The Silence That Surrounds

Three Months Previous

Sophia’s POV:

The time was nearly 5:00PM. My father stared outside the window of the tallest high rise in London. He had seemed distracted most of the day with meetings and lunches but something else seemed to be troubling him because he only shifts from one foot to the other when he was worried about something.

“Just a business deal, kitten, that’s all. Don’t trouble yourself over it.” He reassured when I asked. I should have known better because my father shifted a total of thirteen times during the day and as it ventured toward evening, he only got worse.

“I won’t trouble myself if you don’t. You look like you could go for a brandy or ten.” I smiled and walked toward his liquor station, my heels clicked loudly on the white magnolia floors and I grab him a glass of his favorite before I walked back and handed it to him.

For a moment the silence lingered, he’s back again to his troubled worries. His tired eyes endlessly searching out the window for an answer. I suppose none came because he turned back, accepting the glass with a small smile.

“Always were my favorite daughter.” He teased, chuckled and downed the brandy in one gulp, slamming the glass on the beautiful finished wood of his desk, his chair a perfect molded white silver. A resting couch laid near the window for when his day got too bad.

“I’m your only daughter –unless you have another one I should know about? Sadly mum might flip her lid.” I laughed, my eyes lit brightly, reflecting the dwindling sunlight from outside.

“Your brother Dylan is enough of a problem, two girls and I would wind up in the insanitorium.” He joked and came around to kiss my head. The warmth of his lips mixed with the smell of Brandy. I didn’t know why but it was a sweet and nurturing smell to me. The way he did it was loving but his eyes were still filled with fear and anxiety.

“It’s late baby girl, go home and take the rest of the night off, you deserve it. I had the limo dispatched for you and your mother knows I’m working late again so there is no reason to call her.” My father reassured.

I nodded and hugged him tightly.

“Goodnight father, don’t work too hard.” I said and winked before I headed toward the stained window door, stopping when my father called to me once more. At the time I didn’t think of it as anything more as him being a concerned parent.

“Sophia? Do me a favor, love? Stay in tonight, the weather looks ghastly.”

I looked at him for a moment and nodded.

“I will, I promise, goodnight. I will see you bright and early tomorrow.” I waved and finally left his large spacious office on the 124th floor.

My father was the CEO of one of the largest companies in London. Anyone would be honored to work beside him as he was an honest and fair man. His business stemmed from something that he fought from the ground up to get and now, twenty-nine years later, it was reality.

I rode the elevator in silence out to the posh lobby. Bright white walls and a glass fountain in the center. Chairs, tables – receptionist desk and security lined the room, with a side room going into the restaurant and pub. It was everything I had grown up knowing.

I’m twenty-two and I’ve been working for my father since I was old enough to walk. He always taught me that you can’t just snap your fingers and get what you want. You have to work to earn it and those values were instilled in me from very early on. I just wish my brother had the same idea. Sadly, he always got what he wanted and that made for interesting tantrums –considering he was only a year younger.

I exited out of the building through the spinning elevator and outside to the awaiting limo, noticing it wasn’t my original driver. Although, this one was rather the looker and eye candy to me was like sucking on a lolli. It was sweet and satisfying.

“Good evening Ms. Stone, I’m Louis, I’ll be your driver this evening.” He greeted respectfully but didn’t smile. Something about his blue eyes, the way they blinked rapidly told me it was nervousness, I could tell.

“Good evening Louis, a pleasure.” I stuck out my hand with a small smile but he didn’t take it. Instead he opened the door and ushered me in, taking a quick glance around.

“How odd.” I said to myself, positioning my body to the comfortable cushion, the door shutting a second later.

He bolted up to the driver’s seat and got in, a moment later the car was started and the divider went up between us.

“Very odd in fact.” I frowned, hearing the locks on the door suddenly activate. I was now officially locked in.

“Okay, something is definitely wrong.” I decided, my stomach tight in nervousness. I took out my phone and dialed my father, waiting for him to pick up. Unfortunately it went straight to voicemail. I wish he wouldn’t turn his phone off, especially with times like this.

