My sincerest apologies the update took this long! I had some family issues going on that complicated life, and it was hard to get back into writing. I know this is a short chapter, but I wanted to give you guys something to tide you over while I worked on writing something longer. Thanks so much for your patience!
Pain was a funny thing. Paper cuts. Torn cuticles. Scratches. Injuries so minor, they could almost be forgotten. Until, of course, someone put hand sanitizer on. Then it burned. Reminding the person of their injury. She had seen people hiss at that reminder. Some even cursed. Olivia had always bit back a laugh when she saw it happen. Not anymore.
Somehow, she managed to draw in a shaky breath of air. It was a good thing her body knew what to do. Her mind certainly wasn't of much use. Pain rolled up from her feet and joined the agony living between her legs. Olivia didn't even know where the pain started and where the pain stopped.
She could still feel his fingers around her ankle. Holding her down while he cleaned her feet with the alcohol. Olivia had screamed. Lewis had laughed. And then he left there, as he always did. Trembling and tied down on a mattress. In the beginning, it drove her crazy. Left alone with the echoes of her screams, wondering if this would be the time Lewis left and didn't come back. But now, Olivia knew better. Lewis would be back. And the sound of her screams were better than the sound of his voice. So she would deal with the darkness. She would deal with the unknown. Because at least she was alone.
A shiver ran through Olivia. Was it from the pain? Was it from the cold? She pondered the cause for a moment before a titter passed through her lips. Did it even matter?
Every time Olivia thought she had this mess figured out, each time she thought she knew which end was up, Lewis managed to completely derail her. It was like living in a snow globe. A freaking cold snow globe.
Another shiver passed through her, and she made her decision. It was from the cold. Her eyes darted around the room. She wasn't sure why, there was nothing to see. But at least it was something to do. A wave of sadness passed over her. The hardest part of her new plan was accepting she couldn't get out of this by herself. Lewis had ensured that.
Maybe her plan would work. After all, he had left her alone. But why? For all she knew, Lewis could be outside creating some new torture from hell. Or, he could have driven to town. Maybe some part of that monster actually cared for this baby. The poor kid.
Her detective instincts knew this was a long-term plan. It would take several trips to the store before the police could successfully follow him back to the house. Which meant if Lewis really had gone to the store for fresh food, she would have to devour it.
Olivia grimaced at the thought. Hopefully the morning sickness would slow down enough to accommodate that need. She yawned as her eyes half closed. Her body ached for sleep, but she couldn't be so lazy. Olivia needed to think. She couldn't fight Lewis physically. She knew that now. But mentally - emotionally, the options were limitless.
How horrific it must be to watch your parent die. Olivia had always assumed Lewis came out of the womb evil. He may have, but there was a glimmer of humanity when he spoke about his mom. Lewis wouldn't tolerate Olivia bringing her up often, though. She would have to find some other way to reach him.
A bitter laugh rumbled in her chest. Reach Lewis? She must be losing her mind. There was no reaching him. Then again, he seemed pretty possessive of the poor thing growing inside her. If only she could stay awake long enough to figure out how to combine his mom and this baby into something that could help her get out of this hole from hell.
Another yawn stretched her jaw, and Olivia felt her stiff muscles relax. Maybe she could rest her eyes for a few minutes. After all, she needed to think, and keeping her eyes open was taking far too much effort.
She stopped fighting her body and let her eyes close. The pain slowly eased into a dull ache, and the mattress somehow became softer. Olivia curled into herself as much as her restraints allowed and let sleep claim her. Planning would come later. Rest needed to come first.
Lewis cursed as his foot tripped over the threshold. He enjoyed the thrill of having Olivia at his disposal, but these grocery runs were getting ridiculous.
He threw the bags on the counter and frowned as the bananas toppled out. He didn't even remember grabbing bananas. Lewis rubbed his head with a sigh. Maybe he should sleep on the futon tonight. Without Olivia jabbing him every few minutes to go to the bathroom, at least he would get some sleep.
Lewis looked down at the bags with disdain. If he threatened Olivia enough, he might be able to sit down and make her put away the supplies. He shook his head with a rueful smile. If anyone could make a weapon out of food, it would be Olivia. Better not chance it.
With a tired step, he circled back to the car and brought in the last of the food. Olivia and her sudden concern for the baby's health. It was ridiculous.
