No No NO! Mrs. Clark thought as she raced through the house, frantically looking for Holly. All of her things were here, so she couldn't have gone far. Mrs. Clark angrily got her keys and purse and raced to her car. She'd check the area to see if she was walking around. No way was that little brat going to pull a fast one on her.
…..
Monroe dropped the bags he was carrying from the store. His mouth dropped open at the sight in front of him. Holly was in front of the TV singing and dancing. Only problem, she was just wearing a bra and underpants. She seemed to be mimicking a music video. He had to admit she was a good singer and dancer, but for God's sake the window was open! By the time she started air humping, he jumped in and turned off the TV. She smiled at him, as though pleased with herself.
Monroe took minute to check himself, "Holly….what are you doing?"
"All the single ladies!" she sang and shook her hips. Monroe groaned and wanted to shoot himself. He did tell her to copy the people on the TV.
"Please go get clothes on." He muttered, looking at the ceiling. Holly smiled and put on her shirt, "I'm too sexy for my shirt!" she laughed. She had no idea.
Nick came over as Monroe was making a nice steak and some vegetables with some pasta for Holly and himself. He had stocked up on some different kinds of meat, mostly beef and steak. He knew Holly was still transitioning and needed protein.
Monroe put the timer on and helped Nick get everything upstairs.
Nick was able to find everything Holly would need for the next few weeks, clothes, hair care products, shampoo, some games, movies, books for learning, and even some puzzles.
"Wow, Nick, thanks!" Monroe exclaimed as he helped unload Holly's new wardrobe into her new closet.
"No problem, I also got you something." Nick chuckled.
"What?" Monroe asked, not quite sure if he wanted to know.
Nick pulled out a parenting book for adolescents. Monroe rolled his eyes. "Asshole." He said.
Nick laughed and tossed the book on the bed.
"I also got her some flash cards. Hopefully you two won't get too bored being cooped up here." He said.
"Thanks man, this will help her a lot, especially when she has to testify. Speaking of, how is that coming?"
"Well, Mrs. Clark reported her missing again, and I'm organizing a search in the woods somewhere. So far it's been coming up clean for Mrs. Clark, although, her parents were killed when she was 17."
"Whoa!" Monroe gasped, "What happened?"
"Not quite sure, never caught the guy, but he apparently attacked her as well. Or so it was reported."
"You think she might have killed her own parents?" Monroe asked.
"Hard to say, I mean she was attacked by the guy, but it's just so unclear and it was years ago so that sort of case is usually thrown out after a while."
"Anything else?"
"Just her husband commiting suicide about 2 years after Holly disappeared, but again, not much. I'll keep digging."
"Need any help?"
"I'll let you know."
They heard a beeping sound from downstairs suddenly.
"That will be the steak." Monroe said as he and Nick went downstairs. Monroe found Holly staring at the oven a little nervously. She glanced at him confused as he turned off the noise.
"Loud." She said, pointing to the oven.
"Sorry about that Holly, it's just so I don't burn it." He put on gloves and she watched, intrigued as he took out the steak and vegetables to let it cool off. Holly got closer to smell. Nick had to hold her back, "Careful, Holly, it's real hot." He cautioned.
She nodded as she watched Monroe dish up a plate for all three of them.
"Did you want to take some home to Juliette?" Monroe asked Nick. Although Monroe hadn't spoken to Juliette since the Daemonfuhrer incident, she was nice enough to stop by and thank him with a basket of baked goods and some wine. Something Nick needed to learn how to do in Monroe's eyes. So he of course came to like Juliette instantly.
"Yeah, she might like a plate." Nick said and helped Monroe heap some into a Tupperware container. Holly was sniffing the food, a very big grin on her face.
She went to sit down and wait for her food. Monroe had a feeling Mrs. Clark taught her some table manners when she came home. That or Holly remembered sitting at a table eating with a plate.
Monroe wasn't sure if she knew how to cut a steak, so he cut it into pieces for her just in case. He made sure she watched him so she could catch on.
Once he and Nick were seated with her, they dug in. Holly practically inhaled her food. Monroe suddenly felt bad. He wondered if she had really eaten much at home and what the quality of the food was like for her.
"It's weird seeing steak in the house." Nick commented as he forked a piece of the meat and took a bite, "For a vegetarian, you know how to cook a mean steak Monroe."
"Nah, my Nana is the one who can cook a mean steak, among other things." Monroe commented. Holly was already done with her food and she looked very content. Nick paused as if he just noticed this, "Well she didn't waste any time." He laughed.
Holly got up and went towards the living room and Monroe watched her look at the games and puzzles Nick had brought. She looked intrigued.
"Glad I bought those, hopefully she'll be able to talk a little better soon." Nick commented as he finished his food. Monroe nodded eating his vegetarian fare. Holly came back in and held up a jigsaw puzzle Nick had gotten, she smiled as she pointed to it. It was a woodsy scene with lots of critters on it.
"Yeah, I got that for you." Nick smiled at her.
"Softie." Monroe laughed under his breath. Although he did have to give Nick some props. The puzzle reminded Holly of her freedom.
"Thanks, Monroe, I'll give some to Juliette." Nick got up and put his plates in the sink and took the Tupperware container.
