Chapter 4

The Song

They caught me at the back gate.

I'd made it further than I thought I would. Down the stairs. Through hallways. Past rooms I couldn't see. My hands had found a door... cool night air touched my face... and for one beautiful second, I thought I was free.

Then hands grabbed me from behind.

"Got her!"

"Don't let her move!"

I tried to pull away but there were too many of them. Three... maybe four guards. Their grip was iron.

"Let me go! Please..."

"Stay still!"

"You're hurting me..."

"Mr. Cole is on his way. Don't move."

My heart dropped into my stomach.

The whir of his chair cut through the night air. Getting closer. Closer.

He stopped right in front of me. I could feel him there. Could feel his anger like heat rolling off a fire.

"Let her go," he said quietly.

The hands released me. I stumbled but caught myself.

"Leave us."

"Sir, are you sure..."

"I said leave."

Footsteps retreated. Doors closed. We were alone in the dark... though for me, it was always dark.

Silence stretched between us. Heavy. Dangerous.

"Why?" His voice was low. Controlled. But I could hear the rage underneath.

"Because I had to..."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have!" My voice broke. "You're keeping me prisoner. What did you expect?"

"I expected you to be smart enough to know you can't escape."

"I had to try..."

"Why?" He moved closer. "Why risk your life? Why... "

"Because you scare me!" The words burst out before I could stop them.

Silence.

Complete. Total. Silence.

I waited for him to yell. To threaten me again. To do something.

Instead, his voice went soft. Almost... hurt.

"I scare you."

"Yes."

"Because of what I said earlier."

"You said you'd kill me if I tried to leave. What else am I supposed to feel?"

More silence. Then I heard him take a breath. Long. Shaky.

"Everyone out," he called suddenly. "Clear the entire back section. Now."

"Sir?"

"You heard me. Go."

More footsteps. Doors. Voices fading into the distance.

Then it was just us. Just me and him and the night air.

"Lana..." He said my name differently this time. Gentle. Like it mattered. "Come here."

"No."

"Please."

Something in that word... that single word... it made me hesitate.

"I won't hurt you," he said. "I promise. Just... come here."

I took a step forward. Then another. My foot hit something... the wheel of his chair.

"Sit," he said. "There's a bench behind you."

I felt for it. Found it. Sat down slowly.

He was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was different. Softer. Real.

"I'm not... I'm not good at this. Talking. Feeling. Any of it. I haven't been for a long time."

I didn't respond. Just listened.

"When I said those things earlier... about killing you... I was angry. And scared. And..." He stopped. "I don't know how to explain it. You make me feel things I thought were gone. And it terrifies me."

"So you threaten to kill me?"

"I know how it sounds..."

"Do you?"

He was quiet again. Then, "No. I suppose I don't. Because I can't see what you see... or don't see. I can't understand what it's like to be you. To be trapped in a place you can't navigate. With a man you don't know. Who says terrible things."

My throat tightened.

"But I need you to understand something," he continued. "I won't hurt you. I won't let anyone hurt you. Those words I said... they were wrong. I was wrong."

"Then let me go."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because..." He moved closer. "Because when you sing, the world makes sense again. Because your voice is the only thing that stops the pain. Because I'm selfish and broken and I don't know how to let you go."

I felt something wet on my cheeks. Tears again.

"That's not fair," I whispered.

"I know."

"You can't keep me just because... because you're lonely."

"I know that too."

"Then what do you want from me?"

He didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was barely audible.

"I want you to sing. Just one more time. Please."

I should have said no. Should have refused. But something in his voice... something raw and desperate and real...

I sang.

Not a hymn this time. Not a folk song. Something my mother used to hum when I was small. Before the fire. Before everything went wrong.

It was soft. Sad. Beautiful in a way that hurt.

As I sang, I heard him shift. The mechanical sound stopped. Then... nothing. Just my voice and the night.

When I finished, the silence was different. Peaceful.

"Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome."

"Lana..."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry. For everything. For scaring you. For keeping you here. For... for being a monster."

"You're not a monster."

"Yes, I am."

"No." I surprised myself by saying it. "Monsters don't apologize. Monsters don't break when they hear music. You're just... wounded."

He made a sound. Half laugh, half sob.

"Wounded," he repeated. "That's one word for it."

"What happened to you?" I asked quietly. "What made you like this?"

"That's a long story."

"I'm not going anywhere."

He laughed again. This time it was almost real.

"No. I suppose you're not." He shifted. "Maybe someday I'll tell you. But not tonight. Tonight I just want to..."

He stopped.

"Want to what?"

"Sit here. With you. And pretend the world isn't falling apart."

So we sat.

I don't know how long. Minutes. Hours. Time felt different out there.

"Sing once more," he said eventually. "Please. Just one more."

So I did.

I sang the saddest song I knew. A song about loss. About finding light in darkness. About hope when everything seems broken.

My voice filled the air. Soft at first. Then stronger. Then...

A sound.

A gasp. Sharp. Pained.

"Derrick?"

A thud. Heavy. Like something falling.

"Derrick?!"

I jumped up. My hands reached out. Found nothing. Air. Empty space.

"Derrick, where are you?!"

I dropped to my knees. My hands swept the ground. Frantically searching.

"Help!" I screamed. "Someone help!"

My fingers found fabric. A shirt. A chest.

He wasn't moving.

"No no no... Derrick, please..."

I felt for his face. His neck. Tried to find a pulse like I'd seen... like I'd heard people do in movies.

Was he breathing? I couldn't tell. My hands were shaking too hard.

"Help! Please! Someone!"

Footsteps. Running. Fast.

"What happened?!"

"I don't know! He just... he fell... he's not moving..."

Hands pushed me aside. Voices shouting. Medical terms I didn't understand.

I sat there on the ground. Lost. Terrified.

What had I done?

Was he...?

No. He couldn't be.

Then I felt it.

A presence. Behind me.

Close.

Too close.

Breath on my neck.

A voice. Female. Cold. Whispering right in my ear.

"You shouldn't be here, Lana. He will destroy you... like he destroyed her."

I spun around. "Who..."

But there was no one there.

Just voices in the distance. Derrick being moved. The chaos around his fallen body.

I was alone.

But I'd heard her.

I'd felt her.

Someone else was in this house.

And they were watching me.