Author's Note:

I know it's been 10 years... but here it is. The story continues!

Chapter 17

Scarlet was dead. She was gone and she wasn't coming back. Jill watched as the trees passed her by as she and Bobby drove deeper into the night. The sun rose and she awoke to find herself somewhere deep in the woods parked near a cabin. Bobby planned this for a long time.

"We're here, my angel…" he smiles carrying her out of the car and takes her inside.

Bobby doesn't hunt but this looks like a hunting cabin or a fancy Airbnb that he could never afford. he doesn't take her to the basement, like she's familiar with, he takes her upstairs to a bedroom covered in rose petals and she's undressed. He redresses her slowly in a white dress. She's spread-eagle on the bed. The drugs are slowly wearing off.

He stands back and stares at her in the master bedroom and he smiles a sickening smile.

"I finally have you at last… Jill, my savior, I thought I'd never see you again."

He sits beside her in bed.

"When that fucking monster took you away from me, I was going to end it all. I had nothing left to live for. So when I finally heard the news inside the Hospital I knew I just had to see you again," he takes a finger and strokes her face.

Jill flinches inwardly.

"And I did it. I finally have you all to myself. And your parents, Scarlet, or your fucking stalker can't find us. We're going to get married and we're going to start a new life. In a couple of days we'll be in Canada and on a flight to …I don't know where. It doesn't matter. As long as we have eachother."

With as much strength as Jill could muster she spits in his face.

"Go to hell…"

In an instant, his hand comes in brutal contact with her face. Her head snaps away from impact and she coughs blood. Her teeth clack and her vision begin to become hazy.

"That wasn't very nice, Jill! You're about to be my wife! You're supposed to treat me with respect! Or has that monster made you forget!? Did he make you into a dog? Into his perfect pet!? Did he collar you and break you down to nothing!?"

He jumps on her body and straddles her waist pointing a finger to her face.

"Do not test me! I worked very hard to get us here. And I won't have you act so fucking ungrateful!"

He grabs a fistful of her hair and pulls hard. It's painful and she growls as he twists his fist tighter around her hair.

"Do you hear me!?"

Blood rushes to Jill's head and she tries to reply but she can only whisper.

"Yessss…"

He releases her.

"Good! Now I'm man of the house, you got that!? Don't you ever treat me like that again or you will pay the consequences! I-I-I brought you here. I've done so much for you! Can't you see!?" he yells pounding his fist into the wall above her head.

Jill shuts her eyes, wishing so badly this was a horrible nightmare. That this wasn't real.

"Can't you see what you're making me do!?"

Bobby collapses on her body and rests his head on her chest crying.

"You're making me do this… You're making me so crazy, god, I love you Jill… This is proof we're meant to be together. No more silly games, ok? Can you promise me that you'll be good? And I promise I will make you the happiest woman alive."

He takes out a knife and pushes it to her neck while planting a big heavy kiss on her lips. Jill squeezes her eyes shut and feels his tongue barge its way inside her mouth. He takes his time. Savoring his weakened prey.

"Promise me…" he stops and plants little kisses on her jaw. Then pushes the knife deeper. "Promise me!"

He yells so loud she thinks her eardrums are about to burst.

"Yes! Yes, I promise… I promise! Please, stop, stop, please, Bobby!"

"Oh, yes, say my name…"

She feels him become hard down below and she tries to squirm away.

He doesn't take the knife away and encourages her again.

"Say my fucking name!"

The blade is sharp enough that Jill could feel a stinging sensation around her neck.

"STOP! STOP! STOP! STOP!" she screams, kicking her legs but he's too heavy. "Please, stop, Bobby!"

"Ohhhh yes….!" He moans and takes the knife away. His hands begin to fondle his zipper, belt, and pants.

Jill's face is stricken with absolute fear and tears roll down her cheeks. She braces herself for the worst of what's to happen, but then suddenly she hears the sweet and beautiful music of a phone ringing near the door. They both stop and look towards the door and Bobby hops off and checks the phone. He stands there looking at it for the longest time. She doesn't need to read the Caller ID to understand that Bobby is suddenly changed. He stands holding the phone.

