Taken | h.s + bey ✔️

8. Gone

2 weeks later

He brought me downstairs to the dinner table to eat dinner with him instead of him just bringing me a plate upstairs. I guess he's starting to trust me.

I guess you could say my act has gotten better. I'm faking happiness and he's genuinely happy.

I don't know where his head is at. At first, he knew who I was— he called me by my first name. Now, it's like he genuinely believes I'm Rose. Well, I guess not entirely being that I'm literally tied to the chair right now.

A literal rope is wrapped around my torso/upper arms and the back of the chair.

I watched him sit there nonchalantly and cut a big piece of baked chicken to stuff in his mouth.

I have so many questions but I don't know how to ask them without setting him off. The sound of me about to say something but halting caught his attention. He looked up at me and instead of saying anything I just smiled. One of those 'I'm so happy to be here with you' smiles. He gave me a loving smile in return and went back to eating.

This is really crazy. How we're pretending.

And this house at night gives me the creeps. It's old, dark, in the middle of nowhere (I think) and probably haunted. This house looks like the family— at some point— had slaves.

Judging from the fact that the picture didn't look too old and that Harry knew her, I know Rose wasn't one. I mean, unless she was kidnapped and forced to be. He looks too young to have been old enough to kidnap a grown woman years ago. Maybe his whole family's crazy. Where is his family?

I want to ask him all of these things but I'm supposed to be Rose. Rose would already know.

"Can I... ask you something?" I asked him in a slightly pleading tone, "well, a couple somethings?"

He set his fork and knife down and nodded hesitantly.

"Some questions... that I s-should know the answers to? I want to ask as Kim" I clarified.

He paused for a brief moment, exhaled, and nodded again.

I started off with gentle questions, "This house... it's belonged to your family for generations?"

"Yes," he cleared his throat, "it's always belonged to us."

"It's beautiful," I smiled and looked around for a moment.

I could see the corners of his mouth turning up in my peripheral vision.

"Plantation home?" I asked even though I already knew. "Yeah," he answered and my stare lingered, silently asking him the follow up question. "Yes," he said in a lower voice. Sounded kind of ashamed.

"Where is your family?" I asked innocently but judging by how he stiffened I guess it was a little invasive.

"Gone"

"All of them? It's just you?"

"Yes," he sounded like he didn't want to answer.

"Do you have a job?" He shook his head. "A partner? A pet? Friends?" He shook his head no at all of those questions.

"You're all alone," I said as more of a sad statement than a question. I feel... sorry for him? Almost.