Learning to Live, Again

Chapter One

??? POV

He stood in the doorway, his arms crossed, watching her.. She was in the middle of the room, hands tied behind her back, and body tied to a chair. A bandanna covered her eyes, but her mouth was uncovered. No one would hear her all the way out here. She was just sitting there, body still, as if she were a deer listening for predators. He smirked. What an apt description.

He took a step near her, and her head shot to his direction. "I know you're there," she said, her voice calm. "I heard you walk in. You're not very quiet."

Nodding, even though she couldn't see the motion, he walked towards her slowly. "You made it quite easy for us to catch you, you know."

"Us? So there's more than one," she replied.

He scowled, his face turning red. His job was to keep her in the dark as much as possible, and here he was giving her essential information. If the boss found out he had given her any information, even the smallest detail, he's be killed. "Are you hungry?"

She scoffed. "I'm not eating anything until you let me see you."

The man shrugged. "It's your loss. I don't care whether or not you live. If you kill yourself it'll relieve me of one more job." 

Sighing, her lips pulled into a frown. He could tell she was thinking something through. After a few moments of intense silence, she spoke, "I'd rather starve."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. We have business to take care of, you and I." He pulled up a chair in front of her. He watched her legs push on the ropes that held her down. Him and the others had learned quickly that first day that even blind, this was no girl to mess with. They had left her legs free, and in one moment she'd kicked two of them in the genitalia and had almost hit him with the chair before they were able to stop her. The bruise on her cheek was a reminder of the boss' anger. 

"I don't do business with criminals," she stated as calmly as if she were talking to any one of her clients.

He laughed, his voice carrying through the room. "It's funny how you think you have a choice in the matter." His voice got gruffer. "You don't. Now, either you tell me what I want to know, or I'm going to send in Ponyboy." She instantly stiffened at the name. "Yea, you remember him. He wasn't very nice to you the last time he was in here, so I suggest you answer all of my questions." He leaned his elbows onto his knees. "What do you know?"

She smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know?" She seemed tough, but it was just a facade. He could see the small tremors going up and down her arms. He noticed the way her feet couldn't stop their silent tapping, and how her lips were tight and white. She was afraid, and that was a good thing. The more afraid she was, the likelier they could get her to spill  what she knew without hurting her.

"Now Niamh-"

"Wow. You know my name." 

He mentally scolded himself. The boss had told him not to call her by her first name. It made her think that she was a person and gave her some control, when in reality she was a pawn that we could easily move and dispose of without a second thought. "Listen," he growled, his patience wearing thin already, "just tell me what you know, and you can get out of here. Don't you want to see your boys- what were their names? Ahh, yes, Dean and Heath. They're staying at your house with Caleb. I'm sure they'd love a visit from us."

Her bottom lip shook a little. It was much, and you wouldn't notice it unless you were looking for it. "Go to hell," she murmured, her voice as calm as death, as she spit at him. It landed in his eyes, and he backed up, knocking his chair over, wiping his eyes.

"Dumb bitch," he yelled, and back handed her so hard her chair fell over. Bending down, he grabbed the side of the chair and whispered in her ear, "We'll get you to talk, one way or another. Maybe after a visit from Ponyboy you'll be more cooperative." Ponyboy walked in, and as he left he heard the distinct sound of wood on skin, and  Niamh's cry of pain.

~~~~~

Caleb's POV

I felt something touch my nose, and I turned over, not quite awake yet. On the other side of the bed, I felt something touch my nose again. Frowning, I opened my eyes to see two big baby blue eyes looking at me. It was Dean, his curly hair now long and slightly in his eyes. I made a mental note to take him to get it cut as I sat up. Dean lay beside me, and Heath stood awkwardly on the side of the bed, his little hands clutching the blankets. 

"Hungry," Heath stated in his baby voice, making it sound more along the lines of "hunwy" than actually saying the word "hungry". He pulled on the blanket, his wide grey eyes looking up at me. "Hungry," he repeated when I didn't immediately move to get him food.

I sighed. "Hungry, huh?" Looking at the clock, I noticed that it was ten minutes past five. "So early in the morning?" Heath pulled on the blankets again, and Dean shifted so he was in front of me. He pointed at his mouth, an impatient frown on his face. I groaned. "Alright; alright. Let's go get you two some food." I waited until Dean was off the bed before I moved. 

Even though we had been together in the same house for almost three weeks now, he was still weary of me. I swung my legs over the side of the bed, and picked Heath up as I made my way downstairs. For the past few days I've been sleeping in Niamh's bed. I figured it was safer than sleeping downstairs where the boys would have to walk down there every morning to wake me up. I didn't want to chance one of them getting hurt; Niamh would never forgive me. So, to be safe, I slept in Niamh's  bed, and I blocked off the top of the stairs with a little baby gate.

I followed Dean down the stairs, Heath jabbering away in his baby talk. He spoke very little English, but he was learning, and let me tell you, he loved to practice. I swear that's all this kid did is talk and talk and talk! I wanted to act like it bothered me, I wasn't a kid person and I didn't want to admit to myself that I was already getting attached, but his consistent talking didn't bother me. If I was being honest with myself, which I rarely was these days, it was sort of a comfort, kind of like routine.

Setting Heath in his high chair, I pulled out the chair for Dean, and then made my way to the fridge. "So, what are we hungry for, boys?" 

"Eggs!" Heath immediately shouted like I knew he would.

I sighed. "Heath, can't we eat something other than eggs? We've been eating that for the past week. Maybe Dean wants something else. I looked at Dean, and he shook his head. "No? You want eggs, too?" He nodded, clutching the little brown bear that Niamh had given him while he was still in the hospital. It was his favorite thing in the world, and he never went anywhere without it. He even took it to the bathroom with him! I sighed. "Fine; fine. We'll have eggs... again."

Dean and Heath shared a grin, and Dean went to high five Heath who, to his annoyance, didn't know how to. So, while I cooked their breakfast, Dean tried to silently teach Heath how to high five.

~~~~~

Dear Readers,

So? What do you guys think of the book so far? I know it was a pretty slow first chapter (except for the kidnapper's POV of course), but it's just starting out. I promise it will get more interesting. :)

Thank you again for reading! (I apologize if you're getting tired of me thanking you, but I am just so grateful to all of you.)

Sincerely,

Jax Nicoles