Then presses Answer.

"Hello?"

Jill is still too weak to move. Her middle finger twitches slightly but it's not enough to reach for a lamp, pen, or anything useful as a weapon. She moves her head and sees Bobby holding the phone to his ear and she watches his entire mood change.

"Who the fuck is this?"

He hangs up the phone and places it back. He turns towards her and is ready to finish his sick delight. He's still hard. There's a tent in his boxers. But all of that changes when the phone rings again. He answers.

"Hello?" he answers, gripping the phone tightly. "Who the fuck is calling?"

He ends the phone call, places it back, and turns towards her again.

It rings again.

He turns towards the phone, pissed.

Bobby snatches it up," Listen, whoever is fucking calling better stop, or I will kill you. I will fucking kill you! Just try me asshole!"

He yells into the phone and hangs up. He picks up the whole thing, rips it out of the wall, and smashes it to the ground. He stomps his heel into the phone until the glass breaks and the light blinks off. Jill lays in bed silent and she understands…

She understands that Bobby is now afraid.

And he fucking should be.

"It doesn't matter… Assholes play pranks over the phone all the time. No one can find us out here, Jill. I made sure that no one could follow us. It's been a long ride so I'm going to go to the kitchen and cook us dinner, ok? You stay here."

He zip ties her to the bed and places one last kiss on her lips.

"Don't worry, everything will be better when we leave and get out of this place, ok? I promise. You and I are going to be so happy together that not even the cops will tear us apart. God, you mean so much to me… I would never, ever, ever hurt you."

He leaves the room and Jill finally has the privacy to cry, bawl her eyes out, and think of an escape plan. But she's too exhausted to do anything but cry. What more could she do? What more could happen? Things were different. She's a captive again, but this time, to a more psychotic and more dangerous man.

Bobby later returned with two bowls of macaroni and cheese and sat her up in bed and spoon-fed her. It was a childish and embarrassing display but she had to eat. It had been too long since she ate. He turned on the TV and they both began watching some shows. Bobby acted like this was a regular date night, eating food, and watching movies. But all she could think about was Scarlet and her brutal death. Her body was still splattered over the hood of his car and it made her sick to think about it.

Hours passed and Bobby fell into a deep sleep with his head on her stomach and arms wrapped around her. Still trapping her to himself. While Jill sat rather uncomfortably in bed watching TV. She wanted to sleep. But, again, sleep eluded her.

Morning came and Bobby had taken the liberty of escorting her to the shower. She couldn't watch as he scrubbed every inch of her naked body with a scrub talking about moving to Argentina or somewhere on the islands. Bobby wanted to fuck her on the beach and move somewhere beautiful and have kids. To survive on a budget and walk across countries. Bobby continued on and on about his plan while Jill stared out the window and her mind was somewhere else. A deafening ring came to her ears and all she could think about was her parents, her kitten, and Gerard. She could cry but she's shed all the tears she could. There was nothing that could possibly hurt her now.

"I want a boy," Bobby smiled placing a dry shirt over her head. "Did you hear me? I want a boy."

Jill didn't flinch.

Bobby smirked," I know what will cheer you up! Breakfast in bed. I made you a little milkshake that will calm your nerves, babe. I know you're excited about getting married. I'm very excited to make you my wife."

He strapped her back in bed and placed a gentle kiss on her temple pushing her hair from her face. But she did not respond. She was a lifeless doll, but he didn't care, she was his beautiful lifeless doll. At last, she belonged to him and him alone. Not that psychopath. Bobby went to the kitchen and began making pancakes and her milkshake loaded with pills. Every phone in the entire house had been destroyed and stuffed into the trash can. Bobby flipped the pancake and gave one last look at the phones piled up. A dark thought still lingered in the back of his head.

There's absolutely no way….

Bobby thought about the possibility. But it couldn't. He was careful. He was precise and he was tactical. There was no room for error. One loose end could make his whole world come crashing down. He placed the food on the serving tray and made his way to his blushing fiancé. She was still lying in bed. So perfect. So beautiful. Bobby fed breakfast to his love and switched the TV on to a couple of sitcoms. He made his way down to the garage and packed some things. He needed them to get married and married quickly! In less than 2 hours he had Jill strapped, gagged, and drugged in the back of the car while he drove.

