Chapter Six

Chloe and I sit down at the kitchen table and we start to eat. No one says a word. After we eat lunch, Chloe goes back to the living room while David and I clean up. Once the kitchen is all clean, I try to retreat back to Chloe, but David grabs my hand and turns me around to face him. He strokes the side of my face while I stare at the ground.

"Now Love," David says sternly.

"You should look at people in the eyes, not stare at their shoes." He pushes my chin up so I'm forced to look at his eyes. Admittedly, David's eyes are really pretty. They're a bright green with a hint of hazel, and they sparkle brighter than the brightest diamond.

After a few seconds, I pull my chin out of David's grasp and spit on his shoes. At first, David looks furious, but he calms himself down and smiles.

"You haven't changed one bit." I scowl and leave the kitchen, sitting next to Chloe on the couch.

"So…" I say awkwardly.

"How's your Doctor Who fanfic going?" Chloe and I chat aimlessly about stuff we've already discussed. It's not like we can talk about anything important, with a crazy kidnapper in the other room who's probably listening to our conversation.

After a while, conversation fades off and we just sit there twiddling our thumbs. I see something out of the corner of my eye and look over to the wall. I glance out the dusty window and notice something moving outside. I can't tell what it is, as the curtains are in the way, so I walk over to the window and move the curtains slightly. I look outside and see some trees and flowers and bushes. Nothing unusual.

Just as I'm about to walk back to the sofa, I see something moving again. I lean closer to the window and make out an outline of an animal behind a tree. No, not an animal. A human. It's a guy with blonde hair. He has a green hat and shirt-like thing on with white stockings. He looks a lot like the character Link from Legend of Zelda. Except his eyes. I can't even see his eyes. It just looks like dark pits. But that's ridiculous. It's probably just because he's so far away.

But why is he here? No one in this area really role-plays except my friends and I. And besides, who would role-play this deep in the forest? Maybe he got lost or something. Which I doubt, since he doesn't look worried or afraid.

The guy, who shall now be called Link, looks like he was searching for something. He turns around and spots me looking at him. He smirks, winks, and goes behind the tree. I don't see him appear on the other side of the tree, which is weird, since it's not a very big tree. I blink a few times, confused at what I just witnessed.

"What are you doing?" David asks behind me, making me jump. I quickly move away from the window and turn around. Unfortunately, when I turn around, I trip on David's shoes and fall, sending us both to the ground. I land on David and he winces slightly.

"Sorry," I mutter, blushing. I quickly standing up and brush my pants off.

"I'm such a klutz."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." David responds, also standing up. He gives me a small smile that I hesitantly return.

"But seriously, what were you doing?" My smile drops.

"Oh, I, uh, I was looking at some birds," I say lamely.

"Well you shouldn't be sticking your head out like that, someone could see you." David says. I sigh, relieved he bought it. I sit back on the couch and David sits in the love seat. I turn to Chloe, hoping she'll say something to break the awkward silence.

"So…Um….Uh, David?" Chloe asks awkwardly.

"Where's the bathroom?" Thanks for making this even more awkward, Chloe. I knew I could count on you.

"Upstairs, third door on your left." David responds, nodding towards the stairs. Chloe thanks David and quickly goes upstairs, leaving David and I alone.

I turn around completely, not wanting to look at David after my stupid fall. It doesn't help very much, seeing as I can feel his eyes burning into the back of my skull. I check my watch and see its 6 PM. I finally get impatient and clear my throat.

"When are we going to leave?" I ask, trying to be nonchalant and failing miserably.

"Somewhere around nine or ten." David responds.

"I should start making dinner." I nod and hear David standing up and walking to the kitchen. I turn around and see Chloe coming downstairs. She looks at me with her signature 'I found something out' look. I've seen that look a lot before. Like when Chloe found out why the school funds for the dance kept disappearing( lunch lady stole it so she wouldn't have to cook), or when she figured out her crush liked her back( which we all celebrated very much). But I think I see it the most in math class. I wish I got that look in math class. Sigh.

Chloe sits down next to me and smiles. I smile too and wink. We just sit there occupied with our own thoughts until David call us for dinner. Chloe and I walk to the kitchen and sit down at the table. David gives us both a bowl filled with a chunky soupy substance.

"What is this?" Chloe asks.

