Chasing Danger

7- give me your shoes

I had gotten as far as the hallway when Tyler grabbed me. Honestly, I don't know how he could have caught up so quick but there he was, tackling me to the ground. After a brief struggle, he ended up on top of me, pinning me to the ground, looking down at me with rage.

With his hands on my wrists, I extended my right arm to get him off balance before twisting my entire body. In one fluid motion, Tyler ended up the one being pinned down.

Once I had the position of power, I realized that I had no idea what to do with it. Did I even want to escape? It seemed like the thing I should be doing, since I was his hostage and all. But this was an extraordinary circumstance, one that didn't terrify me so much as intrigue me.

"You're lucky I don't actually want to hurt you." Tyler muttered, eyebrows drawn together but lying still.

"Right back at ya."

"You were pretty stupid for not tying me up, ya know." 

"I won't make that mistake again." 

We'll see about that. The words were on the tip of my tongue but I didn't say them. 

As I stared down at him, my hair falling in front of my face, breathing heavy from the struggle, I felt something shift. I was instantly aware of every inch of our bodies touching and the proximity of his face to mine. My eyes bore into his, heat growing in places it shouldn't have. 

Just as quickly as the moment was there, it was gone. Tyler used my loosening grip to his advantage, flipping me and pulling me upright. He held onto my arm to drag me back into his apartment. I sat on the couch. Standing in front of me, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and met my gaze with a glare.

"Here's the deal. If you try to run again, I'll tie you to a chair. If you hit me, I'll tie you to a chair. If you do anything at all that I deem as a threat, I'll tie you to a goddamn chair." He warned me. "Got it?"

 I just stared at him for a moment, speechless at how many words just came out of his mouth. "Wow. You do know how to speak in full sentences."

Tyler's glare deepened. "Got it?" 

"Yes, sir."

"This isn't a joke, you know."

I shrugged. "Life's too short to take everything seriously."

Tyler apparently didn't know how to respond to that. So he held out his hand and looked at me expectantly, though I hadn't the slightest clue why.

"Give me your shoes."

I blinked, confused.

"You can't run without shoes."

"Oh." I slipped off my black converse and handed them to him. He went into the kitchen, putting them high on top of the cupboards before going to the front door. Flipping every lock, including the chain, he made sure it would take me twice as long to get out if I were to try again. Satisfied with his new plan, Tyler went back to standing in front of me.

"I really don't want to tie you up again."

"You don't have to. I'm not gonna run." I told him.

Tyler just raised an eyebrow as if to say, oh really?

"Seriously, I'm not. But there's some stuff I'll need if I'm going to stay here."

"I didn't know hostages could make demands."

"You know I could make this way more difficult for you, right? I could scream. I'm sure the neighbors would love that." I shot Tyler a sweet smile in warning. "I could also fight some more, tear this place apart if I wanted to."