Chapter 1: March 14, 2010

Chapter 1: March 14, 2010

Her eyes slowly fluttered open, then she sat up and looked around the unfamiliar bedroom. She looked at the mattress as she rubbed the silky blanket.

"Where the fuck am I?"

She quickly looked up at what she assumed was the bathroom door because the man who had walked out had wet hair. Her expression grew confused as she tried to remember what had happened the night before.

"Not to be rude but who the fuck are you?"

"You don't remember me we met last night, well, you were pretty drunk."

The words came out before he gave her a little grin.

"I'm Brad."

He said before he walked over to the nightstand and picked up his car keys.

"Sorry, what was your name again? I know you told me last night, but I can't quite remember. It starts with a 'B' right?"

"Yeah, it's Brandi"

He nodded then looked into her eyes.

"Well, I'm sorry to do this to you, Brandi, but I can't drive you home. I'm going to be late enough for work as it is."

He said before he walked out of the room. After a few seconds, she heard the front door open, then close before any other words could come out.

"What a fucking prick."

She mumbled to herself and picked up her tight jeans from the bedroom floor. She put them on and reached into her pocket to grab her cellphone, then let out an annoyed sigh when she felt that it wasn't in any of the pockets of her jeans.

"Don't panic. It's either in my jacket or my purse."

She looked around the bedroom and let out another sigh when she didn't see either her purse or her jacket. She nodded to herself as she thought aloud.

"No big deal, they could be out in the living room or maybe the kitchen."

She rolled her eyes and shrugged, then she turned and walked out of the bedroom. Her eyes darted around the unfamiliar hallway as she made her way down it. She turned into the first entryway, which was the living room.

"What a fucking mess."

The words came out as almost a whisper as she spoke to herself. Then she let out a slightly annoyed sigh as she carefully walked over to the coffee table and picked up a freshly rolled joint from the ashtray. She placed it between her lips before picking up the lighter from next to the ashtray and lit the joint. Then she took a deep drag before walking back out of the living room and made her way into the kitchen. Her gaze landed on her purse on the kitchen counter then she reached into it as she took another drag from the joint. Then she pulled out her phone and smiled gleefully.

"There you are."

That's when she examined her phone and noticed the cracks that ran down the back panel of it as she tried to turn it on. Another annoyed sigh escaped from between her lips as the screen stayed black.

"What the fuck? I hope you're just dead and not broken."

She placed her phone down on the counter and left the joint dangling from her lips as she began to rummage through her purse. The smoke flowed out from between her lips as she exhaled and let out an aggravated sigh. Then she took one last drag before tossing the joint into the sink.

"Where the fuck is my charger?"

She mumbled to herself as she went through her purse again to double-check. Tears of frustration began to form in her eyes as she felt a slight panic start to take over.

"It's going to be fine."

She attempted to reassure herself before she started to chew on her lower lip and thought about her next course of action. Then she took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. Her gaze lifted to the window in the living room. That is when she noticed that it had started to get dark outside. As she stared out the window, only one thought ran through her head.

"How long was I asleep?"

That question lingered in her head for almost a minute before she snapped back to reality. Then she picked up her possibly broken phone and carefully placed it back into her purse. After that, she started the search for her jacket, then found it after a few minutes, hung up by the front door. After she put it on, she walked back into the kitchen to grab her purse. Once her hand landed on it, she felt her stomach as it began to growl at her.

"Really, you're giving me shit now too?"

Her grasp tightened on her purse before she picked it up. Then she spoke to her stomach again as she walked over to the front door.

"We'll find something to eat after I figure out where we are, okay?"

A little sigh escaped from between her lips as she heard her stomach growl again, almost like it was responding. She shook her head as she placed her hand on the knob, twisting it before she opened the door. Her eyes danced around the unfamiliar environment.

"This definitely isn't the UCLA campus."

She walked down the little walkway to the sidewalk and took a deep breath. Then she looked both ways down the sidewalk as she weighed her options. Her teeth slide across her lower lip as she chewed on it and turned in the direction she decided to walk in.

"I'm bound to find at least a bar in this direction."

She started walking, then stopped for a second.

"Hopefully."

A loud sigh escaped from between her lips as she started walking again. As she continued to make her way down the sidewalk, she kept looking around for somewhere to eat. Then she reached into her purse and pulled out a pack of menthol cigarettes, an overwhelming feeling of being watched crept up on her. She turned around and looked but saw that no one was there. She took another drag from her cigarette and let out a sigh as she exhaled the smoke.

"You're being paranoid, Brandi. Nobody is there."

The words came out with a nervous little giggle as she turned around and started walking again. After a few moments, a man peered around from the corner of a nearby building, a devious grin plastered on his face. Then after a few more seconds, he started following her again, keeping his distance.