A fews days had gone by, I have been spending most of my time with Mr. Man. Daryl goes out at different times looking for supplies and hunting. I realized we don't talk as much anymore. At least I have Mr. Man, though. We have gotten pretty close over these days. He's my only friend besides my brother.

On this particular day, Daryl went next door to find some equipment to better secure the fence. Mr. Man said he had a surprise for me.

"Surprise?" I asked. "What kind of surprise?"

"You'll see when we get there."

"Get where?"

"You'll see." He patted my head and smiled. "You won't need to bring anything besides your usual weapons, you know, in case we run into trouble."

I gave him an odd look. "I don't know about this. I don't thank my brother will like it."

Mr. Man hesitated. "…well, he trusts me, right? And he trusts you?"

"I guess." I said. I wouldn't exactly say my brother trusts Mr. Man. I mean…it's getting better but he still doesn't know him very well. Not that I think he shouldn't, Mr. Man would never hurt me.

"Well, then we'll be fine. I won't let anything happen to you." He smiled.

I thought for a minute. I don't want to be rude, he probably just wants to do something nice for me. "Okay." I looked towards the door. "Shouldn't we at least wait till he gets back, though, so we can tell him what we're doin'?"

Mr. Man smiled and put both hands on my face. "I think you just want me to tell you what we're doing." He laughed. "And no, we have to go now before it gets any later."

I blinked. "Oh okay."

Mr. Man and I were on our way somewhere. We walked down the street and across the highway then through the woods to the river. I had no idea what the man had planned.

"Can ya tell me what we're doin' already?"

He laughed. "All right." He pointed straight ahead. "See that over there?"

I squinted. "Looks like rocks."

"No, silly. Over there. Those are natural water slides."

"Natural water slides?" I gave him a confused look.

"Yup. We're going to have some fun today."

We walked closer and stood by the path that was the slides. "How'd ya know about this place?"

"I used to come when I was a kid. I've taken many people here. Children love it."

"That's cool but…I don't have a swim suit."

"Somehow I knew you'd say that." Mr. Man said. "That's okay because…" He dug around in his bag. "I happened to have one right here that's just your size." He handed me the small materials. I just looked at them then at him.

I let out a small laugh. "You carry around a bikini in your bag?"

He gave me a strange look, almost like he became nervous. "…you never know when you might need one."

I giggled. "I guess. Weirdo." I turned around. "Well, don't look until I'm done changin'."

"Of course." He said and turned the other direction. I had my back to him and changed as quickly as I could. It was kind of weird standing there naked out in the open, but chances are, there weren't people around.

Mr. Man was right, the bikini was just my size. I wonder how that happened? I didn't think too hard about it, though, I was excited to try out these slides. "Okay, you can look now." When I turned around, I saw that he was wearing a swim suit, too. It was just a pair of shorts.

"Ready to have wet fun?" He smiled at me.

"Yeah!" I giggled.

Mr. Man had me go first and he watched me. The slides were awesome! It was the most fun I ever had in my life! I got scraped on some rocks, though. I didn't care! It was worth it.

"Do you mind if I take a few portraits of you, Leann?" Mr. Man said with a camera in his hands. "It's just such a perfect setting."

"Oh sure." I said. I posed goofily for him a couple times making us both laugh then I played on the slides and in the water some more.

"Ain't ya comin in, Mr. Man?" I asked him.

"Yes, I just wanted to get that out of the way." He smiled. "Now, we can have some real fun."

We went down the slides together with me on his lap. "Ready?" He asked then tickled me.

I giggled. "Yeah, let's do it!" We went down together. It was so fun! And I didn't have to get scraped up this time, he did. I giggled.

We sat there laughing once we reached the bottom. Mr. Man helped me out of the water and lifted me onto the rock, he didn't put me down right away, though. I told him I was good now, so he finally set me on my feet.

"We should probably get back now." I said. "My brother's probably wonderin' where I be."

"Sounds good, Leann." He said drying himself off. I turned and slipped and hit my tooth on the big rock. It hurt pretty bad. "Are you all right, Leann?" He asked concerned. "Are you all right, sweetheart? You okay?" He held me. I didn't answer him right away.

I felt around in my mouth. "I think I chipped a tooth." I cringed.

