, her fury triumphed over any other feeling. She wasn't going to be taken by these men, she was furious that they thought they could do whatever they wanted to her. If Sonja was going to be taken anywhere, she wasn't going to be taken without a fight.
She pushed the boy to the side, knocking his head against the corner of her dresser, and threw on her underwear, scrambling to find clothing to layer on before any of them broke down the door. It was an old apartment, so she figured they would do it in no time. They broke into her room before Sonja could grab anything to defend herself. She was cornered.
"Nice try sweetheart," Basta smirked as he stepped towards her, a knife drawn. Sonja pressed herself against the wall, trying to make herself as flat as possible, as if that would help her. However, just as Basta was about to grab her, a hand blocked him from going any further.
"You're not in charge of things anymore, remember?" The blonde man teased as Basta stepped back. He nodded towards a large man, who easily picked Sonja up. She struggled, making an attempt at dropping all of her weight towards the ground, but it was no use, he was strong. Even though she knew there was no chance in getting free, Sonja kicked and bit at the man, making every effort to show these people that she wasn't going without a fight. The men just chuckled in response, the blonde even reached up and squeezed her cheek. "You aren't going anywhere, sweetheart."
Sonja was carried out through her back entrance, which went into the alleyway. Parked outside the door was a large, sparkling white van. The large man carrying her pulled open the back doors with the other hand and threw her in. She grunted in pain as she hit the cold floor on her elbow. The van was surprisingly clean inside, save for a few cases locked down on the floor. Sonja didn't even want to know what was in them; something terrible, probably.
"Let's get going," the blonde grunted as he turned the key, "Capricorn's been expecting us to have been back already."
Author's Note: So here's my new story, exploring the world of Inkheart again, but from the eyes of someone who's not a silvertongue. If you're sensitive to non-con themes, it may be best not to read this, as it will be reoccurring. There aren't enough really dark fics, so I thought I'd give it a try. Please enjoy!