I wake up not in the cell from before but in the room that belongs to the little girl with the same name as me. I am in her bed but my feet hang off the end by a few feet. I'm 5'9'' and this bed is built for a small child. Maybe a 6 or 7 year old? Papa said that I was taken when I was 6 so this is probably my room. Wow. This is starting to make sense. That's why the music box seemed so familiar, it was mine, is mine. Oh I have so many questions. God, every time things start to make even a sliver of sense they are set on fire and I am left with nothing, again. For every question answered is a list of new ones hidden in the binding of this book of secrets. Great. Who was my mom really? Did she help kidnap other people or was she kidnapped, both even? Why is this so complicated?! I don't even know my own mother... The woman that tucked me in at night...
I see someone out of the corner of my eye. I think he is sleeping. Maybe I can get out of here! I'll sneak past him and out the door, hopefully nobody thought to stand watch outside the door. The guy in the chair moves a little and I freeze. Not letting air in or out of my sore lungs. I see his face and realize that he is the one that helped me, that carried me away from the crowd of people and gave me CPR. He saved my life. I know that I can't leave now, I can't even hold my breath for more than a second without pain shooting up into my chest. I definitely can't run at this point. This fucking sucks... I close my eyes and lie to myself saying that I am getting rested up to run away but the reality is that I am just too sore to move so I let myself fall asleep.
"You are even more beautiful than I remember. It's been so long since I've seen you. I have missed you more than you know. More than you will ever know." The young man that saved me thinks that I am sleeping. "We said we would leave together. That we would always be together... Why didn't your mom take me with you guys?" He sounds choked up. Papa didn't tell me everything, obviously. I wait a few seconds and flutter my eyes open. His eyes are deep blue, glossy from tears held back. His hair is blonde with a hint of red. Handsome jawline and great facial features. The perfect face, every girls dream face actually. What am I doing?! He is one of them! No matter what he has done or who he was when I was a child. I can't think about this. He is helping them hold me captive. Stop, just stop it. Okay.
"You're awake," He says while grinning adorably. "Obviously," I say with all the sarcasm I can muster. I don't want to sound weak. I need to be strong, even when my body is not. "You haven't changed a bit Cath, have you?" Cath???? Nobody calls me that! Not even my ex boyfriends called me Cath. What gives him the right?! "I didn't say you could call me that. Nobody calls me Cath. Your not special, so don't call me that." I'm not sure how convincing I sound. "You always were kind of feisty when you were younger. Nice to know you're still Cath." I'm not even close to wanting to have anything to do with this person. He is extremely annoying. "What is your name Mr. Know-it-all?" I ask with an attitude. "Jacob, my name is Jacob. We were friends when we were little. Best friends actually, we knew all of each other's secrets." He says it all funny, like a sexy secret. He is really weirding me out now. What the fuck do you mean that we were best friends when we were little? I don't remember a Jacob. I challenge him on it, "I don't remember you." He replies in a playfully hurt manner, "Oh, how could you forget this face Ms. Cathline?!" And for once he is right. How could I forget his face? It is so defined, so unique. Almost like a painting that just couldn't stay on the canvas it was meant for. A perfect face. "I don't remember you," I'm not sure what is appropriate to say to a kidnapper after he says something like that. But at the same time why do I feel like telling myself that I can't trust him is a lie? What were we like as kids? I wonder if we spent every free moment together. Did I crawl into bed with him when I was scared? This all seems so surreal to me. He stands and walks toward the rocking chair he was sitting in earlier. I can see a pack of cigarettes slightly sticking out of his back pocket, Marlboro. I catch myself smiling inside. I wonder if he would let me have one. Papa and the others here don't seem like they would approve of smoking, especially not me. I debate asking for one. I'll wait, my lungs probably couldn't handle it right now anyway. "What's the date? And time?" I ask Jacob. "You know I can't tell you that Cath," He says like he wants to but can't. What is with all this confusing shit? "Oh come on, you can share our childhood but you can't tell me what time it is?" I'm right, I know I'm right. "Well, even I don't know. So don't think you're so special to know Cathline." He says it in a way that seems honest. Honest for a kidnapper, huh. I attempt to break the tension, "Okay, well can I go to the bathroom?" He looks at me then says, "You're not ganna try anything?" I reply sarcasticly, "Of course I am! I'm ganna climb out the window and jump to the ground and actually run with my lungs the way they are." "He grins a little, "Yeah, let me help you".
We walk to the bathroom with his arm around my back. I can't walk well on my own yet. "Not to make this awkward but I have to be in there with you, I can get in a lot of trouble." Wow, they really have this whole kidnapping thing down to the 'T'. This is ganna be weird with him in there. "Fine," I roll my eyes. We walk in and he turns toward the shower on the opposite side of the room and gets inside and shuts the curtain. "Please don't try anything", he sounds like he is nervous. I pee and wash my hands, "Are you decent?" I laugh a little, "Depends on who you ask". He opens the curtain and steps out, his socks are wet making them almost gray. I smile a little but catch myself and continue the placid expression I've been trying to hold since I got here. We walk back to the room in silence. I lay down and he pulls the rocking chair up next to the bed. I curl up into a ball. "You used to sleep like that when we were little," Jacob says after a long minute. I want to ask him about when I was little but I don't have enough energy. I just nod and say I'm tired. I fall asleep rather quickly.
