Chapter 11

Hope shines brighter than ever before

2 weeks had passed, and still, no word from Brad. My hopes dropped farther and farther, until the point that I wouldn't talk. Zach became more demanding, forcing me to do things. But one day, he was extremely happy. It was the day that Brad was supposed to arrive home. He brought in a tray of warm green tea.

"Here, I thought you could use this," he said softly, kissing me and putting down the tray on my lap. I closed my eyes.

"I'm not very thirsty," I said dully, pushing the tray away slowly. He sighed.

"Skye, you need to stop moping around Brad. I told you. He dumped you. He doesn't want you. Now drink the tea. It'll make you feel much better," he commanded. I sighed, and reluctantly picked up the saucer, holding it delicately in my fingers. I brought it to my lips, and sipped it. Zach was wearing the widest smile on his face.

"What?" I asked when I had drunken all of the contents. He took it from my hand, and headed towards the door.

"Nothing, I'm just happy," he said. He flashed a smirk towards me, and walked downstairs. I stayed in bed, even though the door was open. The effort was hopeless. If I did run out of the room, Zach would catch me, and throw me on the bed, and rape me. I didn't want that to happen again, so I planted myself in the bed, pulling the covers up to my chin. I snuggled in a closed my eyes. A sudden effect of exhaustion washed over me, surprising me. I had been awake for a long time; I wasn't tired before. I shook my head, wanting to be awake. Stay awake, I thought. But the effort was useless, and I slowly drifted to sleep.

I slept for such a long time, when I woke up, it was sunset. I heard the doorbell ring, and Zach went to go answer it. I kept my eyes closed, not ready to open them yet. It felt like I had been drugged. Then an idea popped into my head. Maybe I had been. Zach was totally capable of that kind of thing. He probably did it so that I wouldn't see Brad if he came over, which was my greatest hope that I had depended on all week.

He marched downstairs, mumbling something under his breath. I yawned, stretched, and snuggled against the pillows. Zach threw the door open.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Hi Mr. James. Is Skye home?" My eyes snapped open. It was Brad! Oh, thank God!

"Brad!" I screamed, leaping out of bed and pounding on the door.

"No, she's not available. She can't see you again," he snapped. I pressed my ear to the door.

"She can't see me again?"

"Yes, She's involved with someone. Now go," he commanded.

"DON'T GO BRAD!" I screamed, pounding on the door. Zach slammed the front door, and charged up the stairs. I pounded on the door, until he came in. I made a mad dash, but he grabbed my waist, and prevented me.

"Please Zach, you have to let me see him, you have to," I begged, tears streaming down my cheeks. He shook his head.

"I can't let you do that," he said. He shut the door behind him and locked it, releasing me. I bolted over to the window, and pressed my palms against it. Brad was walking to his car, his head lowered. He opened the door, looked at the front door, and got in, starting the car and speeding away angrily.

"Brad!" I screamed, crumbling to the floor, pounding my fists against it. Zach seized me and lifted me off the floor, standing me up.

"Stop!" He commanded, shaking my shoulders. I stopped, and stared at the floor.

"He's in your past now, I'm in your future," he bellowed, and forced his lips on top of mine. He held my wrists, preventing me from slapping him, and moved over to the bed, pushing me down. I shook my head, I did anything to prevent myself from having him do this to me again. But he did it, with much more force and pain. It hurt much more than the other times he had raped me. It seemed that he was letting out his anger. Once he was finished, he flopped beside me, bringing me to him, and kissing my cheeks.

"Did you like that, huh?" he whispered hoarsely, pressing his lips to my cheek forcefully. I cried harder.

"I'm sorry darling, I'm sorry. But you wouldn't listen, and you had to pay the price," he said in a softer tone, brushing my hair back. I closed my eyes.

"Why are you doing this to me?" I choked, my tears coming to the end.

"Because it's for your own safety," he replied, sitting up.

"Why did you drug me?"

"Because I thought it would be better for you so that you wouldn't mope around the house all day."

"You don't care. You don't care at all. You just want to keep me isolated here, so that you can have me all to yourself," I shouted, leaping out of the bed. He sighed.

"Skye," he moaned, reaching out for me.

"That is the last time you will ever touch me again," I warned, pointing to him. He grunted, and stood up, scooping up his clothes.

"I have some errands to take care of," he grumbled, putting on his clothes. I turned around as he did so. "I'll be back. Be waiting for me," he whispered coldly, and walked out of the room, slamming and locking the door behind him. I had thrown a pillow that had been kicked onto the floor at the door, screaming as I did so. I closed my eyes, and sat down on the bed, folding my hands across my chest. I put my nightgown back on, and paced around the room, cleaning as I did so. The room had turned into a mess.

I was cleaning for about an hour, when I came towards the entertainment center. I used a bathroom towel to wipe the dust off the furniture. I wiped down the wall, and felt a dip in the wall. I stopped, looked at it curiously, and ran my fingers over it. I felt a little ledge, like some kind of compartment. I put my fingernails there, and brought them down, the panel coming down also. I gasped, and stepped back. What was this?

