The first thing I notice is a weird sensation of constant rocking. Nothing else matters to me. Back and forth, back and forth. It's like my anchor to reality because it's the only thing I know that will happen. It's somewhat peaceful. Sadly, all good dreams must come to an end, but that wasn't a dream. It's actually happening to me.
My eyes are still heavy from my drug induced slumber. I'm glad I don't have to look though. At least I don't have to know what my prison looks like. My nose burns every time I breathe through it. It's probably from the chemical Chris gave me. Chloroform, I think.
Even though I'm regaining consciousness, I don't want to wake up. It's like waking up in to a nightmare. The worst part is, I don't know where I am, or where Chris is. He could be watching me. I shiver slightly at the thought.
I don't move for what feels like forever. It was probably only an hour though. I'm suddenly tired of not knowing, how am I supposed to fight when I don't know where I am?
I open my eyes to a bright white light overhead of me. I squint but refuse to close my eyes, they need to adjust. When the fogginess clears and I can tell it's just a regular light and oval shade, I take in the rest of the room. It's not small, but it isn't exactly big either. A king sized bed with cream colored sheets sits against the far back wall, which is what I'm laying on. There is about six feet of moving room on either side of it. I can't see any windows, so if there are any they are behind my head. White dressers rise up from the hardwood floor on the opposite side of the room. They guard a doorway, probably the way of getting in here. On the left side of the bed is another door. The bathroom I'm guessing. There really isn't much to look at, white walls, ceiling, and an amber colored wood floor.
I rise in to a sitting position and notice something very quickly. I'm no longer wearing my white blouse and black skirt, instead I'm in a deep purple evening gown with a neckline to low for my tastes. I hug myself trying to hide my exposed body. How am I supposed to run in this? It goes down to my feet and hugs my body not giving to much wiggle room. I'll just have to hope Matt finds me-
That's when I start crying. I'm an awful girlfriend, no, was. I forgot everything that happened to him, and it happened because of me. He wasted his life on me and I'm not even grateful enough remember him. Chris deserves me, everyone else is to good for me.
I don't even try to quiet my sobs. I hear the door open and I look away expecting Chris to be there. He's probably rejoicing in my cries for Matt. And Ryan, I guess he got forgotten. I didn't even remember him and how he was shot until now. I guess I can't have friends either because I forget them like trash when things get rough.
"Please, don't cry," A voice says softly. The first thing I notice is that it's feminine, not Chris's deep voice like I was expecting. Next is that she sounded genuinely sorry for me. I look up through my puffy eyes and see a woman who looks to be about thirty. Her light brown hair is in a pixie cut and that really brings out her dark brown eyes and high cheekbones. I'm usually not a fan of pixie cuts but it looks beautiful on her. Then I notice another thing, she's not alone. A little girl, about five, I would guess, is peering out from behind her. She has wide brown eyes and her hair is a darker shade of brown, and she looks confused.
"Mommy, why is she crying?" The little girl asks.
"Shhh," her Mom says sweetly, "How about you go to your room?"
"But I want to see Morgan," she whines.
"Kara," she scolds, "Go."
"Ok," she pouts and walks out of the room.
The mother sighs when her daughter is gone, and then looks at me. Who is she? "Well I would say it's nice to finally meet you, but I guess the circumstances aren't the greatest." She sounds nice and caring, but I still don't trust her. How did her daughter know my name? And what does she mean by finally? How long have I been out? And where is Chris? So many questions are running through my mind but I don't have any answers.
"Who are you?" I ask. My voice is hoarse and croaky.
"Isabel," she says. That's not what I meant, and she knows it.
"Why are you here?"
"Honey, I live here." She still won't answer correctly and it's starting to anger me.
"Don't call me that," I say harshly. "Now tell me, who are you?"
"Chris was right about you being feisty that's for sure," she mumbles. I glare at her, then she finally says, "I'm Joseph's wife."
"What are you doing here?" I asked confused. I'm not so hostile anymore, she's trapped just like me. "Why aren't you with your family? Joseph is in jail."
She sighs, and sits down on the edge if the bed. "He was never caught. We couldn't make it to the wedding because my daughters were sick, and no one turned us in. Besides, this is my family now. I'd never want to leave them."
"But you were kidnapped!" I sputter.
"I'm a little different than you, but I don't have time for stories right now."
"Then why are you in here?" I ask cautiously. I'm not so trusting of her anymore, she seems quite secretive. She also treats me like a child.
"To make sure you're ready," she says happily.
"Ready for what?" My heart starts pounding. What is she talking about?
