• ARCHER •
I wake up.
"Archie!" Ally whispers excitedly. "A fairy came for us!"
She looks down at the box Amalia left. My lips tilt up. "It wasn't a fairy, Ally. It was our Amalia."
Her eyes widen wondrously.
"She's gonna save us." I whisper.
She smiles, holding onto me. "I know." She says.
•
James walks in.
"Hey, shit stain." I mumble. He turns to glare at me before setting two pot noodles by my side. "Early Christmas present?"
"Nathan told me to bring you it." He said. "One for you, and one for Alexandra."
Hearing her name, she peeks her head out from beneath the blanket. I wrap my arms around her, and she leans into me.
James turns around and walks out, locking the door behind him. I pick Alexandra's up, handing it to her, before grabbing my own.
She finishes quickly. I lean into the box and grab her a chocolate bar, and she smiles before unwrapping it and eating it.
"I'm tired again, Archie."
"Okay. You go to sleep."
She nods and snuggles into my chest. I kiss her forehead, and she drifts off.
I drift off, too.
• AMALIA •
"You know how to cook?" Nathan asks me.
For the past twenty minutes, I've been berating myself for not seeing the signs. I remember the day in the library, when Nathan spat the word boyfriend when referring to Frankie like it offended him. And when Archer told Frankie to get out of his seat in form, Nathan had been there. Most moments, Nathan had been there. He was there during Archer's football game, playing. He was there when I had to sit on Frankie's lap when we first met, driving.
"Amalia?"
"Sorry?"
"I asked if you knew how to cook."
"Oh." I whisper. "Yes. A little bit. My brother—"
"Tell me later." He mumbles. "You can make dinner, then. It can be practice for when we're older."
"What do you mean?"
"When you make us food when I come back from whatever job I have."
I plaster on a smile. Sexist prick. "Right."
"We're gonna watch TV. Shout us when you're done. Make some for yourself if there's enough supplies."
"Okay." I say. He kisses my cheek before walking out, leaving me to stand in the kitchen. He gave me new clothes to change into—a tank top and shorts, despite the fact it's the dead of winter. I still have his hoodie, though, which warms me up a little bit.
I search the cupboards and fridge for food, finding pasta, spices, rice, chicken and different condiments, as well as a few vegetables. An idea springs to mind, and I find all the equipment I need. I wash the rice, then pour it into a pot, putting boiling water in and mixing it around for a moment before starting on the chicken.
I marinate it, then put the pieces in the pan while cutting the vegetables. I blink the tiredness from my eyes, and fifteen minutes later I'm putting everything on plates, noticing I didn't make enough for myself. Maybe I'll make pasta, or something.
"Nathan!" I shout.
He, Jess and James walk in a moment later. Jess eyes the food, then me. "You got her to cook?" She asks Nathan.
"Mhm." He mumbles, sitting down. He looks up at me. "You didn't make any food for yourself?"
I shake my head. "Can I go into the bedroom?"
"Where are the manners, Amalia?" Jess questions.
I clench my fists.
"Please?" I add, still looking at Nathan, who nods.
I walk out of the kitchen, checking no one is looking before turning the opposite way to the bedroom, holding a small tub of food I snagged. I go to the stairs, then open the door that leads to be basement before slowly walking down.
I unlock the door, stepping inside.
Archer snaps his head toward me, and his eyes soften. I smile as he stands, walking over to me. He wraps his arms around me in a hug, and I look over his shoulder to find Alexandra sleeping.
"I brought you guys some food. It's not much, but.." I hold the tub out to him.
"Did Nathan give you it?"
"I made it. He doesn't know I'm down here. I thought maybe if I found a way to sneak you guys out—"
"Amalia." He says, exasperated. "Princess, don't do that."
"Do what?"
"Don't put yourself in danger to sneak us food down. It's not worth it."
"Of course it's worth it." I insist.
"What if he found you down here. If he did, and you got hurt because of it, I wouldn't be able to live with myself, Amalia." He tells me. "We're okay. Please don't worry about us on top of everything."
"I'm the whole reason you're here. I have to worry about you."
"No you're not, Amalia. Stop saying that." He says.
My eyes sting with tears. He wraps me up in another hug. "I need to know you're not gonna risk anything to come down here again."
"Archer.."
"I don't want you to get hurt." He says. He leans forward and kisses me, and I get the strange sense that this is to say goodbye—at least for now. "I love you. So fucking much. That's why I can't have you risking anything for me."
"I love you too." I whisper.
He kisses my forehead. "I'll see you soon." He tells me. "When we're both safe."
"Isn't this cute?"
I snap my head toward the door. Jess stands there, arms crossed as she looks at us.
"Jess—"
"Nathan!" She shouts.
"Wait!" I exclaim. But it's too late. I can already hear footsteps sounding upstairs, and a moment later Nathan appears in the doorway.
His jaw hardens. "The fuck are you doing down here?"
"They were just telling each other how much they love each other. Isn't that right, Amalia?" Her eyes drift down to the tub of food in my hands. "And she was giving him some food."
"Nathan—"
He walks forward, grabs my wrist and pulls me out. I try to spin around, but Jess is already locking the door, silencing Archers cry for my name. I hear him banging on the door before Nathan pulls me up the stairs.