I stepped back up to the wall, my hand over my mouth. My heart was beating quickly, my breath caught in my throat. My fingers ran over the spot once more, making sure that it was real, and brought my face closer to it and inspected it.

Inside, just barely seen, was a tiny key, a key to something that must have been in this room. I snatched it quickly, inspecting it closely. I looked around the room, wondering what it could be used for. There were a lot of things that had locks on them, I would just have to check all of the locks to see where it went.

I started at the front door, shoving the key into the lock. It didn't work. I moved around the room, checking dressers, drawers, doors, until my last option, was the balcony door. I stared at it for a minute, thinking of what I was going to do. Nothing came to mind immediately. Mechanically, my legs moved forwards towards the door, my eyes still locked on it. Move faster, this could be your escape. Why aren't you moving faster? Move your ass!

I finally reached the door. I still stared at it, wondering if this was really real. I just stumbled upon the key. Was escape this easy? There must be some kind of catch, I thought. I slowly moved my hand towards the door, the key in hand. I put it in, and heard the tiny click of the lock.

"Yes," I hissed happily, tears coming to my eyes. I could finally escape, freedom was mine!

Behind me, I heard the door handle move. I quickly pulled the key out of the lock, making sure that it was locked, and ran back over to the entertainment center, shoving the key back in it's place and slamming the door on the compartment shut. I ran over to the bed, threw the covers over me, and lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, pretending to be miserable when I was ecstatic inside. He stepped inside, and looked around the room.

"It looks much cleaner," he noticed, walking around the room to inspect it. I sighed.

"I was bored, and it looked like a pig sty," I muttered angrily. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"Well, it looks better." He walked over to the bed and kissed me.

"Thank you," he whispered, and sat next to me. I scooted away from him, remembering the threat that I had given him. He sighed, and folded his hands behind his back.

"When do you plan on letting me out of this hell hole?" I snapped, sitting up and sitting down at the desk.

"I don't intend to. Skye, I don't want to fight any more. I just want to be happy. Can't we be happy? We are wife and husband you know."

"We are not wife and husband," I retorted.

"Legally, we are, and you are going to treat me with the respect that a wife gives a husband," he said dryly.

"Yeah, in your dreams," I muttered.

"Skye Victoria!" he shouted. I spun sharply towards him.

"Why did you use my middle name?" I choked. He smiled crazily.

"Skye. I might not be your stepfather anymore, but I still have control over you," he explained, standing up. I backed away from him. His smile grew wider.

"You're still afraid, aren't you? I can see it in your eyes," he whispered, touching my cheek gingerly. I swatted it away.

"I am not," I stammered, my voice shaky and trembly. He laughed madly.

"You are too."

"Zach, why can't you be the nice person I met a long time ago? You were so nice, and caring, and loving. . . Where did it all go?" I cried, throwing up my hands.

"Oh darling, I'm still here. I'm just irritable about earlier in the evening," he said, embracing me like he had used to. He kissed the top of my forehead. For only that brief minute of time, I felt safe. I felt welcome, I truly felt loved. I sighed, tears forming in the corners of my eyes.

"Why does it have to be like this?" I whispered, a lump in my throat.

"Let's not talk about it. Let's go to bed," he said softly, and took my hand and led me towards the bed. He pushed me down gently, and pulled the covers up to my chin, and kissed my forehead. I felt like a child again, my father putting me to bed. I smiled and closed my eyes, snuggling into the soft bed. He turned out the light, undressed, and slipped in next to me.

"Goodnight," he whispered, and kissed my neck.

"Goodnight," I choked, realizing that I was welcoming his touch. I scooted a little farther away, and was eager to go to sleep, because tomorrow, I would be free. Forever.

In the morning, I woke up bright and early, the sun waking me up. I opened my eyes, feeling totally refreshed, and stretched, extending my arms over my head. I looked around the room, savoring every last detail, so that I could tell the police everythingk about my imprisonment. I stood up, and went to use the restroom, then combing out my knotty hair. I smiled as I did so, looking back at my image. I looked a little happier, but not that much since I had last evaluated my appearance. Zach walked into the bathroom. I lost the smile, and stared at myself blankly.

"Good morning," he greeted, kissing my cheek. I sighed.

"Good morning," I muttered, putting down my brush. I looked through the hamper for the clothes that I had worn the night he had first imprisoned me. I started to put them on.

"Why are you putting on those?" Zach asked, staring to shave. I shrugged.

"I'm just tired of wearing my nightgown around," I explained, putting on my baseball T shirt and jeans.

"But I like it when you parade in the nightgown that I bought for you," he whined.

"I'm sick of seeing myself in it," I snapped. He held up his hand, the razor in his left.

