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Everything will be fine, my ass.
I yank back the curtains on the window just to see what my surroundings look like. For miles, there’s nothing but flat, green land. Cows. Goats. Crows. Hay.
A whole lot of not a damn thing.
I have to find a way out.
* * *
I don’t want to unpack, because I don’t intend to stay here the way that Reese expects me to. He’d probably call me stubborn, and that’s okay. I’d rather be stubborn than complacent. In this situation, I have to be something extra, too.
I have to be smart.
My captors are experienced. For the time being, I’ll have to play along with this good little captive game. Which means… caving in and unpacking despite my desire not to.
I huff and puff the entire time. As I pull out clothes that Reese picked for me, this perfectly curated little life that he decided to bestow upon me, I get angrier and lonelier.
Why couldn’t we handle this together?
That’s the thing that fucks me up the most with all this. That he wasn’t willing to come to a decision together with me. Soon, we’re going to have a baby. He can’t just make choices on his own and then expect me to follow along because he thinks he knows what’s best.
“He’s got a lot of nerve!” I cry out to the empty room, scrubbing away the hot, frustrated tears that threaten to fall as I unpack. He’s lucky that he turned my phone off or I’d give him hell ‘til the battery went ice-cold.
When I’m done with my clothes, I hurl the suitcases into the closet and slam the doors shut. Then I make my way out into the front of the cabin. Both of the bodyguards are in the living room. Bozo sits on the couch, idly reading a book. Blondie leans against the wall, scanning the world beyond the window. He looks up when I come out. His eyes follow my every motion, curious, like he’s wondering if I’m gonna choose now to make a break for it despite his very explicit warning not to even try it.
I turn my nose up at him and head into the kitchen. If I’m going to be playing like I’m staying here, I might as well indulge in the full effect of this place.
I don’t know what I expected, but it sure as hell wasn’t a fully-stocked kitchen with all my favorite snacks, meat and veggies in the freezer, canned goods in the pantry, and shiny new utensils to cook with.
I wonder how many times Reese has come out here. This is the first time that I’ve ever been, let alone heard anything about it. Is this a place that Reese used to take girls? Or is it just a getaway for himself? What more don’t I know about him? What more is going to end up being revealed by sudden twists out of our control?
“Unbelievable.”
I pull out a pack of ground beef from the fridge and a Hamburger Helper in the pantry and start it up.
Should I ask the bodyguards if they want something to eat? No. I’ll make them ask me, if they’re allowed to, and then I’ll tell them to fend for their damn selves.
Chopping vegetables is soothing, mostly because I picture Reese’s face in place of the onion while I do some damage with the knife. A carrot becomes Bozo and a potato becomes Blondie. They all get chopped to ribbons and tossed in the pan to burn in the fires of hell. Soon, the cabin is filled with the scent of spices and cooking meat. It feels the closest thing to normal since I’ve gotten here.
Still, I miss Violet. I even miss Reese, despite everything.
When the meal is ready, I divvy out a large bowl for myself. Leaving the kitchen, I cart it all the way to the room. But, before I close myself up in there for the rest of the day, I turn toward my would-be captors.
“You can feed yourselves.”
Let no one say I’m not a giver.
Then, nose turned up, I kick the door closed behind me, plop on my bed, and eat my feelings away.
* * *
I’m burrowed under the covers. It’s pitch dark until a sliver of light splashes into the room. I stir, seeing it through my closed eyes.
“Go away…” I expected the bodyguards to check on me, but did they have to do it with the cabin lights all blazing on?
“You sure you want that?”
My eyes fly open. That’s not either of the bodyguards.
