(Rescue)
•••••
Melanie pov
I check the corridor before stepping out from the ladies room, since I have to make sure that no one is going to catch Vaughn slipping out from it.
All clear. I sigh and walk out, Vaughn following behind me. While we're about to walk in the corridor, someone clears his throat, making us stop dead in our track.
I turn around to find a guy leaning on his back against the wall, eyeing us with a smirk on his face. "Who would have thought? Vaughn and Melanie."
Shît. He knows us. How could I not see him just now? Maybe it's because he's leaning so close to the wall behind me that my eyes must have missed him.
"Austin," Vaughn mutters, eyeing the said guy with a menacing look, unable to hide the irritation in his voice. From the deadly look on Vaughn's face, he would definitely strike a deal with Austin about keeping our secret.
I remember the name. Austin. The football buddy who called Vaughn yesterday while we were making out in the kitchen. Now that I have a good look at him, I notice that he resembles young Chad Michael Murray.
Austin seems unfazed by Vaughn's glare, like he's used to it. "Sorry, man," Austin says, putting his hands up, amusement present in his voice. "Just wanna inform you that coach is waiting for you."
Vaughn rolls his eyes and turns to me. "I'll be right back."
I nod, watching as Vaughn walks past Austin, but not before throwing him a sharp look, as if telling him to follow suit.
Austin chuckles and looks at me, causing me to feel awkward.
"Hi, Austin." I smile, trying to be friendly and to ignore the fact that he just caught us doing something naughty in the ladies room.
"Don't worry." Austin smirks. "I won't say anything to Jake."
I would be so thankful if he keeps his words. The last thing I need is Jake finding out about Vaughn and me from somebody else. I'm not going to Keep this secret forever. I'm just still trying to find a way to tell him because we all know how Jake always reacts when it comes to me and boys.
"I would really appreciate it, Austin," I say genuinely. "Thanks."
Austin smirks. "No problem. I'd been wondering why Vaughn seemed a lot happier recently. But now, I know why."
His words make me blush. Is it true? Do I make Vaughn happy?
Now, a soft smile tugs at Austin's lips. "Really. That's a good thing. He's been through enough already."
I frown. Is he talking about Vaughn's past relationship? With Camila.
I can only plaster a small smile, still wondering what has actually happened between them. She's now a part of his past but somehow still makes me insecure. I hope that Vaughn will open up to me if I ask him about it. Definitely not now, since we're just beginning. But sometime in the future.
My heart sinks at the thought of him having been in misery. What kind of problem that has torn them apart? — What kind of girl who had the heart to hurt him?
I know that I wouldn't be able to get the answer now, even if I wanted to.
Austin walks off to follow Vaughn, and that leaves me standing here with so many unanswered questions in my head.
-----
The clock has just indicated 10 o'clock at night. The melody of Chopin's Nocturne fills the living room as I play the piano. It's always nice to pour all of these melodramatic emotions through music. After playing the last note of the classical piece, I close my eyes and sigh.
Where is Camila? Why is she missing now? Why did she leave Vaughn? I want to know all of the answers.
Playing the nocturne has just set the mood kind of dark. Maybe I should play something that sounds more of a major key, not something minor like pieces of Chopin and Beethoven. Mozart is a little too happy-go-lucky for my mood now. Debussy sounds perfect, since his pieces are always calming and heavenly.
I fiddle the music sheets inside the cabinet near the piano but can't find my favourite Debussy's compositions. If I'm not mistaken, they are stored in one of the room upstairs where Jake also keeps his favourite phonograph records.
I walk up the stairs and enter the said room. My eyes scan the bookshelves, and my heart leaps as I find one that contains my old music sheets. My Debussy book is there, along with my favourite Disney music sheets.
While I'm busy picking the books, the lights go off, causing me to feel like I'm suddenly blind because of the darkness enveloping the entire house.
Crap. I've always hated the darkness. It sends chills to my body, as if a sudden cold wind is blowing through me now.
Is there something wrong with the power supply? I turn on the flashlight from my phone and heads to the window. After I open the curtain, a frown touches my lips as I see my neighbour's house doing just fine with lights and electricity a few blocks away.
The sound of something drop to the ground downstairs catches my attention. What just happened? Who is it? I don't think that there's anybody else in the house, because I just allowed my maid to go back home an hour ago.