"Really?" He asked. "Let me see." I opened my mouth for him, he looked at it. "Yeah, you did."

"Oh no." I said.

"Come on. Let's get you home." He rubbed my shoulder. "We can get you something for your mouth. I know that has to hurt."

We made our way back to the house. My tooth didn't hurt as bad anymore. My hair was still wet, getting the back of my shirt soaked. I hate that feeling. I didn't see my brother when we stepped inside the house. We were talking about our little adventure and laughing.

"Remember when we went down the slide together?" I laughed.

"Yes, that was fun."

"And remember when I got to the bottom and the water was like extra high that time and I just went like right under?"

Mr. Man laughed. "Yeah, I remember."

"And when— Suddenly, I felt my ear being pinched. "Ow!" I yelled. I turned and Daryl was there, he didn't look very happy.

"Where the hell have ya been?" He asked roughly.

I swallowed hard. "Mr. Man took me to the natural water slides."

"Yeah, did it occur to you to ask me before ya left?"

I looked down. I knew he'd be mad about that. "Well…I wanted to but Mr. Man said it would be okay."

"Don't matter what he says! It matters what I say!"

"I'm sorry." I apologized to him. He stared at me for a minute then looked at Mr. Man.

"Ya cain't just take my sister places like that! Without tellin' me."

"You're right." Mr. Man put a hand up. "I crossed a line and I apologize, Daryl." He looked down at me and smiled. "I just thought of Le and wanted her to have a good time for once."

I smiled up at my brother and nodded. He looked from me to him and back again then sighed. "All right. Natural water slides, huh? Did ya have fun?"

"Yes, I did!" I said excitedly. "But, uh…I kinda chipped a tooth." I showed him.

"How'd that happen?" He looked a little worried.

"I slipped and hit it on a rock."

He sighed and looked angry again. "Ya let my baby get hurt?" He said to Mr. Man.

"Does it make me look stupid?" I asked sadly. I was trying to stop an argument before it started.

"No, you don't look stupid, baby." Daryl put his arm around me. "In fact…it makes ya look even cuter." I smiled up at him.

"I also got kinda scraped up on the slides." I said. "Better go take care of it."

"I'll help you." Mr. Man offered.

"No, I'll help 'er." Daryl said immediately. He followed me up to my room.

I showed him the scrapes at the tops of my legs. "Damn. Ya really did get scraped up."

"It don't hurt too bad."

"Well, let's put somethin' on it at least." Daryl walked out of the room for a minute or two and came back with some kind of cream. He helped me put it on.

"Thanks, Daryl."

"Mm hmm. Of course, baby." He hugged me. "I ain't seen ya in a while."

"We seen each other." I giggled.

"Yeah, but we ain't talked. Ya okay?"

"Yeah." I smiled and nodded.

He was quiet for a minute. "Maybe we can do somethin' later."

"Okay." I said excitedly.

"I'm goin' on another run." He informed me. "I forgot somethin'."

"Oh okay. Well, be careful." I hugged him.

"I will. You, too, baby?" Hs kissed the top of my head. "And don't go nowhere!"

I giggled. "I won't. We won't."

"Good." He turned and left.

I was sitting on the couch reading a book I found. I wasn't that into it, in fact, I couldn't get into it at all. I closed it and threw it aside, sighing I laid back on the couch.

"Bored, ay?" Mr. Man asked me.

"Pretty much." I sighed. He come over to me and sat next to me.

"Hey, I'm sorry about you getting hurt today. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Well, who would?" I smiled. "It ain't a big deal. I'm fine."

"Glad to hear it." He smiled. We just sat there.

"I've got an idea." Mr. Man said. "Why don't you and I start dinner? It'll be a nice gesture for your brother. We can make spaghetti."

I smiled. "That'd be great."

"Yeah, come on." We headed into the kitchen.

"You boil the water for the noodles, I'll start making the sauce."

"Okay." I said. I filled a pot with water and put it on the stove. Now, I just had to wait for it to boil so I can put the noodles in.

"Do you mind if I film us cooking?" Mr. Man asked. "I used to be a chef."

I blinked. "I thought ya said you was a photographer?"

