My coughing woke me up. Barely adjusting to the darkness, my eyes scanned the room I was in.

The only thing I noticed while squinting was the chair I was tied to. I could feel the heavy rope
cutting into the flesh of my arms. Panic rose inside of my chest while I tried to remember the last
thing I did before ending up here. I was on a third date with a charming, yet mysterious, black
haired man, whom I really started to like. My friend, Stella, set me up on a blind date with him one
month ago. She stated it was her really good friend, but now that I think about it, she never
mentioned him during our seven years of friendship.

I watched my reflection in a dirty mirror. It was my first date after Dylan and I broke up two years
ago. We met in a local coffee shop in Gothenburg. It was giving movie vibes, a place where you
could find your soulmate in. He noticed me as I entered and casually waved at me. My lips formed
a nervous smile as I tried to make my legs go towards him, and not out of the door. His smile was
mesmerizing, that was the first thing I noticed about him. No Atelie, you cannot immediately fall in
love with a man you see for the first time, I thought, admonishing myself.
“David, pleased to finally meet you, Atelie. Stella has told me so much about you.” he said with a
euphonious voice, so pleasing to the ear.

A month passed since we first went on a date. Since he is busy with work, and me with lectures, we
hardly see each other. He asked me to go to lake Stora Delsjon for a picnic. I thought it was a little
weird since it is November, and we live in Sweden. But my heart was too in love to notice that right
away, and take it as a red flag. When I arrived, he still has not.
Half an hour passed, and he was still nowhere to be seen. Just as I thought he stood me up, my
mouth was covered with some fabric, and the saltiness of Gamma hydroxybutyrate was the only
thing I felt before fainting.

My thoughts were interrupted by creaking of metal door, letting the light from the outside world
into the room I was in. A tall man stood on the entrance and I could feel his gaze piercing through
my body, even though his eyes were not visible to me at that moment. I silently watched him as he
took one confident step toward me.
"Hello, Atelie." a familiar voice spoke.
"David?" the name slipped over my lips in form of a whisper, but making sure he could hear me.
"Surprised to see me?" but I couldn't speak. The shaken look on my face said everything. A
terrifying grin crossed his face as he was approaching me. I could feel fear rising inside of me
rapidly, so I screamed at him, tears streaming down my face, to let me go.
"What do you want from me?" I sobbed. David chuckled, something that I was really attracted to
until today. When he has gotten too close to me, I tried to kick him, but he gracefully, with no effort
at all, dodged it.