"Lamb stew. Eat up!" David answers a little too cheerfully. As we're eating, I decide to strike up some conversation.

"Where did you get the lamb?" I ask.

"Oh, before I got you guys, I found an old abandoned barn. A lamb was still hanging around it, so I assumed whoever the barn used to belong to, died and no one took the animals. I hope you like it!" Wow. The only abandoned barn around here is in Bartville, the town next to Harrensburg. Harrensburg is where Chloe and I live. Or, I guess lived is a more correct term now.

We eat in silence for the rest of dinner. After we're all done, David throws all of the bowls and cups away, so no one would suspect we were there. He looks a his watch and smiles.

"It's 9:15, which means it's time to go."

He leads us out of the house and we follow him. I know I can't leave because of my promise to David, and Chloe knows better than to just try to run away without a plan. As we're walking, my mind wanders. Earlier, David said that was one of many hideouts he had in the area. Questions stormed my head about that. How many did he have around here? How did he get them? How long has he been out of prison? Has he been stalking me again? Is that why he had so many in this area?

David leads us out of the forest and unto a small dirt road. On the side of the road is a black car.

"Juliette?" Chloe asks, whispering.

"What's he going to do?"

"The answer to that, darling," David says, turning around, "will be answered shortly." Chloe jumps, surprised David could hear her. David turns back around and takes something out of the trunk of the car.

"Chloe, come here for a second, would you?" He asks. Chloe, having no other choice, walks up to David reluctantly. As she's walking up to David, I notice he has a damp cloth in his hand. David faces Chloe and whispers something to her. I try to figure out what he's saying, but I can't. It obviously wasn't very good, because Chloe's face is drained from all color. But she nods, and David smiles slightly. And then he puts the cloth over Chloe's mouth and she breathes in sharply. Within a few seconds, she's out like a light. David grabs her body before it can hit the ground, and he puts her in the backseat of the car. He beckons me to come forward, and I walk up to him.

"I'm assuming you've never been chloroformed, yes?" David asks me. I nod.

"It's simple, really. Just breathe in this stuff and you're knocked unconscious. Just like sleeping." I nod again, kind of annoyed David didn't think I knew how chloroform works.

"Again, sorry about this. I just can't let you know where I'm taking you, for security measures." David puts the cloth up to my mouth and I breathe in. And then I let the darkness consume me.

I dream about my family. More specifically, my mother. My mom and I used to be really close, but that all changed in the eighth grade. It was the grade after David took Laura, and the beginning of my depression. At the time, I listened to pop music like every other teenage girl, but I started to hate it. Pop was all about dating and relationships and sex, and I wanted something with more meaning. So I started to listen to rock. At first, my mom was okay with it. But then she found out I was listening to bands like Black Veil Brides and Of Mice & Men, and she got really mad at me. She said I was going down the wrong path in life, and that I should start listening to Classical music like my brothers. I refused, simply because 1. Classical music has always bored me, and 2. Rock was helping me get through life. We got into a huge fight about it, and she still nags me about it today. Then she started criticizing my clothes and interests, and said that I'm ruining my life.

I found the whole ordeal really sad. I mean, rock music has saved me so many times. My mom doesn't how many times I've been alone in my room crying, wanting to jump out the window or hang myself on the fan. But then music makes me feel better. It gets me through my life. Without it, I would've been dead five years ago. And my mom can't even figure out her own daughter hates herself. It's kind of obvious if you live with me, too. The blood stains on my bed sheets. The scars on my arms and legs. The fact that I barely come down for meals, and when I do, I only eat a few pieces of whatever we're having. And she still can't figure it out.

And if she ever found out, she wouldn't understand. She's never been depressed once in her life. Not a thought even close to suicidal. My mom will never understand what my life has been like the last five years. And she will probably never even know I'm depressed, now that David took me.

I wake up, relieved I don't have to relive the past any longer. Now I just have to deal with the future. I notice the car has stopped, and look at Chloe.

"Hi." I say groggily.

"When did you wake up?" Chloe shrugs.

"A few minutes ago. We were already stopped when I woke up too." I peer into the front seat, which is kind of difficult, seeing as it is pitch black outside and I already have crap vision to begin with.

"He's getting something out of the trunk." Chloe interjects. That's when I notice the sound of someone digging through stuff behind us.

