Insomnia was a bitch. He had never had much trouble sleeping. For the last few weeks though, there was no way he would fall asleep, even for a damn hour. His brain was in a fury, thoughts tumbling out of everywhere. He was clearly overburnt. Something was wrong, he just didn't know what yet.

Every time he closed his eyes he could see that envelope again. He'd play it in slow motion in his head – a light envelope falling on the ground – over and over again. The top was torn up. She had opened it already. He couldn't remember if anything was written on it though. Something was bothering him. Her reaction. Ever since, Charlotte had been weird. If it was only about his birthday, why would she seem so tense all the time? That night, he gave in. He wanted to trust her very much, but he couldn't help it. He needed to have a look. He needed to finally put his mind at ease by satisfying his huge curiosity.

Charlotte had always fallen asleep curled up on her side of bed. For a few weeks now, she fell asleep clung to Andy's arm, tightening it as if he was about to leave her in the middle of the night. 3 am, he tried to slide his arm out of her grip but it was a very delicate exercise. She was a light sleeper and she had caught him more than once in the middle of an attempt to find that damn letter. Tonight felt like the luck was with him, because surprisingly she didn't wake up, or even stir when he left their bed. Andy tiptoed until he reached the door and walked silently to the kitchen. He knew exactly where to look because as he reached his destination, his arm darted at the cupboard, impatient. Only to find no envelope in there. Damn it! She had probably moved it away!

He opened every cupboard and every drawer to hopefully come across the mysterious note. Andy got down on all fours to look deeper into the furniture. He jumped as the light switched on.

- What are you doing? she looked at him with a quizzical look.

- Oh sorry honey! Did I wake you up? he played dumb.

- No, I woke up and you weren't there anymore. What are you doing in the kitchen so late?

- Couldn't sleep… decided to make myself a warm tea.

- And you're looking for the tea on the ground? she was doubtful, he knew she wouldn't buy it unless he came up with a very good reason.

- No, he chuckled, I was looking for the pan, actually. I thought that the kettle would make too much noise so I wanted to boil some water in a pan.

- Makes sense. That's very thoughtful of you. The pans are under the oven, she added factually.

- Oh thanks! Would you like some tea?

- No, I'm gonna go back to sleep. Thank you for asking. Please don't be too long… she switched the light off and left.

It was a close call. He went along with his own lie and made himself a cup of tea. It couldn't hurt anyways. He knew he didn't have much time left and still no clue of where that note could be. He sipped his hot tea while looking around, hoping for something to catch his eye. Unfortunately he went back to bed without having found a single hint. Even though Andy didn't feel like relaxing, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to think of her as much as he needed. For the first time in weeks, he savored a few hours of peaceful sleep, imagining being finally able to envelope her with his whole body.

/

It was cold. Freezing cold. All she had been doing was observe the steam exiting her nostrils regularly. Against the wall of the small room, she felt tiny. Her knees were up against her chest, her arms embracing herself. It was cold. Freezing cold. She was staring at those little marks on the opposite wall. Each of them represented a day. How long had been already? She had lost count, for the marks were too many to keep track. Sharon felt old and wrinkled, her bones feeling as fragile as porcelain. Her mind was confused but she knew she had to get out of there before she'd whether starve to death or die from hypothermia.

He had thought of leaving a thin mattress for her to use. She could still feel through it the broken glass, rocks and dust spread throughout the ground. She was not difficult, but she had to admit she had known more comfortable places even during her flee from him. The only thought that kept her alive was the dream of being, maybe one day, reunited with her loved ones – Emily, Ricky and Andy. They were all she wanted. Once again, life showed her how short it could be. She promised herself she would fight for them until her last breath and would never again bring up excuses to live one more day apart from the people she loved the most.

A creaking door took her out of her thoughts. It was probably time for her daily ration: a single bread slice with a glass of water. That creep gave her just enough to survive but not enough for her to be able to fight him back. She was stuck, forced to accept her sentence. For now. All the energy she had went to making up a good plan to be able to escape his claws. She was a wounded prey determined to slip out of death's dark hands, although her chances were infinitely thin.

