13 THE SECOND ATTEMPT

Things between Edward and I post that unfortunate incident were heavily awkward….to put it mildly.

We were still forced to breathe in the same air, sharing the same small space as we co-existed, not interacting but simply noting the presence of the other. He was rather embarrassed to talk to me, and there was nothing I had to talk to him about.

I could never forgive him for what he had done.

And probably knowing so, he kept his distance, never once attempting to change my mind. He still brought my food for me, untied me when I wanted to use the washroom- a new liberty provided that did wonders for my self-esteem, but as soon as I was done, the ropes were back on my wrists.

I was no longer the free bird I had taken so much pride in being!

I couldn't tell whether it was an indication of Edward no longer trusting me, or whether he had simply decided that it wasn't worth the hassle; either way, I did not bother to demand an answer.

I did not wish to talk to him. Or to even see his face.

Silence was good.

Silence was peaceful.

Silence was the calm after the terrible storm that the both of us deserved.

Nothing could take back what he had almost done….and aware of so, no attempts were made to convince me otherwise.

He followed his routine, silently offering me my food, or making sure I had not planned my escape, staring at the wall for long durations, or taking his needed smoke breaks. He never bothered to come in my way, with me returning the favour in the best way I could.

It was a quieter existence than earlier, but it was certainly peaceful.

No arguments.

No screaming matches.

No pent-up anger and need for revenge.

Just silence.

We had nothing to talk about; we were not friends- something he had made rather evident- just two people forced to share the same space. And so, respecting his opinion, our life settled in monotonous awkwardness.

I still fed. I still slept. I still worried over my future. I still cried at times for the bad luck that had made my life its permanent address. I did it all, just without talking or outwardly expressing myself.

I did not call out for Edward.

Not once.

Never to beg for my freedom. Like I had embarrassingly done earlier.

I…just accepted it.

Understanding and believing that I was meant to be here.

I was meant to live out my last few days in this dark hole, and if that was what fate had deemed ideal for me, there was nothing I could do to change the course of life.

I could fight it, yes. But it wouldn't matter at the end of the day.

For no matter how much effort I put in, I would still come out the loser.

I had tried.

I had tried rather hard.

Yet, I had failed.

And I was not sure if I had it in me to try again…

What if I failed again?

The consequences had been horrible the first time around; I ran a finger over the red scars littering my arms, their marks a permanent reminder of that terrible day not so long ago and the monster I never wanted to see again till the day I breathed my last. I could not deal with that again!

I was afraid I wouldn't survive to tell the tale.

It would be the end of me, long expected but finally arrived!

Edward let out an impatient grunt, grabbing my attention, my eyes curious as I took in his slow movements. He rose from his chair, a squeak resounding through the room, as he traipsed towards the door, his boots heavy as he made no effort to conceal their sound, a cigarette dangling from his fingers.

I rolled my eyes in boredom.

What was new here?

Seeing the man without a cigarette in hand would be the unthinkable new!

I let out another sigh, shutting my eyes, letting sleep take over, having nothing better than that to do these days to pass the time.

.

.

.

I squirmed at my place, discomfort raging through my body like wildfire, the tight ropes that held me a prisoner restricting my movements, assuring that not an inch of comfort could reach me.

I let out a groan, pushing my eyes open.

It was of no use.

It didn't seem like I would be getting any sleep today!

I looked around the room in desperation, curious for a distraction, my eyes landing and stopping on something that lay fallen on the floor near Edward's empty chair, the man in question still standing outside as he smoked his possibly hundredth cigarette of the day.

I crawled closer, the curiosity in me rising, careful as to not make any sound that could gather the monster's attention.

The repercussions of that would be unthinkable!

I stretched my hand ahead, having crawled through the entire room- my knees aching, grabbing and missing in my first attempt.

I let out a brief sigh, trying again, a smile crossing my face as I stretched my fingers, wriggling them forward, finally getting the mystery object in hand after all of this struggle.

Voila!

I internally cheered, picking up the object and bringing it in front of my eyes, a gasp leaving my lips as my eyes widened in surprise and disbelief, the moment presenting itself in slow motion as everything around me momentarily froze.

Oh.

I took a few deep breaths in, clutching on tightly to my discovery….to my ticket out of here….to my freedom… to his cell phone that I had just laid my hands on….

It was his cell phone.

I had found his cell phone!

It must have accidently slipped out of his pant pocket while he rose from the chair and made his way outside. I took a hurried look at him; he hadn't realized its disappearance yet!

He looked perfectly relaxed, oblivious to the time bomb that had been set in his path.

This was my chance.

I would be a fool to let it go in vain.

I took one last look around, assuring that he was not paying any attention to me, peeking under the chair as I unlocked his phone, my fingers crossed hoping that it made no sound that would give me away!

Perfect.