Mr. Man looked nervous. "…well, I was but…I also taught cooking classes."

"Oh." I shrugged. "That's cool. Sure, go ahead and film it."

"Excellent." He took a few minutes to get his camera and set it up. "I think your water is ready."

I looked. "Oh yeah." I dumped the box of noodles inside and stirred it.

Mr. Man poured the sauce into a pot and stirred it. He went to throw the spoon in the sink and got sauce on my shirt. "Oh, I'm sorry, Leann." He apologized and grabbed a towel. "Let me get that for you." He wiped the front of me off with the towel. "I don't think it's coming out. You're going to have to take it off."

"Oh no, that's okay. I'm used to wearing dirty clothes." I laughed.

"Yeah, but you don't want to get anymore on it, do you? And what about your jeans? Just take your shirt and pants off."

I blinked at him. "But then, I'd be in my underwear."

He hesitated and looked nervous. "…well, yeah, but…that's okay. It'll just be like wearing the bikini earlier."

I thought about what he said. "Yeah, I guess yer right. It won't be too bad." I lifted my shirt over my head then slid off my jeans.

"That's better isn't it?"

"I guess." I glanced at him. "But what about you? Ain't ya worried about gettin' sauce on yer clothes?"

He looked down at himself. "Yeah, I guess you're right." He took his shirt and pants off and stood there in his boxers.

"Guess we're all set now." I said. I went back to tending to the noodles. They were done so I drained the water and set them aside. "I think we can mix them now?" Mr. Man didn't say anything. "Huh?" I said again and turned my head towards him, he was just…looking at me. "Mr. Man?"

"Oh." He shook his head. "Sorry, what were you saying, honey?"

"…I just said, I thank we can put the noodles and sauce together now."

"Oh yeah." He smiled. "I'll do it." He brushed up against me when he passed me and got the noodles. He put them into the the pot with the sauce and mixed it up. Then, he tasted the sauce on the spoon. "Mm." He said. "You have to try it." He held it out to me. I went to taste it and he dropped the spoon on me. I gasped. Sauce went down all over the front of me.

"Shit." I said.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Leann. Let me get that." He grabbed the towel again.

"No, that's okay. I can do it." I reached for the towel, he pulled it away.

"No, let me. It's the least I can do. After all, it was my fault." He slowly wiped sauce off my chest and stomach. It felt weird, I couldn't hide my grimace.

"It looks like you got some on your bra and underwear. If you take them off, I'll wash them." He offered.

"Uh…no, that's okay." I backed up.

"It's the least I can do for dirtying your clothes."

"You did enough." I backed up against the counter.

"I think you better take them off." He said seriously. We stood there staring at each other for a while. "Tell ya what…you can leave the bra on just take off your underwear."

"No, I don't want to." I glared at him.

"Oh, you're just being shy. Here, let me help you." He reached for the waistband of my panties.

"No." I said firmly. "I'm not takin' 'em off."

"Come on, Le. Stop it, Leann."

"No, you stop it!" I yelled and shoved him back a little. He looked taken aback then lunged at me.

"Take them off!" He wrestled me and touched me all over in the process. "Now!"

"No! No!" I screamed. I looked to the window and saw my brother coming in the distance. "Daryl! Daryl!" I screamed. Mr. Man jumped back and looked out the window. I grabbed my clothes off the floor and tried to run, but he grabbed my wrist really hard and pulled me.

"Don't you dare say a word to your brother about this. If you do, I'll kill him then lock you in the basement to starve and rot. I just stared at him wide-eyed and breathed heavily. He finally let me go and I ran up to my room closing the door behind me. I leaned against it for a minute and screamed.

What the hell just happened? Mr. Man is a monster! He changed so quickly. He looked evil when he grabbed me. I was so scared I didn't even know what to do.

I quickly changed into new clothes and jumped into my bed. I hid under the covers and laid there shaking and shivering. If I tell Daryl, Mr. Man said he would kill him and lock me up. My brother can handle himself, but…what if something actually happened? What if Mr. Man was stronger than we thought and he did actually kill my brother? I would be stuck with him for the rest of my life.