"Call me if there are any problems," he said as he walked out. He patted Holly on the head and smiled at her. Holly got excited and came over with the puzzle.
"Not just yet, kid, if you're gonna stay here, you gotta help clean up some." Monroe smiled at her. She nodded. He had a feeling she understood the word clean.
She watched him gather plates and did the same. Then he showed her how to load the dishwasher and put things away and began to show her around the kitchen. She caught on real fast and he was pleased that she was willing to learn how to help out. The skill would come in handy when she turned eighteen and could live on her own.
Once he had finished, he sat down and opened the puzzle box. He would have laughed had the situation not been so sad. She looked genuinely confused and sad. She also looked frustrated. He sighed, trying to think how best to teach her how to use a puzzle.
"Okay," he started, "See each piece has a picture on it, you have to match each piece to make the picture of the woods…here." He connected a couple of easy pieces and did this for a bit. She watched and then leaned in to help him, pointing out connecting pieces. Monroe looked at the clock; it only took her 10 minutes to start connecting the dots. He was extremely impressed. In that amount of time, she managed to do about half the puzzle by herself. Granted it was only a 50 piece puzzle, but he was none-the-less very pleased with her progress.
"Good job, Holly!" He commented. She smiled at him, clearly excited. He wondered if her mother did games like this with her at home.
"Holly," he asked, "Does your mother play these games with you?"
She shook her head sadly.
"Does she let you watch her cook or clean?"
Again, she shook her head.
"What does she do with you?" he asked.
Holly looked up, she seemed to want to find the right words, "She…mother, talk…"she pointed to her mouth, nodding, "books."
"Is that all?" Monroe asked.
Holly nodded, "Mother hate me." She said boldly.
"Nah, Holly, maybe it's not that bad. But just in case it is, I don't hate you. Neither does Nick." Monroe told her, smiling.
Holly smiled then pointed to the puzzle. She had finished it. All under 30 minutes.
"That's great, Holly! You want to try a different kind of puzzle?" He asked her.
She nodded. Monroe took her to the living room and decided to use some flash cards with her before he went to bed. She seemed to enjoy them until he got to a certain word.
"Rope." Monroe said. Holly's eyes went red and she snarled out of fear, backing away. Monroe looked quickly at the picture. It was just a picture of rope. He noticed her rubbing her wrists, still snarling in fear. He quickly put the picture down. As she relaxed, he noticed she became very sad.
"Bad…" she said, tears coming to her eyes.
"Did Addison tie you up?" Monroe asked. She nodded.
He leaned forward, putting his hand on hers, "Holly, I promise he won't hurt you again. Okay?"
She nodded. Monroe smiled, although secretly inside, he was raging and seriously aching to run outside and punch a hole in his fence. He couldn't believe that monster could tie up an innocent seven-year-old girl. It made him sick inside wanting to kill the ass hole who did this to her.
He finally nodded and decided to end the game on a lighter note. He quickly got up and went to his desk and pulled out a small feminine wrist watch. She eyed it curiously as he put it on her.
"I know you can't tell time yet, but I found this when I first started making watches and restored it. I told myself that one day if I had a daughter I'd give it to her. I think you need it more." He smiled.
It was a light shade of burgundy on the leather and the timepiece was gold rimmed with feminine calligraphy for the numbers. It worked perfectly.
"Pretty." She said and graced him with the biggest smile.
He was momentarily relieved from his rage and smiled back.
"Time for bed." He told her getting up, "You've had a long day, kid, and so have I."
….
"What do you mean she's missing?" Addison yelled into the phone he was allowed to use once a day.
"All I know is, she was here one minute and the next morning, she's gone. She didn't take anything. I just don't get it." Mrs. Clark argued angrily over the phone.
"If she comes after me, that's on you, lady." Addison yelled back.
"Oh please, I'm sure she's just getting in touch with her roots out in those God-forsaken woods you dragged her into."
"Do you think she suspects you?" Addison asked, suspiciously. He remembered that the little innocent girl turned out to be quite a handful as soon as he started on her in the woods. It wouldn't surprise him if she was smart enough to figure out her mother had been in on the plan.
"I doubt it, she can hardly talk. Mostly snarls and shit."
"I don't know she had a nasty and conniving streak in her." Addison replied, "Something like that, the devil made, if you ask me."
"Well, her parents were the epitome of demons so it makes sense."
"Why'd you adopt her anyway if all you wanted to do was kill her?" Addison asked.
"That's for me to know and you to shut up about." Mrs. Clark snapped and hung up the phone.
She threw the phone back into the drawer and pulled out the picture that kept her mind on revenge. It was a picture of Holly's father and mother, who was pregnant. She swore she'd make the lot of them pay, so help her.
…..
"Look at this." Hank told Nick. He pulled up the webpage that showed phone usage at the prison Addison was kept at. Nick slid his chair over to get a look.
"Addison was only calling one number." Hank continued.
"Who does the number belong to?" Nick asked.
"Beats me, some kind of unregistered cell phone." Hank said.
"Can you pull a trace maybe? See where it's coming from?"
"I'll try, make take a while, but we might be able to get something, especially if he calls it again."
"Well, then that's our best bet." Nick said, very hopeful.