She laughs, "Don't worry so much. It's just dinner."
"Then why am I dressed up so nice? Who put me in this?" I still have my arms crossed over my chest. I hate this dress.
"Oh, that was me. Chris wanted you to wear it."
Of course he did. "I don't want to go to it," I look away from her. "I can't stand the thought of having to look at him."
"You have to. You're going to see his face for the rest of your life, you may as well get used to it."
I burst in to tears. She's right, I am stuck here forever. "You don't understand," I cry. "I can't look at him him. He killed my boyfriend and my best friend. How could I ever look at that monster!"
She starts rubbing my back. "It gets better, you just have to give him a chance. He really does love you."
"He has a funny way if showing it," I mumble.
"You'll start to see he does once you love him."
This makes me crack. The thin wire of sensibility has broken. "I could never love him! I will never get the picture of Ryan's face when he was shot out if my head. Matt's blood as it soaked in to the white carpet. They're paling faces as I was ripped away from them. I never will, so I will never forgive him."
She looks at me with pity, "Come on, let's get you ready." She tries to take me towards the bathroom but I yank my arm away.
"What? Am I not pretty enough for him already?" I stand up knowing I will have to go to this dinner. But since I do, I'm going on my own terms. I walk to one of the dressers and find it full of men's clothes. So Chris is sleeping in here, great. I go to the next and pull out a white hoodie and slip it on to cover the top of the dress. "Ok, I'm ready." I probably look like complete crap, but I couldn't care less.
Isabel looks at me with amusement in her eyes. "You are something else, aren't you?" But she doesn't say it mean. I take it as a compliment and smile. She leads me out of the room and down a hall. Once again, there is a hardwood floor. The rocking that woke me is still happening. What is that?
"What day is it?" I ask.
"Thursday." I gasp. I've been out for three days. What happened? Those drugs must have been powerful. More so than chloroform, but he might have given me a few doses of that.
We enter through a set of double doors and come to the dining room. Kara, the little girl from earlier and an older one run up to Isabel and hug her. She laughs as she hugs them tight. I look across the room and see Joseph and Chris sitting across from each other. I almost gag at the sight of Chris. This is going to be difficult.
"Morgan, you look... nice," Chris says. I glare at him in response. I can tell he is annoyed at my clothes.
"I was cold," I say innocently. I'm guessing the open seat beside Chris is meant for me so I sit down. "Am I not pretty enough for you?"
"No. You're perfect," he says as he hugs me. Here comes the psychotic sayings about love. Where is the evil Chris that killed Matt and Ryan? He sounds like he used to. I tense when he hugs me. I'm really glad I was smart enough to put on the sweatshirt. I want as little skin contact as possible.
I begin to feel sick to my stomach from the constant motion. What is that? The tightening feeling and raw taste in my throat grow worse when I notice the looks Chris is giving me. Obsessive looks full of want. I look away from him and turn my attention towards the two little girls. The they are obviously sisters, the older one's hair is wilder though. They study me with wide eyes and giggle. "Girls," Joseph says. "Don't stare, that's rude."
"Sorry Daddy," the younger one, Kara, says.
But the older one keeps staring at me. "She's just so pretty." I blush at the little girl's compliment. I can't remember being that young. She looks to be about eight years old.
I jump when I hear Chris's voice in my ear. He is so close that his breath sends tingles throughout my body. "That's Sophie," he says. My breathing hitches. Why does he have to be so close to me? "And the younger one is Kara. They are my two favorite nieces," which gets a giggle from the girls. "You've already met Joseph, and I'm certain you know that she is Isabel." He points the Isabel who is putting food on plates over by the kitchen.
I nod and look at the little girls. I need an excuse to not talk to Chris, I feel close to having a meltdown. "You think I'm pretty?" I ask the girls. They nod quickly. "Thank you, but I think you two are the most beautiful girls in the room. Way prettier than me." They grin widely at each other before getting in an argument over who's prettier. I laugh lightly at the argument that will never end.
When I was younger, I always wanted a sister to play dress up and dolls with. Instead I got Caleb, who ended up being an entertaining playmate. So I ended up being more like a boy than girl. I miss those times so much.
I look back at Chris who looks at me in surprise, and awe. "I never knew you were so good with kids," he says quietly.
I shrug, it's not even hard. "It's really easy. Compliment them about how pretty they are and they'll be happy."
"Morgan!" Kara and Sophie chant in unison. "Who's prettier?"
