Right Behind You!

Just a little nighttime stroll,

To shake off the ickiness of the night before,

Just a little walk back home,

Not too far.

Needing a time to ponder and

A time needed to muse on the last 11 hours,

What exactly happened?

One minute she was having a good time,

The next she was waking up in bed with Fred,

In bed with Fred,

There’s one soft-core novel she certainly didn’t want to read again.

Fred, of all people, with his droopy left eye and tough demeanour,

Masking the fact that his head looked like it had been

bounced around a few too many times

In a game of basket-Fred-ball,

Was I drugged, she thought?

My drink. Surely. She tried to think back.

All she could remember was waking up in his apartment, while

He still slept - so she quietly left,

Walking down the silent street at 3 o’clock in the morning,

No one was around,

A tapping sound she heard —

Could be anything.. probably even in her head,

How does one distinguish sounds in their head versus reality?

The brain’s recognition of the sounds feels much the same.

And then suddenly right behind her,

He tapped her on the shoulder,

She swerved around and gasped.

“Fred!” she said, “You took me by surprise.”

“I have that way with women,” he chuckled.

She noticed he was holding a long metal bar and

Her pulse quickened; her head became hot,

“You left Luce. Why did you leave? You know how I feel about you.”

“Please Fred, I’ve gotta get home. You were a great lay,

unexpectedly so, but I must be going,” she said,

as she stepped back - preparing to make a run for it.

“You’re not going anywhere Luce.”

Why didn’t she have any pepper spray or something. What a fool.

Always be prepared for the unexpected, she thought.

As she turned around to run,

Fred swung the metal bar at the back of her legs

Watching her fall to the foot path.

He climbed on top of her - pinning her down.

“Get off”, she screamed. “Help! Help!”

Her pleas were unanswered, for there was no one around.

He slammed the back of her head into the footpath.

Her head swam and then went black.

“You’re coming home to live with me Luce” -

“I’m sure this will be the beginning of a wonderful relationship.”

*

Quick note: I started watching “Promising Young Woman” again last night so this morning some of the film’s ideas must have still been in my consciousness. I was actually trying to type up an inversion poem but my damn fingers typed this lol! Anyway, it’s a great film if you haven’t seen it. It has a lot to say about gender and social issues in a stylish way. Also, while this is not exactly original, there are some other great writers I’ve remembered that have done something in a similar vein, but with far more nuance than I!

Here are two pieces by Hannah and Paul that I enjoyed which you may have missed: ⬇️

- Thanks for reading. If you liked it, consider hitting the heart, commenting or subscribing for more to encourage my future poems, short stories and reviews. Many thanks