I don’t know what it was about him that caught my attention. Maybe it was his eyes, those deep, dark shadows that were always alert, always waiting. Or perhaps it was his build. Eric was tall, fit, and had the body of the perfect athlete. There were so many other attributes he had that made him special, at least to me. His always messy dark blonde hair, his melodious laugh, and his beautiful smile. More than likely, it was his voice though that struck me as unique. It was quiet yet sincere, reserved yet trustworthy, smooth but mysterious. It had this calming affect that made me feel as though everything would be all right. Something about it seemed to draw me to him. However, for some reason, anytime I tried to replay his voice in my head, I couldn’t remember it. Every time I did hear it though, it did something to my heart. Just hearing him speak made me smile. He and I had just recently become friends. Because of my social standing, both parents being wealthy doctors, I was not expected to hang out with “his type.” He was not exactly the kind of guy my parents would want me to be seen with. But Eric was different, to me. Because he was part of a gang, all my other friends rejected him. I got along pretty well with other people, but Eric seemed to shut me out. I was determined to open him up though. For weeks, I’d try to start conversations, be nice, and show him I wanted to be friends. But he just kept pushing me away. He told me that I didn’t need his friendship and that I probably talk trash about him behind his back anyway. One day, my friends were talking about what a loser he was. A lot of what they said was true, like how he was part of this gang in the neighborhood and was one of the cockiest guys at the school. But, I thought, he’s human. He makes mistakes, and I wasn’t about to stand there and let them talk about him that way.

“You guys zip it.” I blurted out. I caught them all off guard.

“He has his faults, but he’s my friend. And if you guys are gonna treat him like trash, then I want no part in it.” I clenched my teeth. Wow. Where did that come from? Eric and I barely talked and here I was defending him like a mother hen. My friends were shocked speechless. Not knowing what else to do, I turned on my heel and started to walk away. That’s when I saw him. Eric. Leaning on the lockers with a soft smile on his face. He had heard it all. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks and walked as fast as I could to my next class. After that, everything changed. He smiled at me, talked to me, and even sat by me during lunch. We got pretty close.

Well, that was a few weeks ago, and I don’t even know why I’m thinking about him right now. Sitting here in this tiny, filthy room some guy stuck me in. I named my kidnapper Batman because he never talks normally. As if he was scared that I’d recognize his voice. It’s been two days since the day I was kidnapped and I guess I’ve been making myself think of my friends just to stay sane. No, I’m not scared. That guy who kidnapped me, for some reason seems to be protecting me. From what? I have no earthly idea. I probably sound delusional right now, trying to justify my kidnapper’s actions, but I really don’t think he’s going to hurt me. Just by the way he’s been treating me. Making sure I’m fed and comfortable, always giving me water. Even when he snatched me that night I was walking home from the park, he seemed hesitant.

“Please don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.” He practically begged me. He was whispering. Apparently, he was disguising his voice. I thought he was crazy. Obviously, I wasn’t going down without a fight and fought him as hard as I could before he finally tied me down and sped me away in his car. He took me to a warehouse and stuck me in this room. I’ve only seen him once after that. I grabbed his shirt.

“Tell me why I’m here.” I demanded. Batman sighed.

“I…I…can’t.” He started pulling away, but I stopped him. I looked into his eyes for that was the only part of his face I could see. The rest was covered.

“I want to go home. Please!”

“You have to stay here.” He was whispering again.

“Why do you talk that way?” I could not help but ask. He pulled free at that point and walked out of the room, leaving me to contemplate once more. His voice. It sounded so familiar. I just could not place it. Why would he try to disguise it? No one I know personally would try to kidnap me. Well, maybe one or two would have in the past, but not now. Eric’s face flashed in my mind. I gasped. No! It couldn’t be him. I had persuaded him to ditch his gang and he told me he did. He had no reason to do it. I argued with myself, defending Eric as best as I could. He couldn’t, wouldn’t kidnap me. I tried to direct my thoughts somewhere else. But it kept going back to his voice. I could not for the life of me get it out of my head. Suddenly, I heard the doors unlock. Batman was here to give me lunch. I could not hold my curiosity in any longer. I took a deep breath. As soon as he walked in, I yanked him inside, reached up, pulled off his mask, and staggered backwards as his the revealing of his true identity broke my heart.