"You two are both so pretty, I could never choose who's prettier." My answer seems to suffice for them. They give each other smug looks and begin playing again. Joseph and Isabel look at me pleased. Chris's eyes look clouded over though, as if he's thinking about something I can't figure out. It's awkward being the center if attention. Especially with the family of your kidnapper that you just met.
I look down at my hands trying to hide from their stares. I should be mourning, being hateful to this family. Why am I being so nice? It's not to late to start now, I guess. Even if it involves ignoring the girls, which may be hard for me.
A moment later, a plate with lasagna and broccoli is put in front of me. My stomach churns at the sight of it, but not in the good way. I think I'm going to be as green as the broccoli soon.
I look away from it and hunch, holding my stomach. The rocking seems to grow worse. Chris notices this, "Are you ok?" He whispers.
Before I have time to answer him, Kara starts vying for attention. She is definitely more talkative than her sister. "Morgan?" She asks in her cute voice. "Are you going to be our new Aunt?"
"Yeah!" Says Sophie, "Are you?"
I freeze. I can't answer this. I can't say no because Chris will probably get mad and I don't want to see that. I can't say yes because, well, I just can't. I could never say yes. I sit in a pained shock as my stomach groans. "I- I-" is all I can say. Kara and Sophie look at me confused. They probably have no idea what's going on, what happened to me. They are to young to know how evil their family really is?
Chris, unfortunately, decides to answer for me. "Yes," he says. "She will be." He gets something out of his pocket. The ring.
My heart starts pounding in my chest. It threatens to break out of my body that holds it captive. The world starts spinning. Why does can't I think straight? Back and forth, back and forth. My stomach contracts. I can't do this, not again. Back and forth, back and forth. He reaches out to put the ring on me. I feel numb, everyone is staring at me. Stop staring at me. Back and forth, back and forth. Suddenly, I can't breathe. I'm going to be sick. To many people. To much pressure. I have to get out.
I panic. I roughly push my chair back from the table and hop out of it before I fall backwards. Then I'm leaving the room. I stumble over my feet, I don't know where I am. This hall doesn't look familiar at all. Did I take the right one? Heck, I don't even know where I'm going. Bathroom? Maybe a way out? Whatever it is, I need to get away from all of them.
"Morgan?" I hear Chris say worried, but I don't stop. I quicken my pace to almost a jog. At some point, I start crying in hysterics. I plow my way through the door at the end of the hall, and am met with a cool breeze.
I'm outside? I'm outside! Before I can move away from the door, I notice something, and I realize I won't be escaping. The hardwood deck scans about 10 feet out and then stops at a rail. It drops off in to harsh looking water. All I see is blue. I drop to the ground in a heap. All of the rocking makes sense now. I'm on a boat.
My stomach still churns from my seasickness, but that's not why I'm crying. This is impossible. Even if I jumped off the boat, where would I go? Which direction? How far would I make it before I drowned? The police probably wouldn't be looking out at sea because what leads would they have? They don't even know Joseph exists. However, if they did look for us out here, they wouldn't find us. The Earth is mostly water, we could hide virtually anywhere. Which means only one thing. If I can't escape or be found, I'm stuck here forever.
I'll have to marry Chris, and probably be raped. My body shakes at the thought, but it's true. I can't keep denying it. I'll have to start a family with him someday, and be forced to see his eyes for the rest of my life. All if my worst nightmares are coming true, and I don't have Matt or Ryan to protect me anymore. This thought leaves me devastated, what's the point in living when there is nothing left to love for. I have my brothers and parents, but it'd probably be better for all of us if I were dead. No more worrying for them, and no more pain for me.
"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Chris kneels beside me. He wraps an arm around my shaking shoulders. I stiffen, either he doesn't notice, or simply doesn't care. I hate him so much.
"You killed them," is the first thing I say. It's been on my mind for awhile. Why did he have to choose me?
"I know," he says. No remorse, no emotion at all.
What kind of monster doesn't feel even a little sad for killing his brother? The same monster who holds me captive, lost forever at sea. "You're a monster."
He sighs. "I know."
"I hate you," I mutter.
"No you don't."
"Yes, I do." He doesn't answer me again. Instead he holds me as I continue to cry. I want to get away from him, but where would I go? There are only so many hiding places on a boat. So I let him hold me because there is nothing I can do.
At some point, he slips the ring on my finger. It burns me, but the pain is something that I hold on to. It reminds me that I will never forgive, no matter how long I may be kept here.
Thanks for all the support and votes I've been getting. Reading your guy's comments make my day.
So let me know what you think and vote. I'll try to have the next chapter up soon.