I feel goosebumps on my skin and that the hair at the back of my neck stand. My heart begins to pump faster as I brace myself to walk outside the room.
But then, I stop midway when I hear someone walking upstairs with long strides. I push my back against the wall, my pulse quickening. Who is it?
Jake? No way. I just called him earlier this evening, and he said that he's going to work overnight, finishing up his project with his colleagues.
Vaughn? He texted me half an hour ago that he's in a club, celebrating his football teammate's birthday.
But even if it's someone I know, they must have called me when they had realized that the house was pitch black.
I abruptly turn my phone flashlight off. The person stops after reaching the second floor. His footsteps lead to the side opposite this room. Trying to calm my heartbeat,
I peek behind the door so that I can find out who and what this is all about. There's still a little light from the street that fills the room, since I opened the curtain a while ago.
My heart freezes as I find a guy wearing a hoodie and a balaclava mask that covers his entire face standing in front of the cabinet. He scans the family photos and takes one frame in his hand. I almost choke in fear when he presses his lips against the picture. Someone's picture. He kisses it like it's something precious.
I don't need to know whose picture it is because the truth hits me to the core. It is mine.
He's the same guy who tried to rape me inside the alley. That psychopath apparently is crazy enough to break into my house.
I cover my mouth with my hand, trying not to scream.
Tears begin to blur my vision. He's going to get me. '
I feel a sudden shortness of breath, and my legs wobble as fear consumes me. My eyes scan the room, trying to find a place to hide. The desk next to the window catches my sight, and I dash toward it before hiding behind it.
My hands shaking, I take out my phone from my pocket and dial Vaughn's number. I wait for him to pick up the call, my lips trembling.
"Melanie," comes his masculine voice, the sound of loud music in the club and people laughing next to him echoing in the background.
"Vaughn," I stutter. For the first time in my life, I'm experiencing the moment when I find it difficult even just to utter a single word. I'm so frightened.
"Hold on a second," he says, and the sound of deep thumping music and laughter in the background start to fade out. I assume that he's walking out of the club, because it must be difficult to hear my voice with all the loudness in there. I know that he's outside when I hear him push through the door.
"Vaughn," I choke in tears. "S-someone... Someone is here," I whisper, my voice shaking uncontrollably. I'm afraid that the psychopath will hear me, but I have
to make a call. And if God still gives me one chance, it would be Vaughn.
There's silence on the other line, like he's shocked to the core by the information I just gave him.
"T-that guy—" I stutter, wanting to inform Vaughn about the person who tried to rape me inside the alley, but the words are too complex for my mind now. "H-he broke into my house," I choke again, trying my best not to burst into tears. "He's here."
Vaughn doesn't even utter any word, but I can hear his heavy footsteps now, pounding on the ground. Fast. He's running toward his ride.
"I'm coming," his voice sounds murderous and like he's speaking through gritted teeth. It almost makes me break in sobs from. knowing that there's still hope.
The next thing I hear from the other line is Vaughn starting the engine of his motorbike. Then suddenly, the sound of footsteps in the hallway startles me, making me end the call in an instant.
I turn my phone off, fearing that the light from the screen may Catch the person's sight. Quietly, I sit behind the desk, hugging my legs, my teeth chattering due to the fear building up inside me.
What does he want from me? Why would he do something to this extent?
I squeeze my eyes shut, shaking my head as I already know the answer. It's obvious, from the words he threw at me inside the alley.
He wants me.
All sorts of horrible thoughts begin to fill my mind. I can't help but think about the deeds this lunatic would do without having a second thought.
He'd ràpe me.
He'd kidnap me.
He'd cage me.
Or worse, he'd torture me and kîll me after.
All of those things are real. I've seen them on the news.
There are many cases of women being kidnàpped, ràped, tortured and kîlled in a sadistic manner before their bodies were found sometime later.
A tear falls from my eye. What have I done to this psychopath that made me deserve to be in this position? .
What have I done wrong?
A few minutes pass by in silence. I'm praying to God that the person won't find me. Vaughn is coming, and I can't help but hope that he'll be here soon. It seems that he's taking a motorbike earlier, which can make him get here faster.
I know that the person is trying to find me, because I hear him opening the door to the room at the far corner of the hallway. As to why he's on the second floor, I'm guessing that he'd heard me play the piano and knew that I was walking upstairs.