"OK, I'm sorry," he said, and went back to his shaving. I bit my lip, wanting to smile because I was getting out of here, and went into the living room to watch TV. I glanced at the clock occasionally, remembering the time he usually went out to do his errands. That was late a night, when it was dark. I practically pleaded the clock to go faster, but, it was being mean to me, and every minute went by slower. I sat around, watching TV, then turing it off, and sitting by the window, looking at the weather.

"Zach, can I go outside on the balcony? It's stormy outside, and I like being outside when it's stomy," I asked him.

"Sorry darling, but I can't do that."

"But why Zach?" I whined.

"I can't take my chances. I know you better than you think darling, and I know that you would pull something," he repiled. I sighed.

"OK."

"Soon, when you stop acting up, I will start letting you roam around the house more," he told me. I nodded.

You won't be needing me to do that, darling, because I won't be here much longer. You'll see. I'll be gone very soon, and then you'll regret that you ever met me. I stared at him when I thought of this. He looked over at me and caught me staring.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," I replied quickly, and sighed. The rain started to come down in heavy sheets. I stared at it, watching it fall, thinkin that Iwould be able to walk outisde on the wet earth just later tonight.

"Zach, why do you love me?" I asked, turning to him. He stood up and walked over to me, placing his hand on my shoulder.

"For many different reasons. You've been the daughter I never had, the wife I never had. So many things. You're beautiful, intelligent, witty, what else is there to say? You have it all darling, you have it all." He closed his explination with a kiss on the cheek. I sighed, closed my eyes, and leaned against the window, hearing the rain drum against the window. I closed my eyes, and prayed that the day would go faster. Finally, it became darker. Zach walked around the room, throwing on his clothes, and going into the bathroom to make sure that he looked decent enough for whatever he was doing. He walked over to me and kissed my cheek. I was still sitting by the window.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. I have to go take care of somethings," he said, brushing my hair back.

"Zach, what do you do when you go away?" I inquired.

"I do somethings for my job," he replied.

"But I thought you quit your job."

"I work whenever I decided to work," he explained. I nodded understandingly.

"I have to go, I'll see you later," he said softly, and kissed me.

"No you won't," I whispered low enough so that he couldn't hear. But he could hear me whispering.

"What?" he asked, turing around.

"Nothing," I said quickly, and looked out the window. He shrugged, and walked out of the room, turning on the light as he did so. I waited until I made sure that he was gone, then looked around for his cellphone. Stupidly, he left it on the entertainment center. I picked it up quickly, and dialed 9-1-1.

"9-1-1, what is your emergency?" the receptionist asked.

"Hi, I've been kidnapped, and locked in his bedroom, and I was forced to be his wife," I said. I didn't really notice how stupid this sounded until I had said it.

"Are you in immediate danger?" she asked.

"I don't konw. He's gone to do some errands," I said quickly, spiting out the words quickly.

"OK, we'll send over a team of officers. They'll be right over," she said, and I hung up. I put the phone back in it's place, and went for the key in the compartment. I tip toed over to the door, and shoved the key in the lock, opening the door. But I felt Zach's hands on my shoulder's.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked. My body trembled.

"I thought you were acting strange today," he muttered. I turned around. His smile was crazed. All of the energy I had saved during the day came into action, as my clenched fist came up and punched him square in the jaw. He stumbled back, surprised.

"Why you little. . . " his voice trailed off as he charged towards me. I bolted towards the door, and ran outside on to the balcony, my shoes making me slip as I walked. I slammed the door behind me, and grabbed one of the patio chairs, and placed it under the doorknob quickly. I made sure it was secure, and started to climb down the vines that grew on the wall. I started to hear the sirens approaching the house. Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks I as climbed carefully, not wanting to slip.

"Oh God, she called the police," he bellowed frantically. He kicked the door open, and bolted out onto the balcony.

"Get back up here!" He shouted. The rain started to pour horribly, blinding me and making the vines slippery. I slipped once, but caught my footing. Zach started to climb down quickly. I was halfway down, when he reached down and picked up my hand, staring to pull me up. I held onto the wall, and bit his hand, and he suddenly released me, crying out in pain. I finished climbing quickly, my feet hitting the ground. I brushed away the hair that was matted to my face, and made a dash. Zach jumped down, and ran after me, grabbing my hand. I slipped, and he pulled me up, wrapping his arms around me and lifting me. I screamed and kicked, finally getting out of his grip. The police had arrived, running out of their cars and cocking their guns. I ran in front of them, waving my arms to signalize that I was the one in distress. The rain let up to a steady drizzle. Zach ran up to me, grabbed me from behind, and started to carry me back to the house, but the police started firing their non-lethal weapons at him, and one hit him in the arm, making him release me, dropping me to the ground. I scrambled to my feet, and ran to the police officer, a woman embracing me and stroking my wet hair. I burst out into tears as the officers ran to handcuff Zach and put him in the backseat of the patrol car, reading his rights as they shoved him in the backseat.

As I watched them drive away, I saw Zach looking at me and mothing something.

"I will always love you. I will come back for you." And with that, they drove him away, where he belonged.