“You’ll find that when youdon’tkidnap and drug the women you want to fuck, they usually look a lot better.” I was fuming. And feeling bolder than what was good for me.
He threw his head back laughing. “You think I want to fuck you?” He laughed again like I had told the most absurd joke. It made my blood boil even more.
Grayson walked over to me, while I tried my best to keep glaring at him. My confidence and anger were fizzing out at his proximity. His eyes glided over my body, and I had to suppress a shudder. He scared the living daylights out of me.
“Darling, I would break you.”
He picked the last piece of pancake off the plate and popped it into his grinning mouth before turning for the door. “But if you want me to fuck you so badly, you could just ask.”
I threw the plate, aiming for his big head, but it shattered against the closed door. Regret hit me immediately. I expected him to storm back in, but he didn’t.
Grayson didn’t come back until that night, bringing food. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t even look at me, just placed the plate on the dresser. When he was halfway to the door again, I asked, “So why did you drug me then?” It had been eating away at me all day. I had to know. Did he not rape me? Then what did he do? Sell some of my organs? And yes, he said he didn’t want to fuck me, but why was I trusting any words coming out of his mouth? He was a slimy psychopath who took pleasure in my misery. And the woman in the photo was naked. That could only mean one thing. He probably liked fucking with people’s minds like this.
He threw me an annoyed sidelong glance but didn’t answer me. As he reached the door I asked again, “Are you going to do it again?”
“I’m considering it, just to shut you up.”
The door closed, and I let out a sigh of relief. He wasn’t going to drug me again. That meant my escape could happen tonight. My heart was beating in my throat with anticipation.
Fidgeting. And pacing. That’s what I did all night, careful not to step on the creaky boards. I couldn’t lie down. I couldn’t even sit. I’d unfolded, checked and refolded the map about a hundred times. I was fairly certain that the upper cross was the cabin. I had an idea of what the other X could mean, but I wasn’t going to find out. If it indeed were the graves of the mother and little girl, I would get help for them too; have them taken home to their family to rest in peace. There was a hiking trail to the east of the cabin that led to a campground. That was where I was headed. I made certain to check where the sun had set, so I knew which direction to go.
The downstairs’ lights went out. They had shone through the windows onto the ground. Now it was pitch black outside. My nerves were already shot. What scared me more? The robbers not going to sleep so I could get away, or the noises that came from the dark outside? But it had to be tonight. I couldn’t endure another day.
After what felt like an eternity, I snuck to the bedroom door and listened. Silence. I pushed the door open, just a smidge, trying to hear over my thundering heart. It was dark and quiet in the cabin. There was no sounds or movements.
Good. It was time. My fingers trembled as I slid the window open. I peered out and squinted into the shadows before climbing onto the windowsill. There was nothing underneath. My escape route was already planned out. Only the tips of my fingers could touch the pipe that randown the wall. I had to lunge towards it. I prayed that it was sturdy enough to hold me, as I did just that. Grabbing a hold of the pipe, I clung for dear life while my feet tried to find a foothold. My sandal finally caught on a bracket keeping the pipe adhered to the wall of the cabin. There I stayed, trying to catch my breath. My body had slammed noisily into the cabin.
No movement inside the cabin. No one had heard. I was in the clear.
I slowly and painfully slid down the pipe. My hands were burning but I didn’t dare to let go. When I was close enough to the ground, I jumped. I had misjudged the height and angle of the ground in the dark, and tumbled to the floor, the fall knocking the wind from me.
My chest heaved noiselessly, trying to get my breath back. I had to keep moving. I was so close; I could taste freedom on my tongue.
I was going home!
I rushed to my feet, my body screaming to run, but a hand clasped painfully around my shoulder, sending a surge of electricity gushing through my body.
“Going somewhere?” His voice was calm and cool, but it cut through my tattered soul like knives.
“Let me go!” I screamed, sobbed. I tried to get loose from his grip to run, my body not ready to accept the reality yet.
He had me.
I screamed and kicked and pushed, but it was useless. Grayson was undeterred. He had me over his shoulder, hauling me back into the cabin before I had a chance to blink. I clawed at the doorway, fighting with all my might not to let him drag me back in there. I was so close!
But he did anyway. He carried me up the stairs while I fought and screamed frantically. Grayson kicked the bedroom door closed behind him and dropped me onto the floor. I lunged forward trying to get out the door, throwing everything I had at him, to get past him. He threw me off him, and I hit the groundhard. I came at him again, wild and panicked. I had to get out! I wasn’t going to end up likethem, in a bloody heap on the floor.
He pushed me down again. I saw it too late—his palm connected with my cheek. The force of his blow reverberated through my body. I fell backwards, staring at him in shock, clutching my stinging cheek. I didn’t know what to expect from him next. Did I take it too far? Did I anger him too much? Was he going to beat me into a coma now?
Grayson was panting. “Get a fucking hold of yourself.” He wiped at his lower lip. It was bleeding. Did I do that?
Someone was banging against the door with a fist. “Grayson! What the hell is going on?” It was the woman.
He didn’t answer.
“I’m coming in!”
“No!” He turned his head towards the door to make sure she followed his order. “It’s fine.”
