Captured

*Silvia*

“Evan!” Silvia exclaimed breathlessly. “You scared the living daylights out of me.”

A tinge of red began surfacing on his cheeks. “Apologies, Sil. I was getting bored and agitated waiting for you in the front of the school. I thought accompanying you would be a better idea.”

Silvia clasped her hands to her now rapidly moving chest. The tranquil silence of the morning and Evan’s hand grabbing her had scared her significantly. “Just make a sound or something when you’re going to approach so stealthily. You know, to make your presence known.”

Evan’s grin slowly disintegrated at the exasperation in her voice. “Sorry, love.”

Silvia sighed. Whenever she got scared previously in her lifetime, it was an automatic reaction for her to grow defensive and fractious. “I should learn to control my temper at times.”

Evan offered her a small smile. “It’s quite alright. Your positive attributes cross out that insignificant flaw.”

“This is why I adore you,” Silvia said, slipping her arm through the crook of his elbow. “Now, let us be off. I need to grab that book quickly.”

“Of course, my lady.”

Together in comfortable silence, they made their way to her house. Silvia breathed in deeply as she contemplated on her beautiful surroundings. The month of June allowed the trees to reflect their natural luminescent evergreen colour. Multiple birds swayed and sang amongst themselves in the pale sky above her. She smiled slightly at two reckless squirrels chasing each other in repeated circles. She had been searching for the answer to the meaning of life for quite some time, and part of it, was hidden in the wildlife around her.

Silvia faltered her walking as she noticed the brass numbers on the front door of her white painted house, reading 1608. Evan slowed down his stride as well, as she guided him to the front of the house. She unlatched the white picket fence that encaged her property, and lead him. They walked through the front yard, passing tomatoes growing on dozens of vines and multiple yellow and orange tulips.

When they got to the porch, Silvia grabbed the keys that were hidden deep in her coat pocket, and took them out. She fumbled them for a few moments, trying to find the specific key that would unlock the front door. When she got the right one, she unlocked the door and motioned for Evan to wait outside.

“Aw, can’t I come inside?”

Silvia smiled apologetically. “You know very well that if you come inside, we’ll both be late for school.”

“Late?” Evan snorted humouredly. “Darling, if I came inside, we wouldn’t even be attending school today.”

Silvia shook her head without a reply, and walked inside. Immediately she was greeted by the serene silence of her home. Thin streams of light lay on the front hallway floor, shining in from the window in the living room. She gently laid her bag on the hard Oakwood floor beneath her feet, and walked further inside the house. She made a swift left and she was met with the comfortable and bright sight of the kitchen.

The white window blinds were opened widely in this room as well; her mother liked keeping the house in a hospitable manner. The pale yellow tiles that engulfed the walls coordinated pleasantly with the solid white counter tops. As Silvia’s eyes danced around the kitchen, her eyes were drawn to a green and blue text book placed in the center of the white kitchen table.

There’s the little bugger.

As she was about to grab it, she noticed a tiny pink post-it note placed on the front cover. Curiously, her eyes scanned over it:

Silvia, boss called in this morning. He asked me to stay late tonight; apparently I’m behind in my paper work. Since dad is staying after-hours at the restaurant, you’ll be home alone for a while. Dinner is in the fridge.

Love you! –Mom

Silvia sighed animatedly. These notes seemed to be getting predictable and worn.

Unfortunately for her, both of her parents worked long and complex jobs. Her father, Francesco Ricciardi, being a stereotypical Italian, owned a cozy and successful pizzeria named, Il Verde Oliva. Since it was in full business, he remained there often, having hardly any leisure time for himself or his family. Silvia remained loyal to her father, but seemed to lack the intimate connection most fathers and daughters share.

Silvia’s mother was no different in the topic of occupations. Angela Ricciardi worked as a travel agent at Flight Centre. It was her job to help clients plan business trips and book airline tickets. All of this required an immense amount of paper work, and as a result, she was forced to stay late. Silvia was closer to her mother, but as usual, she lacked the strong bond and communication most mothers had with their daughters.

Sighing once again, she threw the post-it into the steal garbage can, snatched her chemistry book, and made her way out the door. When she was outside, she flung her bag onto one of her shoulders.

“Looks like I’ll be home alone once again, tonight,” Silvia said.

Evan shot her an understanding look. “Are the ‘rents staying late again?”

“Yes,” she replied, looking at the tulips in her garden which swayed lightly. “It’s fine, I have a lot of subjects I have to study for anyway.”

Evan took her hand. “You study too much, dear.”

Silvia chuckled. “Look who’s talking! You spent the last March break studying for your advanced placement calculus class. And you only took breaks to urinate and eat frozen dinners.”

Evan smiled knowingly. “Yes, but I can handle it.”

She shot him a challenging look, which had an underlining of humour. “And I can’t?”

