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Cole’s father appears in the open doorway, and his face is twisted into a mask of rage and anger. His eyes are almost black with it.
“What is going on?” I ask, unable to help myself.
He pauses for a moment in the doorway and then stomps towards me, his footsteps shaking the table and the china in the cabinets.
I lean back in my chair until the back cuts into my spine, but there is nowhere to go. Nowhere to escape. My wrists and ankles are raw from trying to break the zip ties, so I know there is no use.
He pulls out a water bottle, wielding it like a weapon, and I shake my head. “What are you doing? What is going on?”
He charges towards me, barely stopping in time to avoid running me over, and then grabs my hair. I scream, my neck snapping backwards painfully, and then the bottle is at my lips. The water floods my mouth and throat, and I cough against it, trying to breathe.
“Drink it!” he yells, shaking my head by the hair. “Drink it.”
Moments ago, I was desperate for water, for anything to quench my thirst, but now, I just want air.
“Stop fighting it,” he says, tipping my head back farther.
I try to swallow the water in my mouth but the angle of my head makes it difficult to swallow. I force myself to quell the panic in my head, get my shit together, and make my throat do its job. It’s either that or drown.
Once my mouth is clear, he releases his hold on me slightly—only to yank my head back again and start the process over.
I do my best not to resist, but Mr. Morrison jerks me around so forcefully that my instincts scream at me to fight. I tense up, trying to protect myself even though I do not have any way to do that.
More and more water is poured down my throat, and I swallow it until my stomach hurts. Until I miss the feeling of being thirsty.
When the bottle is empty, Cole’s father crumples it in his hand and throws it under the dining room table. He turns to leave, and I call out to him.
“Wait, please,” I cough. Droplets and drool run from my mouth. I feel utterly exhausted all of a sudden.
He turns slightly, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
“I have to use the restroom,” I say.
“Go ahead,” he says, tipping his head towards my chair. He turns to leave again, and I’m desperate to keep him in the room. Right now, he is my only connection to the outside world, and I don’t want to go back to being alone again.
“Where is Colleen?” I ask.
I can’t believe I remember Cole’s mother’s name. Though, considering his name was inspired by hers, perhaps it isn’t so surprising.
Cole’s father turns to me, eyes narrowed. “My family is no longer any of your concern.”
I would like to disagree with him, but my head feels fuzzy, and I can’t find the words.
In the brief window of time when I was Cole’s intended, and I hadn’t decided I could never marry him, I hoped his parents would become family to me. His mother was a cold woman, but I could tell she loved her son, and I hoped that would include me someday. Though, now that her son is dead, and I am partially responsible, I have to assume she hates me as much as her husband does.
Before I can find the words to keep him in the room any longer, Cole’s father turns and leaves. A few seconds later, I hear the front door open and close. And then I’m alone.
My bladder is full and uncomfortable and my body is stiff from being in such a strange position for so long, but I tip my head back and stare up at the ceiling. The tiles begin to bend and blur and spin, and I let my blurry vision distract me.
Until I realize what is happening.
My body is growing heavy and numb. My mouth is sagging open. My eyelids are drooping.
I’ve been drugged.
Clearly, I wasn’t being force-fed water for my own hydration. They were drugging me. There was something in the water to knock me out. But why?
My heart stutters in my chest.
