Shadows In Durango

Chapter 101

*****Sofia's POV*****

My eyes flutter open, but I'm met with darkness.

For a moment, I'm suspended in a state of half-consciousness, drifting somewhere between dream land and reality. The room around me is unfamiliar - and far too quiet, too still. It's not the cafe, not Emma's house...

I shift slightly, trying to push myself up when a sharp tug holds me back.

My wrists... they're stuck.

Panic begins to bloom in my chest, like icy fingers creeping up my spine. I try to move again, this time jerking my arms harder, but it's useless.

My heart starts to hammer in my chest as I twist my head, trying to make sense of my surroundings as I blink profusely.

The bed beneath me is soft, too soft. The sheets are cool against my skin, but there's something wrong. My pulse races as I finally make out the feeling binding me - it's plastic, biting and digging harshly into my skin. A cable tie. I'm tied to the bed!

A wave of nausea hits me as the panic fully sets in, my chest tightening painfully as my breath comes out in short, frantic bursts. My hands are restrained, tethered to the wooden post of the bed, and the more I struggle, the more the cable digs into my flesh.

Where the hell am I?! What is happening?!

I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to calm the rising hysteria, but flashes of memory come back to me in disjointed pieces.

The dinner... the gut-wrenching betrayal of Vincent... meeting his parents... the marriage trap that had twisted so deep I could barely breathe afterwards. Then, leaving his house, leaving the cafe, walking alone in the cold towards Emma's house...

And then Ashton.

I freeze.

Oh my god.

I remember now. The car pulling up, the window rolling down, Ashton leaning out, his face lit by only the streetlight. He'd looked concerned at first, his voice soft as he asked why I was out alone. He'd insisted that I get in his car, said he was just trying to help...

I didn't want to believe that he could be trusted. I had hesitated, hadn't I? Something about him being here in town had felt off... yet, instead of running from him, I had still stood there and engaged in the conversation with him... all before I remember becoming dizzy.

I must have passed out...

And now, here I am. Tied to a bed, with my wrists bound like some kind of captive.

trembles as fear surges through me,

be behind

me? Was I back home? No, I didn't recognise this room. But what if he called my father and he

get free and to find a way out. The plastic rubs into my wrist, the

get out of here.

How did this all happen so fast? How did Ashton

dim light, I look around, trying to make sense of my surroundings. The room is small, plain — white walls, a nightstand, a door that's slightly ajar. There's nothing distinct about it, nothing that tells me

to hold back the rising wave of panic

The sound is pathetic, barely more than a hoarse

know why I'm saying his

tight, choked with panic as I scan the room for anything — anything that could help me get out of this. I have to get out. I have to figure

irritated that

everything he had done, I had landed myself in a far worse situation this

comes from somewhere outside of the door, faint but unmistakable. My heart leaps into my throat as I stop breathing

were approaching. Seeming slow

as I call out again,

reach the final pages, remember that 000005s.org is your destination for the complete story. Share the joy of reading with others and spread

that the plastic digs deeper into my skin. I grit my teeth against

dies the moment his face comes into view, confirming that he was behind this, like I had suspected all

expression unreadable. There's no warmth, no sign of the concern he had shown when he'd first

He looks, insane...

panic bubbling up again as I wince slightly feeling a pain rush to my head

I was tied,

silently for a moment, his gaze unreadable. Then, with unsettling calmness, he steps forward and shuts the door over behind him, flicking on the

brightness nipping me like a laser, as I take a second to

need to calm down Sofia," he says quietly, his voice eerily soothing, as

down?" I nearly choke on the words. "You took me and tied me to a bed! How the hell am I supposed to calm down?!" I wheeze, as he sighs

I speak, the dread creeping in around

like they were bleeding by this

Ashton says, ignoring my struggle. "I was just trying

chest. "S-Safe? You think this is keeping me safe? Ashton, this is insane! You didn't have to tie me up! You need to let me go-" I reiterate, reminding him that he still had me bound to the bed. He cuts me off, stepping closer, and I instinctively shrink back against the headboard. "You don't understand what's going on, Sofia. I want another chance." He states, catching me off guard

wants me

Is he crazy?!

After acting like this?!