Xaine

A shiver runs down your spine as you wake up. Mornings are supposed to be peaceful- relaxing, quiet, a restart from the previous day and a chance to start a usual routine. Yet, recently, both night and day have become unsettling.

You can’t go anywhere without feeling like you’re being watched, as if there’s someone creeping behind you just out of reach, out of sight. And you can’t seem to find any evidence, so it’s not like you can go to the police or tell a friend without being put on anti-psychotics.

You spend the day as usual; wake up, go through your usual morning routine (i.e. getting basic chores done,) going shopping for whatever’s out of stock at home— which, eerily enough, your belongings are either getting lost more often or getting wasted more quickly. It’s as if someone’s living with you. You hang out with some friends, go to work, then clock out.

Except, tonight, you’re invited to an after-work party, at a bar. Everyone gets drunk, and you, admittedly, get a bit tipsy. Not enough to be completely unaware of what’s happening around you.

Your sober coworkers bring their drunken acquaintances home while you depart alone. You get that cold chill down your body yet again as you walk down the dark, empty streets. Halfway down the trail to your home, you feel a hand press against your mouth. You kick, let out a muffled scream, bite, scratch, to no avail.

Your mother had warned you about this. “You look too innocent for a man, people will mistake you with a teenager. You need to make sure you’re always prepared!” She’d say. You always thought she was just being protective, but look where you ended up.

Except, this isn’t some random abduction.

You slowly wake up, skin rasping against the dirtied mattress beneath you. You don’t know your exact location, but you’re absolutely in someone’s basement right now. The strange man carefully handles your body, hands lingering a moment too long before working to slide your shirt off, then tugging at your belt.

Wait a minute. You don’t want this. You suddenly regain control of your body, kicking and scratching even through the restraints on your arms, knees, ankles, and wrists.

“Oh, you’ve finally awoken, my love.” The stranger hums, a gentle smile on his lips. “Well, then, that means we can both enjoy this.”

It’s nothing less than abhorrent, grotesque the way he handles you so delicately like a glass doll, despite having you in harsh restraints that rub your skin raw. You continue to kick with your entire lower body until he pins your hips down with a single hand— he’s got you completely overpowered.

“Now, now. Stop fighting it, my love, we both know you want it as much as me.”

As he leans closer to trap you beneath him, you catch a glimpse of his sickeningly handsome face— it’s Xaine, your old best friend whom you’d stopped talking to in high school because of a weird comment he made about wanting to torture your then-girlfriend.

He tilts his head to the side like some innocent puppy. “Hm? Have you finally recognized me?” A wide grin spreads across his lips. As if this is some class reunion and not an active felony.