A Kidnapper's Dream (Unedited)

-Chapter 17: There's No Place Like Home-

@Copyright 2013 all rights reserved

-Written By: LovableMonster-

-Chapter 17: There's No Place Like Home-

The cottage really isn't that bad, if you don't count the countless broken furniture, cobwebs everywhere, and a broken window. I asked Luca if he knew who's house and he told me he used to live here when he was younger, but decided it wasn't exactly the place he wanted to live at anymore. He started fixing up a few things to make the place better for us, he even dusted off furniture. There's only five rooms to the whole house. A living area, two bedrooms, a small kitchen, and a bathroom. It's not as grand as the other place we left, and there's no artistic touches to anything.

We sit together in the living room, while I sent Annabella off to her new room since I didn't want to deal with her and I told Luca what I assumed my daughter did. He cursed into the air and he nearly broke something, which I prevented him from doing. I can't bear to see him that way.

The living room is rather small, like the kitchen. There's a fireplace that doesn't seem to function properly, there's two loveseats, and there's a bookshelf filled with dusty books and dried out paints. The floor isn't like Luca's preferred tiles, just plain wood. We borrowed a rug from Annabella's bedroom to lay on as he pull his brown sack towards us.

I was wondering what he packed because it was huge and filled completely to the brim. It had two dingy little strings holding everything together and I have a hard time figuring out how Luca carried such a load.

He unties the strings carefully and pulls out the first item, my locket with my initial on it. I gasp at the sight of it, I had totally forgotten taking it off a few nights ago. Oh, how I love the sight of it. Luca actually smiles and I slip it over my head and press a hand to it, thankful for it.

Then he pulls out a set of his paints and brushes, I knew he couldn't resist at least bringing one set. I know he said he doesn't like to paint but I don't buy it. I think he's happy with painting, which it brings out who he really is, in beauty, on a canvas. Speaking of canvases, he pulls out my elephant one from the bag next and removes a dirty landscape painting from the wall and places mine up on it. I smile and hug him for it.

"You’re welcome Jessalyn,'' he says and then pulls out a few clothes for both of us, even a few dresses for Annabella.

Then finally, after digging around in the sack for a while he pulls out a large book, stamped with ink and on the front it's titled: Jessalyn. I wonder what the book is and try to ask him but he places it back in the sack along with the clothes before I get the chance. He gets up from the rug and smiles at me, happy to see me happy of course. He helps me up and we walk over to our new room, and then it hits me.

I ran away from the police; people who were going to help me get back to my old life.

They were going to rescue me, but from what?

My new life has only just begun, and Luca and my daughter are part of it, no matter how much they can turn it upside down and back around again.

The bedroom is similar to the living room; filled with little furniture besides a bed, and covered in little to no art. There's an old wooden dresser for our clothes and another window, but this one is the damaged one; the broken one. I like how the broken on is in our room, it reminds me of two certain broken people.

Luca puts the sack in the corner, not quite ready to put away everything yet. While he makes the room livelier I let the locket move around in my hand, letting my fingers press on the metal and the golden chain. I remember this gift like he gave it to me so long ago...

When Luca's done with his dusting off with brushes of his hands and adjusting the room to his likings he sits down on the bed with me. It makes a simple, annoying squeak and dust springs up from it. He sighs," I wish we had somewhere better to go, for you Jessalyn.''

I look over at him and place a hand on his leg,'' its perfect Luca,'' and I know my words are false. I don't like the cottage at all, not one little bit. Nothing about it is pleasing to the eyes, but neither are me and Luca. I do wish there was somewhere better to go, but sadly Luca is a kidnapper and a murderer, as many times as I'd like to refuse the thoughts he is.

I'm not okay with it, but he loves me and I love him, and that's all that really matters anyways. We may be on the run for our whole lives, and it wouldn't just have to do with Annabella or that woman, we'd be like this because of what he's done and what I've done alongside him.

I remove my hand from his leg and lay backwards on the bed, getting suffocated with dust and dirt. I don't mind though, knowing that this is where we will be staying, because Luca's done so much for me. This little I could do for him; accepting this place as it is.

I can still feel the touch of Luca's lips on mine and wonder how I've ever let myself for him or them. How I've let myself be unafraid of a kidnapper and let him take me away from a place, going farther away from my grandparents. Luca lays backwards too and he looks at me, he grips my hand and intertwines our fingers together.

We're not perfect, we're far from it, but we're still together and that's what truly matters. We're not beautiful people, we're not even pretty. We're freaks on a side show, artifacts in a museum, creatures to be observed under microscopes. I will never let that happen though, not to Luca anyways. I may not know everything about Luca, but I know enough to know that he's faced so much more than me and I'm the one who needs to be brave now.

There's no place like home without Luca, I know that now, because he's always been there at my home in South Carolina.

He's always been there...