"How long have you been standing there?" Nina asks,
"Long enough"
"And what do you think?"
"Looked pretty comedic"
"Comedic? It's self-defence!" Nina protests,
"I wouldn't call that self-defence. It's how to waste time in a dire situation" he grins,
"I don't like saying it, but he's right" I mumble, "it requires more technique than a pirouette, by the time you do all that the attacker can check his emails, grab a coffee and eat a donut"
Daniel laughs, but Nina's not having it. She stands up,
"Okay, so this video was bad, but we learned a bunch of self-defence moves that actually work. Didn't we Sofia?"
"Some of them worked" I agree,
"Like the one we did yesterday, that one was good. Wasn't it?" she asks.
I shrug, neither agreeing nor disagreeing. While I do appreciate these training videos, if an actual situation was to arise, I'm not sure whether they'd be helpful. Maybe some.
"I doubt it" Daniel says,
"Because you haven't seen them"
"Okay, try them on me" he says,
"Alright, good idea! The one yesterday was really good. Sofia, you'll show him. Grasp her from behind around her waist" Daniel steps into my room, before he gets to do what Nina's telling him, I shake my head,
"No. Try it on Nina"
"But you were better at it, you practiced more. Daniel, pretend you've sneaked up on her from behind and grasp her waist" Nina instructs, Daniel nods with a smirk. He steps towards me. I shake my head quickly and step back, away from him,
"No, I don't want to" I say,
"Why not?" Daniel asks, I shrug, "I know why," he smirks, "because you know your self-defence moves won't work"
"They work, but try them on Nina"
"Why?" he steps in front of me, and, though he hasn't even touched me, immediately I feel overpowered. I shake my head again, looking up at him,
"Because, no" I say, but he doesn't listen, his slow strides have backed me up against the wall, for some reason my heart is beating fast.
"Sofia, turn towards the wall so Daniel can hold you around your waist" Nina instructs once again, before I get another chance to protest, he places his large hands around me, his fingers almost long enough to fully enclose my waist,
"let's see what you have" he says, looking into my eyes. I have to fully crane my neck to keep eye contact, he's that close.
"Okay, turn towards the wall then show him the move Sofia" Nina says,
"I don't want to" I say. Why is my pulse so fast? Why are my breaths coming in short? I know he won't hurt me, so why does his proximity affect me in this way?
"Why? Isn't it good to try it on someone that hasn't seen the video?" he asks, his eyes twinkle playfully.
"No point" I try to push his fingers away,
"Why?"
"It won't work on you"
"Why not?"
"Because you weigh a hundred kilos and you're a boxer"
"Hundred and ten. But good guess" he smirks, "didn't you say the attacker has the same build as me?"
"That's what I thought, but I was wrong. He's as tall as you, but he's not as... as big"
"Okay, so I'll go easy on you" he says and, before I get to protest, he flips my body so effortlessly forcing my back towards him. He flattens me against his body. Oh, lord. I feel his muscles on by back, I feel the hardness of his chest.
"Go" he says, "try and get away from me" I can hear it in his voice, he doesn't think I stand a chance.
I want to prove him wrong, the instructions in the video did seem effective. So, I take a deep breath, ignore his hard abdomen pressing against my back, and try to do as the video instructed. The aim is to first turn your body around. I step back on my left heel and pivot my body, dropping my weight and turning to the side. When Nina and I practiced, this always worked as it created space between the victim and attacker. However, with Daniel grasping me, it doesn't. He just moves with me, instead.
"You're meant to stand still" I say,
"Okay" he smirks. I try again, but this time, because he's expecting it, his grip doesn't let up one bit. I try again, this time harder, faster, but it doesn't work. I can't even turn around to face him, let alone do the rest of the movement.
"Be rough with me, you can't hurt me" he says,
I'm getting frustrated that he's not budging at all, so I really try this time. At first, I do as the video instructed, I try once, twice, but when it doesn't work, I forget all about the instruction and start wriggling in his grip, trying to break away, my hands trying to pull his off my waist I'm breathing hard, my body against his. I don't hear him breathing hard at all, he doesn't seem to be struggling to keep me in place.
"Okay you proved your point, let go" I say, trying not to breathe hard, he doesn't need to know that I've used up my strength,
"You didn't get away yet" he says, his breath behind my neck, though I can't bring myself to turn back to look at him at this point, I can feel he's smiling,
"I can't" I admit the obvious,
"Have you even tried yet?" at that question, I do turn my neck, piercing through him with my eyes, but immediately I realise that's exactly what he wanted, to rile me up,
"If looks could kill" he laughs,
"Whatever. Let go now" I try to pull away but he only allows me to turn towards him, without releasing my waist. At least I'm facing him now. I place my fists on his chest and push at him. His muscles are rock-hard under my hands. His body immovable,
"You've proved your point, the videos are useless" I say,
"Take up boxing" he suggests with a shrug, still holding me, "it'll do you more good than the videos"
"Okay, teach us" Nina chimes in, I send her a glare,
"Tell him to let go, this was your idea anyway" I say,
"Sure, I'll teach you" Daniel answers Nina, ignoring my request, "but you first need to build up some muscle. You won't get very far if you can't power a punch"
"She does have muscle; she's been dancing since she was a baby. Always on the go"
"She does?" Daniel feigns surprise, "the way she fights, I didn't notice" now I really get an urge to slap his face,
"That's because I wasn't fighting you" I explain matter-of-factly, "I was following an instructional video that clearly doesn't work. If I actually wanted to get away, I would have done it" I lie,
"Okay, so get away then"
"I don't want to. I want you to let go of me"
"Or what?"
"I swear I'm about to slap you!"
"Okay, do it." He laughs,
"Nina! Please get him off me!" I wriggle to set myself free again, no use, off course,
"I'm not some self-defence instructor, but you know what I think you should do in this situation?"
"What?"
"Go limp, stop fighting. Then I'll probably release your waist to do my next move, at which moment you headbutt me or knee me in the balls. Then run"
"Okay," I say as flatly and dryly as I possibly can, "let go now or I will do as you advised"
"Or, even better, don't get yourself in this situation" he adds, smiling at my threat,
"And spend my life locked in here?" I fire back,
"We need to catch the bastard and then you won't need to spend your life in here"
If only it was that easy. Daniel finally decides to release my waist, I walk away from both of them, out of my room and to the kitchen. Filling up a glass of water to calm my nerves.
"Do you really see no use in us practicing this?" Nina asks,
"What I've seen today, no. But I don't know, maybe some moves would work on someone closer to your own size" he shrugs,
"That's what I am saying, too. If someone was actually to attack, she needs to be ready"
"Only problem is, whoever attacks won't give you a chance to react" Daniel says, "not like the attacker will capture your waist and then just stand there waiting for you to react"
"But if you know the moves, you would react instantly, it would be an automatic motion" Nina holds, "what do you think Sofia?" she asks, I place my glass down on the counter,
"When the man attacked me in the forest, he didn't grasp my wrist, he didn't grab me by my shoulders or around my waist. He grabbed my head and slammed it against a tree" I say, I really don't want to get emotional, but my eyes tear up at the memory, "that's what he did. Then he punched me, and I fell, and almost lost consciousness. So maybe it would help in some situations, but in others..." I shudder,
"Can't believe someone would do that to you" Daniel says, frowning, "we need to find him, I'll take care of him when we do"
Nina and I glance at each other, I think we're both picturing what Daniel taking care of him would look like, and it isn't pretty.
Just as we're thinking this, the doorbell rings, we all turn our heads towards the front door. An envelope is pushed beneath it.