She looked up in the ceiling as she started hearing voices from above. Curt didn't get company - ever - so it was very weird. It was low mumbling so they couldn't be directly above her. Still she could hear it was several people.
Footsteps walked over the floor above, moving closer to the spot where she was sitting, and she froze when she heard his voice. It had been so long and she never thought she would hear it again. He knew she was down here, Curt had told her he had asked him to take care of her, but never once had he stopped by to check up on her. He didn't care. He didn't love her. He never had. Curt had told her so.
"I don't know, Curt. She still hasn't been found," she pricked up her ears.
"It's been a year, Roman. It's time you accept what everyone else has for a long time. Let her go," Curt said.
A year? Had she really been down there for that long? She had tried keeping track of the days when she first got there but without a window or a clock and the light being on 24 hours a day, it was impossible.
"I don't think I can. Not until I know what happened to her," Roman said.
He really didn't know she was down there? Curt had told her otherwise. She didn't trust him at first but being told the same thing over and over had slowly made her believe his words. They were lies. They had to be. Why else would Roman say what he had just said?
She heard them move back towards the mumbling voices, away from her. All she had to do was call for him but she didn't know how. She hadn't said a word in months. She wasn't allowed to. At first she would continue talking to herself lowly when he wasn't down there but with time she had stopped that too. No one listened, no one answered, no one cared. There was no point.
But there was a point now. She had heard Roman's words. She had to get to him somehow but the chain around her ankle kept her down there. For the first time in a long time she felt an urge to fight. Fight the chain, fight this place, fight Curt, fight her destiny, fight it all, fight.
She left the bed and walked towards the two iron shelves that were placed in the room. A lot of crap was stored on them, and during her time down there Curt had continued filling stuff on them. She never once had cared to actually check what they held but now she found herself going through it, throwing item after item down on the ground until she suddenly found herself with a screwdriver in her hand.
She got back on the bed and started working the hook in the wall. She wouldn't be able to get the chain off her ankle since it required a key for the heavy padlock but the hook wasn't as thick so there was a chance. She used all the strength she didn't know she had and while working she started hearing some weird noises. It took a couple of seconds to realize it was her own voice she heard. No words, just the sound of her growling while trying to work her way out.
Loud music reached her ears and she wondered if she had actually been loud enough for Curt to have heard her since he put on music. She listened, expecting him to come running down to put her in her place but he didn't. After a minute she started working again and suddenly the hook flew out of the wall. She stared at the empty spot in the wall before moving her eyes down to the chain. She was actually free.
What now? She could go up there - she should go up there - but what would happen if she did? Many people didn't know Curt the way she did. They didn't expect him to possess the strength he did. She knew first hand just how strong he was and what he could do. She was scared. She wasn't who she was a year ago. He had made sure of that. He had broken her, taking out every drop of her will to fight, and yet here she was, fighting. She had to go up there.
She walked over to the door and opened it. It wasn't locked. There had never been a reason to lock it when she was chained up. Curt had always been so full of himself, thinking he had the upper hand in this. And he did for a long time. Not anymore.
Outside the door she found a bigger room. More iron shelves with more crap placed on them. A few old furniture stored away down there. And the stairs. The glorious, beautiful stairs she had dreamed about ascending. Also the frightening stairs to the unknown.
She moved to the stairs, quietly moving up one step at the time. She stopped when she was one step away from the door and looked down herself. She was painfully aware that she was naked and she didn't look good. She hadn't seen her own face for a year since there was no mirror down there but she knew how her body looked. Dirty, skinny, fragile. How could she ever let anyone see her like that, let alone Roman?
Suddenly the music stopped and everything went quiet. Had they all gone away already? Was Curt gonna open the door any second now and find her there? How bad was he gonna hurt her for escaping? No way she could work the hook back into the wall. She looked down at the chain, ready to give up once again. When Roman's voice suddenly reached her, she snapped her head back up. He cleared his throat loudly and then the sound of his sweet voice started again.
"I wanna thank you all for coming here today and especially Curt for opening up his home for us all to meet," he said.
"Don't mention it," Curt said.
"It's big, man. Thank you. You all know I haven't had an easy year since she disappeared and I miss her like crazy everyday. Today is exactly one year ago but you all know that," he let out a little nervous chuckle. "I think... I think it might be time for me to face reality. Don't make me say it because I'm gonna cry if I actually say the words. I just hope one day they'll find her so we at least can give her a proper farewell."
She didn't want him to say farewell to her. She wanted him to find her. She was right there, only a few steps away from him, and he had no idea. He wouldn't come find her. It was up to her to come out and find him. She took the final step up and reached for the door with a shaky hand. She turned the doorknob and opened the door. She took a deep breath before stepping out through the door.
A loud choir of gasps went through the people as all eyes landed on her. She couldn't care about all those eyes. She had found his. She slowly moved over the floor, the chain dragging after her for each step.
"Relm?" Roman couldn't believe it.
"Roman," the first word she had spoken in months.
She collapsed into his arms and felt how he tightened his grip around her and forced both of them down on the floor. He sobbed down in her hair while she sobbed into his shirt. He held her close, shielding the front of her from all prying eyes, yanking on the chain around her ankle without any luck. Behind her loud yelling sounded followed by things smashing and someone screaming. Curt was screaming. She didn't know who was beating him up but someone was taking it upon them to avenge her year down in his basement.
"Where's the key?" Dean shouted.
She should have known Dean would be the one or at least one of the people hurting Curt. She was pretty sure Seth was in the mix too. If Roman wasn't holding her right now, he would most definately join in as well.
"Roman!" Dean yelled.
Roman looked up and then the sound of something sliding across the floor reached her. Whatever it was, Roman picked it up, and suddenly the feeling of cold metal disappeared from her ankle. He placed his hand there, gently rubbing the area, and by the sounds he made she could imagine her flesh didn't look good after having that thing around her for a year.
"Here," Seth's voice reached them.
Roman reached his hand up and took something from Seth. She found herself being dressed in a shirt by Roman and judging by the size and the smell of it, it was the shirt Seth had had on his own body. She was grateful for being covered up and at some point she had to thank Seth for helping her out. Right now she couldn't. She just kept holding on to Roman, burying her face into his shirt, taking in the scent of him and the feeling of his arms around her that she had missed so bad. She hadn't realized the noises behind her had died down until Dean's voice reached her again.
"Someone call the police," he said. "Before I end up killing him."
Roman moved one hand up, trying to pull her head out so he could look at her.
"Relm? Hey, teddybear, look at me, please," he said softly.
She looked up at him, a sea of feelings flushing through her. She felt ashamed, scared and relieved all at once. She reached up to touch his face. He closed his eyes and leaned his cheek on her hand. She ran her fingers over his skin and beard, wiping away the tears that fell from his eyes.
"I found you," he smiled.
"I wanna go home," she whimpered.
"Of course, teddybear. You're coming home again and I'll never let you out of my sight again," he said and stroked her hair.