Taken

Chapter 14 (Part 3)

Using my hold on the smooth wood, I shuffled my way painstakingly slowly to the closed door that stood by it. When I could no longer hold onto it, I latched onto the door frame and opened it to reveal a toilet and vanity sink. The small square was the only privacy the room would provide once Silas returned.

Making my way inside, I dropped onto the toilet to empty my bursting bladder while the tub filled. It was easier to plant myself down than to stand back up. I considered dropping to my knees and crawling back to the tub but knew it would only worsen the stiff ache I felt. Instead, I reached for the sink and used it to pull myself up. By the time I returned to the tub, it was full and sweat was beading at my brows.

Turning the water off, I began to regret the idea of wanting to take a bath when it came time to lift my leg over the edge to get in. It was difficult to hold in groans and hisses of pain so I gave up trying to. It took more time than I had anticipated, but eventually, I had both feet planted in the water which bordered on being too hot. A sigh escaped my lips when I lowered myself and settled back in the water, stretching my legs out with room to spare. The warm water soothed my muscles as expected, but I had doubts it would do much with the extent of how sore my body was after hours atop Garvin when I had never sat on a horse before today.

As I sunk to my chin and closed my eyes, my mind began to wander from the pain I felt to Silas. To his touch and the way it felt to be pressed up against him for hours on end. When my thoughts began to veer into dangerous territory, I shook my head, regretting the action immediately. Settling my hand back against the wooden tub, I force my thoughts into a different direction. Ash.

I missed him so much it almost hurt. Not to mention the way my worry for him pressed on my chest, making it hard to breathe at times.

Pushing away the thoughts of Silas's touch that still warmed my side, I conjured the distant memory of Ash's lips. I was beginning to forget how they felt pressed against mine with the time that had passed.

Maybe if I hadn't used him to make myself feel better that night, he may have been inclined to do it again.

My teeth ground together as I recalled everything that had happened; anger, remorse, and self-loathing swelling in my chest.

When I had relented to Adam's persistent insistence that I let him take me out for dinner, I had fallen for the character he had been projecting at the diner where he had become a regular. Maybe I would have noticed if I hadn't been trying to avoid the reality that I wanted a man who may not want anything to do with me once he was free. I was the daughter of the couple responsible for his suffering, after all.

Ash barely spoke to me, content on hearing me drone on while offering a few syllables in reply. The only time he initiated conversation was when he saw any visible bruises, burns, or cuts on me, wanting to know what happened and how they occurred. He almost knew everything about me, and I hardly knew anything about him aside from which of the foods he preferred from the ones I brought him. Although I wanted to believe he cared for me the way I had been caring about him for longer than I wanted to admit, he may very well hate my guts but not want to show it to avoid biting the hand that fed him.

When fear and insecurity had those thoughts growing too loud, I had said yes to Adam as a distraction. It had been a few years since I had a date or thought of anyone aside from Ash, and even then, it was only to take my mind off of him. To prepare myself in case he decided to drop me once he was free which he would have been if we had succeeded.

But like our attempt, that date turned into a disaster. One I still had nightmares about occasionally.

He had picked me up at the diner after my shift and was my ride back after the date. But instead of taking me home after, he had locked the car doors, pulled off onto a dark dirt path not too far from the one that led to my house, and parked the car. I knew something was wrong the moment he had turned, but up until then, I had believed he was a good guy. I was wrong.