The sound of screaming.
That's what makes my body subconsciously react by closing all the tabs as quickly as humanly possible and running back to the spot he left me in. I knew time wasn't my enemy. I was well aware it would take him a while to reach this room, considering that was his destination.
I lean my back against the wall, bringing my knees up to my chest and sniffling slightly as a result of sleeping with my hair still wet. I instantly acknowledge him entering the house, the now clearer sound of partially muffled screaming vibrating through the cold walls of the building.
They weren't screams of pain, but rather of horror. They were high-pitched and broken here and there, sending cold shivers down my spine as they were inching closer. I could hear him as well, shooting stern, annoyed statements at her that I couldn't quite make out, completing a disturbing symphony of pure terror.
'Will you shut the fuck up already?' is the first and only sentence I caught, loudly dominating over the unceasing shouting and crying. That reduced her to silence. Momentarily, at least, since seconds after, uncontrollable sobbing could be heard more clearly, revealing that they are right under the attic scuttle.
'Don't move.' my ears catch his low voice, that also seemed to be slightly muffled by something unknown to me yet.
The metallic rattle of the ladder rings in my head, increasing my morbid anticipation and tightening the uncomfortable knot in my stomach. The loud thud of the scuttle door being pushed open and hitting the floor, makes a massive amount of dust particles dance around the active area. Despite that, I could still catch a glimpse of his veiny hand and slender fingers for half a second before disappearing back down.
The previous image is quickly erased from my vision as it is replaced with the sight of ruffled blonde hair. A skinny sillouethe shakily makes its way up the ladder, revealing more and more of the previously unseen person.
My body is strangely incapable of doing anything but staring. She's pretty. Not the 'supermodel with perfect skin, plump lips, tiny nose' beautiful. But she exuded this natural, child-like beauty, despite seeming to be in her early thirties.
Her hair didn't look bleached, so it must've been her natural colour; her skin wore a healthy tan, accentuated around her nose, as if she'd spent too much time under the burning sun. But it suit her. Her eyes - although visibly red from crying- were a clear shade of green that I could make out even from rather far away and without direct eye contact. They were framed by blonde-ish, long eyelashes that adhered together from the tears.
But what caught my attention wasn't her appearance as much as it was the expression she had plastered on her face. A deer in front of a car's headlights. That's precisely what she looked like - lost, scared. The moment her eyes caught mine, it felt like something broke inside her as her body was suddenly taken over by uncontrollable crying and trembling. My vision blurred slightly with incipient tears, still unable to escape the motionless state I was trapped in.
'I brought you company in case you were feeling lonely, princess. I'm so considerate, aren't I? You're welcome.' a low voice from behind the woman makes her jump in fear and abruptly stop crying, as she took a few steps away from him.
His face comes into view as I notice the lower half of it covered in a black mask, accompanied by a black cap, thus leaving only his dark eyes in sight. That, however, was enough to tell he had a smug smirk plastered on his face.
'Who is she? And why is she here? What did you do to her?!' my initial attempt at maintaining a calm tone slowly dissipated into a crescendo of anger with every new question.
'Forgot her name. Cause I brought her here. I brought her here.' he sarcastically answers, making me more pissed off by the second. He walks past her, the action earning a flinch from her, before heading towards me and crouching down.
'Did you behave yourself, tiger?' he questions, alluding to my anger. His fingers reach up to touch my chin and slightly lift it. I try my hardest not to swallow the lump in my throat, as it could look suspicious. Not wanting it to impede my speech, I simply nod, looking him in the eyes.
'I didn't catch that.' he states, squinting his eyes at me.
'It's cause I didn't throw it.' I mutter, earning a chuckle from him.
'You're such a brat sometimes...Scratch that. All the time.' he says, amused, pushing on the missing knee patches of his jeans material, to stand up. I let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief. 'But at least you didn't scratch the living hell out of me, like this nuisance did.' he points to the terrified face of the woman, making me notice he has nail marks on his arms from her trying to fight back.
'I'm s-sorry. Please let me go, please.' her desperate voice made him throw his right hand around her shoulders and laugh.
'Oh, sure. Asking to be set free right after you've been kidnapped. I've read on the internet that this approach works about fucking never out of ten times.' he mocks, pulling her closer to his body in a faux friendly manner, making her tremble.
'Now, until you tell me what I want to know, you'll be spending some quality time with Ms. Ain't-it-fun-being-kidnapped.' he smirks, pushing her towards me, making her stumble.
'Please.. I don't know anything.' she sobs, letting herself fall on her knees.
'Now, we both know that's not true. I'll wait for you to come to your senses and tell me. And I'm not a very patient person.' he coldly mutters, before switching his gaze to me.
'Meanwhile you can teach her the rules around here.' he tells me, glancing towards the laptop and monitor before turning his back to leave.
'Wait. Umm, I can see you've got your own shit going on but I haven't eaten in almost a day so... Plus, she's probably hungry too.' I mumble, pointing at the woman now sitting relatively close to me as my stomach makes dying whale sounds, supporting my statement.
He thinks it over quickly before nodding.
'Guess that's true. But since I suck at cooking, nor do I wanna cook for you, I'll make a one time exception from my rules. Come on.' he motions towards me to follow him as I stand up. The woman, confused, starts to stand up as well before a stern voice interrupts her actions.
'Not you, blondie. You stay here.' he reaches for one of the boxes next to him, pulling out a medium sized piece of rope, before closing it with a loud sound. He walks towards her and starts tying her hands at her back to one of the wooden pillars in the attic. She starts screaming, making him curse her out and increase the aggressiveness in his actions.
I rush towards them but he finishes right before I'm next to them, standing up and pushing me by the small of my back towards the attic scuttle, leaving her slight sobs behind us.
'You have no idea how to cook do you, brat? I suppose when you've got chefs and all that doing it for you, there's no need to learn, right?' he asks after we've climbed down the ladder.
'Actually, I do know how to cook, it's something I really enjoy doing. So let's not judge based on appearances cause I would've said you're a damn fluffball, if I didn't know you, not a criminal.' I say, slightly offended, as we walk down the corridors of his house to the kitchen, I suppose.
'I'll take that as a compliment, for your own sake.' he shoots me a sardonic smile.
Arriving to the destination, I take in the spacious, black&white room. The black marble counters and floor with the contrasting white walls and table mix well to create a two-toned, modern looking kitchen.
I start to jump from counter to counter, shelf to shelf, scanning what each unknown compartiment stores. As I finally arrive to the huge fridge and reach out to open it, two hands being placed on my sides stop me.
I'm instantly turned around, my back against the cold surface of the fridge, as I'm startled by the proximity of his face, his hot breath lingering on my lips, a smirk plastered on his features. The hell?
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A/N: Sorry, it took me slightly longer to post this chapter, but school fucks me up.
Anyway, thanks so much for the support and all the nice comments and the votes and everything. *-*
Btw, if there are any grammar mistakes or stuff in the chapters, feel free to let me know, since English isn't my first language, plus sometimes I tend to rush and make mistakes.
Hope you enjoy this chapter, get ready for some interesting things in the next one. *coughs*
Buh-bye