Captured by him

Chapter 19: The Garden

When I woke, Mason was already gone. On the bedside table, there was a note.

Annalise,

Breakfast is waiting for you downstairs when you wake and are ready. Have a shower. Archie is still away, so Aiden will be guarding you today. I have allowed him to take you outside today to explore the garden, I doubt you will abuse the freedom I have granted you. Although I am here today, I will not see you until tonight. We will be dining together and some of my people will help you to get ready.

Mason.

How lovely. Now he was ordering me from a piece of paper. All of his words seemed to be chosen very carefully. He said that Aiden would be guarding me, not watching or helping, guarding me. I knew he liked to show me that he held power but this, this was just annoying now.

Getting out of bed, I was greeted by a cool breeze on my skin. Even with my complaint yesterday, about being cold, Mason hadn't given me anything to be slightly warmer in bed. I mean, I was sure he would have other ways of warming me up, but they were all hard passes from me. I got to the bathroom and closed the door. Even though he had told me to stop putting the chair under the door, I jammed it under.

Coldwater fell on my body, as I leaned my head against the wall. There was a window in his bathroom, but if I could get out of it, it would be a much larger drop. My stomach also reminded me that I should probably give trying to escape a few day's rests. Turning the shower off, I hopped out and wrapped a towel around me.

The person in the mirror wasn't me. They were different. Bones had begun to show more easily, bruises dotted their body. Damp hair hung around her shoulders and water trickled down her chest. Marks lined her neck and her chest. Her wrists, which clung the towel to her body, had purple handprints lining them. It wasn't me, it couldn't be.

I pulled myself away from the mirror and left the bathroom. I quickly pulled out some clothes from the wardrobe and with great haste, put them on. I would not risk anyone seeing me exposed like this, especially when I knew there were men like Mason crawling the halls.

Sure enough, as I pulled the door open, Aiden greeted me with a small nod. He lead me downstairs, where I had breakfast. I watched grey clouds roll in from the horizon, the sun slowly being engulfed by them. Mason had said that I could go outside today and although it would have been nice if it was sunny, I wouldn't let a little bit of rain stop me.

Throughout breakfast, Aiden and I talked. I found out that he had been part of the Mafia since he was 18 and now he was 23. I don't really remember what we talked about but whatever the topic was, he was always careful not to give me much information. It was obvious that his loyalty lay with Mason, but it was nice talking to someone other than Mason or Bailee.

Pushing my chair back from the table, I stood and grabbed my plate. Aiden shook his head and tried to pry the plate from my grasp.

"Mason gave me strict orders. You leave the plate here, the kitchen is out of boundary."

"Aiden. I really don't care what Mason said. My guess is you can only detain me if I try to run, correct?"

He didn't react, which told me that I was right.

"Good. Going to the kitchen isn't running and I have a feeling that he won't like it if you touch me. So, if you would be so kind, let go of the plate so I can take it to the kitchen."

Aiden looked conflicted. If he made me stay, he would have to physically make me, but if he let me go, he would also be disobeying Mason's orders. He decided with the latter as we walked into the kitchen.