One stateline later and they were on their way to their new lives. Bobby drove into the night until the moon was high above the highway and he needed to pull over and get a hotel. Always pay in cash. No burner phones. Sneak Jill into the giant suitcase and carefully roll her inside until there are no security cameras.

Jill slowly began to wake.

Still finding herself in her nightmare.

"W-Where the hell are we?"

"Far away, my angel. But I need you to stay quiet. I paid for one night and I need you to have this gag over your mouth."

"No, please, Bobby. No more drugs and don't gag me."

"This is temporary."

"No, please. I feel sick. I need water."

"I'll give you water once you take these pills. Tomorrow I want to take us to Las Vegas so we can get married. I've waited a long, long, long time for this Jill and I know you have too. We'll be in Vegas soon. Then from there, we can drive up to Canada just like I promised."

Bobby pushed the pills inside her mouth and pinched her nose. Jill tried to kick and turn her head away from his hands. But she couldn't breathe. She swallowed and he waited until he was satisfied. She choked but the pills went down. She'll be drowsy for a while. But at least she wouldn't be screaming and attracting the wrong kind of attention.

"Las Vegas? Bobby they're going to find you. They're going to find us. Las Vegas is not the answer. P-Please, we can still make this right. We can still go back and I'll tell everyone that this was a big misunderstanding. You won't get in trouble. No one can get in trouble, ok? Please, just let me go… You don't have to do this."

"But, Jill… I love you. More than anything in this whole goddamn world."

"I know, Bobby but this isn't healthy. I am begging you… don't do this. We can still come back from this…"

"Jill…"

"Please, do this for me…. If you love me, you'll come with me and turn around."

"Oh, Jill… babe…" he whispers.

Bobby looks like he's about to cry and this time he kisses her as gently as he can. Trusting the process, she gently kisses him back. His hand cradles behind her head and for the briefest moment, she remembers a time when she enjoyed kissing him. But those high school days are over and now she's terrified for her life. They part and he rests his forehead on hers.

"You know I can't let you go, Jill. I love you…"

"No…"

"Yes, I do. I would never lie about my feelings for you. The things I've done… and the things I'm prepared to do for us… I can't let this die."

"Bobby, no, you're not thinking straight."

"And you haven't opened your eyes, Jill. You haven't taken a moment to see what life would be like for me and you. What it can be! I want my world to be happy and living somewhere with you and we can be together. I want you to be my wife."

"I don't …I don't know how to help you."

"Help me by marrying me and starting a family with me. To live with me and die with me… "

"No…"

"Even if we have to die at the same time…"

He smiled and Jill could not be more scared. He really meant it. He would fulfill their tragic 'Romeo & Juliet' story even if it meant killing them both.

"No…!"

"Yes. I can make it all happen if you will just accept that you love me. There's nothing I would do, Jill. There's no one I would kill for you…"

"I don't want anyone else to die…" she whispers, feeling the drugs take effect.

Her world spins.

"No one has to… If you're a good girl, a good wife, and you do what you're supposed to. No one else has to die. Not unless they deserve it. Not unless someone gets in my way. Your parents and the cops won't stop us from loving eachother…" he pressed a kiss to her lips. "We can leave here and never come back. You'll be all mine…"

She whipped her head away.

"No, Bobby! You're fucking crazy!"

"You make me crazy!" he slaps himself in the face hard. "You make me crazy! Don't you see!? I love you, Jill. I would never hurt you. I only want to be with you. I can make you happy. I can make all your dreams come true. Anything you want! Forever! All I want is for you to dedicate yourself to me. What is so hard for you to understand!? Fuck!"

"You fucking freak! I will never love you! You're not capable of loving anyone! You're a fucking psycho!"

He frowns, takes a bandana from his back pocket and rolls it up into a ball.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Jill. When this is true love, you have to fight for it. And I'm going to fight for it. Everything I've done is for you. Everything is all for us. In Vegas you will be my wife. Then we can go to Canada. Then when we're free we can go anywhere we want and no one will find us. No one can stop us. In time you'll learn to love me. You'll understand that I'm the only man in the world for you."