I took a breath and dialed my mom, same result. Both phones were turned off. Having no choice, I dialed my brother and I knew he wasn’t going to do me any favors.

“What? I’m busy!” Dylan snapped, his disposition worse than normal.

“Dylan, something’s wrong! The driver, limo –get a hold of dad, please! The driver is different and he’s acting weird.” I whispered as low as I could.

“You want me to waste dad’s time because your driver is acting weird? Come on Sophia.” Dylan chuckled.

I felt anger rise in me. Sometimes I felt as though I had been adopted, there was no way we were siblings let alone in the same species.

“Dylan, listen to me, something is wrong!” I exclaimed, the limo slowing to a stop on a halfway empty street, a figure waiting on one of the corners. I felt myself tense as the figure’s shadow loomed down in reflection of the tinted window and black paint.

My door unlocked again.

“Dylan, something’s wrong! I –“Before I could say anymore my door opened.

The figure advanced down on me before I had any idea what was going on.

The first thing I felt was his weight knocking me to the open floor and the next moment he was on top, straddling my sides.

I screamed out for help, full out panicked. There was no way that it could be happening –there was no way this was real.

As I felt his body tense and his inner thighs squeeze against my stomach cutting down on the intake of air I could use, I found that it was happening and it was happening too fast for me to react.

With stealth and precision his one hand trapped my wrists and forced them above my head while the other slapped across my mouth, muffling my cries. Tears were streaming down my face and I could only look up at the hooded figure with the green eyes. The very first time I encountered him.

I heard Louis get out of the driver’s side and hope in the already open door, shutting it a second after, his hand holding a rag.

“Put her out.” Green eyes spoke, his voice a growl.

“On it Hazz.” Louis spoke, coming to kneel by my head.

My eyes shifted to Louis, his blue eyes were dull and lifeless.

When he saw me looking, he looked back but didn’t return anything else.

“Mh!” I protested under the hand, trying to twist my body from underneath the intruder.

Louis nodded, his eyes leaving mine for a moment to look at green eyes before nodding.

Harry took his hand away and the cold, damp rag was pressed down firmly onto my face, covering my nose and mouth.

I didn’t have very much air in my lungs thanks to the growing pressure on my stomach but I would rather pass out holding my breath than breathe in something that could potentially kill me.

“Breathe.” Louis tried coaxing but his voice was emotionless. His brown hair falling in his face and his eyes were hidden by the blurring tears that fell down my face before I blinked and cleared them.

I tried one last time to slip from Harry’s grasp.

I remember vividly that his dark greens were filled with contempt and he simply said nothing.

Louis pressed the cloth in a little more, looking at Harry.

“She’s holding her breath, what do you want to do?”

The question was so normal to him, like he had asked it before.

I felt Harry’s thighs constrict to me again and pressed down a little harder on my stomach, forcing a little more air from me.

My lungs were burning, begging for breath. I knew I was losing the battle.

“She can hold it all she wants but she will eventually have to let go.”

He was right, my head was getting lightheaded and my vision was swimming. I could taste the horrible chloroform as it seeped from the rag into my face. He had drenched it in the stuff and it burned my eyes.

“Let go Ms. Stone. I promise, we’re not here to kill you.” I heard the voice above me speak, his voice sounding like a slow drawn out echo.

I whimpered but my lungs begged for air and I finally let go and obeyed, panicking slightly when I suffocated, I couldn’t breathe! My eyes were open in freight but all they saw was blinding darkness and I mumbled a weak straggled scream through the cloth, feeling the sickly sweet smell gag and choke me.

“Shit, Louis, she can’t breathe.”

I fought for air, my lungs desperate for the fresh oxygen.

The rag was released somewhere above me but I couldn’t concentrate, everything was fading.

My already blinding vision was dulling, lulling me into its inky blackness. I fought to swim back to the surface. I tried but my hands were stuck and uncooperative, washed out against the tide of unconsciousness.

I finally gave in and breathed slow, the beautiful dark washing over me like water, drowning me into its oblivion.

Notes