A Duet of the Soul

Chapter 8: The Man of My Nightmares

*Maria's POV*

A dim light filtered through the mostly closed blinds of the window in front of me. For the first time since before the murders, I had a restful sleep with no nightmares. I inhaled a deep breath as I felt my heavy eyelids start to open.

My eyes fluttered lightly as I tried to recognize what was around me. As I laid on my right side, I expected to see my small computer desk and dresser. Instead, a small side table with a black lamp sat directly ahead of me, wedged between the bed and the wall. 

A small window was placed squarely in the center of the wall, with nothing but a thin set of white blinds covering it. The walls were painted white, as well as the small side table. The thick comforter on top of me was black, as was the wrought iron headboard, but the pillow and sheets matched the wall color.

Who's idea of decorating is this?

Confusion sat heavy in my mind as I tried to think back on the night before. It was only a moment before I remembered the nightmare of the psychopath who broke into my apartment. My breathing began to intensify as I realized the situation must not have been a nightmare at all, but in fact an unfortunate reality.

Trembling, I struggled to sit up before an arm tightened around my waist pulling me back down onto the bed. My body was pulled closer to rest against the solid form of a man behind me. I could feel his morning excitement pressed against my rear. Blood rushed to my cheeks as I struggled to hold the panic at bay.

Quickly, I mentally scanned myself in search of any sign of sexual assault while I was unconscious. Fortunately, I couldn't feel any indication that he had attacked me during the night; however, now that I was awake, he seemed to be interested in closing that distance. His face nuzzled against the back of my head as I heard him breathe in my scent.

"Good morning, Maria," he whispered.

I gasped for air as the panic fully took over. "No!" I cried as I began thrashing about in the bed.

Quickly, the man's arms fully encircled me, pinning down my arms. He threw a leg over mine in an effort to pin them down as well.

"Calm down, Maria! I told you last night I would not hurt you, and I meant it."

The helplessness became overwhelming, and all I could do was sob under this man's hold. He was larger and stronger than I, and though I was able to get a few good shots in last night, I felt at a deeper disadvantage now than I had then.

"Please don't cry, baby girl," he whispered in my ear, causing louder wails to erupt from within me. "Maria..."

"Don't!" I shrieked. "Don't call my name! I am not yours! I will not be yours!"

The man let out a single sigh but remained silent as I continued thrashing about, crying and calling him every filthy name I could muster. His grip only began to loosen as I started losing momentum, until I was only softly crying in his embrace.

"I hate you," I finally heaved out, using every last ounce of energy to put as much malice into my statement as possible.

Silence hung in the air for what felt like hours. I heard him sniffle before his broken whisper answered me. "I'm sorry, Maria. I had no other choice."

"Bull shit. You had a choice. You had every other possible choice and instead you killed my best friend, kidnapped me, and now you're going to do who knows what to me. You had every other possible choice, yet you continue to choose to hurt me. What did I ever do to you?!"

"Will you please let me explain everything?"

I hadn't noticed at first, but it dawned on me that he sounded different today than he had the previous night. Gone was the deep husky voice. Instead, a more even and pleasant tone filled my ears. There was a familiarity to it, but in the moment I could not place it.