I heard a knock at the door just then and jumped. "Le, what are ya doin' in there?" It was Daryl. I relaxed. He opened the door and I smiled but it faded when I saw Mr. Man behind him. "You okay?" He asked me. I just nodded. "Why are ya shakin'? Are ya cold?"

"Maybe she caught a cold from the river." Mr. Man said.

Daryl felt my forehead. "Ya don't feel warm. I guess I could take yer temperature, though." He turned to leave but I grabbed his arm.

"No." I said quietly. "No."

"Le, relax. I'll be right back." My brother left the room, left me alone with that monster. I stared at him still shaking. He gave me a sick smile.

"Don't worry, Leann. You'll feel better soon."

"Don't come any closer." I said. He took a few more steps but Daryl came back just in time. He put the thermometer in my mouth and sat there with me.

"I hope she'll be okay." Mr. Man said. "I could watch her for you?"

"No." I said hugging my brother's arm. "Daryl, please stay with me."

"Of course I will, baby." Daryl moved closer to me. I hugged him tightly. "Thanks, man, but I got it." He said to Mr. Man. He nodded back to him. Daryl turned back to me and I smiled. Mr. Man gave me a dirty look before leaving the room.

A little later that night, we sat at the table eating dinner. I didn't say a word the whole time just kept my nose in my food. I wasn't eating it, though. I just pushed it around on my plate. I didn't try to hide my sadness either. I couldn't. My brother and Mr. Man were talking about something, but I wasn't listening. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened earlier and the situation I was in now.

"Le, you okay?" My brother touched my shoulder. I jumped a little. "Ya ain't touched yer spaghetti. You still not feelin' good?"

"I ain't hungry." I said and started crying, I couldn't hold back anymore. I got up and hugged my brother tightly around the neck.

"Sissy? Sissy, what's 'a matter?" Daryl asked with clear concern in his voice. I didn't answer him.

"Maybe she doesn't feel good." Mr. Man suggested. "Would you like me to take her upstairs?" I gasped and tighten my hold on my brother.

"No, it's okay. I got it." Daryl said. "Come on, baby. Let's go upstairs." My brother put his arm around me and guided me up to my room.

"What's goin' on?" Daryl asked me once we were in my room.

I sniffled. "Nothin'."

"Don't gimme that. Ya ain't talkin', ya ain't eatin'. Somethin's wrong and I wanna know what?"

I was silent and kept my head down. I wanted to tell him so bad, but the words just wouldn't come out of my mouth. I was scared to death here and couldn't do a damn thing about it.

"Well, if ya ain't gonna talk, then I want ya to get some sleep. It's the best thang fer ya when ya don't feel good." He pushed my hair back.

He made sure I was comfortable before leaving. "If ya need somethin' just holler. I'll come runnin', okay?"

"Okay." I smiled.

"Get some sleep, sweet thang." Daryl said then walked out the door, he left it open. I was thankful because he would hear me better if I needed to call him.

As I laid there, I realized that I was pretty tired. I had a headache, probably from stress, and got comfortable. It surprisingly didn't take me long to fall asleep given the circumstance. I guess I felt safe because I knew my brother was there.

I was awakened at some point during the night by the feeling of someone sitting down on the bed. I turned my head to see Mr. Man sitting there smiling at me. I gasped. He held a finger to his lips and said, "shh."

I stared at him wide-eyed and was shaking. He reached over and pushed my hair back. "You don't have to be afraid of me. You know that." His hand started traveling down my body. I felt sick. He pulled the covers down and his hand began making it's way south.

I immediately snapped out of it and pushed his arm away then spit in his face. He wiped the spit off then angrily looked at me. Then, he struck me hard in the face. He did it a few more times than ran out of the room.

I sat there breathing heavily as I rubbed where I was hit. That could have been worse, but I was still scared. I was okay, though. I don't think he will come back after that, but…I wasn't sure.

Part of me wanted to go over to Daryl's room and just sleep in there with him. I couldn't, though. He would know something was wrong for real. I could only stay right there in my room…alone.

There was actually something I could do, though. I took the chair from the desk and blocked the door with it. It was under the doorknob so he couldn't get back in here. I tested it, it worked.

I breathed a sigh of relief and got back in bed. I guess I have become an expert at this. I covered myself completely with my blankets and soon drifted off to sleep.