He drags me into the bedroom, then shoves me onto the bed. "You're a fucking liar."
"Nathan—"
He slaps me across the cheek. "Do you wanna stay in that dirty room with him? I've given you everything that I can, Amalia! Is that not enough for you?"
He pulls me up, then drags me again toward the bathroom connected to his bedroom, then starts the shower. I furrow my eyebrows when he grabs a facecloth, wetting it before forcing my head under the shower. Then he places the large towel over my nose and mouth, and I start to squirm.
I feel like I'm drowning. Water is filling my lungs, bringing me down to the bottom of a sea like I'm on the Titanic.
He takes the cloth after what feels like forever. I inhale a deep breath, coughing.
"You're a fucking whore." He spits.
"Nath—"
He punches me across the face, the metal around his knuckles piercing my cheek. He hits me again, and again, and again until I pass out from the pain.
•
"Look who's finally awake."
I peel my eyes open, finding one swollen shut. I look around, my memories and vision foggy.
Nathan is sitting beside me.
He has a needle in his hand. He grabs my arm, sticking it into my skin. I seize up a few moments later, then fall asleep unwillingly to the sound of him saying goodnight.
•
"Shhh." Nathan whispers as he pulls me out of bed. "You're okay."
His arm locks around my waist when I stumble, and he pulls me out of the room, then into the living room.
He shoves me onto the couch, then sits beside me, pushing me up against the arm of the couch. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, then kisses my cheek.
James walks in and passes him a cigarette, lighting it for him. Nathan tilts his head back as he inhales the smoke before breathing it into my face. I crinkle my nose and look away, making them both laugh.
James sits across from us, putting his shoes up on the coffee table as he leans back.
"What do you have to gain from all this?" I ask James. They both turn to look at me.
"For fun." He mutters, taking a puff of his own cigarette.
"Stop talking." Nathan orders. "Your voice is all scratchy right now."
He starts petting my hair again—he seems to love doing that. Treating me like I'm a lapdog, or something.
Jess walks in then as my vision starts to blur.
"Nathan." I whisper.
"What?"
"I don't feel well."
He rolls his eyes. "You'll survive."
"I think I'm gonna be sick." I say.
"For fucks sake." He mumbles, standing. "Come on." He grumbles, pulling me up and into the bathroom.
As soon as I hover over the toilet, I throw up. He sighs and sits on the edge of the bathtub beside me.
He pats my back a little harder than necessary, then pulls me up when I'm done.
"It's the side effects again." He tells me. "Maybe if you weren't such a whore, I wouldn't have had to give you the needle."
He pulls me back into the dining room, getting back into the same positions as before. I stay completely silent as he talks to Jess and James, only looking up at him when he grabs my arm.
Then presses the butt of his cigarette on it, putting it out. I scream out, attempting to shuffle away from him, but he doesn't let me. I'm completely defenceless as he takes it off, only to do it again on a different spot until it's completely out.
Jess and James laugh as I tightly cradle my arm to my chest, my eyes watering furiously. I don't let myself cry, though. Not yet.
Then he wraps his arm around me again, as though nothing happened.
• LORENZO •
"The only reason I fucking pay you is for security." I say.
"We didn't see them, boss, I swear to God." Michael says, straining against his restraints.
"It's your job to see them!" I shout. "You stupid fucks." I mumble, grabbing the gun out of my belt and shooting Michael in the head.
Gabriel sputters out apologies, but then he's dead, too. I clench my firsts, put my head in my hands and fight the urge to scream the world down.
"Dickheads." I utter, leaving the room. I walk out, down the hall and into my office. I review the footage from the theatre again, over and over. I click onto the video of them getting Amalia, Archer and Alexandra into the car, and them driving off. I already checked the license plate, tracking it to a car that was dumped at the side of the road.
We've gone from there, though it isn't looking hopeful.
"Boss." One of my employees says. "Amalia's fingerprints were found in the car."
I inhale a sharp breath. "No shit, considering we already know she was in the fucking car!"
"That's not all." He says, "there's a base that's been found a couple acres away from it."
I stand. "Why didn't you start with that?" I ask,
"I—"
I push past him and out the room. He follows me. "Get a team together."
"Okay." He says, then starts talking into his headset like this is the behind the scenes of a goddam musical.
I text my sons, and within half an hour everyone is here. I climb into the drivers seat of one of our cars, everyone else flooding in behind me.
I drive quickly—too fucking quickly—because a police car pulls me over. I groan, and Xander sends me a wary look as an old, fat officer comes to the window.
I roll it down.
"License and registration, please."
"For fucks sake." I grumble, pulling it out of the dashboard. I hand it to him.
"You were going over the speed limit."
"Oh no." I mutter.
Xander snorts a laugh.
"Can you step out of the car, please?" He asks me, handing me back my registration and license.
"Fuck this." I say, pressing my foot on the gas and speeding off, much to my children's amusement.
I smile at the sound of their laughter, but that small spot of happiness is quickly squashed when I remember why I just sped away from him.
I need to find my little girl. And that's exactly what I'm going to do.