A pale hand ran through platinum blonde hair only to stop and rest at the nape of her neck while a frustrated sigh left the rosy lips of their owner. The stormy blue eyes of the young woman locked on to the simple note taped to her front door which caused the sigh in the first place.
’We are at the park.’, how fast that simple phrase could exhaust her after an already long day. Liv had thought they mutually agreed that Casey would just text or call if they went out somewhere, that way she would meet them there and could enjoy more time with Aaron. They both didn’t need to waste gas with the back and forth driving plus she didn’t want to wait alone at home having to deal with a panic attack by overthinking different scenarios of what horrible thing could happen. The last time the two had gone to the park without her knowledge, it had been a nightmare of worry, not only her worry for her son but for Casey as well since no calls were answered and it was growing increasingly dark for comfort. Liv had thought they had been in trouble and had no idea where to even tell anyone to look for them but it turned out to be a dead phone, a hungry boy, and a mess of an accident on the highway which meant waiting in dead stop traffic without a charging cord.
Liv would never forgive herself if either one of them were to fall into harms way and she could have been there to help. It is why they agreed that they needed better communication. Casey was a sweet girl and savior for helping out with Aaron. She would pick him up from pre-school and help out before Liv arrived home. It had been a nerve racking event to find a sitter and to trust someone she barely knew when they first met but now she couldn’t see Casey not in their lives. She had been some of the support Liv needed and was amazing with Aaron. She could be a bit forgetful but her heart was always in the right place. Liv could tell she was a good one and felt she like family now.
She pulled the note from the door and stepped inside, planning to at least change into something comfy before going back out. Liv couldn’t be completely upset by the note, at least she knew where the two were but they would need to talk more about what kind of communication she was asking for as clearly they had missed some crucial elements during their talk. Yes, this was a good neighborhood but really, no where was safe. She wasn’t naive enough to not know that anything could happen in an instant. One instant had changed everything for her and it could happen again. She quickly brushed that thought away, focusing on what was at hand.
The wood creaked lightly under her footstep as she headed upstairs to the bedroom, the age of the home starting to revealing itself a bit but the place had character still. Once she reached the top, she passed Aaron’s room, the color Dinos that painted the bright green walls bringing a smile onto her features as she continued to her own room. Liv quickly shrugged out of her jacket and unbuttoned her lavender blouse on the way to the dresser, letting it flutter to the ground without care. It was her bad habit but easy to toss in the hamper later. Liv let her slacks drop from her waist, stepping out of them and kicking of her high heels as she dug for something soft and easy to run around in. It was no doubt that Aaron would want to continue to play even when she arrived and she was more then happy to join in.
Liv pulled on a simple pair of black leggings with a black shirt that had splatters of neon colors that were made to look like spray paint, the name “Twilight Noise” etched in the design. It was just some college band that never took off to become something more but she remembered the music had been decent, the parties were rockin and the T-Shirt had dazzled her at the time since it glowed in the dark plus the material it was made of was super soft to the touch. After tossing on a pair of sock and some sneakers, her outfit was ready and so was she. Liv practically skipped down the stair well before grabbing her keys, cell phone and wallet, leaving her purse behind since their was no reason to carry the bulk item at the park. She opened the door, almost ready to go when she remembered she had no pockets to place her stuff and snagged a simple dark gray zip up hoodie from the hook, jamming everything in her pockets after she locked the door.
It was lucky for her that the traffic wasn’t too bad even though people were driving home for the evening and was able to arrive in no time at all. Liv hopped out and clicked her remote, a familiar beep alerting her that the car was indeed locked as she headed off to the playground area of the park. The park was always so relaxing and quiet with the only interruptions of noise from laughing children, barking dogs and the singing of birds. She took a slow pace down the cement walk way, only stepping off the path and onto the grass as she saw the twisted castle of metal that made up a play ground full of slides, monkey bars, platforms and all the other things that made kids jump for joy. She stopped at the edge of the bark covered ground, confusion furrowing her brow as she gazed over the area in search of Casey or Aaron. It seemed like barely any kids were there and she didn’t see either of the two. Did she have the wrong park?
Liv placed her hand in her pocket, about to pull out her phone to give the other woman a call but something made her freeze. A man’s voice speaking out from behind her, causing her to spin on her feet. “Good evening, Miss Cole. Please, have a seat.” He stated, his stance stiff even as he held a paper cup holder with two foam cups inside. The stranger’s deep voice seemed to claim authority as he was making it clear that denying him wasn’t an option. That didn’t stop her from showing that she would not let this stranger or anyone push her around as she crossed her arms, her body moving into a natural defying stance.
”I’m sorry, do I know you?”, she asked with a raised brow, trying not to be nervous that a possible stranger had been stalking her. “Hardly but I would not be doing my job if you did. Please have a seat so I can explain.” He said, his voice seeming calm and not giving up anything.
