Life Unexpected (The Urie's Daughter Series Book 4)

Ghost Of You

Trigger Warning: Rape

Oli
I was questioned by several different officers. They were going to pull security footage but it would take a couple of days. They questioned several neighbors and the doorman, none of them saw anything. I was worried if we would find her in the two months we had. I had showed them the note. So far, Sheffield was the only lead we had. As the police looked into the break in, I grabbed my car keys, a duffel bag with clothes and ran downstairs to my car. Matt, Lee, Jordan, and Matthew all hurried after me.

I climbed into the drivers seat as they all quickly slammed the doors behind them. "What exactly are you doing?"they asked. "Going to Sheffield to look for Ryleigh,"I answered nonchalantly. "Someone has to stay here to pick Brendon up,"I said. "I'll do it,"Matthew answered and climbed back out of my car. "Be careful, yeah?"he yelled after us as we pulled away.

It was a long drive. The sun was rising again when we booked into a hotel. The guys decided to take a nap while I dug around town. I didn't even know what the person looked like to ask around. It seemed like a dead end. I ended up at a local pub, drinking a beer as I tried to figure out what they wanted and where to begin in my search.

******

Ryleigh
Sometime around midday, a granola bar was thrown down the stairs to me. I hurriedly unwrapped it and shoved it into my mouth. It wasn't enough to satisfy the sickening hunger growing in my stomach but it was food none the less. Without a choice, I had to lap at the bowl of water. It was all I had and I had to drink it like some sort of wild animal. I longed for home. I longed for my family and my friends. I wondered what was happening up there. I had no sense of time down here.

I shivered often, due to the damp cold that I felt in my bones. I slept most of the time. Every few days a granola bar was thrown down at me. I could feel the weight and my life slowly edging away. My ribs were protruding from my skin again. A few days ago, he came down and duck taped my hands and feet to the hard, cold cement. He didn't waste time forcing himself on me. He ignored my cries and pleas.

Tears ran down my face again as he shoved himself inside of me. I cried out and he slapped me. It had hurt, after all. He did it multiple times. I had never felt so dirty. He untaped my limbs and returned upstairs as if nothing had happened. He emptied the bucket once every week. My own feces was on the floor from the overflowing bucket. I was coated in absolute filth and I never disgusted myself more.

I begged and cried for a shower. I started my period, it had been around a month since I had become trapped down here. All evidence was gone. I had no pads or tampons. I found a towel laying around and eventually took to putting it in my pants to suck up the blood. I couldn't even tear it. I didn't have any strength left. I could barely even stand anymore.

He finally let me upstairs to shower. I turned it on and washed it all off. I heard the back door slam shut. I had taken his blindfold off as soon as I reached the bathroom but I heard all the noises from the basement where I was trapped. I knew where every exit was. I threw my clothes back on. I made a group chat with my family and friends. Maybe they could trace my location through a text.

Ryleigh: HELP! HE KIDNAPPED ME! I'M IN SHEFFIELD!

My phone died, I'm not even sure it sent. He took my shoes. I was barefoot. I slid my dead phone into my waistband and hurried down the stairs as fast as I could despite my dizziness from malnutrition. I listen for a moment. It was quiet. I opened the door without a whisper of a sound. I saw a car driving by that looked similar to Oli's. It slowed briefly, catching sight of me in the mirrors. I saw the taillights light up with the pressure applied on the brakes.

Suddenly, there was a very sharp familiar pain in my upper arm. My dizziness increased as my vision blurred and I collapsed into a sea of darkness once more. When I came to, my hands were bound together in a large ziptie. My rapist was in the corner watching me. He stood when he saw my movement. I scooted as far back into the wall as I could. "What the fuck? Why can't you let me go? What did you do to me?"I screamed at him. "It's all apart of the game, my dear. Tranquilizer darts work wonders. Of course, I can no longer trust you so you're pretty tied up,"he spat at me angrily.

"Don't blame me, after all, you brought this on yourself,"he said when I stayed silent. He kicked me in the ribs then climbed the stairs and slammed the door shut, leaving me in a cold, damp darkness again. My only hope was that they would stay safe. I wasn't worth the trouble. I was pretty sure I saw Oli's car yesterday and I hoped that they would figure something out but not get hurt in the process of doing something stupid. I fell asleep again.

Oli
I was driving through Sheffield when a young girl, probably in her teens, came running through a doorway, almost soundlessly. She continued down the sidewalk. She seemed afraid of something. Bruises, dirt, and scratch marks lined her pale skin. She was way too small, malnutrition clear on her body. Her skin was darkened in places. What the actual hell? I slowed a bit, watching her catch up. Looking in the mirror, I realized it was Ryleigh. Ryleigh was running down the sidewalk toward me.

Before I could make a move to rescue her, she collapsed. I saw a long needle sticking out of her arm and a man hauling her up and inside. I'd found her. I got a safe enough distance away and called Brendon and the others. Brendon called for the cops. They were busy with a large murder spree going on in London. They wouldn't be there till tomorrow at the earliest. Sheffield didn't have enough police to handle this. All we could do was hope that she'd make it through one more night of hell.