AUTHOR'S NOTE: For those of you who may have skipped chapter 3, what you missed was Ava's suicide attempt. The masked man (her captor) runs to her side to try and save her and her last act before she blacks out is pulling off the mask to reveal that her captor is actually Henry (gasp). And that's what you missed! Thanks for reading!
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She felt warm. That was the first thing she noticed, she took comfort in it. By the light filtering through her eyelids, the sun was responsible for this warmth but she hadn't felt the suns heat in a long time. There was a hand, loving and gentle. It was brushing the hair out of her face. She remembered the nights when she wasn't feeling well, her mother would sit by her bed and do exactly this. It felt so familiar. machines were beeping. A heart monitor. Hospital, she was in the hospital, but how did she get there? The hand, comforting her left and she felt the need to call out. She wanted to feel safe again.
"Mom?" She croaked
"Ava? It's Henry, can you hear me? Ava?"
She opened her eyes, and then it all came back. Henry, he was gone. She was so afraid for him, and she couldn't do it anymore. Glass, the glass she used. She remembered him breaking in, pulling on the black cloth mask and wishing death would come quicker. It had been him the whole time. She looked down at her arm. Fresh white bandages wrapped neatly around it, and her wrists bound to the bed. Looking further down she saw her ankles bound similarly. She was right about the heart monitor, the steady beeping was a reminder that she lived. The pain, her whole body , every inch was in pain.
She pulled at the restraints, and the hand came back. The beeping got louder and faster.
"Hey, calm down you're ok. I'm not gonna hurt you, but I had to move you somewhere where I can keep a closer eye on you."
Her heart became slightly more steady. She looked around, she wasn't in the bleak basement anymore. This room was filled with natural light, a large window with beige curtains was directly to her left allowing sunlight to bathe her in its glow. Yellow wallpaper, with pink flowers adorned these walls. It was curled up in the corners, withered and worn down with obvious years of use.
She looked up at the ceiling, a blue painted sky with big puffy white clouds. A sharp reminder of a sky she hadn't seen in months, a sky she longed to see again.
"Where am I?" She asked.
"Same place, just upstairs. This used to be my sister's room. Now it's yours." He said with a smile
"This is your house?" She asked trying to make sense of everything.
"Was. It hasn't been mine for a while now."
She looked at him, dressed in all black. He held the mask in his hands, fiddling with it like a nervous child. Tears started to prick at her eyes.
"Why? Why did you do this?"
"I'll explain everything later, I promise. First you need to rest. You lost a lot of blood, you're lucky to be alive, lucky that you didn't suffer a..... never mind. Just relax, no one is going to hurt you. It's just us here and I will never let harm come to you again."Â He said, brushing a stray hair out of her face lovingly.
She felt sick, as though she was going to throw up in that moment. Leaning over the bed, she saw a small bucket. Understanding what was about to happen, he lifted it to her head and rubbed circles on her back as she vomited.
"Shhhhh...it's ok. I'll go get you some ginger ale."
She laid back down on the bed and began to breath quickly and in short intakes. She was having a panic attack. The monitor was going off like an alarm. The walls felt like they were closing in and her head was spinning. She was pulling restlessly at her restraints when Henry came back in. Without a word her reached in his bag and took out a needle, injecting her with it immediately. Her heart slowed to a stable rhythm. Caressing her cheek, he bent down to her ear and whispered.
"Shhhhh, it's alright. Go to sleep."
And she did, not that she had a choice.
The sun had gone down and the room became chilly. Shivering, she felt a blanket being placed on top of her and was grateful for the warmth it provided. She felt heavy, as if her whole body was made of cement. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around the room. He left and closed the door behind him. Staring at the ceiling, she thought about what to do. She thought about his reasons for doing what he did, and she came up with nothing. None of it had made any sense to her.
In her mind she chastised herself for not putting the pieces together more quickly, she had been so naive. Her captor and Henry had never been in the room together, she had never seen them at the same time. Eyes, his eyes seemed so familiar but she chalked it up to a case of déjá vu. Had it been purposeful that she ignored these things? Perhaps she didn't want to realize the truth because the lie was all she had left.
Suddenly she jumped. A thud from outside the door startled her. It happened again and again until it became constant. A hammer she assumed, banging restlessly in the middle of the night. She flinched each time it hit the wood.
Silently, she stared and listened to the thumping until the sun had risen. An hour later he walked in with a tray in his hands. It was the same tray he had always used, but this time it was covered in a soft white cloth. There was a plate with eggs, bacon and toast. Next to the plate was a plastic cup filled with juice and a small plastic vase with a singular pink rose hanging out of it.
"Good morning beautiful." He said with a smile.
Beautiful, the word made her sick coming from his lips. It had been months since she last looked in a mirror. She knew the basics of what she looked like, but the details have blurred over time. She didn't know what she looked like in that moment, but she knew she definitely would not be defined as beautiful.
She didn't speak a word, only look up at the painted clouds, eyes glazed over.
"I hope I didn't wake you last night. I don't sleep much these days, and I just thought I'd put something together that we're gonna need." He placed the tray down on the nightstand at the foot of the bed. He sat her up more, resting her head on more pillows and held a piece of toast to her mouth.
"You need to eat." He said as she took a bite and chewed it.
"There you go..." He stopped when she spat the chewed toast back in his face.
"Goddammit Ava, I'm only trying to help you." He said angrily as he wiped the pieces off his face.