Lewis stepped outside and leaned against the cabin, taking a moment to observe the peaceful scene before him. Birds sang in the distance, and crickets started their song. An orange color painted the sky as the sun set behind the trees. The peaceful scene belied the horror hidden in the old house. Lewis smirked. People underestimated him. Everywhere he went, they just thought he was lucky. And there may be some of that, Lewis admitted to himself. But he was careful to plan. He knew how to enjoy the simple things. His eyes scanned across the dirt road to the treeline. Nothing but nature...and a little bit of evil. Lewis grinned at the rounded dirt mound across the dirt path. He could still see Allison's face of horror as he pulled the trigger. It was almost too easy sometimes.
His stomach growled, reminding him how long ago breakfast was. He had more important things to do than look at a sunset. Olivia's desolate face came to mind. His eyes darkened with intent as his feet moved towards the car. It was going to be a fun night.
"Those precious little babies. Aren't they just the cutest thing you've ever seen?"
Brian turned to Nick with a raised eyebrow. If this woman didn't shut up about her grandchildren, he was going to blow through the roof.
Nick smiled an acknowledgement before showing her the photo of Lewis. "Are you sure you haven't seen this man?"
The gray-haired manager glanced at the picture with a quick shake of her head. "We don't get many visitors around here. Did I show you this - "
"Thank you for your time," Nick interrupted. "Is there a place we can hang these two pictures in case they come through?"
The woman glanced around the grocery store and shrugged. "There's a bulletin board by the door."
Brian shook his head and tried to breathe through his frustration. "We need this to be in a less obvious place. This man is very dangerous. If he saw this picture hanging at the front door, he'd just turn around and leave. Is there an employee area we can put it?"
The manager shifted with an uneasy glance at the back. "We don't really put anything back there."
"Could you make an exception for a serial rapist who kidnapped a cop?" Brian asked coldly with fire in his eyes.
"What my colleague here means," Nick started with a rebuking glare at Brian. "Is this woman was kidnapped almost four and a half months ago. We need to find her, and we believe he is holding her prisoner in an abandoned home close by. The only way we can help her is if you help us. Please, is there any way we can put this in your break room? So if he does come in, all of your employees will know to call us?"
The woman's eyes softened at Nick's pleading gaze. Her eyes turned to the two pictures before her. She wasn't sure which disturbed her more. The steely look in the man's eyes, or the gentle smile on the woman's face. She couldn't possibly picture the two together. "All right," she relented. "I'll hang it in the back."
Nick's relieved smile cracked his face. "Thank you so much. Our number is on the bottom. If anyone sees anything at all, please call us."
The manager accepted the posters, concern easing into her expression. "I'm sorry to sound so callous. I hope you find your friend."
Brian set his jaw and nodded his response. "We have some other stops. Thank you for your time."
Nick waited until they were outside before letting loose. "Are you kidding me? Liv's life is on the line. We can't go around insulting the people we're asking for help!"
Brian turned to face him with a scowl. "We wasted fifteen minutes listening to her tell us about her children and grandchildren. We do that at every stop, and Liv will run out of time."
Nick huffed at the callousness. "It's different up here, man. People aren't going to help us out of the kindness of their heart. You have to talk with them, let them know they matter, or they'll never help us find her."
Brian rolled his eyes with a snort. "You be sure to explain that to Liv when she asks why it took us eight months to find her."
Nick clenched his fist as Brian got in the car. If he made it through this without punching Brian, it would be a miracle.
The sudden metal clanging in the quiet room made Olivia jerk. She caught the accompanying groan in her throat. She hated how everything hurt...all the time.
"Look at you still lying there. Didn't try to tear the knots with your teeth this time?"
Olivia swallowed hard at the malice in his tone. She had only done it one time, but that was more than enough for Lewis to hold it over her head.
"Of course," Lewis continued, "There's not much point when there's two locked doors between you and freedom, now is there?"
She stared stoically at the ceiling, ignoring Lewis and his angry jaunts. He was clearly annoyed at something. Maybe he did go to the grocery store. Oh well. She didn't give a crap. If it helped her friends find her...if it helped anyone find her...she could deal with his attitude.
Cold fingers slid up her stomach, and she couldn't stop the whine from escaping her throat. The only bad thing about ignoring Lewis was being unprepared for his touch.
"What's the matter, sweetheart?" Lewis lifted her sweatshirt higher, sliding his fingers across her breasts. "Are you mad you had to stay here while I went to town?" His lips brushed against her skin, and he chuckled at her revolted shiver. "It is so easy to get a rise out of you, Olivia."
She turned her head away, trying to stop the tears from flowing. He was right. As strong as she wanted to be - as much as she had to think like a cop, her body was another matter. It reacted to his touch before she could think. Before she could stop it.
"As entertaining as this is, there's some supplies that need to be put away. So we need to get you up."