He places the gag over her mouth and kisses her on the cheek. Jill is so drowsy that she slowly floats into darkness. She can still hear his piercing words.

"No one can take you from me…" he whispers and her world goes dark.

He pets her head letting her sleep.

"Oh, you're so special…"

Jill is fast asleep and Bobby double-checks the room. Curtains are closed, door is locked, and there are no patrol cars outside. It's a calm night at the hotel. He was careful to not leave any clues of their whereabouts to anyone. He leaves for the room to go get ice from down the hall. There's a small family at the pool and enjoying the hot tub, but they're on vacation, and they suspect nothing. He walks down the hall and the only other car in the lot is parked from across their room. Bobby places the ice bucket underneath the machine and refills while keeping an eye on that car.

It's a black car and he can't make out the license plate.

"What a night to be alive…" a voice came from the dark.

Bobby jumped and turned to see a man smoking a cigarette. He leaned against the railing resting on his elbows. This man blended perfectly into the darkness he was almost invisible except for the small cigarette bud glowing in the dark.

"What?"

The man is an older man, maybe by 20 years, with short cropped jet-black hair and wearing a dark brown jacket with dark blue jeans. He's smoking a cigarette while holding a lighter in the other hand. Forget about the ice, the boy is almost trembling when the older man turns to look at him. Another glow comes from the ash and it illuminates his dark eyes, seemingly hazel with an inner fire that could be seen from where he stood.

"What a night to be alive…" he repeats.

"Yea…"

He exhales smoke and it clouds his face almost giving him a halo of light before it disappears when he steps forward from the dark. He steps with purpose. Like prowling. Bobby twitches and he almost wants to run and get Jill and get back on the road. His only protection is the gun tucked behind his back.

"You feeling alright, pal? You look a little pale…"

Bobby doesn't realize that he's already been pulled into a game.

"I'm fine…"

The man takes a look at the bucket of ice in his hands and he puzzles together his plans for the evening. It's like he's reading him like an open book.

"Getting some ice for your old lady?"

"I'm alone at the hotel."

Shit. First big mistake, never let anyone know you're alone traveling by yourself.

"Me, too. I'm traveling alone," he smiles, putting his cigarette out on the wall before giving him a once-over with his steely gaze, measuring. It feels hostile but almost seducing if he's honest. Almost dangerous and it feels threatening to have this man so close. But Bobby can't help but hang on his every word.

"But some of my buddies are coming over. To watch the game."

"Sports fan, huh? Me too. I like to watch games at 12:00 am midnight…" he joked.

"They're coming tonight to sleep, drink, and w-we're going to watch the game tomorrow."

Nice save.

The man smiles like he just told a joke. But there was nothing funny about the situation. He could feel him… try to get into his head. His wolf grin disappears as he takes another puff. Smoke cascades from his nostrils like a dragon in a stream.

But the boy is confident he can make him and his fiancé disappear before he suspects anything.

"You take it easy on the road. Be careful out there, there's a lot of weirdos," he comments before turning back into the darkness and entering his room.

Room 67

Bobby makes a note of how far away his room is from theirs. He walks back to his room, 89, and locks the door. Jill is still sleeping calmly. He checks her eyes and her pulse. She's out like a light. He peeks behind the curtains and no one is there. The family at the pool is gone. It's quiet at the hotel now. The black car with the unreadable license plate is gone, too. It's an eerie quiet at the hotel, almost like the silence is too deafening. He takes a glass cup and places it against the wall next to his ear. His neighbors on the opposite sides are quiet. He counts his blessings and sits in his chair to watch TV, still uneasy.

An hour goes by.

The volume on the TV is barely audible. It's playing a sitcom but all Bobby can hear is static. He wants to kill him. The guest in room 67 has been on his mind and he can't stop thinking about how to make him disappear.

Riiing… riiing… riiing…riiiing

Bobby looks at the phone sitting on the dresser drawer and he wants to punch the wall. He watches it ring, the red light beeping, and he doesn't do anything but wait. The metallic shrill of the phone stops. He looks at Jill. She's still out cold.

