Hers.

5. Introductions

My throat started to hurt after awhile from all my yelling. Not only that but my head was pounding from the fact that I'd been sobbing in front of this door for at least the past hour now. The sheet I still held clutched in my arms was already damp with snot and tears, so I used it to wipe my face dry one last time before grabbing the handle of the still locked door and using it to pull myself up off the ground.

I walked slowly to the sofa after switching the lights off, seeing the few towels and sheets on the floor and draped over the sides of the pool table and sofa that I had thrown in my fit of rage earlier. The sheet I'd been holding during my tantrum joined the ones on the floor and I numbly crawled into my spot on the sofa. The silence in the room at that point was deafening, so I dug through the pillows and blankets to find the tv remote and put on that same obstacle course show from last night.

The shitty commentary of the hosts and the periodic splashes of the contestants as they were smacked from whatever platform they stood on faded into the background as I drifted. 'I hope she doesn't hurt me for this.' I thought to myself as I fell into an anxious and not very restful sleep.

---

I woke up to noise from the other side of the door keeping me trapped. I didn't move, not wanting to give away that I was awake, but I did open my eyes a crack to see what was going on. The door finally opened after what seemed like forever and in stepped a woman wearing a bunny mask unsettlingly similar to the one from my dream the other night, as well as a pair of very fluffy looking pants and a loose sleep shirt. She closed the door and was still for a few moments as she looked around the room before walking over to the bar.

I had been so focused on her face (or rather, the rabbit mask she wore over her face) that I didn't notice the basket she was holding until now. She set it on the floor and began moving everything in it to the bartop, taking a few moments to arrange everything before stepping back. I watched as she turned and went around the room gathering and folding the sheets and towels (the sheet I'd held as I cried earlier was put in the basket, I assume so it could be washed) and returned the folded pile to the closet they were kept in. Then she disappeared into the bathroom for a few moments and returned with my old clothes from when I got here. Those went into the basket as well.

It was then that she finally noticed me looking at her. She seemed startled, and it surprised me that she hadn't realized I was awake. Now that I was looking at her more closely I could see her hair sticking out under the straps keeping her mask in place. In an odd sense, it eased some of my fear to see her looking a little messy.

"Hello Y/N." she said, her voice sounding vaguely robotic through her mask. She tilted her head at me and it seemed like she was studying me or looking for something. She took a step towards me and it was then that my fear returned. I didn't know what this woman wanted with me or if she was going to hurt me. Sure she looked ridiculous and nonthreatening in her rabbit mask and pajamas and messy hair but I had never interacted with her other than in the notes she left by my food and had no idea what to expect. I scooted back in my cushion as she approached me, trying to keep a reasonable amount of space between the two of us (although who am I kidding she kidnapped me no amount of space is reasonable and if I ever see her again, it'll be too soon).

She chuckled when she noticed me trying futilely to back away from her. It sounded wrong through her mask. "Is something the matter? You keep backing up." She said, the smile on the rabbit's face never faltering or moving as she spoke but enough of her tone carried through the masks voice changer that I just knew she was smiling, amused at my apprehension. She kept taking steps towards me until she stood right up against the currently folded recliner where she paused and just stared down at me. I didn't move, I'm not sure I even could if I wanted to, fear rooting me to the spot. 

"Are you going to kill me?" I finally asked, my voice coming out as a shaky whisper rather than the confident facade I had intended to use when I made my mind up to speak. She just laughed again, a real laugh this time, but still no better than her condescending chuckle from earlier. It sounded almost musical coming from the mouth of the rabbit mask. 

She reached down and touched my chin, tilting my head up so I was forced to meet the unmoving gaze of her mask, "I won't kill you", her steady hand on my chin came up to tightly squeeze my cheeks then, squishing my face uncomfortably, "but if you scream tomorrow like you did today I'll have to hurt you and I'd hate to break your trust in me like that." She cooed, finally releasing her hold on me as my eyes filled with tears from her threat. 

'My trust in her? What fucking trust? She stole me and is keeping me in her basement! The only thing I could think of that I could trust this madwoman with even a little bit was feeding me, and even that I was wary of. What if she forgot or decided to punish me by letting me starve?' I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out. She quietly shushed me, before cupping my face with both hands and wiping away a couple tears that had spilled down my cheeks. 

"Please don't cry. I just need you to be good for me while you're here. I can make this place lovely for you it'll be like a vacation." She was still holding my head, still forcing me to look at her, her voice still robotic and vaguely musical but sounding somehow softer as she spoke again, "All I ask is that you be good. Don't you want to cooperate? Hasn't it been tiring the past few days? I'm sure you feel like shit, why don't you just accept that this is where you are now. It'll hurt a lot less that way I can promise you that." Her tone, which had been soothing dropped into something definitely resembling a threat at the end of her little speech. 

I felt too paralyzed to speak, so I just nodded to the best of my ability with the way she held my face. She seemed to perk up at that, letting go of me and straightening back up so she was standing and looking down at my shaking form on the sofa again. I hadn't even realized she had been leaning closer while we spoke I was so fixated on the unsettling mask, but I was glad to know that there was some distance between us. She brought a hand up and I flinched as she placed it on top of my head and ran it over my hair once, almost like she was consoling a scolded dog. "You'll be alright." She said, patting my cheek a couple times, not smacking me but certainly not lightly tapping either. 

With that she stepped back and turned away from the sofa, going back to the bar and collecting her basket. I just watched shakily from my perch on the sofa as she looked over the array of gifts on the bar once more before reaching into a pocket of her pants and pulling out a couple brightly colored pens which she dropped into the mug. She turned to look at me again, "Goodnight Y/N, sleep well," she said as she walked back and opened the basement door. I glimpsed a set of stairs behind her as she left, and then I was just left with the noise of the lock clicking shut, her footsteps retreating, and then a suffocating silence. 

A/N-  hello! its been quite awhile huh? i really didnt mean to lowkey abandon this for so long, but boy am i glad to be coming back. I even know where I plan for this to go so hopefully ill be able to toss a few chapters up before dropping off the face of the earth again for awhile. still no consistent update schedule so just keep an eye out!