The Dark Eyed Man

TW: drugging, kidnapping

"Have you seen him?"

"Seen who?”

I had to follow her eyes to find the man she was staring at. The problem was not the way she was staring at him, but the fact that he was also staring at us, was he smiling? I don't know. The first thing of him I saw were his black eyes, maybe they looked black because there was not too much light in the bar and when I realized he was smiling at us, I looked somewhere else.

“I’ve seen him, can you please stop staring at him? It’s weird" I whispered to Leigh.

"I can't, he's doing the same thing, and who am I trying to fool? He’s really handsome, I mean, have you looked at his arms? If he could only take off that coat of his…

"Stop it, Leigh!" I said feeling awkward, didn’t look again at the guy to find out what she was saying, just wanted to get out of there. “Let’s just get over it and go home, I have to work tomorrow after class.”

I was tired and Leigh knew it, but I let her drag me into the new bar that opened last week, she said she wanted to try it and we did it, all I wanted was to be back at home, but I thought Leigh would be insistent.

"Ugh, fine, but only because I have to work too, just hold on a bit, I need to pee." She reluctantly said.

Never tell Leigh to leave a place with full bladder, last time I did it I almost sacrifice my own car just because I wanted to run away from a place I was not comfortable at.

The truth is that I've never felt comfortable in crowed places. Crowed places are full of unclear voices, it makes me feel small sometimes. Too many eyes, too many faces that are not the same, yet are confusing. Still, I liked to be around with Leigh because she would make things easier, just hated every time she kept me waiting like that moment at the bar.

I got really stuck in my thoughts that I forgot about the guy that was staring at us. I should have forgotten him by now, but I could remember his eyes, were his eyes really dark? It was like he was holding some mystery in his eyes and if the man was a mystery himself, why was he staring at us? It’s not like Leigh and I dressed for the bar, we just left my place without changing the clothes we wore at school.

While I was waiting for Leigh to come back, just for curiosity I looked at the other way hoping to see the guy on the other side of the bar, but he was no longer there.

I tried to look for him in the crowd next to me, I should probably have felt relief because there was no stranger staring at me anymore, but I wonder why suddenly he left.

“Hello!”

Damn! I thought as I startled in my own sit after I heard a masculine voice pretty close to my ear, I swear that I felt my heart would leave my chest.

Then I looked at him. There he was, the same guy who was on the other side of the bar giving a friendly smile with those dark eyes of his that look through me as if he could read my thoughts. Could not deny he was attractive and that was the reason why Leigh was looking at him.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.” He apologized almost immediately.

“What? Oh, no, you don't... You didn't scare me.” Bad moment for my clumsy tongue.

Thought I messed up when he stayed quiet, but it seemed he was thinking of his next words. I paid more attention to him. It was hard to tell what did he do for a living. He did not seemed to be a student, but he didn't seem to be so far from my age. He was wearing what it seemed to be an expensive suit and I could notice a watch on his right hand that reminded me of my father.

“I'm Delcan by the way.” He introduced himself reaching out his hand to me.

I wavered. I looked at his hand and got nervous when I knew what it meant. Finally I did shake his hand, but it was momentaneous as I said, "Fran. Well, most people call me Frannie."

And by most people I meant Leigh, some people from college and my family, but I skipped that part.

"Well, hope you haven’t got me wrong, Frannie, but I apologize for the way I was looking at you and your friend, it was rude from me."

"There's no need to apologize." I said, but it was actually weird for not saying awkward.

"Still, I just want to say that you and your friend look very close to each other, yet I noticed you don't seem to be comfortable here."

"That's a lot to say just for staring at me, am I that obvious?" I was getting nervous and felt stupid with words.

"No, that's not what I meant, I was just wondering what are you doing in a place you don't feel comfortable at."

There seemed to be nothing wrong about him and he sounded polite. I thought he was just flirting with me. Leigh was not back yet, there was no harm on answering at least until she's back.

"Well, my friend and I heard this bar opened last week and we just came to see what it was like." I said.

"Was it what you expected?"

Those eyes of his were captivating and I thought his name carried the same mystery that his eyes had. Having him too close to me I realized it was not the lack of light what made his eyes look so dark, his eyes were actually black. How strange he was to me, yet it was hard for me to walk away, I should have followed Leigh to the bathroom, but I was next to the man whose eyes seemed to be calling me, but what was he trying to say?

"Things are never what I expect them to be." I admitted. Then I was surprised of myself, I would have never admitted something like that to someone I just met.

"Well, if you don't mind, I would like to invite you and your friend to my place which is probably not the place you would expect, but I can assure you it's way less crowded than here. I’m a photographer, I could show you my work if you agree."

There was nothing wrong with his invitation, but wasn't it too soon? He was literally inviting two strangers he just met, with what purpose? Why was he staring at us in first place?

“Sounds good to me!”

The two of us looked back at Leigh, she was back from the bathroom.

“Hi, I'm Leigh,” she said smiling at the guy next to her, I could tell Leigh's eyes shined when her look crossed with Delcan's.

“Delcan.” He introduced himself again. “There is no rush, of course. You see, I was just wondering if you two would like to be models for a picture, but my camera is at my place.”

“Sure, we would like to!” Said Leigh immediately.

Leigh! I cried on the inside knowing she couldn't hear me, but she knew what I was trying to say when she looked at me, she ignored me though.

"Is it too far from here?" asked Leigh ignoring my warning.

"No, we can just walk from here and you guys can leave your car parked here if you brought one, did you guys bring a car?"

"Ah, yes, but we don't mind walking if it's not too far." Said Leigh.

"Great," he said with excitement in his voice, "shall we be going then?"

What's done, it's done. We left the bar and followed the man.