I smiled to myself.

It was on silent mode, the brightness set to the lowest.

It couldn't get any better than this!

Fate was definitely on my side today!

I quickly opened messages, not brave enough to place a call and risk him hearing me talk, clicking on new message and furiously beginning to type.

I knew exactly who to message!

I hurriedly entered the familiar digits, pushing in the few short letters that would convey my message.

'Bella here. Kidnapped. Help. Don't message or call on this number.'

I entered send, stealing another look at Edward, a sigh of relief crossing my face on realizing that he was still as distracted as before, deleting the message and any evidence that it had been touched, leaving the phone back where I had found it and crawling back to my side of the room, pretending as if nothing out of the blue had occurred in these past few minutes that Edward had been gone.

I shut my eyes, clearing any expression off my face, needing Edward to believe that I had slept through his mistake, unaware of the opportunity that had presented itself in front of me.

And thankfully, he bought the lie, huffing a sigh out as he grabbed his phone from the floor on his return and dumped it again in his pant pocket, my one half-open eye a witness to his actions.

He raised a suspicious eye at me, frowning as he contemplated whether I was truly asleep or not, finally deciding that no harm had been done in his absence, shaking his head as he once again exited the room.

I let out a sigh of utter relief, hoping and praying that my message would be found, help soon coming for me.

I trusted Ali with all I had in me.

She would waste no time in getting the police to my doorstep.

As soon as she read my message, her mind would start planning the best way to rescue me, unscathed and as soon as possible.

I had no doubt in that.

I was going to be rescued!

The police would soon be coming for me.

And so, for the first time in days, the widest smile I had ever seen crossed my face, relief I had never known before coursing through my veins, reaching every pore of mine and making me feel like the happiest person to exist on the planet.

I was at a high no one could bring me down from!

Now, just, everything had to go according to the plan…

'Wake up, you bitch.' I frowned to myself, a harsh kick landing on my shin, making me wince, my eyes fluttering open from the sudden pain. Edward stood glaring at me, anger like I had never seen before visible on his face.

'What have you done?' Another kick on the shin. 'How did you get this brave?' A blow on the stomach, making me scream from the unexpected pain.

'Edward.' I winced, barely managing to push the word out. 'What…what are you talking about? You are hurting me!'

'Don't pretend like you don't know what you have done! You know it rather too well.' He growled out in annoyance, enraged beyond any sense of rationality and decency.

I had never seen him, or anyone, this angry before in life.

It…was scary.

'Edward, please stop.' I begged; my voice heavy from the tears freely flowing down my eyes. 'I don't know what you are talking about.' I lied, rubbing my aching shin.

'Oh?' He grumbled out in evident disbelief. 'You don't know about my cell phone that had accidently slipped out of my pant pocket?'

'No.' I curtly responded.

'And you don't know that you used it to call the cops on me?'

'I have no idea what you are talking about.' I stubbornly stated, refusing to look up and meet his eyes.

He nodded his head in frustration, his voice low and menacing. 'But I know exactly what you have done. You betrayed me. Again. And you will pay the price for it.'

I let out a humourless laugh at that, unable to resist, the curtains about to fall on his act.

'The cops will be here soon. You really think this is going to go according to your plan?' I questioned the delusional man, an eyebrow raised at his sheer idiocy.

He smiled, surprising me, a frown covering my face.

What did he have to smile about?

'This will still go according to my plan. Just wait and watch.' He spoke in perfect calmness, unaffected by the reality of the outside. 'You really think I hadn't prepared for such an occurrence? I had spare arrangements made the day you were kidnapped. I didn't think I would need them…but…. well.' He finished with a brief shrug.

It was now my time to worry, slight fear making its mark on my face. 'What do you mean?'

He simply shook his head, unbothered to clear my confusion, a hand reaching into his pant pocket as he pulled something out without a second's delay.

'What is that?' I demanded, shouting the words out, my feet pushing me backwards as I attempted to create sufficient distance between us, the huge syringe in his hand definitely not a pleasant sight to my eyes.

What was in that syringe?

Why did he have a syringe on him?

Why was he bringing it closer to me?

No!

Take that away from me!

He let out an evil laugh, pressing onto the plunger, his eyes dancing with sadistic joy and satisfaction as he continued to walk closer to me.

'Edward, I am warning you…'

The syringe was mercilessly pushed into my soft skin, a scream leaving my lips as my sentence trailed off in thin air, my eyes shutting the very next second as sleep pulled me under its thick, warm coat, the land of dreams my ultimate destination as I let go of every last sense of reality.

What was even there in reality to keep a tight grasp over?

It was bullshit.

Simply filled with misery, pain and hopelessness.

No.

This was better.

Dream land was beautiful. It was where people came when they wanted to be happy in life.

I also wanted to be happy!