“You can, dear,” he replied, “but it seems to stress you out more. Also, I know how to balance work with extra-curricular activities.”

“So can I mister!” she exclaimed defensively. “I’m in the Leadership and Environmental club.”

“I meant,” Evan sighed, “outside of school.”

Silvia opened her mouth to speak, but could not find a good enough comeback. “Well....I...”

Evan kissed her head swiftly. “Don’t hurt yourself, love.”

She smiled amusingly at him, but her inner thoughts remained disturbed. Was she really that focused on her academic learning? Was she shunning every leisure-related experience in her life? Was she becoming like her parents?

Evan must’ve noticed the distracted look on her face, for he sent her a sympathetic look. “You alright?”

Silvia mentally shook her head and offered him a positive look. “Fine, darling.”

With their fingers intertwined, they made their way to the school building.

*Jude*

She screamed violently.

In frustration, Jude pounded his fists onto the steering wheel. “Shut it!”

Jude frantically drove, his eyes focused on the stretched street which lay before him. It was still early in the morning and few cars lingered on the streets. He drove his red ‘76 Buick tensely, looking into his rear-view mirror for any witnesses.

Witnesses. He laughed loudly at the word. He had just abducted her recently, grabbing her forcefully from her own home when she had hurt him. It had been too early in the morning; the street lights had still shone brightly. He had done this before; he was careful, experienced. Surely, no one had seen his action.

She screamed once again. This caused Jude to almost slam the breaks. “If you don’t shut that filthy mouth of yours, I’m coming back there! I’ll kill you! I’ll fucking kill you!”

He had thrown her into the trunk of his car. Surely, putting her in the backseat would’ve been too risky and observable. She was weak too; not even attempting to put up a fight when he dragged her. He smiled horribly.

He was going to take her to his house and do what he pleased. His stomach grumbled ferociously. He hadn’t eaten since last night, when he was with her. His mouth began watering at the thought of hot food entering his digestive system. He was hungry and he needed to eat now. Making a smooth U-turn, he drove in the direction of the nearest Pizza Hut.

As he turned onto a quick side street, he observantly noticed a young woman sitting tiredly on her front steps.

Without thinking, he stopped the car and grabbed the map in his glove compartment.

*Silvia*

Silvia sprang from her desk animatedly as she heard the bell ring with shrill life. The oral signal proved that school had come to an end, and it was time for her to head home for the yearned weekend.

Evan clapped his hands together once, illuminating his excitement. All around her, students eagerly got up from their seat and left the classroom, not bothering to take even a backwards glance.

“Mr. Teche,” Silvia began, “I have a question regarding chapter 4.”

She heard Evan sigh dramatically beside her. Ignoring his annoyance, she made her way to the front of the classroom where her teacher sat behind a large mahogany desk. His face was turned down to a pile of yet-to-be-marked book reports. One of his hands was inattentively tapping on the desk while the other was holding a red pen which he was chewing.

Without looking up he answered her. “Yes, Silvia?”

She awkwardly approached his desk, not knowing whether to proceed while he remained distracted. Feeling the tension of the room, she continued. “Is the historical past of human rights going to be included in our next test?”

The teacher paused a few moments without answering or averting his eyes from the papers. Finally, he spoke.

“Did I ask you to take notes on it?”

“Yes...” Silvia answered, automatically knowing the answer to her question.

“Then yes, I presume it will be on the test.”

Silvia nodded before picking up her bag and exiting the room. Evan followed closely behind her.

“His sarcasm can be intimidating at times,” she admitted, looking down at her worn out shoes.

“At times?” Evan chuckled. “The guy has me wishing I had access to a toilet every minute. I would honestly crap myself if I were able to.”

“Lovely,” Silvia stated, a mental image starting to form in her mind.

She departed with him as he made his way to his locker, and her to hers. She quickly spun her combination and opened the locker. After grabbing her needed books, she closed her locker once again, only to be met with a familiar face.

“I didn’t see you there, Piper,” Silvia said, zipping up her bag and slinging it over one of her shoulders.

Piper shrugged her shoulders dismissively. “You know it’s unhealthy to do that.”

“To do what?”

“Hold your bag over one shoulder. Your back is probably screaming obscenities at you.”

Silvia sighed but obliged, putting her other arm through the bag loop. “Satisfied?”

Silvia had met Piper in her freshman year of high school and they had remained close since then. Piper was interesting; her perspective on the world seemed unusual and contradicting to many others. This was one aspect that Silvia admired about her.

Piper smirked. “Very much so. Anyways, Tara told me to remind you, that you have a brief Leadership meeting Monday morning at 7:00 am.”

Tara was another one of Silvia’s classmates. She wasn’t one of her close friends, but they were well acquainted. She had been made Leadership president last year for her outgoing and unique personality traits.

Silvia’s eyes widened a reasonable length. “7? In the morning? Ah, nuts.”