He dropped the tray in front of the mattress, pushing it towards her probably to invite her to dig into it. After all she hadn't eaten in 24 hours. Her eyelids were heavy but she still managed to raise her head to meet his eyes, looking at him closely. That bastard would pay for doing this to her.

- Sharon, honey, ya don't look too good! he chuckled, you should have a bite of this delicious bread.

Jack was smiling, enjoying every second of it, feeling empowered by the picture in front of him. After giving him her darkest look, her attention went back to the tray where she found the usual slice of bread – only today the bread was moldy.

- But… the… the bread is… is… her voice was shaking with cold.

- Is perfect! he completed her sentence, still better than nothing I guess! he grinned not caring at all about her.

Sharon felt anger rise inside her. She was boiling and feeling more than frustrated. She was being pushed to the limit.

- You son of a bitch! she shouted, standing up fast, trying to punch him anywhere she could reach.

He caught her arm and slapped her brutally, throwing her against the wall. Her impulse would earn her a nice bump on the head and a vivid red mark on the cheek. Sharon brought her shaking hands to her face where she felt her blood pulsing. Her lips were bleeding. Nonetheless, she didn't regret her words.

- See! Look at you now! You made this to yourself honey. You should be nicer with your body, he smiled.

- You don't even care about me, why are you keeping me here? she wouldn't show him the terrible pain she was feeling inside.

- Oh! It's a surprise honey, it's a surprise! You wouldn't want to spoil the surprise, would you? he wanted to dominate her, speaking to her with a childish tone, showing her how powerless she was.

Already down on her knees after her throw against the wall, Sharon lowered her head. It was not time yet. As hard as it was to admit it, he was right, she was doing this to herself. She had to keep her temper under control from now on and use another strategy to outsmart him. He left the room, locked the door behind him. As she heard his steps fade away, she lifted the corner of the mattress and uncovered the pile of debris she had collected and managed to assemble making a weapon to defend herself. She wouldn't surrender easily.

/

A life in a cabin wasn't exactly what teenagers close to adulthood would wish for. It had been a full month now and it was difficult to feel anything else but anxious. Their mother was nowhere to be found and she wouldn't answer on her emergency phone. Martha did her best to reassure them, telling them over and over again that their mother had a very good plan and was probably busy saving their lives. The problem was she didn't even believe herself anymore. Sharon hadn't given them any news for weeks. The old lady had her instructions and knew it was time to apply them. She discreetly closed herself in her room, isolating to make the dreaded phone call. As her fingers were dialing the given phone number, Martha let a few tears roll down her cheeks, infinitely sad to have reached that point. She was beyond scared to pronounce those words and even scarier to hear what the mysterious person would tell her on the line. What if she was gone forever? How would she announce such a horrific news to her children? She promised Sharon she would apply her instructions to the letter, no matter what and she would do just that even if it was terribly difficult.

/

Andy was finally enjoying some time off. He loved watching a good movie on TV, hanging around with the kids. Exceptionally, Charlotte had agreed for them to eat some salted popcorn they so loved. Nicole had chosen 101 Dalmatians, her all-time favorite Disney. Her brother, on his end, didn't like it much acting like the upset teenager he was supposed to be like these days. He basically stayed in the living room to eat all the popcorn he could before slipping out.

Andy felt proud as he watched her daughter feel special by watching for the 100th time a Disney movie with her old dad. He was so glad he had been able to get over his demons to have such a beautiful relationship with his children. When the movie ended, Nicole gave him a warm hug, silently thanking him for the father-daughter time they had just spent together. She then left to her room, probably needing some alone time.

He took out the newspaper that laid closed on the lower shelf of the coffee table. He really enjoyed reading the burning issues and the sports page but he hardly ever had the chance to do it. As he opened it, a ripped envelope slid out of it falling down on his lap. The envelope! The damn envelope he had been looking for! His throat tightened and his stomach clenched. Finally he could open it. He took the note out of its packaging in a slow move as if laying eyes on it could change his life forever. Maybe he was just overdoing it. He read it. Looking at each letter separately, Andy let that single word sink in. U-m-b-r-e-l-l-a.