Mary woke up to the smell of bacon.

She had fallen asleep on the floor, extremely tired.

Yesterday had been the worst day of her life.

She slowly stood up, looked around, and found the source of the smell. Derek was standing at the stove frying some bacon.

The aroma made her stomach growl. She was very hungry.

She wasn't going to ask him for some food though.

No way. That would be like saying "Hit me again". Mary knew, that's just what he would do, or maybe not hit, but kick, slap or something else causing bodily harm to her.

So Mary stood up and watched the man take his bacon out of the pan and onto a plate, to cool off.

She watched him expertly flip his pancakes, and eventually take them out of the old battered pan and on to another plate.

But even though all she had done was watch him he still came over, grabbed her bye the arm and roughly made her sit down at the kitchen table.

"Good Morning, princess!" Derek said sarcastically.

Then he plopped a plate of food down on the table in front of her.

At first Mary was stunned. She wasn't sure if she had thought the man would've let her starve, but to make a big breakfast and share it with her… that seemed out of character.

That was about the only way he was out of character.

"Well… eat the freaking food!" He shouted at her, pounding his fist against the table.

He was still aggressive and hurtful, despite having made Mary breakfast.

It was a great breakfast, Mary had to admit. Turned out, Derek was a great cook. The bacon was savory and cooked just right, kind of crunchy and kind of chewy.

The chocolate chip pancakes were thick and fluffy, made from scratch (as Mary could tell by the flour and eggshells all over the small counter).

Mary would have never guessed he liked to cook.

She could tell he did though because he had left a cabinet door open and Mary saw dozens and dozens of cookbooks laying on a self inside.

When Mary thought of a cook she though of a grandma, mixing up some cookie dough. Her gray hair pulled back in a bun, round glasses resting on the tip of her nose. White apron tied around her waist. The Mrs. Clause look, only with little grandchildren hugging at her knees.

But Derek was cold and mean. His hair was graying around the edges but for the most part his hair was black. He didn't wear glasses over his eyes (which weren't kind and loving, like the cook Mary had pictured, but dark and cold… and well just plain evil looking) He hadn't worn an apron for he had his clothes covered with grease and pancake batter.

Cooking was completely out of character.

"Or…" Mary thought to herself, chewing on a syrupy pancake. "Maybe I don't know his character?"

She quickly dismissed that thought. "No, this isn't Hollywood, and he isn't a confused man who is going to realize his faults and then set me free. It doesn't work that way. He will kill me if I have a chance. I have to stay strong."

May's thoughts were interrupted by Derek putting on the news again. He seemed to find some sick joy in watching news casts about how Mary was missing.

It was just the usual, Mary Santiago is missing, blah , blah, blah, the police have no idea where the man fled to, blah, blah, blah, have you seen this man, blah, blah, blah, BLAH!

It was driving Mary insane. She wanted to scream out to the reporters, "Here I am!"

Mary had just finished eating her food, and had but her plate in to the tiny, almost-to-small-to-hold-one-dish sink, when she hear the reporter say, "We managed to catch up with Joey Parker, and his thoughts on his missing fiancée, yes folks he has conformed. Joey had proposed just before Mary was kidnapped."

"That was just how I always thought my engagement would be announced." Mary thought to herself sarcastically.

"Here is the special footage." the reporter said before showing a video of Joey, he appeared to be walking downtown.

"How do you feel about Miss Santiago's kidnapping?" several reporters asked him.

Joey started to blink back tears.

"What!?" Mary thought. "He doesn't cry, he is…passionate…and somewhat emotional… but I've never seen him cry!"

"I just miss her so much." Joey answered. Then he straightened up and said plainly. "I am hoping someone will call with information on her whereabouts."

"Why did you propose to Miss Santiago?"

Joey smiled. "What kind of a question is that? Because I love her and want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Mary's heart felt like melting butter.

The reporters didn't even stop and think about what he had just said, and how sweet it was. No, they were like vultures, they wanted their scoop now and they didn't care about how, or whose feelings they hurt trying to get it.

She had learned this after dating Joey two months, because after that every magazine either said (1 she was pregnant (2 she was cheating on him, or vice versa (3 they were breaking up.

The reporters just asked him another question, "No. Why did you propose to her knowing she had just been attacked? Why didn't she lay low for a while?"

Joey frowned. "I was assured by the police and others, that the man wouldn't return and Mary was safe." Then he smiled. "I tried to make her lay low for a while but she wouldn't."

I could feel my eyes filling with tears as the stopped the footage and went back to the original reporter.

Big mistake. Because as Mary sniffled, Derek turned and looked at her, and was enraged.

He walked over and pushed her to the ground, then grabbed one of the kitchen knives, the long blade barely visible in the dim light.

He slapped her across the face and yelled at her "You think you deserve someone like him! You don't deserve to be alive."

He used the knife to make a gash on her leg.

The he hit her shoulder, the one that was still in the sling. Which caused her to cry out from the pain.

"Worthless Pest!" He shouted. "You shouldn't have even been born! And I will tell you why!"

I am sooooooo soooooooo sorry for the long wait. My grandmother just died (she lived next door to me so we were pretty close).