Safe In A Stranger's Arms

Chapter One

BEFORE READING: I started writing this story when I was 13 so please don't bother the fact that the first 10 (maybe more) chapters are super shitty. Trust me, it gets better the further you go so give it a chance and wait. Thank you to all my readers for supporting me with my first fanfiction!

Caitlin's POV

The sound of the deafening alarm clock rang as I woke up from my sleep. 9:45 AM. I groaned to myself as I realized it was time for me to get ready for another day at university. I pulled the soft bed covers away from me and sat up straight on the edge of my bed. I reached for my schedule at my bedside table to check what I had for today.

"Another lecture. Well isn't that great?" I mumbled.

I headed to my closet and grabbed a pair of navy blue skinny jeans, a plain white tank and a dark grey cardigan and brought them into the bathroom with me. I quickly took a shower and dried my hair. After putting on my outfit, I pulled out my makeup bag and began to apply a light amount of foundation and mascara. Simple as that.

As a kid, I never really bothered with my appearance. I was raised in a small town in Arizona where not much happened. I was used to just going to school and coming straight back home. I had a few friends back in high school but let's just say that we were located at the bottom of the food chain. We weren't really considered popular and we didn't get invited to big parties and hangouts.

After graduating high school, I started to get bored of how I was living and wanted to change my life. I left my parents and my little sister to come and study here in Chicago. Why come here out of all places, you might ask? Well that was my decision. To change my life, I had to go somewhere that was out of the ordinary and here it was.

I met two good friends here, Ronnie and Blaire. These girls were the totally opposite of me. They were more outgoing, flirty, fun, bubbly and great to be around. Their positive energy could fill up an entire room and radiate everywhere. I was glad I met them cause my life would have been a disappointment without those two.

When I was done getting dressed, I grabbed my bag and put on my shoes and headed out, making sure to lock the door behind me. The university was pretty close from my apartment but I mean, who would want to show up early to a 2-3 hour long lecture? Not me, that's for damn sure. So to kill time, I drove to the cafe I worked at to say hi and grab a coffee.

-

I managed to make it to the lecture on time and not be late like usual. After sitting in the auditorium for a good 2 hours, I grabbed my stuff and headed out the building to go back to my car. As I was about to unlock my car, I heard my phone vibrate in my back pocket. I quickly unlocked my phone and answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's Ronnie."

"Oh hey girl, what's up?" I asked.

"Blaire and I were planning on going to Giordano's with a few other girls later tonight. You want to come?"

"Sure, come to my place at 7 and we can go." I replied.

Giordano's was an Italian restaurant me, Blaire and Ronnie loved going to. The pizza there was beyond amazing. Knowing that I had a lot of time before the dinner, I decided to head back home and catch up on my sleep.

-

"That was fun, thanks for inviting me!" I said as I hugged the girls goodbye and walked back to my car that was parked near the restaurant. As I was about to pull out of my parking space, I heard the ringtone of my phone and saw the screen light up with the contact name "Trish" on it.

"Hey, I know it's your day off today but I need you to run a quick night shift and lock up. There's an emergency and I can't stay. Please?" She pleaded.

Typical lazy Trish.

"Fine, but you owe me," I sighed.

"Thanks, you're a doll!"

I hung up the phone and tossed it back into my purse. Gosh, I hated working night shift more than anything. The worst part is that I had to lock up too. I just didn't like how I had to work alone at night. That's why I was used to taking afternoon shifts.

I groaned and drove back to my apartment to quickly change into my work shirt. One thing that was very beneficial about the cafe was that it was only a few minutes away from my apartment. It wasn't walking distance but it was still close enough. I got back into my car and made my way through the busy streets and entered the plaza.

Just to make my night worse, the parking lot was absolutely full. I spent a good 20 minutes just trying to find a place to leave my car but the only area that was available was at the back of the plaza. It was dark as hell there but I had to work with what I had.

-

Looking at the time on the clock, I realized it was finally time to lock up. I had just finished cleaning and picking up anything that was left on the tables of the cafe. Now that I was done, all I wanted to do was get back to my warm apartment and watch romantic comedies on Netflix with a big bowl of ice cream.

I took off my apron and put it neatly into the cupboards of the counter. Closing the door behind me, I pulled out the key and put it through the lock, twisting it quickly. After checking if the door was properly locked, I turned around to head back to my car. There was a construction site on the edge of the plaza and the only way to get to my car was either the woods or a small alley. I decided to take the alley because it was a shorter way to get to my car but let me say, it was beyond scary.

I was standing in front of the alley while taking a deep breath. The cold and crisp air traveled around my body, making me tug on my soft cardigan for warmth. I sighed and began making my way through the dark alley. The only thing you can see was the bright light at the other end. Realizing that I was getting closer, I began picking up my pace and walked faster.

The sounds of my shoes scraping against the pavement echoed throughout the atmosphere. Just when I was about to exit the alley and make a run to my car, I was stopped dead in my tracks by a figure standing inches away from me.

"Look what we have here."