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Amelia Roberto was standing all alone in a restroom which had a dimmed light that kept blinking, the light casting a dark shadow on the white-tiled walls. She was leaning uncomfortably against a basin fixed on the wall.
Amelia clutched her stomach as if in labor with her palm when another wave of pain passed through her.
She had tried to convince herself all day that the pain was due to nervousness and excitement, but by now it was impossible.
Amelia bent forward a little as she tried to catch her breath as the pain escalated. She was obviously in pain as her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes squinted, and her jaws clenched due to the feeling of another contraction.
Moments before, she had been sitting at a table with a man, her fiancé, Jason Richards.
Amelia and Jason were sitting close, holding hands and feeling each other's warmth, amidst the wild fugue of the graduation party.
Beaming with excitement, Amelia listened to Jason, she kept staring at him with a look that resembled a young teenage girl full of love and affection for a man she loved as he was talking about their future.
He had a warm, emotional and loving tone of voice. "Can you believe it, Amelia? We are finally free from school today, the world of freedom is here and now it is time to begin, "he uttered with a combination of excitement, energy, and enthusiasm.
Amelia smiled, she was so much in love with him.
"Yeah". She nodded her head in affirmation. "It seems like all the things we have aimed at have started coming into reality". Amelia said this as she whispered under her breath, thanking her stars for blessing her with such a hardworking, passionate, and loving man.
Jason laced his fingers with hers as he continued to talk about the endless possibilities that awaited them.
But as he went on, a sudden and severe pain surged through her as if she had been cut with a sharp knife.
She had tried to put it out of her mind as best as she could – even mapped a fake grin on her lips, massaging her stomach and bobbing her head in agreement to Jason's words – but the pain could no longer be buried away.
The signs of discomfort on her body and face were visible enough for Jason to notice.
"Are you okay, Amelia? You look like you've lost a bit of colour," he said, his voice going serious.
This made her wipe her face in an attempt to hide the pain that she felt deep inside and then gave a small smile.
I am okay, just require a short break, I shall return shortly. "
'Shall I go with you' Maybe we should leave early if you are not fine. "
'No,' Amelia replied with a gentle but firm voice. Sometimes, a woman just needs some time for herself: 'Just please allow me to be alone for five minutes. ' Right back, I'm coming right back.
Jason gave her hand a last reassuring squeeze before letting her go.
'Okay,' He relented but added, 'but if you don't come back soon, I will come and find you'.
Amelia stood and made her way to one of the restrooms located on the east-side of the party hall. she was still holding onto her abdomen as she proceeded, somehow managing to gather strength that could carry her already weak body to the restroom.
Jason watched as she walked, he was admiring her hourglass physique in the gorgeous lavender gown she wore. Immediately, the thought of the beautiful moment they shared the night before began replaying in his mind.
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They had started the evening with good intentions, Jason and Amelia sat close to each other on a couch in his apartment.
Scattered on top of the coffee table were remnants of their private celebration for their graduation: bottles, an empty glass, half a cake and a bottle of wine which they had shared.
Their discussion had become intense and sincere and it went as far as talking about their wedding. It was all different-they had never been so attracted to themselves like that.
Jason leaned forward into his knees, his eyes boring into Amelia's, his voice had a tone of love and desire in them.
'You know Amelia! Time really does fly, do you remember that day we first met? It feels like yesterday: we were just both young and awkward individuals who were attempting to understand one another. 'But see us now, planning to get married soon. It is an acceleration, but such a beautiful one.'
"Now that I think about it, Jason, sometimes I do realize we did go through so much, and everything is falling into place now: our marriage, our dreams – all that we can see in front of us now." Amelia said as she let a soft smile at the corners of her mouth.
Jason lifted her hand to his and slowly ran the pad of his thumb over the back of her fingers. "I have always dreamt about how it will feel like to wake up next to you, come home to you. That is what I have always coveted; that is what I have always been expecting."