His footsteps slowly pace on the ground as he opens another door on this floor. He would check all the rooms, one by one. I can't see what he's doing, but when I think that he's entering the other room, my mind tells me to just run off and head to the front door.
But no, it will be too risky. I can't guarantee that he won't catch me. This is the time when I realize all over again about how weak a woman's strength compared to a man's.
I don't have any idea how he could break into my house and turned off the power supply. As far as I remember, I've locked the door. And there are securities guarding the complex. He wouldn't have been able to get inside without my consent unless he'd been here before. But, who knows? Those criminals have always found ways to break in, just like I saw on the news.
My breath hitches as panic swells up inside me. Please, please, please. Don't let him get me.
Hiding here behind the desk by myself, while knowing that it's only to be found later by the psychopath in just a matter of time, makes me feel like I'm waiting for a death sentence. More minutes that pass by feels like hours.
I jerk a little as I hear his movement getting closer. My body goes limp, as if all my bones have dissolved away.
The door to this room creaks open, and my heart almost stops before it pounds against my ribs at an incredible speed. A scream threatens to spill from my mouth that I have to cover it with my shaking hand, my eyes wide and filled with tears.
The person stops moving as he stands by the door, probably noticing the music sheets shattered on the floor. I swallow a big lump in my throat as his footsteps draw nearer.
"Melanie!" Vaughn's shout suddenly echoes as I hear the front door banged open.
My sobs almost break as sudden hope and relief explode in my chest. He came.
I can feel the person whirl around, taken aback by the sudden intrusion. His attention is immediately shifted to Vaughn. While I'm guessing that he's slowly stepping back into the hallway, I peek from behind the desk and gasp when I see him pulling out a pocket knife.
The sound of Vaughn's footsteps fades out as he walks further from the staircase, probably starting to look in my room.
No. I want to scream that I'm here, but the words are caught up in my throat. The psycho finally steps out of the room, and when I think that he's far enough for me to get out of my hiding place, I tiptoe toward the door and peek again.
Then I see him stepping closer to the railing, eyeing Vaughn, who just disappeared around the corner downstairs. A gasp leaves my lips as the person opens his pocket knife.
I whirl myself back into the room and push my back against the wall, shaking. The thought of the lunatic having a weapon to attack Vaughn behind his back and that he may be able to hurt him goes crazy inside my mind.
No, Vaughn. I'm here. He's here!
"Vaughn!" I scream. My heart thumps wildly, and I feel like my legs are about to give in.
Hearing abrupt movement from the psycho, I wait no longer to rush away from the door, running further toward the end of the room. But what could I possibly do to escape him? It's just a matter of time until he catches me.
The moment I find myself trapped in a dead-end, I turn around, my back against the window.
And here, I finally come face to face with the bastard. My lips tremble as I see him approaching me. With that balaclava mask and hoodie covering his head, I still can recognize him in the dark.
He grips my wrist and catches me in his arms, making me struggle against his hold.
"No! Let me go!" I scream at the top of my lungs, but to my horror, he tightens his grip on me that his arm throttles my neck.
It hurts so much to the point that I can't even breathe. Roughly, he drags me outside the room and toward the railing leading to the stairs. With his arm against my neck, choking me, my vision can't make anything that surrounds me except for the ceiling. But I can still hear Vaughn's footsteps as he runs upstairs. Even the sound of his ragged breaths fills my ears, telling me that he's goddamn panicked as he's coming for me.
I cough from the lack of air filling my lungs. My hands shoot to the person's arm, gripping it, begging him to release it from my neck.
But instead of him sparing me, I feel something cold and sharp against my chin. My eyes snap open, and fear clenches tightly around my chest.
Vaughn pants as he reaches the second floor. My lifesaver is now here before me, but somehow, that hope is once again shattered as I lie limp in this lunatic's arms.
A tear falls from my eye, my sobs finally breaking. I wince as a sharp pain slices my skin. The person has just scratched a small cut on my neck with the knife. And for the first time, I see fear in Vaughn's eyes.
"Stay there!" the person whispers frantically, making me think that panic had seized him the moment Vaughn entered the house. My consciousness slowly begins to leave me due to him throttling my neck that I can't make out the owner of the voice muffled by the mask he's wearing.
The panic and frustration in his voice apparently frighten me, because I know that he might even do something crazy when he's threatened.
"Or I'll hurt her," he hisses, making my heart freeze in place.