Hey everyone! MERRY CHRISTMAS! Here's a Christmas update. It's not very Christmasy, but oh well. Enjoy! (Oh and by the way, I didn't realize that I had not posted the 8th chapter. Oops. Sorry. So. Yeah.)


Chapter 9

"Oh, sorry." He held me at arm's length as his face turned bright red.

"It's fine. What are you doing back here, Nathan? Jason's in the house if you're looking for him." I wondered if he was the person who had been singing.

"Nothing. Just wanted to see if he was back here. Was that you singing? It was amazing."

I guess that answered my question. I shook my head, "It was wasn't it? I couldn't find anyone around, though. I thought I was the only one back here."

"Oh, okay." We stood there a little longer, neither of us saying anything until I tried to make my excuses to get back to Jason. This whole situation felt weird. Nathan hardly ever came to the theater, even to look for Jason. Plus, he hadn't stopped staring at me since I bumped into him. "Well, I need to go back. Gotta finish eating before rehearsal… so… bye." I turned to leave, but Nathan grabbed my wrist. I looked back at him. "Is something wrong?" He had this strange look in his eyes as he pulled me back to him. "Stay with me." He whispered. His lips met mine. His grip on my arms was so tight as I tried to push him away. I managed to get free and I slapped him hard across the face. "What are you doing?"

"I can't let you go back to him. Not after-," He cut himself off.

"It was you. You've been-," Nathan jerked me back to him and covered my mouth and nose with his hand. I felt some sort of cloth over my face and when I tried to breathe, all I could get was the sickly sweet smell of something that began to overpower my senses. No! What was he-? Why? My vision went blurry and blackness started to creep up on me. I felt my knees give way and I collapsed in Nathan's arms. He kept his hand firmly in place, looking down at me with a mixture of joy, terror, and- was that sorrow? The room began to spin as Nathan released me, picked me up and carried me away through the back hallway that served as our backstage waiting area. I couldn't keep my eyes still. I was fighting hard not to pass out. The next thing I knew was that I was being strapped into the back seat of a car. I heard a door slam, an engine start up, and then- nothing. I was out.

My world was black for a moment. Then there were stars all around me. They were shining brightly, more brightly than any stars seen from earth. But, they were moving? I strained to see why they were moving and got nothing. I wished they were closer and to my surprise, they zoomed up to me. I saw that they weren't stars, but memories. I realized that I was in the midst of another blackout. But I had never seen memories like this. Not in this form. I wanted to see if there were any memories that would tell me why Nathan would drug and kidnap me. Some of the memories blinked out. There were still a few left and they shone even more brightly than before. I looked at one and watched what was happening. It was me and Jason, sitting together. It was mostly focused on me. I went to a different memory. It was harder to see so I reached out to touch it. I grabbed hold and suddenly I was in it. It was a lot clearer and I could feel the emotions. Jason had his arm around me and we were all laughing and talking. I (Nathan) felt overpowering jealousy. Why couldn't Emily want me (Nathan)? I was as good as Jason, wasn't I? Of course you're not, a little voice nagged in the back of my head. You'll never be good enough. You want her but you don't have the guts to take her. You'll always be second best to your 'best' friend. If you want her, take her. I (Emily) let go of the memory.

I looked at all of the memories, they were all similar. They were all of me, Jason, and Nathan together. I hadn't realized we had hung out as much as we had. I didn't understand why so many of these were so strong in feeling. But I did recognize some. They were all from the earlier part of the semester. Except for the last one. I didn't touch this one for very long. Too many conflicting things at once and it made my head spin. The second to last memory was of Nathan staring at a phone. It looked like one of the cheap ones you buy from Walmart. I thought Nathan had had an iPhone so I didn't get what I was experiencing for a second. Nathan called Jason's number. I recoiled from the memory when I realized what was happening. Nathan was my stalker. Those seemingly familiar memories were all times Nathan and I had interacted past a few words. I made myself look at the last memory. Nathan had Jason and me in the car. I couldn't hear what was going on. I reached out and I was flooded with emotions. I (Nathan) could hear the tapping as Jason and Emily messaged back and forth. I couldn't help the overwhelming satisfaction I felt because she was angry at him. She was so angry. And hurt. That cut some of the happiness. I tried making some small talk, but no one was biting. The jealousy I had tried so hard to erase came creeping back. She was still talking to him, after everything I had done, even after trying to show her how much of a crappy person Jason was, they were still talking. Take her. The voice spoke again. Take her soon. Soon. I (Emily) released my hold and heaved in a breath. I was going to be sick. Could one get sick in a blackout induced vision? The memories started to fade, slowly blinking out as I regained consciousness.