"Oh." Is all I say. After a few minutes, the door opens and David ushers us out of the car. Once we step out of the car, David closes the door and turns to us. Or, at least I think he does. I can't see very well in this light. Suddenly, I feel something rough against my wrists and I jump.

"Relax, love." David says.

"I just have to tie up your hands so we can stick together." Yes, because it's so easy to relax after you've just been kidnapped by a crazy stalker. And it's totally believable when your kidnapper says he tying you up so you don't get lost.

He ties up my wrists and then Chloe's wrist. He ties us up with the same rope, and takes the remaining rope and ties it around his own wrist. So it's basically a people leash. Great.

David uses his flash light to start walking into the trees, and Chloe and I follow behind him. I notice that we eventually start moving upwards, and it gets harder to walk around blindly without falling. The ropes start to hurt my wrists. David tied them fairly tightly, and them rubbing up against my scars aren't helping either. Eventually, the land flattens out and we walk into a meadow. I see that it is now light enough to see my surroundings, and a sigh in relief. Walking around blindly wasn't very fun.

I notice a mountain like structure on the other side of the meadow, and then realize David is walking towards it. I also realize David untied the rope around his wrist, and now he's just carrying it. Apparently he wasn't feeling too hot with them on either.

As David's pulling us along, I stop. I don't want to go into there. I can't. I know that once I step in there, I won't be getting out for a very long time.

After a few seconds, David notices I stopped and pulls on my end of the rope. I still resist, puling the other way. David pulls even harder, and I jerk towards him. Once I'm close enough, he grabs my wrists and squeezes hard.

"Wouldn't want to resist, now would we love?" David asks threateningly. His grip tightens on my wrists and I cry out in pain, shaking my head quickly. David smirks.

"Good." He lets go of me and I rub my now throbbing wrists. I step away from David as he continues onward, as if nothing had happened. Chloe walks towards me and moves the ropes slightly, inspecting my wrists.

Are you okay?" She asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." After a few more minutes of walking in silence, we reach the base of the mountain. David goes to a bush growing at the base of the mountain and moves it to reveal a small hole. Small enough to go unnoticed, but big enough for a human to crawl through it. David motions for us to come next to him, and we reluctantly obey. David looks at me and smirks.

"Ladies first."

I always saying 'ladies first' was just a way for guys to look at girl's butts. In this case, I don't doubt that's what David was doing. Creep.

I crawl into the hole and see that it opens up enough inside to stand up. I stumble through the darkness blindly as Chloe follows close behind.

"Just keep going straight." David says, once we're all in the tunnel. He puts the bush back into place over the hole, covering any light we had left. Let me tell you, going straight isn't very easy when you can't see anything. And it wasn't very helpful that David was holding up his flashlight, but refused to give it to me, which was stupid since I was in front. We walk straight for a while, me occasionally tripping over something or almost falling on my face.

All of a sudden, I step forward and there's only air under my feet. I fall forward, taking Chloe with me, as we are still tied together. We fall unto one cold hard surface, and I try to get up. But then Chloe lands on me and we go tumbling down what I think is a flight of stairs. After getting tumbled around like a bunch of rag dolls in a laundry machine for about thirty seconds, we finally hit the ground. Fortunately, Chloe's fall is cushioned. Unfortunately, her fall is cushioned by me.

We both groan as a light suddenly temporarily blind us. I look up and see David shining his flashlight down on us.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." David says, walking down the stairs nonchalantly.

"There is a flight of stairs here."

"Thanks for that information," I groan, "But next time, could you tell us before we fall down them?" David chuckles as he helps us up.

"Sorry about that." He says, obviously not sorry. I finally look around and see we're in a large cavern of some sort. A single door leads to what I assume is another tunnel.

"The next tunnel also doesn't have light bulbs, so I guess I'll have to give you a candle or something so this won't happen again." David goes over to a box in the corner and goes through it as Chloe and I compose ourselves. Great. Now I have throbbing wrists, an aching back, and a headache. David walks back over to us and hands each of us a candle. As he lights a match to light up the candles, I see the Link guy right behind David. And then he's gone. I couldn't have seen that guy though. That's impossible. I'm just imagining things, or so I thought. I mentally shrug as David lights my candle, and then Chloe's.