"You want to help, tell me why? Why me? What did I ever do to you? I need to know why." She cried. As she laid back down she was breathless from the effort of yelling. Her exhaustion had been greater as of recent.
"You didn't do anything, That's why I chose you. I chose you because I liked you."
Her confusion was blatant, as she shook her head.
"I don't understand" She whispered.
"In order to understand I have to start by telling you about this house...This was my house. I lived here with my parents and my little sister. Over a year ago my dad came home from work and said he had lost his job. The farm wasn't enough to keep us in good shape, and he was so lost. He started drinking, when he drank...he got violent. It didn't take much to set him off, and my momma knew that, but she didn't care. One night, she started yelling, about the house, the bills, his needing to get a job, all of it...she wouldn't stop.." His words got choked up as he spoke.
"He beat her to death with his bare hands. When my sister heard what was happening she ran out to help momma. I told her to stay...I told her to stay put but she wouldn't listen. She tackled him and he threw her off him, hard. Meantime I had grabbed the shotgun off the wall in the living room...I had to. I don't regret doing what I did, I regret not doing it before anybody died."
Taking a long breath he blinked away tears and continued.
"When the cops got here they saw what had happened...they said I was a hero...for killing my own father. My whole family was dead and somehow I was a hero. They took me away from here, the house and the farm was left to my uncle. His name was on the deed, but he hasn't come here since it happened. Everything in this house stayed the same, right down to the pictures on the walls. I was sent to live with my grandma, which is when I started going to your school."
She almost felt sorry for him, but then she remembered the life he had stolen from her and all the anger and bitterness returned. She needed to know more, she still didn't understand why. As if he could comprehend her thoughts he went to continue, but paused.
He sighed and picked up the fork with eggs on it.
"Even trade, you eat...I talk."
Without a word she took the bite and he continued on with his story.
"Living with my grandma, wasn't easy. She's a nasty woman, and I needed to get out of that place. Away from her, and out of that God forsaken town. I saw how you viewed it, you saw that place for what it really was, the people who were just stuck. For the rest of their lives they'd be in that pathetic town and their children after them. You were different, you were like me. Sure people liked you, but you weren't tied down. You had a charming little life, but it wasn't enough for you, it wasn't enough for me either. I started watching you. You lived in a nice neighborhood, just about no neighbors, no cameras, no neighborhood watch, no witnesses."
Lifting the fork and bringing it to her mouth, he silently signaled for her to take another bite. She complied and he went on.
"I devised a plan: take you, demand ransom from your mother, maybe convince you to come with me, but either way, go on the run. I wanted to see the world, to live a little no matter the cost. Then the plan went to shit. I got you to trust me by playing the part of the wounded animal. A few hits here and there, some cuts and bruises to make it look real. To seal the deal, a broken leg and a fractured wrist, it wasn't easy but the seedy bar a few miles away has got guys at all hours just itching for a fight. Once all of my injuries were formed I made my way back so you could hear my screams while I played with them. It sure hurt like hell, but again it was all part of the plan."
Disgusted was how she felt, by all of this. There was a loss for words as she realized how truly sick he was.
"It worked almost too well. I got you to tell me about your life, and then you told me you didn't have money. You told me about how much debt your mother was in. I was back to square one. Then it all changed, you started caring for me. I fell in love with you Ava, I didn't mean to but I couldn't help it. And when you told me you loved me I felt like nothing else in the world mattered."
Drawing back, she winced as he caressed her cheek. It had been an unwanted and unreciprocated sign of affection.
"So I came up with another plan. I told my grandma that I was leaving, she said good riddance, and I asked my uncle to sign over the house to me, he did so gladly. I just applied for a few jobs, hopefully one of them will work out. It doesn't matter if we go from living in one small town to another, as long as we're together. We'll work the farm on the side, I'll provide for us. We can figure it out as we go along. We're a family Ava."
"I am not your family. Family doesn't lie and kidnap, family doesn't tie each other to a bed and force them to stay where they don't want to."
"I only tied you down to protect you from yourself. I couldn't let you pull another stunt like that...Once you realize how silly you're being and come to your senses I'll consider giving you more freedom. I would never want to hurt you, I love you and you love me." He said.
"I thought I loved you Henry, I loved who you presented yourself to be. That person doesn't exist, he never did...this...the real you...is a small, pathetic excuse for a man. I will never love you."Â She yelled.
"You will, in time. That man does exist, he's still in here. We're going to be happy together, you, me, and him."
"What the hell are you talking about?" She asked
"I think it's time you see what I was building last night, it might help you understand."
He walked out of the room, and pushed the piece of furniture in, moving it directly in her line of vision.
"I don't.......why did you build that?" She said shakily
"Come on Ava, you're a smart girl. You know how to put two and two together. Three weeks ago, remember that night? Before I left? The past few days, you've been getting dizzy, throwing up, eating more. I noticed these things from behind a closed door, don't tell me you didn't know deep down why."
The tears started rolling down her cheeks at great speed.
"I decided to test you, and I was right." He said joyfully as he patted the wooden crib.
"I told you Ava....We're going to be a family."Â He smiled.
"No." She whispered with the promise of tears.
"I'm hoping for a boy, with your smile and my hair color." He said.
"You're lying." She said
"Why would I lie? Don't worry, I promise we'll be happy. When you have that baby in your arms in a few short months, you'll see."
He bent down and placed a kiss on her forehead.
"You'll see." He said as he left her in the room, crying and wishing she had never been so foolish.