I opened my eyes and tried to blink away the hazy blur that was my surroundings. When my vision cleared, I had to force myself to breathe steadily. The taste of pennies after being drugged- with chloroform I realized- was going to make me sick. Looks like chemistry class came in handy for identifying drugs used for my kidnaping. I laid where I was until I felt like I could sit up without heaving. Where was I? The room I was in was tiny in width, but longer in length. If I could have stood up, then I would have been able to stretch my arms out and touch the walls with my fingertips. There was room enough for the twin cot I was lying on and a small table and chair in one of the far corners. A single naked light bulb gleamed dimly from the ceiling. There were two doors on opposite walls. One at the end of the cot, and the other behind the table. There weren't any windows. I forced myself to get up. I stood for a moment, waiting for the room to stop spinning. I used the wall as a brace and made my way to the door closest to me. It was locked. I went to the other at the back of the room and tried the door knob. It opened. I looked inside and was met with darkness. I felt along the wall for a light switch. When I found one, I flipped it and the room was lit by a dim bulb. It was a bathroom. There was dust everywhere. I took a step in and had to cover my face with my shirt, so much dust flew up. I choked and stepped back out. I flipped off the light and closed the door. I tried to open the other one again. It was still locked from the outside but looked very flimsy. I backed up and rammed my shoulder against the door. I did it again and again until my shoulder was bruised and aching. The seemingly 'flimsy' door only had a slight dent in it. I thought a good kick would knock it open and was just about to try, when I heard footsteps coming from the other side of the door. I quickly scooted back to the cot and tried to lie back down without it creaking. I succeeded (I don't know how) and closed my eyes as soon as the door opened.

"I could have sworn..." I heard Nathan say. I heard the door close. More footsteps. He was next to me. I flinched when his fingertips touched the side of my face. "So you were trying to get out. Get up." I opened my eyes and sat up. I couldn't feign unconsciousness and get away with it. He wasn't an idiot, for everything else he might be.

"Why?" I asked. He looked away from me.

"I really like you, Emily. I'm just tired of watching Jason and you. I want you. I need you."

His face changed. He smiled wryly.

"I'm jealous. I'd rather take you away from him than spend another day watching you two act all-," he stopped and clenched his fists. "Anyway. I decided that I had had enough. So now I have you. And I won't let you go. Especially not to him."

"So it was you..." I whispered, just to confirm what I already knew.

"Of course it's me." I shifted under his unrelenting gaze.

"Nathan... why do you think that kidnaping me would change anything? Other than the fact that I now think you're crazy." I blinked. Why did I just say that? Nathan's jaw tightened and then, something changed. It wasn't a change that I liked. He looked ravenous. He stepped toward me and pulled me up. He spun me around and pinned me against the wall. "I guess we'll have to change that." His fingers brushed my lips and I turned away. I used that moment to glance behind him. I felt a spark of hope flare up. He had left the door open. He grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. "Em. Just make this easy. You can't go anywhere." He stroked my cheek and leaned towards me. He softly brushed a kiss against my jaw. He released my arm and I grabbed my chance. I shoved him out of the way and sprinted out the door. I slammed it shut behind me and turned the lock. I heard him curse.

I quickly looked around, scrambling for an escape. I was in what I assumed was an apartment somewhere. It was small and plain enough. Books lay sprawled across the small table in the kitchen area. Nathan must have realized he had a key because I heard him trying to unlock the door. I ran to what was obviously the front door, made apparent by the three deadbolts above the handle. Nathan had been well prepared. They were made to be opened by a key. I nearly cried, but spotted the key hanging on the wall. I grabbed it and heard Nathan escape. "Emily, no. Stop!" I had gotten two open when Nathan grabbed me from behind and he hissed angrily, "Got you." I elbowed out of his grip and started to open the deadbolt. "Just let me go!" I pleaded.

He jerked me backward and I fell. My breath left me as I made contact with the floor. I was still struggling to breathe when Nathan picked me up and slung me over his shoulder. That made trying to inhale harder. Stars and black spots popped up in front of my eyes. Nathan carried me back to the room I had been in and set me on the cot. I leaned over and took a huge breath. The stars gradually faded as I breathed. "Please, let me go." I gasped. He didn't answer. He left the room and came back a few moments later. He had two zip-ties. He shoved me down and cinched my hands to the metal rail above my head. Tight enough to grab at my skin whenever I moved. "Now where were we?"

Nathan made the mistake of not tying my feet down, too. When he leaned towards me again, I shoved my feet into his stomach. His breath left him in a whoosh and he doubled over and fell on the floor. I tried to get up and drag the cot to the door. Nathan managed to pull the door closed from where he was on the floor. I decided to try and kick it down. The door had been weakened from the times I rammed it with my shoulder and crumpled under contact with my foot. I ran out as best I could with a cot tied to my hands. I didn't get far. The cot wouldn't fit through the door, I figured out, when my arms were jerked painfully away from my body. I almost fell over but caught myself and managed to turn the cot sideways. I glanced at Nathan, who was still struggling to breathe. I ran to the kitchen and tried to grab a knife from the knife block. I couldn't reach it the way my hands were tied. Since he had used only one zip-tie per hand, I slid them painfully around together so that I could even get close to the knife block to attempt to grab a knife. I lifted the cot and managed to grab one. I angled it in between the small space between my skin and the cot frame. I gasped when I nicked my wrist but the pain was nothing compared to the relief I felt when the tie snapped. I cut the other tie and ran to the door. I got the first two locks open again when Nathan staggered out of the room. I was turning the last deadbolt when Nathan grabbed my waist and tried to drag me away from the door. I had a death grip on the doorknob and started kicking, trying to get free. He let go with one hand and I used that opportunity to twist free. I finished turning the bolt and opened the door. Someone was on the other side, ready to knock. I managed "Help-," before something collided with the side of my head and stars flew in front of my eyes and my vision melted into black.


Aaand there it is. I probably won't update until New Years. So until then, Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a great holiday!