"Moving on," David says. I sigh and open the door leading to the next tunnel. We reach another flight of stairs, but this one's much smaller than the last. We walk down it and then I see the door about twenty feet away. We walk up to it and I try to open it up. It's locked.

David goes past Chloe and I to reach the door. He spends a bit too much time right beside me, our bodies touching slightly due to the cramped tunnel size. David takes out a key and turns it in the lock. The door opens and David steps into the room, Chloe and I right behind him.

Ever since David took us, I've been wondering what David's house looks like. Is it old, rotting, and creepy like the abandoned house? Or is it quainter than that? I thought it would be kind of cold and dark and evil looking. And man, was I wrong.

"Welcome to your new home."

David turns on the lights, momentarily blinding Chloe and I. After our eyes adjust, we gasp. We're in a huge open space with a large chandelier in the middle of the ceiling. To the front left is a door, which leads to who knows where. To the front right is what looks like the dining, and possibly a kitchen beyond it. To the back left and right are two hallways that go in opposite directions, and seem to go on forever. A spiral staircase lies near the back wall between the two hallways. The entire place is extremely elegant and well kept, and I can't help but be amazed at the size.

As Chloe and I gawk at, well, everything, David closes the front door and locks it. He walks over to the door on the left and opens it, revealing a small closet. He takes off his coat and puts it in the closet. Finally, David turns to us and smiles.

"Well? What do you think?" David asks.

"It's….. Beautiful." I say amazed.

"I'll give you a tour of the place and then we can eat dinner. Does that sound good?" I nod.

"Well then come along." Chloe and I follow David as he shows us the house. The two hallways on the ground floor go around and connect, so it makes a circle. In between the two hallways is a courtyard, which includes a garden, a pool, and a skylight. There are a bunch of different rooms in the other side of the hallway, including a movie room, a game room, a weight lifting room, and a library that David said he'd show us later. Upstairs is where all of the bedrooms are. There are 8 bedrooms in total, the biggest one being David's room. All of the other bedrooms are completely vacant, or at least as far as I can tell. In the middle of the hallway is a glass tube that looks down into the courtyard, and of course leads up to the skylight. At the very end of the hall, there is a single door on the back wall that is locked. David said that we will never see the contents of the room, unless we disobey.

Throughout the entire tour, my head is spinning with questions. Who built this place? How did David get it? How does he maintain it? And how come no one has noticed it yet?

As we head back down the spiral staircase, I try to found out more about how David got this house, er, I mean mansion.

"So….." I say awkwardly.

"How did you get the money to buy this place?"

"I inherited it from my great grandfather." David says proudly.

"He was a smuggler of ancient artifacts. He made quite a lot of money selling the artifacts, so he built this place so it would be easier to hide them before he sold them. He was never caught." David pauses and smiles, as if reliving old memories.

"When he died ten years ago, I inherited it, and I renovated it along with some of my friends." I nod.

"Interesting. I guess breaking the law runs in the family." I say, stopping David right in his tracks.

"What did you just say?" David asks, his voice icy and sharp.

"W-well," I say stuttering, "your great grandfather was a smuggler, and you kidnap-" David cuts me off by slamming me into the stairwell.

"I am not a criminal, okay?" David yells at me, anger practically steaming off of him.

"I did this for us. This isn't a crime, it's an act of love. Why can't you see that? I love you!" I don't respond. My silence makes David even madder. He picks me up and throws me off of the staircase, holding me by my bare foot.

"ANSWER ME WHEN I TALK TO YOU!" David screams.

"I'm sorry!" I cry out, tears forming in my eyes.

"I'm really really sorry! I didn't mean it! Please forgive me." Under any other circumstances, I would just let David fling me off of the stairs and end my life. But Chloe's here too. I know that once I'm gone, David will have no use for her. He will kill her if I die. And I can't willingly take my life knowing I'm also killing my best friend.

David lifts me up and sets me on the stairwell. He leans in to me and whispers in my ear.

"I love you, Juliette. And eventually, you will learn to love me too."

David lets go of me and continues down the stairs. I get off the stairwell and turn to a horrified looking Chloe.

"Let's go, wouldn't want to make him mad again." I say to Chloe. I smile and start walking down the stairs. After a moment, Chloe gets over her shock and joins me. We walk down the last pair of steps and meet David at a door I don't remember seeing earlier.

"This is the cellar." David says stiffly.

