Jared had his hands all over me after I finished washing the dishes. He was holding onto my waist and kissing my neck. I wiggled out of his grip. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me close. In the corner of my eye, I saw Theo walking down the hallway. He had his sketchbook tucked under his arm.
"What are you doing?" Jared asked.
"Stop it," I said and gave my arm a rough yank.
Jared crushed my wrist in his grip and pushed me backward into the counter. He put his hand on my waist and curled his fingers into my flesh.
"You're supposed to like this," Jared said.
"Well, I don't," I said.
"Jared, just leave her alone."
I tilted my head to see past Jared to see Theo standing in the kitchen. Jared looked over his shoulder.
"Get out of here," Jared told Theo.
"I didn't know you were in charge of the kitchen," Theo said.
"Well, I am in charge of Leah," Jared said. "So leave us alone."
It was odd to see Jared and Theo arguing like normal brothers. I ripped my hand out of Jared's grip. He did not move to hold my wrist again.
"Maybe if you were nicer to her she would actually like you," Theo said.
"I'm taking care of her," Jared said. "Leave us alone."
Theo rolled his eyes and went up the stairs. Jared looked back at me. I flinched when he raised his hand, but he just ran his fingers through my hair.
"Everything I do is to take care of you," Jared said. "Remember that I am always keeping you safe."
He kissed my forehead before taking a step back. He laced his fingers through mine. He pulled me behind him up the stairs. Walking down the hallway, I could see Theo sitting on the foot of his bed in his room. He was sketching something in his book. I thought all hope was gone for Theo when I watched him skin those innocent girls. He was trying to come to my rescue in the kitchen. Maybe I could still convince him to leave a door unlocked so I could escape.
Jared closed the door behind me once we were in his room. My heart jumped when he leaned down and scooped me up into his arms. He laid me down on the bed and climbed on top. I shimmied myself back, but Jared grabbed my wrists. He forced his lips onto mine, and held my hands against his chest. I turned my head to the side so that he was kissing my cheek.
"Leah, look at me," he said.
I squeezed my eyes shut. Jared let go of one of my wrists and grabbed my chin. He turned my head. I opened my eyes to see Jared's cold stare.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Please, don't hurt me," I said.
"I don't want to hurt you," he said. "I never want to hurt you."
"You'll be hurting me if you rape me."
"I am not raping you. You told me in the morning that you wanted to be together tonight."
I sucked in a deep breath. I did promise him that, but that was just to keep him away from me at the time. I hoped he would have forgotten by now.
He reached for the bottom of my shirt. I grabbed his wrist, but he shook me off of him. I gritted my teeth as my wounded arm burned in pain. Despite me fighting against him, Jared managed to get my shirt off over my head. His lips trailed down from my neck to my collar bone.
"Jared, get off of me," I said as I pushed his chest.
"Leah, stop it," he said between kisses.
"Stop!"
Jared leaned back, and I let out a sigh of relief. The feeling of safety was gone when I saw him pull back his arm. Tears filled my eyes when his hand connected with my cheek. The pain spread up to my temple. My glasses fell off of my face and onto the floor. His hand wrapped around my throat. I gasped for air as he tightened his grip. My fingers clawed at his hand.
"Quit it, Leah," he said. "You better learn to respect me. I am doing so much to take care of you."
My chest tightened as I tried to gasp for breath. Jared reached down and unbuttoned my jeans. I was too focused and prying his hands off of my neck to stop his movements. Jared managed to remove both of our clothes with one hand. His grip loosened when he forced himself on me.
--
Jared was softly snoring beside me. I clutched the blankets to my bare chest. My body ached, and my stomach grumbled. I lied on my back and stared at the ceiling. I had tried earlier to take the key off of his chest, but Jared stirred in his sleep. I was afraid to wake him up, and for him to decide to punish me again.
My stomach groaned again. I rubbed my belly while looking over at Jared's body. He continued to snore, and was deep in sleep.
This family was going to starve me. Gabe said I could not eat until I ate some of the meat. They were going to starve me until I went crazy and became a cannibal. The thought of those two innocent girls made the bile rise in the back of my throat.
I had to sneak some food. I had to get something in my stomach. I needed to eat something to help gain my sanity.
