[size12 The day had started out like any other for the twenty-three year old woman. She had yet another client yell at her for something that wasn’t her fault. In fact, the misunderstanding was because her boss had told the client that they would be able to leave their car in a restricted parking spot and after a few hours it had been towed. She was only a secretary after all. Slowly, she shook her head as she sat in her car, thanking whatever higher power that the day had finally come to an end. She looked at the clock on the dashboard and groaned. She had done it again.
[b “Of course you would be sitting in the parking lot for an hour after your shift ended. Just perfect.”] Amaliah muttered and shook her head, reaching over to start the engine of her car. She was greeted with blasting of heavy metal from the radio, gritting her teeth. She should have known better than to let her brother borrow her car while she was at work. She decided that she would be dealing with him later. Once the car warmed up, the woman drove to her favorite bar in Sleepy Hallow, New York. She smiled as she parked her car in the lot of Dante’s Inferno, shutting off the engine before stepping out.
Amaliah really did need a drink after the day she had, showing the security her license before entering. She wondered if her favorite bartender was in tonight as blue-grey eyes scanned the area. A feeling of disappointment washed over her as she did not see the woman anywhere. [i ‘Maybe she’s not in yet? I mean you don’t really know her schedule and you haven’t really spoken to her aside from maybe a “hi” here or there.’] Amaliah thought as she slowly made her way to the counter, taking a seat.
She ordered her usual and thanked the server as it was placed before her, taking a sip. The burn in the back of her throat was just what she needed to distract herself from the day that she had. Closing her eyes, the scene flashed within her mind, and she bit on her lower lip. It really hadn’t been her fault that the car had been towed. But whatever. She couldn't do anything about it even if she wanted to. The woman shook her head once more, trying to forget about the day's events.
After a few hours of silently drinking a couple of rounds, a sketchy looking man had taken a seat beside her. Amaliah hadn’t noticed until he spoke to her. “How would you like to get out of here and chill with me and the boys?” He asked, motioning to the group of men that had joined them. She looked up and saw that there were about six of them in total and they all looked just as sketchy, if not more so than the one who had taken the seat beside her. Giving the politest smile she could muster, Amaliah answered, [b “Sorry, I’m not interested. In fact, if you must know, I’m not interested in men and I would like it if you and your buddies would just leave me alone.”]
The man just looked at her and laughed. He clearly thought that she was joking and obviously couldn’t take “no” for an answer. Soon, he said, “You’re too pretty to swing that way. How about you try a real man? I’m sure I can bring you back to the right team. You just haven’t had the right guy.” He looked back to the others, and they laughed as well. To be honest, she thought that they all sounded rather stupid.
Disgusted and with a roll of her eyes, the woman stood and made her way to the exit. She could tell that the men were following her and she tried to lose them by walking into an alleyway to hide. It was to no avail as they cornered her against the wall, making sexual remarks about her appearance. There were too many of them to take on by herself and she stood against the wall, bracing herself for the worst as the group of men began to approach her. Amaliah closed her eyes and pressed as close as she could against the wall. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen now, but something in her gut told her that it was definitely not going to be good. This was not at all how she wanted to spend her night, being surrounded by a group of men who lusted after her.
The woman hoped that someone from the staff of the bar had seen and that they would help her get out of this situation that she had somehow gotten herself into. She knew that she was probably asking too much, but she hoped that it would be her favorite bartender who had seen and would help. What was her name? Nova? [i ‘You’re asking too much Amaliah. It’s not like anyone had seen what had transpired within the bar..’] She thought and chewed on her lower lip. With how things were starting to look, she knew that they weren’t good. She prayed to whatever higher power there was to be rescued from this situation.]