"You will sleep in here with the others for the next few days while I prepare your rooms." Which means he's still mad at me for that scene on the stairwell. After a few seconds, my brain processes what David said, and my stomach drops. I glance at Chloe, who looks as terrified as I feel.

"There are… Others?" Chloe squeaks.

"Yes. You'll meet them at dinner which is…." David looks at his watch, "Oh! Right now. Come along." David leads us to the dining room and sits down at the head of the table. David nods to Chloe and I to sit down, and we do so reluctantly. We sit on either side of David, so Chloe and I face each other. I let my body sink into the velvet chair slightly, relaxing a little.

A few seconds after we sit down, a girl my age comes through the kitchen door with three plates of spaghetti. She has curly, auburn hair and hazel eyes. She is wearing a stereotypical maid's outfit with white lacy leggings and her air up in a bun. She sets the plates of spaghetti in front of us, gives me a pained expression, and walks back into the kitchen. A few seconds later, a guy about the same age as the girl walks out. He has bright blue eyes and curly blonde hair. He is wearing a stereotypical butler's uniform, just like the girl's was. He fills up our glasses with a clear bubbly liquid, which I assume is champagne. He goes back into the kitchen, and a few moments later, both the girl and the boy come out with a plate and glass.

"Juliette, Chloe, this is Ethan," David says gesturing to the guy, "and Marsa." The girl seems to flinch when David says her name, but he doesn't seem to notice. Ethan and Marsa nod politely in our direction, making sure not to maintain eye contact for more than a few seconds.

"You may be seated." David tells them, and they both sit down and begin to eat.

"Marsa and Ethan are my servants." David explains.

"They cook, clean, and do the laundry. Marsa is a pretty little thing, isn't she? She would make a good profit in the slave trade." Marsa yet again winces at his words.

"But she is rather useful, unlike Ethan. Sometimes I wonder why I still keep him around. Oh well." David shrugs and resumes eating. Nobody talks for the rest of dinner. Well, except for David, who tells Chloe and I all of the stuff we can do here, which includes being scared out of our minds, trying to escape, and being watched every second of every day! Doesn't that sound fun?

Once everyone is finished, Marsa and Ethan take our plates and glasses and David leads us out of the dining room.

"You two must be tired after this long day. I'll put you downstairs now, if you like." David says, and I nod. As if we had a choice. And besides, Chloe and I will finally be able to talk in private.

David leads us to the cellar door, which is at the beginning of the left hallway.

"Once your rooms are ready, we'll move you upstairs. But until then, welcome to the cellar." He opens the door and pushes Chloe inside swiftly. As I'm about to go in after her, David wraps his arm around my waist tightly.

"You know, you could always sleep in my room until your room is ready." David says in my ear.

"I think I'd better stay with Chloe tonight." I say politely.

"Fine." He grumbles.

"But don't forget our agreement, Love."

"I won't."

"Good." David shoves me into the cellar, slams the door shut, and locks it.

"Well that was interesting." Chloe says. We look around. The cellar doesn't hold much, just a few boxes of food and, for some reason, bales of hay. The only light source is a single light bulb in the center of the room that looks like it's going to go out any second.

"What did David whisper in your ear?" I was about to tell her, but then I remembered she didn't know about David and I's agreement. The agreement in which I sold our freedom in order to say goodbye to Alisa. I wasn't even thinking of Chloe at the time, I just wanted to see Alisa one last time.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

"Nothing" I lie.

"He just told me to stop running my mouth." It wasn't a total lie, I guess.

"So, what did you find out at the other house?" Chloe looks around for cameras, sees none, and clears her throat.

"When I was upstairs, I went into one of other rooms and found an office. I did a little snooping, and I found a bunch of journals. I didn't read them all, but I skimmed through them, and David is obsessed with you." I roll my eyes.

"I think we already established that." I say.

"No, I mean, like extremely obsessed." Chloe says.

"He had journals filled up with stuff about you. He had drawings, poems, even some of your school pictures. I found his diary, and it started talking about you in 2006, when we were only 10. And you met him when we were 12. David has been crazy for you longer than we ever imagined."

"Wh-What?!" I say in shock. I sit down on a pile of hay and put my head in my hands. David's been stalking me for seven years. How did I not notice?

