Arduous

5

Arabella

It's been a week since the last murder, this time the victim was a well known lawyer. It has also been a week of me feeling like I'm being watched, and I'm scared. So I agreed to party with Alissa again to get my mind off of my paranoia. Currently I am in a skimpier black dress, am I uncomfortable? The answer is yes, but Alissa refuses to let me take it off, and it's either this or something worse, so I kept it on. My hair is straightened and I have mascara and shiny lip gloss on, black heels on my feet making me taller. We exit her apartment and go into my car, she drives there and it's a different house, this one more secluded. But it is just as full and loud, college students littering the yard along with red solo cups. We park a bit away since the close spots are gone.the whole walk there I repeatedly tug my dress down repeatedly to make it longer.

"Stop that." Alissa snaps at me, I look over at her and roll my eyes.

"Lissa, it is too short." I whine and she rolls her eyes back at me. We walk on the broken and cracked concrete path leading to the house. The smell of marijuana and a mix of sweat and alcohol hits my nose making me crinkle it upwards. Alissa's sparkly dress shines lightly underneath the dim lights, and her hair swings from the ponytail it is in. She looks great and I look like a sack of potatoes. She finds some dude to dance with after we take a few shots and she drags me along. I try to protest but she gives me puppy dog eyes and I cave. We start to dance and the dude grabs her hips and I just kinda sway and follow her movements, feeling the beat. My hands go above my head and that is when I feel large hands grip my waist, now if I was sober I would jump and tell the person off, but I am far from being sober so I lean back, my head on whoever's shoulder and my hips still swaying unconsciously on the persons front side. I open my eyes and jump when I notice it is the man that saved me at the last party I was at. I stare at him shocked while his eyes burn into mine. He moves me so our chests are together and he leads me backwards a couple feet till my back hits the wall, he kisses on my jaw and leads down a little bit, sucking harshly making me whimper at the feeling. He pulls away and admires the dark mark on my neck, touching it with his pointer finger softly. He leans up into my ear and kisses behind it before grabbing my hips tighter.

"Mine." Is all he says before he walks away with a smirk on his face.

What the fuck just happened? I stand there dazed for a second before rushing after the person. I locate him and tug on his shoulders.

"Who are you?" I ask breathlessly. The stranger gives me a small smile, showcasing his beautiful dimples. He comes closer to me and leans down so his lips are by my ear again.

"Your worst nightmare darling." My breath hitches at his husky voice that has a strong British accent. He pulls away and smirks at me before winking and walking towards the exit. I shake my head after standing there and watching him leave, I go find Alissa and inform the drunken girl I am leaving. I call an Uber and it arrives quickly, me getting in the small Kia. We reach my apartment and I exit the car and thank him while tipping him. I reach my apartment and take off my heels, tossing them accidentally in to a plant I had.

"Damnit" I mutter underneath my breath. I feel a scratchy sensation on my boob and I go to see what the problem is and see a white slip of paper, a number written on it and an X. I stare at it confused and then put two and two together that "my worst nightmare" must have slipped it in there when he distracted me but giving me a bruise on my neck. I rub my temple and set the small slip of paper on the counter and walk over to my bathroom. I look in the mirror and gasp at the bruise, it is dark and turning purple. Fantastic. I run my fingers over it and wince when I push on it a little harshly. I have already had my first kiss with a guy in eighth grade from spin the bottle, that was it. In high school I hated interacting with anybody but my friend group. So I'm a little behind with sexual experiences. I literally just got my first hickey in college.