"How long did it take you to decide whether or not you were going to "open up" to him or not?"
"I thought about it for a day or two. And since I concluded that I couldn't physically escape Riley, I would have to find another way out. So I thought that befriending him would hopefully be the way of getting out. I mean, there were alarms set on all the doors that led to outside. I couldn't possibly disarm it. I didn't know how."
"So what did you do?"
"I just started talking to him. Slowly, and we got to know each other better. So he began to trust me more."
"Did he ever ask you want you and Ms. Stephanie talked about that day?"
"No."
"All right, well please continue."
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
A month had passed since I had come up with the idea of "befriending" my captor. What was I thinking at the time. It's been officially six months now that I've been living with Mr. Riley, and I think of my family everyday. I was through asking the question "Why I was chosen?" Because I was just going to have to make the best of my situation.
"Hey Mr. Riley, what are you doing up so early?" I asked one morning when the sun happened to be extra bright. And that was what had awoken me.
"I'm always up at this time. You're just always asleep so you wouldn't know." He said this with a small laugh and grin on his face. He was standing in front of the stove making the eggs we always had.
"Right, sorry for actually being a human and sleeping until a decent hour in the morning." We both chuckled and continued with our morning duties. Was it ok for me to actually appreciate his company? I tried to convince myself that it was because of my situation, living with one guy for the past six months, you become dependent. After breakfast, I went to the living room and sat down. Sighing deeply I looked around for something to do.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I guess. I'm just bored."
"What would help take your mind off of that?"
"I don't know. When I was like this at home, I would normally play with my dog or something like that. She was just a little puppy, so she needed a lot of training. That always kept me entertained."
"A puppy?"
"Yeah, her name was Kibbles. I didn't want to name her Kibbles, I wanted to name her Eggo. But oh well."
"What kind of dog have you always wanted?"
"Oh, maybe like a….Great Pyrenees?"
"A Great Pyrenees?!? That's quite a dog. I can understand why your parents wouldn't allow you to have a dog. Those dogs are huge."
"I know! But they are so cute! My friend, Lila, had one when we were younger. That was the best dog in the whole world." I said, animately.
"So you want a Great Pyrenees? And name it Eggo."
"Yeah, that's the plan."
"I see."
"What kind of dog have you always wanted?
"I had a German Shepard when I was growing up…"
"You're a German Shepard person, hmmm, interesting."
And the conversation started to branch off to other topics to pass the time. The next day, the phone began to ring. Riley walked out of the room leaving me sitting there by myself for a moment. Suddenly I heard some commotion coming from the other room with him yelling. I walked to the door, and put my ear against it to see what he was saying.
"...No, I don't think you understand. I ordered my package yesterday, and it is to be shipped here today. I paid extra, and I expect what I paid for. Either I have my package today, or I'm going to pull my shares out of funding….yes sir that's exactly what I'm going to do.
...Well I'm glad you understand, so I will be getting my package today? Well thank you very much."
I backed away from the door slowly, then tiptoed/ran back to the living room. I jumped over the couch then huddled down in the cushions, hoping I looked the same as before he left. He walked in, and looked calm and collected, almost too composed.
"Is everything O.K.?" I tried to make my big chocolate brown eyes hold something close to innocence. I saw him relax and take a deep breath, sitting down he sighed.
"Yes, I think so now. I'm sorry for the interruption."
A few hours later, the doorbell rang, I saw him stiffen slightly, "Raven, could you please go in the bedroom." I silently got up, and closed the door softly. But I could still hear the muffled conversation through the door.
"If you could sign here please sir, thank you. And here is your package."
"Alright. Thank you." I heard footsteps, a door shut, and more footsteps coming towards the door. I backed away and sat on the bed. Riley came to the door and knocked, "Raven is it all right if I open up?"
"Yes." He walked in, "You may come out now. Seems today is just full of interruptions."
"It seems so."
The next morning, I was awoken by the feel of something wet touching my face. I grumbled and tried to swat it away. Then I felt a weight on my chest, and I finally opened my eyes. And staring right into my face was a white furry one. I smiled and sat up, startling the poor thing. I rubbed its head and laughed when it licked me again. "Eggo," I whispered.
I ran down the stairs with my new puppy at my heels. "Riley! Mr. Riley!" And I stopped in the living room. I smelled eggs. I jumped into the kitchen with a big smile on my face. I'm sure I was quite the sight, for he just stared, mouth a gaped.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," And before even I knew what I was doing. I had thrown my arms around him, what I could of him, in an awkward hug. I backed off quickly, but still with a smile on my face. I could feel Eggo around my ankles, and picked up my new puppy.
"Uh, your welcome. If I knew you would have been this happy I would have gotten him a long time ago. It's worth seeing a smile on your face." I blushed at the compliment, and became distinctly aware just how close we had been standing, and even more embarrassing I was still in my nightgown, not even my hair was fixed.
"I, uh, think I should go get dressed." I backed away slowly, very ready to run for it.
"Oh, Raven," I turned around quickly, my face still flushed with my last blush, "Please, call me Garrison. Mr. Riley still sounds very odd and formal to me." I smiled.
"O.K…Garrison." As I tested it out he smiled.
"Well, I still need to go get dressed." I picked up Eggo and went to the bedroom. While in there I thought about my situation once again.
1. My plan for trying to "befriend" my captor was working, maybe a little better than expected.
2. I'm starting to gain his trust which means, although I don't look like I'm going to be leaving anytime soon. The time keeps getting closer every day.
3. He has given me everything I've needed, so maybe I should be thankful that it was he who had kidnapped me, not some pervert.