"What the fuck…" he mumbles.

Silence reenters the room and he can only hear the clock tick. Bobby slowly sits back in his chair, takes out his gun, and checks his ammunition. It's full and ready. His hand grips the handle tightly. He's sure it wont blare it's shrill roar again. But it does.

Riiing… riiing… riiing…riiiing

Its metallic roar is like a scream in his head, screaming louder and louder, then he finally answers. He gently lifts the phone off the receiver and waits a moment before answering.

"Hello…?"

There's nothing but white noise.

"Hello?" he answers again.

Then something, a wind, or a breath can be heard on the other end. A deep inhale, exhale, and a slow inhale that slowly sends chills up his body.

"Listen to me, you perverted asshole. Whoever the hell you are… You better lose this number," he cocks his gun to the phone. "You hear that? I'm ready to blast you away."

The unknown caller remains silent.

"Lose this number!" he barks and slams the phone down.

Sweat beads roll down his forehead and he's tempted to rip the phone out from the walls. Burn them all and sleep next to his fiancé. But the phone does not show mercy and blares again.

Riiing… riiing… riiing…riiiing

Bobby picks up the phone the immediately hangs up. Sudden paranoia begins to grow and he checks the room again for the fifth time. Curtains are closed, door is locked, and the closet is empty. The only room left is the bathroom. Bobby slowly steps into the darkness of the bathroom with his weapon. His hand slowly reaches for the light switch and he jumps in pointing his gun. He rips back the shower curtains thinking someone was standing there. Suddenly all the horrible things he imagined hiding in the bathroom were gone. No one was there.

Riiing… riiing… riiing…riiiing

Bobby looks at the phone and its red blinking light.

"What the fuck is going on!?" he yells, jumps over the bed, and answers the phone. "Who the fuck is this!?"

"yuuuu-awwl…."

A demonic voice roars through the phone at a deafening volume. This word continues like a gravelly howl from the white noise static. He blinks and pinches his nose. Maybe this is all in his head. He hasn't taken his medication in weeks. His doctor warned him this would happen. He drops the phone to the floor and covers his ears.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it… It's not happening… It's not happening… This is all in your head… It's not happening…" he repeats and grabs the phone again. He's dragging the receiver off the table. The receiver box hits the floor and is dragged along with him as he paces the room back and forth. The lamp is knocked to the floor, and the light bulb cracks and sparks until it flickers and dies.

"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real…" he whispers into the phone. "You're not real…"

The roar stops and suddenly he hears him.

"Ssheeee…." The voice is almost robotic but continues. "Sheee's…. maaaa…."

Bobby presses his back against the wall and drops to the floor. It's real. It has to be.

"Sheee's… mine…"

Realization hits Bobby. Jill's stalker, the kidnapper, the psycho…. Bobby never actually knew what the man looked like. He gets up and finally rips the cord apart from the wall and takes his gun from his belt.

POP POP!

Two bullets rip through the phone and Bobby leaves the room to pay a little visit to room 67. First, he knocks. No answer. Bobby pounds his fist on the door like a maniac, but again, no answer.

He takes a step back

Then takes out the gun.

POP POP!

The door latch falls to the ground and he barges in. It's empty. It doesn't even look like someone is staying there. But the cigarette sitting on the ashtray betrays that suspicion. There's still a thread of smoke burning from the tip. He was here.

"Fuck!" he runs back and begins packing everything. The noise of the gunfire has already attracted some of his neighbors stepping out of their rooms and standing in the parking lot. He places Jill back inside the suitcase and carefully places it in the back of the trunk. As soon as he's driving he sees police cars in his review mirror pulling up to the hotel.

In the distance, he sees the first light of dawn come over the hill and soon they arrive to a gas station. He pays in cash and leaves without getting his change. He's shaking so much he pulls out of the gas station leaving rubber burn marks on the asphalt and nearly hits a passerby. He hits 90 mph down the road in a 65 zone. Bobby wipes the sweat from his brow and turns up the radio to full volume. From his pocket he swallows 4 tablets and squeezes a water bottle down his throat. The water splashes into his mouth, over his head and down his chest. It's cold is welcoming.

