Ethan spun me around so I was facing away from him, and he pinned my injured arm behind my back, causing the skin around the cuts to pull painfully tight. He pushed me forward slightly, and the pain caused me to feel lightheaded. “Go to the tree line. Now,” he ordered, shoving the knife against my side again.
Through the open basement door, I could hear Caleb searching the house, calling for me.
Ethan continued to push me forward, the space around us growing darker the farther we went.
By the time I heard Caleb’s voice again, we were already in the shadows. I could see Jenny’s trailer a few hundred feet from us, and it pained me to know I was so close, but I couldn't call for Jenny’s help either. Ethan turned us slightly to look behind us, and I saw Caleb pacing outside of the basement as he was calling my name.
It had probably only been a few minutes since Ethan had gotten his hands on me, but each minute of him touching me, in any way, felt like an eternity. We were a few feet from the tree line and I froze. I hated the dark, and he knew that. I looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping that there was some part of him that still cared about me. A part of him that remembered, and cared, that I didn’t like the dark. He was mostly the reason why it scared me, but I could only hope there was a bit of a soul left in him.
Ethan nudged me again and growled “keep moving” to me. I looked at him and shook my head, hoping he would see the fear in my eyes and his heart would soften even a little. With his hand still around my mouth, he pulled me in, close to his face. “Oh, sweetheart... I remember. I remember how much you hate the dark. So, this—” he poked the wound on my side with the knife, causing me to scream into his hand, that was still over my mouth—“is going to be fun for me. This is because you left me.” I could smell his breath, like he hadn’t brushed his teeth in a week, and it made me feel like gagging.
He pushed me into the trees and the sounds of Caleb calling for me faded into the night. The brush and weeds scratched at my bare skin, causing more pain than I already felt.
When we made it to the other side of the tree line, I saw a van across the road.No. Please. This cannot be happening.I knew the second that I got into the van, the odds of Caleb locating me quickly, or even at all, would slip away.
He walked me up to the passenger side door and put the knife up to my throat. “Before I take away my hand to open the door, I want you to know something. Just know, if you try screaming, I will slit your throat immediately. Do you understand?”
I nodded and a whimper sound came out. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling now.
“Good girl. See, I just want what's best for you. I wish you could see that. We're going to be so happy now that we're back together.” His fingers brushed my ribs, and bile burned the back of my throat. He took his hand off my mouth and I immediately threw up in the dirt.
Ethan opened the passenger side door of the van and sighed. “You done being dramatic?” He tightened his grip on my arm as soon as I was done, and then he shoved me inside and shut the door.
The inside of the van smelled so bad, it made my eyes burn. As he went around to the driver side, I looked in the back and saw a few days' worth of clothes and paper bags from multiple fast-food restaurants.There was also something that looked like white paint dried on the seat and floor.
Has he been watching me for several days? How long has he been here?
Ethan got in the van and looked at me with what I assumed was his attempt at looking lovingly at me. Ethan leaned in, the knife in his hand placed at my stomach. He grabbed my face and kissed my cheek. I pulled away as best as I could, fighting the next wave of nausea that was creeping up on me.
“Fine. You don't want to kiss me yet? You will.” Ethan reached into the back seat and picked up some balled-up fabric. He shook it out and I realized what it was—a pillowcase. He was going to blindfold me. “No, Ethan. Please. Please don’t do...” He violently threw it over my head, pulling it down hard, before he had the knife at my side again.
The tears wouldn’t stop as Ethan started the engine, which made a loud sputtering sound, causing me to jump. He began to drive and switched the knife to his right hand, pressing it to my arm, so I knew not to move.
The next thing he said to me was in such a chilling tone, I knew I would hear it in my nightmares.
“Let's go home, Sweetheart.”