I lifted the edge of the blanket and slipped out of the bed. My feet hit the cold floor, and I tiptoed across the room. I found Jared's shirt and my underwear lying on the floor. I slipped on the clothes, and buttoned up his flannel shirt. If anyone caught me, I could lie and say that I was just looking for a glass of water. I got down on my knees and ran my hand under the bed. I found my glasses and placed them on my face.
I took another look at Jared to make sure that he was asleep. I took short small steps over to the door. The floor creaked under my feet. I held my breath as I opened the door up a crack. I stepped out into the hallway and then closed the door.
The sound of a loud cough echoed through the quiet house. I walked down the hallway, and I let my eyes adjust to the darkness. The coughing sound continued. I held onto the banister as I walked down the stairs. I hurried into the kitchen.
I first checked the door hoping that the boys would forget to lock it. The door was locked, but I was not even disappointed. I knew that it was going to be locked. They are trained to lock the door, they would never forget.
I went back to the fridge. When I opened it, the kitchen flooded with light. I had to surpass a gag when I saw a pile of leftover meat sitting on the shelf. Beside it was a large green bowl. I lifted the edge of the aluminum foil covering the top. I peeked in to see that it was full of carrots. I picked up one of the carrots and tossed it in my mouth. I ate a few more carrots. I wanted to eat the whole bowl, but if I ate all of them it would look suspicious.
There was another covered bowl in the fridge. I lifted the top to see that it was mashed potatoes. I scooped out a bit with my finger. I did not want to use a spoon because it would leave behind evidence.
The stairs creaked, and I closed the door. My heart pounded as I reached for the cupboard. I grabbed one of the glasses and filled it full of water from the sink. There was the sound of a cough, and I looked up to see it was Theo.
He was in his pajamas and his hair was messed. He had a knitted blanket wrapped around his shoulders. His book was in his hands.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I was just getting a glass of water," I said before bringing the glass up to my lips.
"Leah, you don't have to lie to me," he said. "Is the hunger already getting to you?"
I shook my head. Theo took a step back and flicked on the lights. He opened up the pantry and handed me a box. I took it and looked to see that it was a box of crackers.
"Have some," he said. "We rarely eat them."
"Thank you," I said.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "My room is next to Jared's. I heard what happened."
"Theo, you have got to get me out of here," I said. "Please, he is going to hurt me again."
"I'm giving you some food. That is all I can do. I'll get punished is they find out I gave that to you."
I took a handful of crackers and handed him the box back. Theo put it back into the pantry.
"We can get out of here together," I said before eating one of the crackers. "You know that in a few years Gabe is going to get you a girl. What are you going to do then?"
Theo tightened the blanket around himself. I tried to eat the crackers as fast as I could before someone heard us talking.
"I'll worry about that later," Theo said.
"They are trying to brainwash me," I said. "I don't know how long I will go without cracking. They are trying to take my sanity."
"They will kill both of us. I'm sorry, but I can't do that. You should probably get back to bed before Jared realizes you're up."
I nodded my head. Theo turned and walked down the hallway. I took another sip of water before placing the glass in the sink. I placed my finger on the lightswitch, but I hesitated. I turned to look at the cupboards.
I was so focused on the food that I forgot that I was alone in the kitchen.
I went to the drawer full of knives. I opened it up and smiled. I pulled out one of the large butcher knives. I held it up to see my reflection in the blade. I had to sneak this into our room.
My grip tightened on the handle as I hurried over to the lightswitch. I flicked off the lights and went back up to our room. I snuck back into the room. Jared stirred when I closed the door. I kneeled next to the bed. I lifted the edge of the mattress to try and tuck the knife between the mattress and boxspring.
"Leah?" I heard Jared groan. "What are you doing?"
I slid the knife under the bed. I climbed back onto the bed. I ran my fingers through his short hair and lied down beside him so that I did not seem suspicious. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his bare chest. The cold metal of the chain pressed against my cheek.
"I was cold," I lied. "I was just looking for something to wear."
"Okay." He kissed the top of the temple. "I love you."
"I love you too."
I loved the large butcher knife sitting underneath the bed that I was going to plunge into his chest.