Sorry for not having an update yesterday. I got distracted.

Thank you all for the comments I love reading them very much. Now on with the story.

Rating: R implied abuse

Don't own anything but the story line

Chapter 12

Silence awaits me once inside the house. No screams of pain or commands being yelled out, nothing. Just silence. Silence is nice.

The living area is completely open. No walls except for the bathrooms and bedrooms. My eyes finally finish searching my surroundings, and I turn to look at her. My everything. She's waiting for my approval.

"It's amazing" I turn back to look at the fireplace sitting in front of the couch.

"No one knows about this place. He bought it right before he died. I was the only one he told when he gave me a key." She looks to the fireplace too. "He wanted me to have a place to go when things got to bad with my mother."

"Thank you for doing all of this. You didn't have to." She's done so much to help and some she doesn't even realize.

"Yes I did." Both of our stomachs growling, I realize we haven't eaten anything today. Ashley grabs her bags. "Come on let's get our stuff into our rooms. Then we'll figure out what to eat."

My backpack still on, I follow her to the bedrooms.

Sitting my bag down on the queen size bed, I take in my room. It's nice. The room has paintings hanging on each of the walls.

"Hey" She's standing in my doorway holding a smaller suitcase. "I thought you could use some extra stuff, so I packed a case for you at my house." She smiles a little.

"Thank you."

Ashley went to the store to get some food and other things we would need. A giant grandfather clock chimed in the corner. It was already 4:30pm.

Curiosity getting the best of me, I flipped the TV on to see if there was anything about my disappearance on. Clicking through all the channels, I found nothing. It's probably to soon was what I told myself. Giving up for now, I went and got a drink of water leaving the TV playing.

"BREAKING NEWS!" A man's voice rang through the TV "An Amber Alert has been issued" A photo of me flashes onto the TV screen. "Spencer Carlin, seventeen year old girl is missing. She was last seen walking to school from her home. Any information on her where a about, please call 1-800-827-7820. We are going to take you live to her family's home where her father and mother are holding a press conference."

The glass I was holding slips through my hand when he appears on the TV. The glass shatters all over the floor. I watch motionless as he cries in front of the world for my safe return. He spits out lie after lie about how he loves me and misses me.

His last line sends chills and shivers down my spine. "Darling, if you can hear this, come home." A command. That was his warning to me, I either go back there or else.

Ashley finds me in the same spot I was in during his press conference. Tears running down my face and shaking. The broken glass litters my feet.

"Spencer, what happened?" my savior rushes to my side.

"He... he ordered me to come home." I sniffle out.

"What do you..." The TV cuts her question short. His voice echoes over it again repeating his last line. "Darling, if you can hear this, come home." The news anchor comes back on. "That was Rev. James' last words to his daughter. You could see the pain and suffering in his eyes. He just misses..." The TV cuts off.

"No reason to listen to lies." She smiles a little trying to relax me. "How about we do anything you want. Something you haven't done since you where little." I smile at the first thought that comes to my mind.

We've been sitting on the floor for hours in front of the fire. Our fingers and faces are covered in marshmallow and chocolate. We made smores. A lot of them. I was shocked to learn that Ash has never had one.

We both sit staring at the fire "So Spence tell me why smores?" Ashley asks.

"My family and I went camping together. My dad let us all make them over the open fire. He said we, my brothers and I, where aloud to eat as many as we could. My mom didn't think it was a good idea but let us do it anyway." Looking at Ashley, the fire is lighting up the side of her face. She's gorgeous under the glow of the fire. "By the time we had eaten our full of them, Glen, Clay, and I where covered in them. My mom took a picture of us in our chocolate smiles. Everyone was laughing at me because Glen thought it would be funny to rub the rest of his smore into my hair. It was sticking up all over the place. Afterwards, my dad made us all jump into the lake to rinse off. That was the first time I got to swim at night. It was also our last camping trip together." Wiping away a few tears at one of my happy memories, I look back over at Ashley. She's crying too.

"Sounds like you had a great family" Had was defiantly the right word. "Come on" She stands up helping me up too. "Let's get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow." We both head to our own rooms for the night.

Walking into to the front door, that I said I would never again do, I'm met face to face with him. He's smiling at me. "Darling, I'm so glad you followed my orders." Looking down, I begin to shake harder and harder as he comes closer to me. "You are going to be punished for trying to leave. I own you. You are MINE!" He snatches me by the jaw forcing our eyes to meet.

"Do you understand me? Whom do you belong to? SAY IT!" He screams at me. Tears running down my face, I try to muster up the courage to answer him.

"No one" it's weak and whispered but I said it.

"Wrong answer." He takes me by the neck and leads me into the kitchen. Nancy is lying on the floor in a pool of blood. "That is your fault. You caused her death." He points at her body. "Now tell me, who do you belong to? Or would you like me to kill that little girlfriend of yours too?"

"NO!" I shout out. "I'll say it."

"Good. Now say it!" He smiles waiting for my answer.

"I belong to you." The words flow from my lips as tears flow from eyes. The last part of me washes away with that one sentence. I'm lost in the darkness forever now. My hole is too deep to ever climb out of again. I'm lost.

"Spencer! Wake up!" A hand touches my cheek, and I jump away at the contact expecting to see him staring at me.

"You where having a nightmare." It's Ashley. It was all a dream. I never gave in and told him. I'm safe.

"Ash, will you stay with me?"

"Yes" Climbing into bed with me, I feel her wrap her arms around me protecting me from everything.

Relaxing into her embrace, I finally fall into a peaceful dream.

Love the comments so feed me please. Also I just got through reading Lessons by Kim Pritekel, it's great so check it out.