Olivia's brow furrowed as she felt his fingers retreat and her sweatshirt fall back down. Why did she have to be up for Lewis to put away food? She gave a slight shake of her head, not understanding the annoyance rising within her. She was tired of being restrained, but hated having to walk. It made no sense. Then again, was it supposed to?
Lewis pulled Olivia to a sitting position and sat her on the edge of the bed. He tilted his head and gave a quick glance to her feet. "Do you think you can make it to the kitchen without your feet breaking open?"
Olivia lifted her tired eyes to his, confused at his question. "I don't know - " her voice broke into a shriek as he lifted her in his arms. "What are you - no, stop!"
"Hush."
Her cheeks burned red with humiliation as Lewis moved into the kitchen. She didn't need him to carry her. She wasn't a child.
Lewis huffed with the effort as he dropped her into a kitchen chair. "Stay," he ordered harshly.
With crimson cheeks, her focus turned to the bags on the counter. Against her better judgement, hope started to burn within her. "Did you get the food?"
"Something better." Lewis shuffled over to the counter and started fishing through the bags. "Ah yes, this one."
Olivia eyed him as he brought the suspiciously half-empty bag to the table beside her.
"Feel free to look through it."
Her eyes grew as Lewis dropped the bag and walked back to the counter. Why wasn't he bothering to cuff her?
With a shrug, Olivia reached for the bag. She almost felt like it was Christmas. The feeling quickly faded as she saw what was in it. Her body stiffened as she reached for the first bottle.
"Calcium pills?"
Lewis let out a laugh. "If you thought I was gonna hike up to the store every week to stock a broken refrigerator, you don't know me very well."
Olivia willed herself not to cry as she saw what else was in the bag. Iron pills. Potassium supplements. Multi-vitamins. Each bottle ranged from 100 to 250 doses.
Lewis paused from putting away the bags of chips and glanced at his frozen hostage. "What's wrong? I forgot something?" He chuckled and gathered the newly empty bags into a pile. "That's why I grabbed the multi-vitamins. Figured it would make up for anything I didn't get."
Olivia barely heard him. Her vision shrunk to just the bottles before her. She was vaguely aware of Lewis putting things away, but she couldn't think past the vitamins. How was she supposed to work with this?
Lewis finished the task at hand and smirked at the desolate look in Olivia's eyes. He knew she really didn't care about the baby. Maybe she was hoping for an escape attempt or that someone would recognize him in town. She really did not give him enough credit for the life he had built for them. It may be a life on the run, but he gave her everything she needed. Maybe not everything she wanted, but she had enough to survive. Wasn't her very existence proof of that?
Olivia saw Lewis move out of the corner of her eye and focused on him in time to see him kneel in front of her.
"There are rules."
"Rules?" Olivia repeated, her voice void of emotion.
His eyes sparkled with mischief while warning glinted in the background. "Don't think I'm a fool. I know that taking vitamins will make you stronger."
Olivia felt her eyebrows rise. Yes, being stronger would be a plus. Not that she knew how that would help her solve the current dilemma.
"Here's the deal." Lewis narrowed his eyes and waited until he had her full attention. "You pull one escape attempt...one," he emphasized slowly. "I will tie you to the bed twenty-four hours a day with a pee bucket beside you."
Her face crinkled at the thought. They didn't even consider escape attempts the same way. Sometimes, her body simply reacted before her brain could stop it. No matter, she would figure it out. She would not spend the rest of her life tied to a bed. The very thought made her want to vomit.
"Do you understand?" Lewis asked in a hard tone.
Olivia nodded her reply. She would behave. At least, she would try to.
"Good." Lewis stood and slid her a bottle of water. "Read the instructions and take your pills. My son won't be born a pathetic little wimp."
Olivia tilted her head in some form of rebellion, but she had no idea where it came from. Taking the vitamins would help her cause. And him calling the baby a wimp, she didn't care about that. She didn't even care about the thing.
She reached for the first bottle, trying to name the surge of defiance rolling through her. As she fought the plastic wrapping around the lid, she began to doubt her argument circling in her head. She surely couldn't care for a baby fathered by William Lewis. If she loved a monster's baby...wouldn't that make her a monster too?
Olivia wrestled the cotton out of the bottle and popped a vitamin in her mouth. As the water slid the pill down her throat, she pondered that thought. There was no way she loved that baby. She didn't even like it. Olivia slid the lid back on and reached for another vitamin. She avoided Lewis' penetrating gaze and pushed that burning question out of her mind. Olivia would deal with that baby when she had to. First, she had to get away from Lewis. On to Plan B.