CHAPTER 12

     " Promise me you'll take care of her... Promise me !! "

    " Don't you do this, don't you dare ! "

      

    " I promise "

    " I...love... you " Mike's final words, before his hands dropped weakly, his eyes closed slowly, his heart... stopped.

       The nightmares weren't a surprise, it wasn't in her head, it had all happened, the surprising thing however, was that she was still alive, and in a place she had never known all her life, carefully tucked under a blanket, dressed in floral patterned pyjamas, and had band aids on the bruises she had sustained.

       For a moment it all felt like a dream, like the previous day had been an imagination, but then the scars were there to prove it, if not anything, the giant teddy bear beside her caught her eye, getting down from the bed she felt the stings from the bruises, compelling her to place a hand against her side, even though the touch didn't reduce the pain. The memories came like flashes, first of the men who had tried to rape her, then her head against the tarred road, drops of rain, blood, a blur, and the darkness.

     The room looked ordinary enough, bright pink coloured wall paper, and fluffy teddy bears that almost took up half the space of the bed all suggested this to be a girl's bedroom, there were loads of other things on the table just in front of the bed, but they looked hardly out of place, instead each item had a sense of belonging of some sort, there was nothing disturbing, nothing eery, the air was fresh, the scent of waking flowers penetrated the room, and even though they hardly appeared taken care of, it felt like a typical morning for a gardener, after taking in the not so amazing sight of wilting flowers as well as the few that looked a little fresh, she dropped her attention back on the table, there was a pile of fashion magazines, an envelope, a lantern, some wool and a knitting pin, a bouquet of flowers made from paper, as well as Darren Shan's " Cirque du freak", it was a variety of interests, but as intriguing as each item looked, they didn't measure to the next thing that caught her attention, it was supposed to be a passive glance, but those eyes could force a second glance from anyone, at the sight of them, from the slightly opened drawer, she couldn't resist the temptation of looking again, and just when she attempted to pull it open, the sounds of strong footsteps against the tilled floor put a pause in her action, immediately she reached for the sheet, diving into the warmth of the bed, hoping to guise any trace of her having been awake in previous minutes, a chill cut through her stomach, she closed her eyes, but not too tightly so as not to expose her facade, her heart raced as another uncertain episode of her life itched to unfold, anytime now, it would only take a turn of the knob, a push, and whoever it was would be inside with her, as she pressed even harder against the softness of the bed, she heard the knob turn, the push and the whoosh of air as the wooden door was pushed open, she felt her fingers sink into the side of the sheets, the strong footsteps could only suggest it to be a man, he walked in quietly, as if conciously trying not to wake her up, even though her supposed slumber was all a pretence.

      He didn't seem to notice anything different, not the fact that she had been awake and was only pretending, nor her shuffle of the fashion magazines, she eased her eyes open, he wasn't looking at her, instead he reached for the pink curtains that draped the windows ever so nicely, pulled them apart, and revealed a clear view of the amateur garden, drew a deep breath and appeared momentarily mesmerized by the sight, for a minute Alice kept her eyes fixed on him, but careful enough not to get caught, his turn was unexpected, abrupt, quick, she shut her eyes again, while he proceeded to the table, as he reached for the magazines, he made a momentary pause, suspending his fingers half way, in mid air, he peered even deeper at the setting, with only a dim view of him, Alice could tell he had noticed something, the chill in her stomach returned, as well as hot sweat that had begun to cluster on her eyelids.

     Gradually he pulled the magazines out of each other as she had left them, and arranged them in the same order they had been before, then he turned to her and slowly walked towards the bed, where she laid in utter silence  and pure vulnerability. With only the sounds of his feet to measure his moves, she felt her heart race even faster when he stopped at the wooden frame of the bed,  then she felt it explode when he reached out for her, his grip was firm, she couldn't read his expression, her eyes were still closed, she felt his upper hand against her skin as he reached in to pull the blanket over her, then he withdrew back, and walked out the door, shutting it behind him.

