Courtney's mother walked around the empty house, hearing no one but her own echo in response to her crying her daughter's name. Courtney wasn't home- that had become obvious. Now, the woman sat, deflated, in a kitchen chair. The table was covered in junk, it seemed that the kitchen was the only place aside from her husband's bedroom that hadn't been taken care of. Unsure of what she was waiting for- was she waiting for someone to come home? Or was she hoping that no one would come home?- she picked through the garbage that littered the table. Empty beer cans, tipped over wine bottles, receipts that reached ludicrously high amounts, cigarettes.
That was when she found the piece of paper that had been used as a coaster. It still had a faded ring where a mug or glass had been placed. She unfolded it to find a ransom note- a ransom note for her daughter. Had her husband even noticed that she was gone? Had he even cared? The woman threw her chair back, and it made a loud crash against one of the cabinets behind her. She grabbed the ransom note off of the table, and tripped over the chair as she made her way to the phone. She picked it up in a shaking hand, and called the police.
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Duncan made his way into the room where his Princess was locked up. In all of the fairytales that had ever been read to him when he was young, and of all the fairytales he'd repeated to Jackie when she was young, the guy almost always rescued the princess. So why couldn't he rescue his? Because his family- and him- were at stake. If he did anything to help her escape, even if it was on her own, Aiden would have him pay for it.
In his hand was a paper bag that held some food from the nearest fast food joint. It had been easier to get then he'd thought. All he'd had to do was trade some snot-nosed little kid a gumball that would "give him superpowers" if he could chew it for two months. The kid had given him his month's allowance- ten dollars- in return. Were all kids this stupid nowadays?
"Want some french fries?" Duncan asked, shoving one in his mouth to act like he got them for himself. He didn't want to admit that he'd actually gone out to get her food.
Courtney didn't want to take them. Not from him. But he was decidedly better than Aiden, and anyone else who came down at random intervals during the day. If nothing else, Duncan was trying to make up for what he did. It wasn't working as much as he would have liked, and she was pretty sure she would never forgive him. Duncan had nothing else going for him aside from the fact that he had promised to get her out. Did she believe him? She wasn't sure. In the end, the more she thought about it, the more confused her feelings towards him became. He was a jerk. He was a liar. He was a thief. He was everything she knew that she never wanted to love. But he was everything she loved anyway.
"Not from you I don't," she said, turning her nose up at the french fries that called out to her, begging to eat them. Her stomach agreed, and it made a distinctive noise.
"Stop trying to be difficult and just eat some already. What's the point in saying no? What do you gain from it?" Duncan asked, waving a fistful of french fries in her face (woo! Alliteration win!).
My dignity. My sense of self. "Nothing," she admitted, "But I don't like fast food." At some point in her time down in that dark room she had realized that being difficult was the only thing that kept her strong. It was the only thing that kept her from being submissive.
Duncan sighed, scratching his head a bit. He put the bag on the floor next to him, and put each hand on the wall beside her, trapping her in his arms. "Why do you always have to do this?" Duncan asked, before pulling her into a hug.
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Jackie was home alone, sitting upside down on the couch with her legs draped over the back. She was eating from a bag of potato chips and watching the news. When the story came on about the missing young woman, Courtney something or other, it didn't take long for Jackie to put the pieces together. That was the girl her brother had kidnapped. And it was only a matter of time before the police figured it out.
How long were you sent to jail for kidnapping, anyways?