A young man wakes up to find he's been kidnapped and being held a prisoner. He's told he won't be harmed and he'll be returned home soon, but can he believe them? Now he has to figure out how to survive while he shares his prison with one of the k...
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When Robert woke up the next morning, he smelled coffee and bacon. He didn't want to go near the girl, but he was starving. He'd eat but then he'd stay away from her for the rest of the day, he decided. He dressed in his jeans and took a clean white t-shirt, since the black one was too dirty to wear.
He was about to leave the room when he hesitated, his hand on the door knob, feeling suddenly nervous. It seemed as soon as he'd lost control over his temper the day before, he'd had a panic attack, and he did not want to go through that again. He had to keep his anger under control today. There wasn't anything she could do that should affect him like that. He could do this, he told himself firmly before he opened the door.
The sitting room was empty. It was another grey day outside and it had rained but the room was bright. He walked in the kitchen. The girl had her back to him while she stood at the oven. She was wearing her ugly clothes and her hair was in the single braid down her back. When she turned and saw him, she looked surprised, but made an effort to hide it saying, "Hello." She looked tired, with dark circles under her eyes.
He said nothing and sat down at the kitchen table. She offered him tea, and he accepted. She'd made an entire pot for him and when she poured it, he could see her hand shaking slightly. He felt a pang of guilt seeing it, but pushed the feeling away.
While she poured, she stammered, "What's – what's your name?"
"What?" he asked loudly, surprised.
"I – I don't know your name," she said haltingly.
He couldn't believe it. "Moreau knows my name," he said, watching her suspiciously.
"Well, he didn't tell me," she said quietly, looking embarrassed but Robert was skeptical.
It was impossible they wouldn't have shared that information. She was obviously lying, attempting to manipulate him into chatting with her. He felt the anger starting to bubble up. Just keep it together, he told himself firmly. He was not going to allow her to make him lose control. At the same time, he felt a stubborn resistance to telling her his name. He wasn't going to play along with her games.
She waited, holding the tea pot while Robert refused to look at her. As the seconds passed, he could hear her breathing because she was standing too damned close to him and it was too damned quiet in the kitchen. Finally, it became awkward and he decided just to say it to get her to leave him alone.
"It's Robert," he muttered, refusing to look at her. He was never called Robert, he'd always been Robbie to his family and mates, but since that's what the bastard called him, he decided to say it. It gave him a small amount of satisfaction to know they didn't know it wasn't his real name.
"Thank you!" she replied, letting out a breath and sounding relieved. "It's been awkward for me. Not to be able to call you by your name, I mean." Robert couldn't believe what a smooth liar she was for someone so young.