“Are you capable of swearing whatsoever?” Piper said, shaking her head. “Come on. Say, ‘fuck’ or something. It’s beneficial.”

“How is swearing beneficial?” Silvia asked with a grin as they made their way through the hallway.

“It allows you to verbally experiment,” Piper said matter-of-factly. “Imagine if the world was that open-minded. What a beauty it would be.”

Silvia nodded, contemplating her friend’s opinion. “Good point.”

The two girls made their way to Evan’s locker which was situated a few meters away from them. As he took notice of them approaching, he nodded at them with a smile.

“Hello ladies,” he said, closing his locker.

Piper waved nonchalantly while Silvia wrapped a single arm around his waist.

“Shall we head home?” Silvia declared, nodding in the direction of the front doors.

In agreement, they walked in comfortable silence until they reached the front of the school grounds. A black Toyota honked loudly in front of them.

“That must be my mom,” Piper said. “Later guys.”

Silvia waved while Evan remarked, “later Pipes!”

“You know she abhors that nickname,” Silvia said raising an accusing eyebrow.”Reminds her of some cheesy American-created anime character.”

Evan smiled while wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “I’m aware.”

“I should probably get going, I have a lot of work to do,” Silvia said with slight dread.

A frown crept up on Evan’s face. “No gathering I presume?”

Silvia smiled guiltily. “No gathering, dear. But you’re still my first priority.”

“Wonderful to know,” said Evan as he kissed her forehead gently.

“I’ll call you,” Silvia said, attempting to increase his mood.

“I shall look forward to it, my lady!” he said as he dipped his face down to kiss her lips.

Their lips, pressed against one another, moving softly and avidly. The hotness of his breath against her lips was soothing, allowing her to sigh and draw him closer. Her fingers foiled with his light hair as he held her tightly against him. After a few moments, he pulled away.

“You sure I can’t come over?” Evan asked; his voice was raspy and heated.

“Sorry love, no distractions tonight,” Silvia said as she kissed his lips once more.

Evan sighed. “Alright, but that call better arrive!”

Silvia smiled. “Of course.”

After waving to him, she made her way home for the second time that day. She was looking forward to making herself some hot chocolate and getting into her warm flannel pyjamas. She found that studying while cozy was very advantageous.

When she arrived at her front step, she took her bag off, and searched for her keys. She was searching avidly for several minutes when a horrible thought struck her.

Where were they?

She searched her bag a few times more, making sure she hadn’t somehow missed them in the dark insides of her bag. Her heart beat quickened and she had to sit down on the cold front steps. She must’ve left her keys in her locker. She had a bad habit of leaving them in her tiny plastic locker compartment.

“Ah shoot!” Silvia exclaimed, putting her head in her hands. “I can’t even swear in situations like these.”

She knew she should call Evan and ask him to pick her up. He owned a vehicle, but his parents refused to let him take it to school, afraid it might get scratched or stolen. She was about to take out her cell phone to call him, when a car pulled up in front of her house.

The red Buick halted and the window rolled down slowly. Silvia’s heart which was already panicky, seemed to panic even more. It wasn’t a normal occurrence that a vehicle randomly stopped in front of her house. Especially one she didn’t recognize.

Then, she saw the driver and she relaxed. It was wrong to put her guards down, but he was absolutely stunning. He owned a messy yet arousing mop of dark hair which lay wildly around his light and young face. He smiled sincerely at her.

“I’m kind of lost,” the young man shouted from his car, looking slightly embarrassed. “Think you can help me?”

Silvia didn’t reply at first, taking in the weirdness of the situation. An attractive guy driving a vintage car had just arrived in front of her. She mentally shook the thoughts with horror. Evan was her main idol, and he stood above any other male.

“Um,” Silvia said with difficulty. “Of course.”

The young man smiled. “Great. I’m looking for the nearest fast food restaurant.”

“There’s a Pizza Hut a few blocks away from here,” she said, pointing in the direction to her right.

He chuckled lightly. “This is embarrassing but, I’m not very good with oral directions. I have a map here, mind if you can point it out to me?”

Silvia knew from a young age that it was considered socially wrong for a young woman to talk to strangers. As foolish as it seemed. However, there was something about his way of speaking, the smoothness and easiness of his persona that caused her to approach his car.

When she approached the Buick, she saw him get out of the car and make his way to her side. She seemed sceptical of this action, but remained calm when he spread out the complicated map in front of her on the roof of his car.

He put his pale finger on one of the roads shown on the map, and was about to speak, when a terrible noise erupted from the trunk of his car.

Silvia’s head snapped to the source of the sound. “What was—“

But Silvia wasn’t able to complete her curious sentence. The guy grabbed her tightly around the waist with one hand, while the other covered her mouth. She physically attempted to fight back, moving her body violently and biting the inside of his palm. His strength however, was superior.

“Make one sound,” he whispered, “and you go into the trunk with her.”