”While I would love to indulge some complete stranger and have a conversation, I have somewhere I need to be.” she answered in a smooth tone that didn’t show what was happening to her inside as her panic button was being hit by this man and her hand gripped her phone tightly in her pocket incase she needed to call for help. “Miss Cole, you are exactly where you need to be. We wouldn’t have given that note to you otherwise. We don’t want....accidents to happen. Give me minute of your time and it will all be worth it.”He said, moving to sit down on the bench just nearby.
Liv bit the inside of her cheek lightly, easily recognizing a threat when she saw it. She could call the cops right now, settle this whole mess but the man said
we and it didn’t seem like it was a him and her kind of ‘we’. Who knew how many people this creep had with him? She slowly moved over the bench taking a seat as he passed her a drink. It was not something she was planning on drinking.
”I am listening. What do you want?” Liv said, wanting to get straight to the bottom of things. He took a sip of his drink, leaning back on the bench and arm stretched in a relaxed fashion. He was going at his own pace, she could tell. “The truth.” He replied, adding to her growing confusion.
”The truth? The truth about what? You are making no sense.” she frowned and glared lightly at the man next to her, her fingers gripping tightly on the cup. “The truth you have forgotten.” He said, glancing sideways to look over at her.
”You are insane and this conversation is over.” Liv hissed, tired of these riddles and subtle threats. She quickly stood up, ready to sprint back to her car when a strong arm wrapped around her middle and pinned her arms. She tried to struggle when she felt pain in her neck, causing her to gasp and drop the drink in her hand while a dizzy feeling washed over her. Her muscles felt weak, her eyes were starting to droop and Liv could feel her legs starting to give out before she was greeted with darkness.
Liv groaned, rolling over and curling around the other pillow in bed. She was tempted to call in sick as her head was pounding and her alarm hadn’t even gone off yet. She slowly blinked her eyes open to check her alarm clock for the time, only to jolt up second later when she noticed this was not her room. She instantly regretted the swift movement as her headache screamed at full force and she felt weaker then a newborn. What had happened? She never had drank enough to feel like this the next morning or wake up in some strange hotel room. Liv threw back the covers to find herself completely dressed in her own clothing which meant maybe this wasn’t what she thought. What did she do yesterday? She went to work, she went home and then....eyes widened as she remembered that guy! What had he done?! What about her son?!
Liv jumped out of bed, catching herself on the edge of bed and nightstand as her legs buckled and the room spun. She carefully slide herself to the floor, her hands digging in her pockets and relief flooding her when her delicate fingers wrapped around the smartphone. She punched in Casey’s number, begging for the woman to answer but it didn’t even ring. Instead of a dial tone, a message started playing and it caused her to shake. Mirage City? Trauma? Distress? Others? These twisted people had kidnapped more then just herself and wanted them to what? This all made no sense! It was like a nightmare or a bad joke that wouldn’t end.
She took a few deep breaths, not caring how nice the room was or what all could be in here. A cage was a cage no matter how pretty it looked. She could only hope the others had a better idea then she did. Liv slowly pushes herself up, using the walls for balance as she headed down the hall, leaving the door open so she could find her way back if need be. She stumbled slowly to the elevator, pressing the down button repeatedly even though Liv know it wouldn’t make it arrive sooner but it helped with her frustration of feeling so weak and this whole situation. The elevator binged, the doors sliding open and allowing her entrance. She carefully made her way inside, pressing the base floor button as most had the dining room in the base level of hotels. When the doors slide back open, Liv looked around and tried to follow the signs as best she could. It was a wonder she was even able to get to the dinning room as her legs just didn’t want to function yet and she would literally kill for pain meds right now as she felt so dizzy from the massive headache. If she had felt better then she would have taken in the appearance of the dinning room and her hotel room a little bit more but for now she was on a mission to see the others as unfortunate as herself.
The round white linen table only sat two people at the moment, a male that reminded her of a raven or crow at this moment. The dark frazzled hair almost looking like feathers on the wing of a bird, pale skin that made hers like she had somewhat of a tan and the narrow curve of his face held soft facial features but not enough so to really call him feminine.
The other, a woman, that was already making her cringe as her feet were placed up on the table. It wasn’t as if her boots might not be clean but it was a matter of manners. She had no problem with it if there wasn’t a spread of breakfast foods laid out on said table. Anything could be cleaned but not when it was like this plus feet and food were not a combo, ever. Liv made a mental note that if she was willing to even eat that she would not be eating anything from the side of the table that the other blonde was on. She took a seat at the table, sitting by the window and looking to the other two. What do you say to strangers in a situation like this? Hey, I’m Olivia but everyone calls me Liv for short so anyway, how did you get kidnapped? It even sounded stupid in her head.
