“Girly pop, look at me. Stay with me.”
Fuck, I was drugged.
A dull ache spreads from the base of my skull down into my neck.
“Come on girly pop, you’re stronger than this.”
Her voice trembles. And that, more than the cold, more than the pain, pulls me another inch toward awareness. I am not alone. And wherever I am… It is not somewhere good.
The blur in front of me shifts. My vision struggles to catch up but the outline sharpens inch by inch. She’s small. Five foot oneat most. Dirty blonde hair falling past her shoulders in messy waves like it hasn’t been brushed properly in days. Bright blue eyes that are too big for her face when she’s emotional… eyes I would recognise in a crowd of thousands.
No.
My breath stutters. That’s not possible.
My brain rejects it immediately, violently, like it’s protecting itself. I blink hard. The figure doesn’t disappear. Watery blue eyes. A tremble in her chin. Her soft mouth trying to smile through fear. I must still be unconscious. I must be dreaming. Hallucinating. The drugs haven’t worn off properly yet.
Because that…
That looks like…
“Robyn?” I croak, my voice barely sounds human.
The name scrapes out of my throat like it’s cutting its way free. Her lips wobble.
“Hey girly pop…” she whispers before she smiles at me in that small, crooked way she always did when she was trying not to cry.
The world splits open. I scream. It tears out of me raw and broken as I lurch upright too fast. The movement sends a violent spike of pain through my skull and black spots burst across my vision but I don’t care, I don’t care, I don’t care!
I scramble forward and crash into her. My arms wrap around her shoulders and she’s solid. She’s so warm. She’s so real. She’s so… alive. She makes a small sound as I almost knock her over and then she’s clutching me back just as tightly.
“Oh my God,” I sob, the words dissolving into nothing as tears flood down my face. “Oh my God.”
I’m shaking. Actually shaking. My entire body trembles like it’s trying to vibrate apart as I grip her harder, terrified she’s going to vanish if I loosen my hold for even a second.
“I thought you were dead,” I choke. “I thought…”
My voice collapses. Her fingers dig into the back of my shirt and she buries her face in my shoulder.
“I know,” she sobs. “I know.”
I pull back just enough to cup her face between my hands. Her bright blue eyes stare back at me, rimmed red with pain and tears. Those familiar freckles spread across her nose. It’s her. It’s actually her… Tears blur my vision again and I laugh through them, hysterical and disbelieving all at once.
“Fuck,” I breathe, fresh tears spilling over. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.”
The words break in half. She presses her forehead to mine.
“I’ve missed you too,” she whispers.
“Where are we?” I demand, moving my head away from her as my hands still clutch her arms like she might disappear. “What is this? What happened?”
Her expression falters as her smile fades and fear slides into her eyes. The reality hits me in staggered waves. I take in more of her features, the bruising on her wrists and neck, the new scar on her eyebrow, the dried blood around her nails and it dawns on me… If she’s here. And I’m here. Then this isn’t a rescue. It’s a cage.
“Are you okay?” I ask desperately. “Did they hurt you? Robyn, are you okay?”
She nods too quickly.
“I’m okay. I’m okay.”
