Amid the Roar - Sequel to M.A.L.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

“Mom,” she called out to the dark house. Her voice objected the volume, turning her cries into coughs. “Dad? I’m home! …I’m here.”

No lights were on nor were there signs of life. The heat kicked on as she stepped lightly on the hardwood floor making her jump. Gabrielle wasn’t settled. The threat of another attack loomed in her mind but the thought of actual food called her forward. Muddy partial footprints followed her as she ran to the kitchen.

The girl threw the open the refrigerator with her eyes scanning the shelves as hungrily as her stomach was. Not bothering to warm her food up, Gabrielle stuffed her face with the nearest leftover pizza which tasted too old. But she ate it anyway. She never felt more disgusted yet relieved. Her lungs gasped for air between each excessive bite while her mind flashed back to hours before.

~

The seventeen year old had not stopped searching for her house since she left the ‘kingdom’. It was a terrifying experience, not knowing where she was and trying to leave her emotional attachment to her captor. It took her two days but she found her hometown without raising any sort of suspicion. Gabrielle did nothing but drive, having barely a wink of sleep or a thing to eat. The only food she managed to eat was the candy bar she lifted from the gas station. Luckily, Charlie kept a few twenties in his arm rest that she could pay with for the fuel.

Gabrielle slammed on the breaks and sat silently in the car. Her knuckles were white from the bones under her thin hands and her veins stretched her skin. She wasn’t supposed to think of him. That man was a monster; he was someone to forget and hide memories of until she was mentally prepared to face him. Her hands slapped against the steering wheel and a scream shot through her throat. Tears dampened her cheeks as she raged in a tantrum of fear and desire. Gabrielle was still fighting the urge to return to him. He was so sweet, so kind. Her heart cried out for Charlie and she screamed again.

Never, she promised herself. I can’t lose myself.

~

Brown eyes silently stared into their reflection and the purple hues that were forming in the bags under them. Gabrielle stood naked in front of the bathroom mirror and shivered. Her hands gripped at the porcelain sink to keep her standing. Her black hair was matted from the river water, her bones were showing with all the weight she had lost and dirt covered her entirely. Water poured from the sink but washing the mud off her hands and out from under her fingernails was not enough. Shutting the sink off, she turned to the shower instead.

~

Gabrielle clenched her hands harder on the steering wheel. With an unsteady foot, she pressed on the gas a little harder which jerked her forward. It was decided, though she didn’t realize what she was doing. Her mind was on auto and ditching the car where no one would ever find it made sense. It wouldn’t be traceable and she couldn’t go back to him.

The girl drove to a shaded spot under the bridge a mile from her house and parked on the dirt. She could see the apartment complex a few blocks from her house from there. It was a welcoming sight but not something she wasted her time with.

Shutting off the engine, the girl emptied the car including a duffle bag and everything else belonging to its owner. Gabrielle used a toolkit which sat next to the rope in the trunk to pry off the license plate. She stuffed it all into the duffle and set it aside while she returned to the driver’s seat. It was time for one last step on the gas.

~

Her body huddled in the corner by the tiles. The steady trickle from the showerhead beat against her back while grime and caked mud melted off her skin. Tainted the water swirled into the drain. Bits of broken leaves fell from her tangled locks. A few tears joined the mix but they weren’t distinguishable from the rest of the drops over her eyes. Even Gabrielle herself could not sense the feeling of sorrow. The numbness had taken control and she was left hollow.

~

Opened window, no seat belt and the emergency released. Gabrielle slowly drove the car over the shore and closer to the river. The bumper hit the water delicately but continued forward. Gabrielle did not stop until it was pouring into the windows. The key was removed and her weak arms grabbed the top of the window. Her jacket got caught for a moment and panic riddled her bones. But with it, her adrenaline kicked in and she was able to escape the drowning car.

The girl slopped desperately to shore. Her bones ached so intensely, she trembled with both the cold and fatigue. Her tongue ran over her chapped lips and tasted the foul river water. There was no turning back now. It tortured her heart and mind to do it but she had to. She would not give in.

Now no one can find him, she told herself silently. I will take my secret to my grave. I’ll rip my heart out first if I have to but I can’t let them find my almost-lover.

As much as she repeated this in her mind, Gabrielle had a terrible feeling sinking in her stomach faster than the car in front of her. She wanted to return. She wanted to taste his tender lips again but her eyes shut tightly at the itching thoughts.

“Charlie,” she whispered out loud. “Goodbye forever.”

~

The second room down the hall opened easily under her pruned fingers. Everything was the way she left it: Band posters lined the walls, the bed was left unmade, and clothing peeked out from under the plaid bedskirt. The only difference now was that the smell of the room seemed different. She had changed so much even the familiar scent of her old self was foreign. It wasn’t comforting now. Her room was too youthful and sweet.

The girl quickly headed over to the closet and threw open the door. Her style luckily had not changed. She slid her favorite pair of fleece sweatpants on along with a lips-printed loose tee. They felt right and warm considering the heat in the room was terrible. She guessed her parents didn’t bother to make her room ready for her ‘arrival home’.

Thinking of them, it was time she found out where her parents were.

~

The girl carried the heavy duffle bag through the woods, trying to find a suitable hiding spot. She soon came upon a withered trunk which looked like it had fallen long ago. The bag dropped to the ground and Gabrielle set to work. Dead leaves and disgusting damp sludge were cleared away and the duffle replaced them. The rotted wood gave her splinters but she plucked them out and wiped her hands on her leather jacket. Time to hide her past.

Gabrielle smirked as she finished covering that part of the trunk under branches and mud. It was just enough to remind her but not enough for anyone else to know. Her secrets and, in her mind, her grave. It was perfect.

~

The girl’s feet stomped down the stairs and found their way to the kitchen. Her unsteady hands picked up the phone and dialed her mother’s cell number but hung up right away. What would she say?

‘Hello, mom,’ she dryly thought. ‘I know I was away for a few months but I made it home, safe and sound.’ That will go over well…

Before she got the chance to redial the number, Gabrielle heard the front door unlock. Her thoughts headed straight to him in a frantic manor and the phone was quietly placed back on the charger. But she wasn’t the shy girl any longer; she was ready for the fight. Gabrielle removed a knife from the drawer silently and headed to the living room. She knew that if she took Charlie on once and she could do it again.

Her kidnapper didn’t bother to keep quiet. Gabrielle listened to his voice knowing he had changed and maybe a little too much. In fact, it didn’t sound like him at all. Gabrielle stepped out into the light to face the source of the clatter and gasped loudly.

“Mom? Dad?”

Rolling in their luggage, her mother and father flinched at the voice. They stared in awe at their daughter and she at them. Her breath quickened with neither of them moving. Whether it was from the fatigue or from not being able to handle the relief or a mixture of the two, Gabrielle’s fingers let the knife crash into the floor before she joined it.

“Gabby,” her mother cried. “You’re alive?!”

.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: How'd you like the flashbacks? I'm not sure if I'm totally in love with them but they'll be there for now. I'm glad I decided to keep some sort of love for Charlie alive. And yay showers! Gabrielle didn't really have one for a few months so... I mean I'd be ecsatic. Vote if you like, comment to tell me what you think! Stay insane <3