Leigh, Leigh, Leigh, this is a bad idea! I was yelling inside and really wanted to say it out loud to Leigh next to me, but I didn't want to sound rude even though the man was walking a few steps more in front of us and he did not seem to be paying attention to us. As we walked, all I could see his back and the way his shoulders move a bit as he walked. I realized he was taller than I thought and he walked with his hands on his pockets, but the air was not cold at all.

“Leigh,” I whispered to her when I thought Delcan was distracted, “I don't think we should go.”

“Relax, Fran, it will be just a picture and we will be not far away from the bar. Just follow me on this one, would you? You wouldn't let me walk alone into a stranger’s house, right?”

No, I would never have let her go with a stranger in the middle of the night.

None of us were drunk, but still I felt vulnerable with this bad feeling inside of me. I was not able to convince Leigh whom seemed to be blind by the guy's mysterious beauty.

There we were walking willingly to the Delcan's house.

We climbed the street and below I could see the bar, I could even hear the music coming from the bar. His house was white with two floors, the lights were on and he had too many windows, nothing would happen to us if anyone who walked in front of the house was able to see what's happening inside, right?

I still heard the music once we walked inside of the house. I saw a piano immediately, I had one too, but mine was too old and damaged unlike his. His house had a luxury furniture and it seemed to be bigger for a single person, but the guy did not seem to be married. He had to be a well-paid photographer to have a place like that.

Once we were in, he offered us a drink. I said no, but of course Leigh said yes. He said he would go for the drinks and he would look for his camera.

“We will just take the picture and leave, I promise.” Assured me Leigh taking off her jacket.

There was no point on starting a fight with her when the guy was probably at the next room, didn't want him to hear us, so I waited. If Leigh was telling the truth, then I just had to be polite until the photo is taken.

Delcan came back with two glasses with him, it seemed to be whisky and he had the camera slat around his neck. He gave Leigh one of the glasses and he offered me the other one, but once more I said no, and he said, “Fine, there's no pressure.” Then he drank from the glass, at least I knew he did not put something on the drink.

Leigh offered to be the first one for the photo. If he was a photographer, where it was his work? There was no picture taken by him around.

“Not what you were expecting, Frannie?” he asked while he was preparing his camera.

He was not looking at me, but I saw him smiling as if he knew the answer and it were funny for him. Everything he said sounded as if he were reading my thoughts, so if he knew my thoughts, then he knew the place was not as I expected.

Leigh sat in the sofa and start to pose for the camera when Delcan was ready. I felt uncomfortable, so I looked the other way outside the window. I was looking at the street while behind me I heard the clicks of the camera taking photos. I did not mind waiting after all, felt some stillness while looking at the empty street.

So relaxing it was looking at the street with no soul around, only the music from far away, sounding slowly as the nigh was passing. But the lonely night cruelly fooled me.

I didn’t even realize when the clicks stopped. Leigh was laughing as Delcan was taking the pictures, but I didn’t even notice when her laugh stopped. I saw no reflection through the crystal of the window, didn't see someone getting close to me with silent steps. It all went dark when something hit my head.

***

By the time I woke up, I thought I heard someone crying next to me, then I felt someone's cold hands in my arm helping me to incorporate in the floor we were in. My head hurt as hell, but at least there was no blood. I looked around and saw no window, we were surrounded by concrete walls with a single metal door, what happened?

Next to me I saw Leigh, she has been crying, but she was unharmed. Her body trembled as her eyes showed me her fear for first time. She tried to control herself, she said there was something in her drink that put her to sleep. Delcan must have known that I would never accept his drink and that’s why he hit me.

Leigh said she's been screaming for too long, she believed we were unconscious for hours. Those hideous walls got us trapped and we were the only ones able to hear our own voices.

There was only one spotlight in the room hanging from the ceiling, maybe we were not in the dark, but so hopeless we were, trapped in the empty concrete room.

It was my fault; I knew something was happening and I ignored it just because I wanted to seem polite. The night didn't fool me, I blinded myself.

After a while, the only door of metal opened. I walked back until my hands touched the closest wall to me when I saw those morbid dark eyes of Delcan staring at me as he walked to me.

Leigh hid behind me, we could not run anywhere away from him, there was no way to hide from him. I held my breath when he stopped in front of me and remained as still as possible, but his eyes were closer than ever. Underneath the light, his eyes showed me nothing but a hole.

"Not what you expected, Frannie?" He said with a cold tone on his voice, I was not capable to answer. "Well, I think we both know this is exactly what you expected, but you followed me anyways, you came to me willingly.”

The cruelness was not in his voice but in the truth he spoke.

There was no mystery in those dark eyes of his. There was nothing inside when I looked through his eyes. I blinded myself and made me believe there was something within just because I felt attracted to him as Leigh did. So yes, I went willingly to his place ignoring the warnings in my head because I thought I would be smarter and I would be safe with Leigh by my side. Foolish, foolish I was.

“Now, I suggest you to lower your expectations, Frannie, because you and your friend are not getting out of here any time soon." Said the man while his twisted intentions spoke to me through his eyes.

He did nothing to us in that moment. His hands were empty, but it was hard to tell if he had a gun or something to harm us under his clothes. I was paralyzed by the fear, so I didn’t try to do something to attack him. I just saw him stepping back and walk out of the room. He left us alone in there and who knows if we would ever see the outside again.

Once he left, Leigh started to cry again and she apologized. We both were responsible for ending up there, we should have never been in the bar. I should have never let Leigh drag me into the man's house, but it was our fault. There was no point in fighting when the only way out of there seemed to be death, I just wanted to clear something with Leigh. I waited for her to calm down and stated, "Leigh, I'm never going out with you again."