"Bobby! Bobby! Help, I can't breathe!" a voice comes from the trunk and he pulls over. The car stops to a screech.

He gets out and opens the trunk," Get out of the fucking trunk!"

Bobby drags Jill out and grabs her head with both hands.

"Who did you tell!? Who the fuck did you tell!? Who have you been talking to!? Fucking tell me!" he looks at her in the eye.

"What are you talking about!? I haven't told anyone! How could I!? I can't even move!"

"You're fucking with me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!"

"You're a liar!"

"Stop, please. You're hurting me!"

He lets go and she drops to the ground with a hard thud. He paces back and forth waving the gun in the air.

"Why don't you ever make this easy!? Is it so hard to love me, you bitch!"

Jill struggles to sit up," How could anyone love you, Bobby!"

He kneels to her and presses the tip of the gun to her bottom jaw. He cocks it and she gulps. He presses it harder and pulls her hair back.

"Who did you fucking call… You can tell me, baby. I won't get mad and I won't hurt you. Just tell me who you've been talking to…"

"No one… I haven't been able to reach anyone. I swear…"

"Then how did… T-Then why am I getting these fucking unknown calls?"

"What?" she blinks. "Unknown calls from who?"

"I don't know!" he yells kicking the car. Five dents and one broken window later and he turns to her again," Is this him?"

Jill doesn't need to ask whom he's referring to. It had been a long time since she really thought about him and her escape. There was always a sneaking suspicion that the stranger never left her in the first place.

"Is this him!? Answer me!"

"I don't fucking know!" was all she could say.

Somewhere, in the deep fucked up recesses of her mind… she hoped that it was him. It was fucked up to hope and wish upon a star that he'd come. Psychopath versus another psychopath. She only knew it would be a bloodbath with her in the middle. But how? How could she possibly be saved from both of them?

"I'll kill him…" Bobby swore, grabbing her by the waist and lifting her back to the trunk. "If he comes by again, I'll kill him… He was at our fucking hotel. I don't know how he found us but he won't find us in Canada. I should've killed the goddamn freak when I had the chance."

He tucked her body back into the trunk and carefully checked her bondages. Jill seemed to be a lifeless doll again, numb to everything, but something inside her bloomed at the idea of the stranger returning to her life. Bobby tucked the gun behind his back again.

"Jill… I can keep you safe from him…"

She rolled her eyes and laughed.

"You're a fucking joke, Bobby… A joke! You really think you can save me from him!? No one can! Not even the fucking police! You're just like him! But you're fucking pathetic!"

"I can! I will keep you from him. You're going to be my wife soon and he can't stop us from getting married."

"You can't kidnap people and expect them to suddenly fall in love with you! That's not how this works!"

"Then why do you love him!?"

She stopped for a moment to look at his face. He's high on something if he truly believes that she's grown some sort of fucked up attachment to the stranger in a romantic way. After everything that has happened—there was no way. Never in a million goddamn years. She doesn't even honor him with a response and she turns to her side, away from him. It was impossible to believe that such a feeling could exist in her life at the moment. Only fear ruled over everything. Nothing would be the same.

"Fine. Don't answer me… But when I see him again, I will kill him."

"Fuck you…" she retorts with venom in her words. "Fuck you both."

"Well, baby…. I can live with that."

He shuts the trunk and begins to drive down the road. Every 5 minutes he peeks in the review mirror at every car, truck, and van. He stays the speed limit but his leg twitches and sometimes he catches himself going over 30 mph the speed limit. He'd calm himself and try to settle down. Everyone around him is a suspect now. He does his absolute best to stay calm when a highway patrol car drives by. If Jill's stalker was indeed pursuing them then Bobby would have to be ready. They drive and drive until he can finally see the lights glimmering from Sin City and he pulls into the nearest hotel on the outskirts of the casinos. It's not the cheapest hotel fare he's ever seen but it'll do. He pulls Jill with him to their room and lays her on the bed with a gun pointed to her waist, so she would behave. But it was no use, she was still weak.

"The drugs should wear off soon."

