Sadistically Sweet (Watty Awards Finalist 2012)

Take My Breath Away

A/N: Thank you to MagicStudy for the banner on the side. Enjoy♥

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Breakfast was long  and dreadfully slow. I ate enough to have food in my stomach again, but a lot of it was still wasted. I could tell it annoyed Francis that I barely ate and had to trash his food, but I didn't care. With my stomach so uneasy, if I had any more food I would probably hurl. 

It didn't help that he had sat across from me and watched me eat. Nor did it help that my throat ached every time I swallowed. My neck was still very sore from almost being suffocated. 

"Where is Olivia?" I asked after a few hours of aimlessly wandering around.

I had tried avoiding Francis but he was on my heels at every turn. The only way I would get him off is if Olivia was there. Otherwise I would be stuck sitting across from him in the living room for more hours.

"I told you, she is outside," he said with slight annoyance in his voice.

"Where does a five year old girl have to be in this large forest?" I asked.

"She is probably down by the lake."

I looked over at him with a confused look on my face. First off, there is not a lake in the forest, and second, why would he let his young daughter play near water? She could easily fall in.

"What lake? Aren't you worried about her falling in?" I expressed my concern.

"It's a few minutes away from the house, and it's actually a pond. No, I am not worried about her falling in; she knows how to swim."

"Well I'm worried. I don't want her down there," I replied, putting my foot down.

Francis looked up from the book he was reading, with amusement covering his face.

"Are you trying to tell me what to do?" he questioned.

I took in a deep breath, preparing myself for standing up to him. Every time I did this I ended up pinned against something with no way to move, so I was very cautious with my word selection.

"No, I am just expressing my concern for your daughter. I don't think she should be out there alone, especially since the water will be freezing this time of year."

I bit my lip trying to find better words, but before I could; Francis piped in.

"Why are you worrying about her?" 

He put down his book and intensified his gaze on me. I knew this had to be a test. He was trying to find out my motives and figure out if I was calming down to his standards.

"You said you needed a woman in the house. Here I am. Now, I'm going to bring what a woman should to this house , and that starts with Olivia's safety," I said as confidently as I could.

I clench my jaw to stop myself from saying anything else. Once my words sunk in with him, I would have him right where I wanted him. He would think that his last episode took away my spite and that I was going to cooperate, he would be so wrong. I was just playing with his mind to get what I wanted.

If we go out to check up on Olivia, then I might have a chance to slip away. I have a plan in my mind, and I will follow it this time. I need to get away from him and nothing would stop me. Even though I would have to pretend to be sweet to this crazy man.

If we go out to look for Olivia, then I get out of the house; the first milestone. Francis may be crazy, but he had to be smart enough to pull off kidnapping, so I knew he would probably put his keys in his coat pocket so I couldn't take them. Since I didn't have a coat, I could ask for his. It all would fall into place.