Amelia felt a desire for him swelled up in her. 'I have dreamed of it, too, Jason. '
"We have always told each other that we were going to wait until our wedding night, that we will only be intimate when the time is proper Amelia!"
"But at times, when I am with you like this, I realize that we are intimately connected, that we already are one and it is so challenging to wait when every part of me wants to be with you and show you just how much I love you."
Amelia stirred and she became breathless with such intensity of words uttered by him, her heartbeat increasing at the same rate with emotions reflected in his eyes.
'I think that makes us two of the same, Jason.' 'It is like...like the rest of the world does not exist, you are like my everything when you are with me.'
'I don't want to wait anymore, not when it feels like the sky toppling like this is what we were fated for.'
He touched her hair, and the grasp on her face was gentle and sensational.
"Oh, Amelia! I love you more than anything that is in the world now, you have my heart, and I wish to spend it with you, to take care of you and to make you happy, to love you as much as possible, but only if you want it, only if this is what you wish. "
Amelia closed her eyes; her breathing was rather heavy; its rapidity echoed within her chest as she responded in a soft tone: "Of course, Jason. "
'In this life at least, I have never been certain of anything more than this. You are most dear to me and all I desire is to spend the rest of my life with you – with all my heart and soul, holding nothing back, not now, not ever. "
It is not merely how firmly she said it, but the utter nakedness with which she said it that had Jason's breath stuck
His eyes were burning into hers and slowly, he leaned in until their lips were almost touching, "You have no idea how much I want you Amelia, how much I need you. " He told her softly, "If this is what you want, if you are ready, then I'm ready too. "
He moved a lot closer and urged her even closer for what would be their first tender kiss.
As the pressure of the moment increased, the air around them became humid and hot. Jason wrapped his hands around her waist, pulling her toward him, and felt her body physically react: the quick intake of her breath against his skin.
Jason's hands gently moved over her back and hair as if to learn-to remember every inch of her.
She matched it, her hands gliding up over his chest and shoulders, feeling the hardness of the muscles, and the rapid beating of his heart.
The external world around them faded and became blurred as they lay tightly in each other's arms. Every touch, every embrace and every caress was charged and laden with all the affection that had built up over the years and in that final moment expressed in abundance.
At last, they withdrew from each other and both of them were breathing heavily. Taking her face between his hands gently, he pressed his forehead to hers, his voice strained. "Oh wow, 'That was. . that was incredible, Amelia. You are incredible. "
And a smile just broadened even more on her face while her eyes were just a little still, shut-for her to enjoy the moment-the touch of his breath on her. "Perfect, Jason. Perfect. "
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In the bathroom, Amelia attempted to take a deep breath and just pretend that everything was fine.
She washed her face with cold water in an endeavour to ease herself from the stabs down her lower abdomen, but that didn't help.
This should have been the night Amelia had been dreaming of, the night out that she yearned for and now as she was standing alone in the bathroom, she couldn't brush off the strange feeling that ran through her. She could tell that something was wrong.
Amelia had determined to go back to Jason – to let him know about the pain, then suddenly she heard the creaking of the restroom door opening behind her and this sent a chill running down her spine and brought up her heart rate, her stomach twisting anxiously; she looked up into the mirror fitted on the walls just in front; her eyes widen on seeing the shadowy figure that entered the room.
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A tall, muscular man with broad shoulders entered the restroom, he was dressed in black, and although his face was not clearly seen the hostile look on his face was so vivid and horrifying.
As he approached her, every movement of his body spelt menace. The door behind him shut, sealing off the room with a loud bang, and the hair on the nape of her neck stood straight.
She felt fear well up inside her and on raw instinct – she leaned against the sink. Her brain spiralled wildly in an attempt to come to the full realization of what was happening.
With a look of determination in her eyes, all she could utter was: "The party is out there," her voice shaking yet braced by Will alone.
No inch of his face moved as he continued to approach her. Amelia's heartbeat accelerated, and she felt the breath stuck in her neck, for things were quickly escalating out of hand.
