Captivated

CHAPTER SEVEN

Dane doesn't come to see me all day, which strikes me as odd, considering he seems to live for my company. I guess he's still mad about last night. I wonder how Jo's holding up. I couldn't fall asleep last night. I was tossing and turning for hours, my mind busy with thoughts and confusion. I hate not having a clock in the room; it makes things worse. Actually, the worst part is probably not having a window in here because I can't tell what time of day it is or see any evidence of the outside world. It makes me feel even more isolated than I already am. Simply knowing that there's life going on right above me, but also knowing that I'm too trapped to even get close to touching it.

I thought about Colby all night. I thought about his bright smile and warming touch. How whenever I was cold or scared he would bring me in tight to his chest and hold me for what felt like forever. He said he would never leave me. But I guess I left him. Correction, I was taken. I would never leave him voluntarily. I wonder what he's thinking about right now. What he's doing. I wonder if people are looking for me yet. It's almost been a week; surely someone would have noticed that I was gone by now. My professors don't take attendance but surely one of them would know I was missing. Maybe Mrs. Malory noticed. Maybe after a couple of days she told the administration and they started checking into my life.

Why is this happening to me? I ask myself that very question every single day. Why am I being held captive here? What did I ever do to deserve this? Is it my fault? Did I do something wrong? What kind of punishment is this? Out of all the people in the state of California, why me? Oh wait, it is my fault. My kindness is my weakness, and because I had to go help that fucking psychopath find his non-existent dog, I've managed to put my own life on the line.

I think about my auditions. They probably gave the role to someone else. She is probably beautiful and can sing better than I can anyways. They probably tried calling me multiple times for the role. But I didn't answer. I couldn't answer. So many questions haunt my mind. Like how long will this go on for? How long will it take somebody to find me? Are the police getting any leads? And the biggest question of all: where on earth am I?

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I'm so lonely. I'm not used to being by myself for this long. At least in the dorms there are always people around to chat with in the hallways or cafeteria. All I have now are my hands and my thoughts. I am constantly playing with my fingers, biting my nails, tracing my hands along the bed sheets. There is absolutely nothing to do but lie here and wish I was somewhere else. I tore through the drawers last night. There's a few different pairs of clothes in there; dresses, pants, night gowns, baggy t-shirts. I couldn't put on pants because of this fucking chain on my ankle, so I put on the thick grey night gown. I wish there was at least nail polish or something to occupy myself. I sing myself to sleep at night. Wishing upon shooting stars that will never come. The sound of my own voice drowns out the darkness and I drift off to sleep, dreaming that I'm anywhere but here. In my dreams I see Colby. He is there, smiling. Close enough that I can reach out to him. But when I do, he shatters like glass, and I am alone again.

I started doing push ups when I got bored. But I soon realized that I don't have any strength and that working out will only drain me of my energy and make me weaker. I want food. I think dinner time is approaching because I hear commotion upstairs. Dane must be home from work. I wonder what he does for a living. How he manages to blend into society so well and not get caught. If only those people out there knew what was really going on in his home. I hear footsteps coming down the stairs and prepare myself for the worst. The door opens and to my surprise, it's Avery.

"Get dressed," he says. "Dane will be down shortly."

My eyes widen. "To do what?" I ask. Avery shrugs. "What do I wear?"