"You bastard…" she groans rubbing her head.

Sin City, Las Vegas, boomed its usual chaotic roar of drunk partygoers, slot machines, endless taxis, traffic, spouting fountains, and crowds of people. They were here just like he promised. She was so far away from home. Jill sat up in bed and looked out of her window to see the glimmering lights of the city. Her legs wobbled as she moved to the bathroom clutching to the wall for support.

"Where are you going? What are you doing?"

"I need to fucking piss!" she barked back. "I've been in that trunk for hours!"

Jill wobbled to the bathroom and cupped her hands to drink from the fountain and splash water across her face. She takes a long look at herself in the mirror and she can't recognize herself anymore. Her dark brunette hair looked tangled and messy, she hadn't taken a shower in about a week. She hadn't brushed her teeth. Her eyes looked sunken in and cavernous with dark circles underneath. She didn't look like herself. She didn't feel like herself. Bruises were clouded all over her cheek and around her neck from Bobby's brute force and they were beginning to become yellow and dark purple clouds. Her body seemed to shrink as well and her skeleton was visible through her clothes. Her ribs poked from her skin. It was hard to believe that so much had happened in a year. She used the toilet and entered the bedroom to see a white simple dress laying on the bed. The white dress was simple. No lace, no sequins, and nothing elegant like a traditional wedding dress. Then a single tube of red lipstick. Bobby opened a bag and pulled out a cheap wedding veil with a bouquet of plastic red flowers with a single white ribbon attached. All from the general dollar store. Jill stumbled to the floor and pulled her knees to her chest.

"Get dressed. Now. The ceremony is in 10 minutes…"

"Fuck you…"

Bobby left the room without another word as if to give her privacy, but instead, he was getting his drug cocktail ready. Sleeping pills and other mysterious pills were mixed into a glass of whiskey for his soon-to-be bride. Jill on the other hand opened the window to her bathroom, a small window big enough for a dog, and pushed the screen off. They were on the 3rd floor and she could see her possibility of escape. But it would be dangerous and she was still nauseous from the drugs.

"Are you ready!?" Bobby yelled on the other side of the door. "We gotta go in 5 minutes, Jill! I want you in that dress!"

"I-I'm still getting ready!" she yelled back, pulling herself through the window. "Just leave me!"

"Hurry up!"

Jill slipped through the window and clung to the edge of the ceiling with her toes on the metal railing. She had at least 2 inches of support and walkway until she came to the edge of the building which was nearly 20 steps away. She idled there on the side of the building trying to not let the wind distract her. One little breeze could end everything. Or a bird landing an inch away from her could distract her. Looking out towards the city, she wondered if it was worth it. If walking out of that bathroom and marrying the boy she despised would mean she would live. Or not. She could let go of her grip right now and she would give herself a merciful death. She wouldn't belong to anyone. Dying from the fall would be a good death.

"Jill!? Jill?"

She could hear him knock on the bathroom door harder, getting more desperate, and her fingers tensed. She gripped tighter and looked down at the parking lot. Her bones would break and she'd rupture everything. It wouldn't be a quick death… it would be slow and agonizing. She'd wish she was dead. But at least she'd be free from Bobby. There was no way she'd let this happen again. The fear, the pain, and the longing for it to be over. She had experienced everything a survivor could experience. What more would there be? The wind began to pick up and harshen, almost beckoning her to let go. To be free from it all. Freedom is within her reach; just let go. Her vision blurred and suddenly she stopped. Suddenly she could feel something hum inside of her. A slow and gentle hum like a purr. It began to bloom, becoming bigger and bigger only to bring hope to her heart. She gripped the edge of the ceiling and slipped back through the window and she sulked, in agony, in the tub. Tears fell down her face as she clutched the edge of the tub and positioned herself against the curtains. She could survive a little longer, through the wrath of Bobby, and through the torturous life of being his wife. She'd risk it all. She'd sacrifice more of her sanity. She'd escape again. There would be no corner on earth she'd be safe… but at least she'd have her baby.

An eternity passed by and Jill exited that bathroom wearing her white dress, veil, and ruby red lipstick. Fate accepted.