“Why me then? It doesn’t make sense. I’m not an adult like you.” If he was even kidnapping adults, maybe it didn’t matter as long as he got his family. I shook my head, blood boiling in anger. “My family will look for me. They’ll find us.”
“Maybe,” Poppy said and gave me another weak smile. Whatever, she didn’t have to believe me. I knew they wouldn’t just give up. I was not spending years down here like they had.
A creaking at the cellar door made my heart jump into my throat and my stomach turn. He was coming back. I listened hard but couldn’t hear anything until the slight squeak of the door handle. Why didn’t I hear him outside? The air left my lungs. I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. Soundproof. We couldn’t hear anything out there, and more important to him, no one could hear us in here.
Rose stood and walked to the bottom of the stairs to meet him. How could she stand to be anywhere near him? The sight of his adult-preppy appearance and smug face made me want to throw up.
“I’m ordering pizza for dinner,” he announced. “I think we all deserve a treat tonight, and we need to properly welcome Lily to the family.” My stomach turned again. He is actually insane and needs locking up. He turned to me and smiled. “Lily, we usually get two cheese, a pepperoni, and a barbecue chicken. Is that okay with you? I can order something else if you’d like?”
I stared at him in shock. Was he seriously discussing dinner right after he kidnapped me and pulled a knife on someone else? He was sick, evil, and twisted. I didn’t want to talk to him, ever. Poppy nudged me discreetly, prompting me to answer him. Taking a shaky breath, I gave in and replied, “T-that’s fine.”
He smiled, flashing his too-perfect white teeth. Everything about him looked flawless—his skin, his hair, his perfectly ironed clothes, his damn teeth. The phrase “wolf in sheep’s clothing” was made for him. “That’s perfect then. I knew you would fit in well. I’ll go and order now. It won’t be long.”
Without another word, he slowly walked back up the stairs.
The cellar door had been unlocked the whole time he was down here.
I watched him close the door and heard him lock it, angry with myself, as I’d missed the chance to escape. “W-what?” I mumbled. My eyes stung where I had been too stunned to blink. This was all a dream. It had to be. Things like this didn’t happen to me. They didn’t even happen to anyone I knew.
Poppy smiled. “It’s going to be okay.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The only way this could ever be okay would be if I got out before he laid a finger on me.
***
I woke up to someone lightly shaking my arm in an annoying way that I was so used to. I smiled and looked over, expecting Lewis to be grinning back at me. My heart sunk when I saw Rose’s long, dark brown hair and blue eyes. Oh God, how could I have fallen asleep?
Gasping in shock and at the realization that all this wasn’t just a horrible dream, I shoved myself back against the sofa, away from her.
“I’m sorry I scared you, Lily. Clover’s here with the pizza,” she whispered. “Come, sit with us.” I stopped breathing, my lungs felt like they had an elephant sitting on them. Could I sit with him and eat? Did I even have a choice? Rose put her hand on my shoulder and nudged me forward. “Here, you sit next to Poppy.” Did he even dictate where we sat?
I tensed as I sat down at the table. He was opposite me and sat there as if nothing was wrong at all. To him this was normal. He never mentioned kidnapping me. It was like to him, I had always been here. Like we really all were family. He really believed we were a family. How bloody delusional was he?
The table was covered in a bright white cotton tablecloth and a fresh vase of pink lilies. The pizza had been removed from the boxes and piled on two large serving dishes on either side of the flowers that I assumed were all for me and my new name.
“Please, help yourself,” he said, gesturing to the food with his hand. I’d rather die. He made it sound as if I had a choice, but the steely look in his cold eyes—and the flash of the knife he pulled from his pocket still fresh on my mind—told me I didn’t. He wanted us to eat as a family, and I knew what he was capable of if I refused.
I reached out and took the slice that was closest to me, quickly retracting my hand so I was as far away from him as possible. He gave me a warm smile, his eyes glowing now. I dropped my eyes to my plastic plate and nibbled at the edge of the pizza.
While Rose, Violet, and Poppy discussed what we would be cooking for dinner the rest of the week, I forced down a few bites in silence. The food felt alien in my stomach. I didn’t mind cheese pizza, but this tasted plastic, and I gagged every time I swallowed the mushed-up food.
Rose held her hand up, gaining my attention even though she wasn’t looking at me. “Oh, Clover, before I forget, we’re getting low on books again.”
He nodded his head once. “I’ll get you some more.”
“Thank you.” She smiled and sipped her water. I wanted to scream at her. How could she not see how messed up this was? She was so at ease with him, her body turned toward him slightly while Poppy and Violet faced straight ahead, and I was just a statue trying not to be noticed.
“Thank you for your company tonight, girls. I’ll see you in the morning,” he said and rose from his seat. “Have a good evening.”
My body felt like it had been outside in the snow all day. I was stiff and slow to move. He leaned over and placed a kiss on Rose’s cheek and then Poppy’s and Violet’s. I started breathing faster, gripped with fear. Not me. Please not me. I could hear my pulse smashing in my ears, and bile rose in my throat. He bowed his head toward me and turned and walked away.
I let out a big sigh of relief. I couldn’t let him touch me. He stopped on the top of the stairs and unlocked the door. I didn’t take my eyes off him as he left the room and locked the door from the other side. I wanted to make sure he really had left.
Rose and Poppy got up and gathered the plates together to clean up. There was only one of him and four of us. We could overpower him if we worked together. Had they tried that before, or were they always too scared? I wasn’t even sure if Rose would want to.
“Come and watch a movie with us,” Poppy said. I looked up at her and realized they had cleaned everything away and Rose was now sitting in front of the TV.
I joined them on the sofa and stared at the screen, but I didn’t take anything in. Wrapping my arms around my legs, I sunk back into the sofa to try to make myself disappear. Nothing felt real anymore.
Hours must have passed, because Rose switched the TV off and they all stood. “Lily?” Violet said in a soft voice, as if she were talking to a child. “Come on, we need to all get showered and go to bed. I’ll show you the bathroom. You can go first.” She led me to the bathroom and gave me some pajamas. I didn’t even question why I was showering instead of collapsing in bed. Whose pajamas were they anyway?
She left me to it. There was no lock on the door. I wished there was so I could shut myself away from them all. Turning the shower on, I ran my hand under the water until it warmed up. Why was I doing this? Because he could kill you without question or hesitation. Stripping out of my clothes, I stepped into the shower and sunk to the floor. I burst into tears, gasping for breath as my cries turned hysterical. I gripped my hair and closed my eyes as my tears mixed with the hot water.