"Noooo." I say it slowly so I can make sure he has the whole answer before he tries to ask me again. Am I the only one who doesn't think it’s okay to ask a stranger to have sex...in the open? Surely I'm not alone on this, right?
"How about you blow me then?"
My eyes grow big and round, but I make sure to keep my mouth shut. No falling open anywhere close to psychopants here. He might take it as an invitation.
I think it's time to just tell him the truth as bluntly as I can, "I'm...not interested in you that way at all. I'm not interested in anyone like that - at all." Sadly, it's true; I would rather read about love than live it. Or at least I think I would since I've never been attracted to anyone outside of a book ever before.
"Wow, what a bitch! You know you should be thankful I even noticed your pudgy ass and wanted to spend time with you." His words do make my mouth fall open now. I have to agree with him, fucking wow. That changed fast. "The least you could do is let me see your tits or something. I mean you led me on this entire time."
"No I didn't! I never said anything about wanting to sleep with you or do anything else like that. Ever."
A voice in the back of my mind is telling me not to argue with this man. I am out in the middle of nowhere and he has to outweigh me by a good sixty or so pounds. I'm not sure. I've always been terrible at numbers but it's a lot and he could hurt me if he wanted to. I pull my bag around and reach inside for the little screwdriver I keep there. Don't ask. I break a lot of things and that is all that needs to be said about that. Also, I've been around enough jerks to realize that they typically don't take the word ‘no’ very well.
"You can lie to yourself all you want, bitch. You led me on and now you're acting all prudish and telling me you're not interested in me. I know how girls like you want it. You want the men to chase after you and show you what we got."
His words have bile backing up in my throat as I try to swallow around it, "I really don't. The only thing you're going to chase is my breakfast as it comes back up at just the thought of...shit." So much for keeping my mouth shut. Dillon's face gets really red, and he looks like he might be taking a really hard poo - or exploding. Either way, I don't think this is the place for me and I don't want to be here during the cleanup process.
I move to walk around him when he steps in front of me. Oh shit. This is not how my vacation is supposed to work. I saved for this damned getaway for two years. This was the trip of a lifetime for me and my best friend. I take a step back.
I'm not stupid; I'm aware the Hole is behind me. I don't want to take my eyes off Dillion though because I'm also aware that is the moment he will try something so I risk taking another step back. He just keeps following me though. On my third step back I realize I'm going to have to use my screwdriver for the first time ever. I move to take it out of the bag about the same time Dillon gives me a hard shove backward.
Oh shit! Oh damn! I thought he would just try to grab for me I never expected him to push me. My weight was already on my heels when he pushes and even though I flail my arms nothing is going to stop me from going into the Hole. They really should put up some safety rails or security ropes or something because - damn.
Not that I'll care because I'm pretty sure I'm going to be dead before it matters. The ground around the Hole is soft and crumbles under me sending me down into the darkness and having me wait for the moment I hit bottom. I scream all the way down.
Only I hit water instead of the ground. I don't know how long I sink before I realize I'm not dead – yet - but should be swimming for the surface. I come up sputtering and cursing. I look up to find out if Dillon is going to help me. I see his outline up above me haloed by the sky behind him, the only time that jerk is going to have a halo.
"Dillon, help!"
"No. I don't think I should. It looks too far down, and I don't have any interest in helping you." Are you serious right now? "And I don't want to fuck you either. I never did."
That ass! How can a man be so...petulant and such a child?!
"Dillon, you can't just leave me here. Send someone to help me. Please!"
"Why? So you can tell people how I pushed you when you told me no? I don't think so. I think this is right where you wanted to be so bad and now here you are. You can stay here."
His shadow disappears and I'm stunned. He left me alone. More importantly, I'm alone in a cave floating in an underground pool. One of my biggest fears is not knowing what is underneath the water so the icy grip of terror is quickly working to make it impossible for me to function. I always thought I would be one of those people who take control of a situation that has gone bad, but it turns out I just become lightheaded and feel like I'm going to be sick.
I struggle for the edge and pull myself out. My backpack is gone. I can only make out a little and that's from the faint light at the top of the cave entrance. I have to find my way out of this cave. My palm stings. I look down and realize I've cut it, either on the way down or trying to pull myself out of the water. Things are odd down here. Nothing looks right and the things in the dark that I thought I would hear aren't making a sound. Everything echoes and sounds wet. The movement of the water is so loud it might be drowning out all of the other sounds.
The sounds are really starting to play with my head. It sounds like something is coming at me through the darkness and I want to tell myself to shut the fuck up. It's just water noise and echoes, not the sound of marching feet. I don't see the rock until I trip over it.
I cry out as I fall, my yell echoing off the stone walls of the cave and bouncing back to me. I roll to my side and reach for my shin but I already know it's fucked. I can feel how sticky my fingers are when they come away from where the burn of pain is radiating out.
And what about Lillie? Will she be sad that I don't show up in Prague? Will she think I left her or blew her off? Will she be able to find me if I can't get out of this stupid place? Will it matter if I'm already dead?
I just want to sit and cry for a minute then I'll find my way out. Taking this second to cry doesn't make me weak and doesn't mean that I'm not going to get back up and find my way out of this damned cave so I can find Dillon and choke him to death. It just means it might take me longer!
Chapter Five
____________
Lillie
I sink a little lower in the tub. It's huge! And copper! I've only ever seen something like this in a movie or something. The steam from the water lingers on my skin as I think about the last couple of days.
I am convinced this place is haunted. I know it sounds stupid and I would never say a thing about it to anyone other than my best friend. But as far as haunting go - this place is checking all the boxes. It's old, it's got mysterious drafts coursing through the halls and rooms like a lost memory, and I feel like I am constantly being watched no matter what room I go into or where I'm at.