He did not seem like someone drunk who had staggered into the wrong room; it was far worse.
The door opened again and another man entered the room. He was as intimidating as the first, with an icy look etching his face as he observed the scene. The two men looked at each other, just one look between them and Amelia's blood ran cold.
'And what do you want?' Amelia asked, almost breathlessly, pushing her hips back against the sink.
Her eyes scanned over the room toward all the windows and other spaces that someone could use to escape and there was nowhere. This was a small restroom with a single door, and they were standing in front of it.
The man finally spoke with a low voice devoid of emotions. 'You are going with us'.
Fear had her heart in a tight vice, and her mind was telling her to do the one thing, fight back, but more than anything, fight off her captor.
"I am not leaving this place with you," she muttered, trying to sound strong when inside herself she barely felt that at all.
Doubt crept in gradually and, fearful, she couldn't maintain the authority of that voice, as the second man moved closer with a speed of light.
Before she could even get it turned around in her head, his hand grabbed tightly onto her arm. When she again felt an urge to withdraw her arm from the clutches, she found that his grasp was like a vice.
His fingers painfully dug into her skin, and she could feel her skin expanding beyond its natural elasticity. A shot of panic pierced her.
Helplessness flooded her mind. Crying in terror as she squirmed and struggled, her attempts at escaping his hold continuing, he did not relax; he only smirked instead when she strengthened her resolve.
It was then that the first man finally decided to step in, grabbing her other arm and wrenching it right behind her back as hard as he could which only elicited shrieking from her mouth.
"Please, stop!" was her begging; tears were in her eyes, and her voice became shrill under sharp pain running up her arm. Her begging appeared quite meaningless to the first man as he was prepared to make one more step, he reached out to his pocket and pulled out a piece of cloth which caused black despair in Amelia's soul. She was expecting it and experienced a feeling of hopelessness.
'Don't do this,' she pleaded, her voice thin with fear. No words came from the men's lips, their faces were still as stone: all feelings and emotions frozen.
The second one maintaining her head in a fixed position stroked the cloth across her face covering her mouth and nose. A stink of chemicals reached her nose and Amelia fought with even less strength left in her – her vision began to fade, and the room spun around her. 'No', she breathed out softly not knowing whether she said the word out loud or she merely thought it to herself due to the blackness that had engulfed her.
She was able to just make out the noise of the bathroom door creaking open and then, once more, the dark settled in and all that she could hear was the distant sound of the party continuing, a party that did not seem to notice the absence of one of its attendee's, an attendee who had disappeared into the restroom and never came out.
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Amelia started to feel awake again, the shifting movement beneath her, the hardness and the ice-coldness of the floor vibrated under her in time to the general buzzing that was happening in the air.
She had a severe headache, throbbing pain that shot up her head as she attempted to lift it but the ripping ache pushed her back down again.
Her consciousness gradually started to dispel the fog, and an icy wave of fear enveloped her as she became aware of her surroundings.
Her hands were tied at the back, and the rope that bound her wrist bruised her skin tightly. Her ankles themselves had been tightly bound also to render her immobile.
Lying with her head on the side and her face rubbing the sore cold floor of a van-she could make out some dim light that was dripping from what seemed to be a dying bulb and producing scary shadows.
Entering certain thoughts into her consciousness created a feeling of abject terror in her. They had taken her out through the back door which would have Jason and her friends still dancing, with no idea that things were changing for the worse for her.
Amelia could feel her heart pounding when the van stopped to a halt. The sound which the opening of the doors made was quite loud and this produced real fear in her.
In desperation to mask her fear, she closed her eyes even harder upon hearing approaching steps.
An intense cold night breeze met her skin in increased anxiety. 'Bring her inside,' a low and hostile voice uttered. Amelia was visibly shaking when large male hands grabbed her vigorously by the arm and started pulling her out.
With every pull from the van, the whirl of fear in her belly became worse, and as she was being lifted out of the car an awful realization struck her, she did not know what would happen to her next.
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