"I can't believe it. I never even noticed. That would-" I was cut off by the sound of the door opening and Marsa and Ethan being pushed inside. The door closes, and we are once again shrouded by darkness.

"Ugh, why did we have to get taken by David, of all people?!" Marsa says, clearly mad.

"We finally think we can escape, and then he brings them here! Now how are we going to escape?"

"Calm down, Marsa." Ethan says reassuringly.

"We'll work it out. We'll escape one day, and we'll never see David again. Unless it's in court, but still. You just have to be patient." They hug and I realize they didn't notice Chloe and I were in there. I clear my throat, and Marsa and Ethan jump apart.

"Um….. hi." I say awkwardly. Marsa and Ethan look towards where my voice is coming from and see Chloe and I.

"Hello Juliette, Chloe." Ethan says politely.

"As you already know, I'm Ethan and this is Marsa. If I may ask, what are you doing down here?" I hold down my laughter at how ridiculous that sounded and respond.

"Ethan, you don't have to talk like that in front of us, we're prisoners here too." Ethan and Marsa relax immediately.

"Sorry." Marsa says sheepishly.

"We haven't talked to anyone besides David for so long, and-"

"Don't worry about it." I interject.

"Why are you two here? And for how long?" Chloe asks them. Ethan and Marsa looks at each other, and Marsa begins to explain.

"Ethan and I are twins. People usually don't notice because we look nothing alike. We are 16. When we were 10, David came to our house. He killed our parents and took us and our 14 year old sister, Stephanie. He beat her and broke her, and she became her maid. But he couldn't break us. I guess we were always free spirits." Marsa smiles faintly at the memory and sheds a tear before continuing.

"One day, David had enough. He gathered us all outside and tied Ethan and I to a stake in the middle of the meadow. He gave Stephanie a gun and told her to shoot one of us and the other would be let go. He said it was a test of her loyalty. She refused, and tried to shoot David instead. She shot him in the leg and ran to us to try to free us, but David was right behind her. He slit her throat right in front of us, and made us dump her body in a nearby river. After that day, we never disobeyed David again.

"When we were 11, David left for a few weeks. When he came back, he brought a girl name Laura with him. He told us to take care of her, and then left for a few months. He left his friend, Jason, in charge during that time." Marsa shivers, and I sense that Jason wasn't a very nice person.

"Laura wanted to escape, to run. She claimed she had to find her friend, 'Juliette'. Of course, Ethan and I knew that if we tried to escape, David would kill us.

"When David came back from wherever he was, he was even worse. He tortured Laura everyday, claiming that she took the love of his life away from him. Everyday, Laura got weaker and weaker, and David got angrier and angrier. One day, David exploded. He shot Laura in the leg, and kicked her out to the wolves. We never saw Laura again. By now, we were 12.

"After that, everything returned to normal. Until a few days ago, when David left to get you, I'm assuming. You're Laura's friend, aren't you? You're David's obsession." I shiver at the word 'obsession.'

I nod numbly. So now I know what happened to Laura. David capture her, tortured her, and after a year threw her to the dogs. I sit there, feeling no emotion. I know I should feel something, anything. Anger that Laura got tortured. Sadness that she probably died. Happiness that at least I know what happened to her. But I don't. I don't feel a thing. That's the thing about depression. People assume depression is just when people are sad all of the time. But most of the time, you don't feel anything. And when you do feel an emotion, it's usually anger or sadness or pain. Rarely ever happiness. Just….. Nothing.

"So what's your story?" Ethan asks.

"Surely your life hasn't been hasn't been rainbows and sunshine either." I look at Chloe.

"Can you explain?" I ask hoarsely. Chloe nods.

Chloe tells them our story, from Laura's kidnapping in London to when David takes us.

"Wow." Ethan mutters once she's finished.

"That's rough."

"Together." I whisper.

"What?" Marsa asks.

"We need to stick together. We need to pick each other up, help each other when we're down. The only way we can get out of here is together. If we don't work together, we will all die in this hell hole. We go together or we don't go down at all."

"She's right." Chloe says.

"We need to stay together. Agreed?"

"Agreed.'

"Agreed."

"Agreed."

"Good, now we need to get some sleep." Ethan says.

"Don't want to make a bad first impression." I laugh.

"It's a bit too late for that now." I say.

As I slowly drift off to sleep, I feel like it won't be so bad here.

Man, was I wrong.