The Devil's Web | Sequel

Is It Real?

                                                                                        Adelaine

Pain. Pain sears through my whole body and a cascade of goosebumps rises from my skin.

My muscles cramp as I attempt to roll on my back, my hand flying to my pulsating head.

What the hell happened?

My back flops against the cold floor and I groan from the agonizing pain, like static through my body.

My eyes are closed, but everything is quiet, too quiet for my liking.
I feel a presence in front of me, the one that makes the entire room weight in tension, and I immediately know who it is.

Liam.

I force my eyes open but darkness falls over me like a veil, tipping my headache over the edge.

"You're finally awake."He says in a flat tone.

Following the side of his voice, I turn my head to the left,"Why did you do this?"I utter, feeling the pain worsen with each word I spoke.

He notices my discomfort and laughs, the creepy sound of it following the sound of his heavy boots stepping on the creaky wood.

"Let me explain something to you. Your little husband might be skilled at working out, cooking, even hiding from his family for years, but he will never be skilled enough to find you."

I swallow, feeling my body heat in panic."He-he will find me."

He snorts."If being delusional will help you cope, then by all means, go ahead."

I finally open my eyes, letting the dim lighting burn my vision until it adjusts. I prop myself on my elbows and slowly sit up, the room spinning with each movement.

When it finally calmed down, I looked around, processing the freezing cold room we were in.

It was shabby and neglected, brown floorboards were filled with dust and leaves that got in through the half cracked window, that only had a ripped see through curtain hanging on it loosely.

A table stood in the corner with a chair beside it, where Liam was sitting and staring through the window while a single candle burning next to him.

"I met her here, you know."

"Met who?"

"Ravenna."He says, then leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I met her three years ago, I found her here. She was laying on the same spot you're laying in now. She was holding a little baby in her arms, a boy, his name was Kian. You look like her, sometimes you are her."

I feel my heart drop down to my stomach. He thinks I'm her.

"I saved her, I brought her and her son to my penthouse and took care of them, I was seeking justice for what happened to her. I would have taken her to the police, gave her a few hundreds and went along with my day, but she was so kind, so beautiful, she was everything I wasn't."He chokes on his words, his eyes slowly filling with tears.

"For nearly a year they lived with me, she wanted me to keep that a secret, she was ashamed of what happened to her."

"What happened to her?"I ask, pressing my back against the cracked wall.

"She was raped by her college professor and nobody believed her, not even her parents. They kicked her out of the house, she lost all her friends and had to drop out of her last year because they stopped supporting her financially. She was homeless after that, which was disgusting when you know how wealthy her parents were, they could have helped her in every way possible...but the chose  to make her life hell instead."

My lip quivers. I can't begin to imagine how lonely she felt being abandoned by everyone she loved and cared for. I can't even imagine how cold she must've been living in a place like this.

"You loved her."He nodded, forcing out a laugh."Loved, adored, found my purpose while helping her, all of it."

"Where is she now? Are you still in touch with her?"I ask him carefully, trying not to get on his bad side. If I ever plan on leaving this place I need to get on his good side.

He runs his hand through his hair in frustration."God knows where. I came back home a few months ago and she was gone, Kian and her stuff too. I looked everywhere-but she's...gone."His voice cracks again, and I catch a sight of a tear sliding down his cheek.

"You resemble her, she has the same hair color, the same eyes. You are her, you have to be."He pleads, I shake my head slowly.

"Liam. I know you're hurt, trust me I know how it feels when someone you love walks out of your life. I've lived it twice, I survived it. I remember seeing Kingston everywhere I looked, I remember the amount of pills I had to take and the stays at the mental hospital, where they had no other option but to tie me to the bed and call your sisters to calm me down. I know this feeling better than anyone."

I let the tears slide down my face as the painful memories crawl their way back into my mind, giving me the same two feelings they did years ago. Hopelessness and dread.

"You are her. You will be her until the day you're eighty and then dead."His eyes darken. My stomach ties in knots but I do my best to keep the fear hidden.

"We can find her. You don't have to do any of this, Kingston and I will help you find her and-"I pause, my eyes landing on his hands before going back on his face.

Trembling hands. Empty look in his eyes. Hallucinations. Out of character behaviour. Anger outbursts. Sudden mood swings. Everything I had when my pill addiction got out of control.

I swallow hard."Liam, are you-are you on some kind of medication?"

He raises an eyebrow."That's none of your business, you're not here to give me a therapy session talk."

"I know, but when Kington left, I was on some pretty heavy medication that I became dependent on. It gave me the same symptoms-"He groans and stands up.

"Keep your nose out of my business, I'm not an idiot, I know what you're doing and it's not working. You already are on my good side, that's why you're here, and why you'll never go back to Kingston."

"I know this is hard for you but I promise you this isn't going to help anyone. Please let's  just go back to the house and talk about this calmly-"

"This is your house for now until I get us something cozier. You are mine and Kingston is out of the picture. This is your life from now on, get used to it."