Stockholm Syndrome

Small Talk

"The zoo?" I coughed incredulously as I looked up from the plate of food in front of me.

"Yes, the zoo," Max said dryly as he too stopped eating and looked at me with a somewhat annoyed expression.

It'd been only two days since Charlie's birthday party and since I'd tried escaping, yet Max was acting like nothing had happened. Instead of keeping me locked up in his house, like I'd assumed he would, he wanted to take me with him and visit the zoo. The fucking zoo of all places. I didn't have anything against zoo's, but I wasn't about to go anywhere with Max. I was still recovering from the beating he'd give me and I wasn't about to risk getting into another argument with him in public to only end up with more bruises.

I shook my head defiantly as I pushed myself away from the table and crossed my arms. "No, I'm not going."

His cold eyes narrowed as they met my fiery ones. I was not going to the zoo and I was determined to make that final.

"Excuse me?" Max coughed as he placed his fork down on his plate. Anger flashed in his dark eyes as he glared at me. He was just as determined as I was, and neither one of us were willing to compromise.

"You heard me, I said I'm not going," I said dryly as I reached for the glass of water in front of me.

"You'll do what I want, so being stubborn won't change anything. You can say anything you want, it's all good in theory I'm sure, but I hold the chips mate. I have Lou, and you'd do well to remember that," he scoffed as he picked back up his fork and took a bite of his breakfast steak.

I looked away, partly in disgust and partly in defeat. Disgust because I knew Max was going to keep using Louis to get his way. Defeat because I couldn't argue against it. So much for having the final say in anything... I let out a sign of annoyance while Max smirked triumphantly. I took a sip of water before setting my glass back down on the table. My stomach churned nervously at the thought of spending any more time than was absolutely necessary with Max and I no longer felt hungry. I usually had a good appetite, but lately I rushed through meals and ate only enough to satisfy my growling stomach. Since Charlie's party Max made up this stupid rule that we had to eat meals together. Naturally, I tried to eat as quickly as possible so I could leave before I had to make small talk. Today I hadn't been fast enough, which was why I was now apparently going to a zoo with Max.

"You've barely touched your food," Max said in put out tone as he looked at the full plate in front me. "It's something that I've noticed recently..."

"And I've noticed that it's none of your business," I scoffed as I looked out the window in attempt to distract myself from having to converse with Max.

"I've got this hypothesis that it has something to do with the fact that I'm making you eat with me," he continued as he looked up at me with a curious expression while he twirled his fork around on his plate.

"It might," I replied coldly as I avoided making eye contact with him. I wasn't in a very good mood, and I didn't feel like playing any games today. Today I just wanted to be left alone and sleep. Was that too much to ask for?

"Ah," he said as he placed his fork on his napkin. "Would you finish your food if I left? You need to eat to keep your strength up, and it's especially important to eat a lot of meat after you've lost so much-"

"I know," I interrupted irritably as my eyes narrowed slightly. I didn't need a lecture on how I needed to take care of myself, especially not from Max. I felt like reminding him that he was the reason for my current condition. I still had to wear a bandage on my arm, had the occasional dizzy spell, and had angry purple bruises. Those things were all his fault, but he's twisted psyche always managed to somehow make it my fault that he abused me.

"You promise that you'll eat if I leave?" An expression crossed his face so quickly that I didn't have time to decipher it, but it almost looked like concern? That was a new one... Max, as far as I knew, was only concerned about making my band suffer. I must have imagined it.

"Yeah," I said hesitantly and I kept my gaze downcast. I wouldn't admit, but Max offering to give me some time to myself, even if it was only breakfast, made me feel more at ease than I had felt since seeing Ed at that stupid party Max dragged me to.

He seemed to notice the slight improvement of my mood, as shook his head and stood from his seat at the table. "I'll give you until noon, but after that you'll be dressed and ready to go to the zoo."

"Are you sure you can trust me in a public setting?" I taunted as I cut my steak into bite size pieces.

Max just rolled his eyes as he suppressed a cruel smile. "Without a doubt. I think you know exactly what would happen otherwise."

My throat grew tight as I thought about Lou... I had to get Lou out of here if we were ever going to escape and get away from The Wanted. I could escape so easily if it was just myself that I was looking out for, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. We needed someone on the inside to help us... if only there was someone who we could convince.

"Anyway, be ready by noon," Max said over his shoulder as he left the kitchen. The door shut quietly behind him leaving me completely alone, asides from the chefs.

It was a weird feeling knowing that I wasn't being watched, as far as I knew, and that I could literally do whatever I wanted until noon. It wasn't like Max to hand out privileges like that without expecting something back in return. He only asked that I eat, which I would, and that I go to the zoo with him. My eating habits were of no real interest to him, and getting out of the house, even if it was the zoo, was still mostly a benefit for me. I couldn't shake the feeling that I was overlooking something important, but I didn't want to waste a single second of my temporary freedom.

As I ate I decided that the best use of my time would be to explore the house. If and when Lou and I got the chance to escape we'd need to have some idea of where we were going. We'd need to know where to get supplies, where we could get a vehicle, and where the exits were. Maybe if I was lucky I'd find out if Lou was being kept here too.

The more I thought about it the lighter my mood became. I had almost four hours to burn, and if my exploring went well I could even squeeze in time for a hot shower. Maybe going to the zoo wasn't such a bad thing after all.

_________________________________________________________________________________

As always. thanks for reading! I'm going to the beach this week, so I won't be updating until I get back =/ I know this chapter is a bit short, but stay with me. 

xoxo

IndieChick95