Tom Ford and Cigarettes

Twelve hours of international travel later and Cecilia could finally drag her over packed pink suitcase into her apartment. As she flopped down onto her plump brown sofa she gave a great sigh of relief. She was so ready to be home and within her space again. She loved visiting her friends in London but they were so high energy she wondered how she ever survived going to University with them. Pubs, clubs and drugs, it hurt her final marks but she did have a hell a lot of fun. Cecilia's former favorite spot being ‘The Black Heart’ a rock ‘n’ roll pub in Camden. 

‘Want to go outside for a smoke? Don’t worry I don’t bite..’

Cecilia sat up and rubbed her face. London was filled with so many adventures and she met so many people that always floated in the back of her mind. Her head throbbed and she knew the jet lag was beginning to catch up with her. It was time to pack up memory lane and kill the switch for the night. As she stood up and stretched she took a deep breath and froze. Her nose cringed and as she felt adrenaline rush through her body. 

‘Come on loosen up a little’

Cecilia got a hold of herself and grabbed her phone to text Trish. 

‘Hey! Did you bring over any guys when you watered my plants?’  

Trish almost immediately responded with a ‘Oh yea I brought Marcus over with so I didn’t have to go alone. Should have told you sorry.” 

That gave Cecilia a small sense of relief and quickly replied with ‘that's fine don’t worry about it haha’. She locked her phone and tossed it behind her onto the sofa. The faint scent still lingered as she stood there gathering her thoughts. It was unfortunate that Marcus happened to be a fan of Tom Ford cologne and cigarettes. Despite her best efforts small tears began to escape. She gruffed in irritation and she briskly walked through her apartment and back to her bathroom and began to run a bath. The soft white walls seemed to be closing in on her. She stripped herself and placed herself within the steaming water. She was just so tired and like at the final siege of a battle her thoughts finally broke through the gates she had erected in her mind. 

She was so confused how things had escalated so quickly. One moment smoking outside a pub the next trapped underneath a heavy body. His scent had been soft and attractive and now it was just overpowering.  Cecilia just felt so confused and scared she did not know how she got here. A phone started ringing from somewhere in the room and caught the attention of the man on top of her. She took the chance and pushed him away with as much strength as she could muster. “Come on loosen up a little. We’re having fun aren’t we?” was his response to her obvious disagreement to the situation. Words floated within the back of her throat but nothing came out. Instead she pushed past him and ran out of the surprisingly clean bedroom. She felt so dizzy that all she could do rush towards what she believed to be a restroom and lock the door once she was inside. She threw up what remained left in her stomach and rested her head against the bathtub. She glanced up at the smooth black marble sink and took account of the personal items resting there. She rolled her eyes at the sight of the cologne he obviously did not know how to use it in moderation. 

A loud crash caused Cecilia to sit up with some force. Pushing a good bit of water out onto the tiled floor. Slipping out of the tub she grabbed a towel to cover herself. Water dripped everywhere as she pushed her ear to the door and closed her eyes. 

Tap. Tap. Tap. 

Cecilia jumped back from the door. “Why are you in my apartment?” she demanded, “I am going to call the police!”.  The stranger chuckled and said, “I think you are mistaken. Why don’t you come out so we can talk? I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable.” Cecilia fell back at the sound of his voice. “Look just come out I won’t hurt you” he continued. Cecilia’s mind was fuzzy and confused; she went to grip her sinks counter top for support but something was not right. As she stood up black marble greeted her eyes and she stumbled back again. This time accidentally taking down with her the items that were resting on the counter. A bottle of cologne broke as it hit the floor. A heavy scent filled the room making her nauseous. 

“Hey look don’t break my stuff!” the stranger growled through the door. He began to yank and push against the door. “Just come out already…” But his voice was becoming distant and jumbled as Cecilia sat on the cold tiled floor. Her stomach hurt and as she reached down she was met with a wet sticky feeling. As she brought her hand up all she saw was red. For the first time she found her voice as she began to scream. Red. Everything was red. All she could do was scream. 

There was a loud crash as three police officers burst into the bathroom. One bent down and grabbed her arms and said “Miss Miller please calm down or we will have to use force to remove you from the building. Your neighbors called and were concerned because of your screaming” Ceilias eyes snapped forward and met blue eyes and a calm voice. She stopped screaming but didn’t say anything. The officer quickly assessed Cecilia and saw she had blood on her hands. He looked at the officers behind him and said “It looks like she has dug her fingernails so hard into her hands that she has drawn blood” He looked back at Cecilia and said “If you do not start speaking we will have to take you to the hospital for fear of self-harm and have you committed for a 48-hour hold”

Her wide eyes and shaking body was all he got in return. “Alright then” he said. The officer forced her onto her feet and the other officer took her free arm. They began to move her forward and she compiled and walked. The third officer followed closely behind her as they began to walk out of the apartment. All her neighbors on her floor stared out of their doors as she was escorted down the stairs to be brought outside. There was an ambulance waiting for her. As the officers handed her over to paramedics Cecilia spoke for the first time. She looked at the officer who first spoke to her and said, “You smell like Tom Ford and cigarettes.” He raised his eyebrow and said “Sure” briskly turned around and joined his fellow officers at their squad cars. That was all she whispered to herself over and over as she was taken to the hospital. Her whole body started shaking violently once they finally got her into an emergency room. All the voices were jumbled and far away. She could feel a needle pushing into her arm finally she could feel her muscles relax and allow her to go to sleep.