    The moment he left, she opened her eyes and jumped out of the sheets, still clutching to her left side as she made her way for the door, she hesitated, and as soon as the sounds of his foot steps faded away, she reached for the knob and turned it gently, the creaks were a shock, it hadn't made that sound when he opened it, but she didn't wait to solve the mystery, the plan was to get out and get out fast, as soon as she came out, she entered the not so luxurious sitting room, floored with brown tiles, a set of three old leather chairs, having a brown pigmy stool on each side, a wooden centre table, and an  old book shelf, it couldn't be any more strange, she could barely focus, her eyes working overtime trying to get the entire house in view to make sure she wasn't caught, a little more focus and she might have noticed the splash on the floor, she let out a scream at the loss of her balance, both her hands swaying backwards for the invisible support she hoped to find, as her body fell back, her eyes closed, awaiting the thud of hitting the ground, it was a second, then two, a third, a fall couldn't possibly take that long?, she thought to herself, except maybe the ones they played back in slow motion while on set, it wasn't cold or hard like she had expected, instead it was warm and  welcoming, almost like a hold, this was no floor, she opened her eyes and found herself staring at a familiar face, he wore a stoic look, there didn't seem to be an ounce of surprise in his eyes, as though he was expecting what had just happened, she felt herself tense as the heavy chunk of saliva ran down her throat, leaving her speechless at his next gesture.

    " Good morning " 

      The kitchen was like every other part of the house, old, worn out, and in serious need of repairs, the netting however was mingled with cobwebs hanging from one end of the window to the other, like in the living room the tiles were half broken, and rough on the edges, and not much could be said about the shelves that looked like they were waiting to crumble any minute.

    " I'm sorry about the mess, I haven't been here for a while, it didn't always look like this. " 

     He said, sounding embarrassed, and trying to break the tension with a light conversation, he placed a plate on the white ceramic tray, she didn't bother checking the content, but whatever it was, it smelt good, compared to Alice the average man with a pot, spoon, spices and even the most remote sense of seasoning was an aspiring Bobby Flay, this was a truth Mama Shade never failed to point out each time Alice displayed a less than ideal interest in the cooking department, the closer he brought the tray, the more she found it difficult to resist, it was a bowl of noodles, topped with carrots, peas, and some ingredients that she was yet to discover, in a nutshell it was the embodiment of a perfect breakfast, a thought she didn't need to voice out, her longing eyes did the talking.

       He carefully dropped the tray on the dinning table.

    " Here you go, i know my culinary skills aren't all that great, but you can swallow this, " he said with a bit of colour in his face.

       After a minute long stare at the enticing dish, Alice drew her next conclusion.

    " I'm not hungry " she responded, hiding any emotion that would give her away.

    " I understand you're angry, the past days haven't been easy, but it won't do you any good moving on an empty stomach. "

    " Moving ? I'm not going anywhere with you "

    " Believe it or not I don't want you to "

    " Just like you didn't want any of this, Mike's death, my life ruined, hiding out, what do you want from me ? i just...want to go home, i won't say anything, i don't know anything, i promise. " she pleaded, her eyes glistening with anticipation of what his next reaction would be.

    He was quiet for a minute, before he finally got up to leave and told her to eat her food.

    In anger and frustration, she flung the food from the table,  the tray, bowl and all crashed against the hard floor, reducing the ceramic to rubbish, " why are you doing this to me !!! " she got up screaming at him, as he stopped halfway across the room, " let me go now or i will call the police, " she threatened.

   " The police can't help you Alice, he replied turning to face her, " no one can, you may not know it yet, but there is no home anymore, those men at your house, they worked for a man called Fasting, now he is way worse than i can ever be, you go out there, they will find you, Mike told me to keep you safe, that's what I'm trying to do, i need you to trust me, I'm not the enemy here, but I need you to believe that, " he concluded, having walked back to her all the while he was talking, he now stood only few inches away from her, she couldn't deny the sincerity in his eyes, but her anxiety and fears were just as  difficult to ignore. 

      She pulled away from him, staggered back and fell down helplessly on the chair behind her, dropping her face on her palms as she sobbed into them. She could hear him walking away, and by the time she pulled her head up he was gone, she was left with the whistling of birds, the bickers of crikets and the reality of her own helplessness.

     The day dragged on with different episodes of Alice plotting an escape plan, it was already dark, she had refused to eat anything, and had stayed in the room all day, the doors were locked, he had the keys, and there was no way he was giving it to her, her attempt at convincing him had failed immensely, it was down to the last trick of the day.

      The sounds of shattering windows were loud enough to draw attention, he rushed into the room without sparing a second, there were broken pieces everywhere, but as he turned to head for the door, he was dealt a hard blow, a flower vase against his forehead that sent him falling on his face, immediately she reached for his pockets, pulled out the keys and made her way for the door, while he groaned from the pain of the impact. heading out of the house, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her, going down the dark road in a bare footed trudge. She tried to flag down a car, screaming for help, but the screens were up, then she saw another one, it stopped even before she flagged it,  the sight of two muscular men was enough to arouse suspicion, she increased her pace, they went after her, strong hands grabbed her from behind, knocking her unconscious with the hard metal tail of the gun, then they dragged her into the car and zoomed off, vanishing into the darkness.

    

      

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