Broken Wings (SAMPLE)

Chapter Nine

A week went by with me still stuck in the house but there had been a considerable change in the way that both Shadow and Leah acted towards me. Of course, they weren't exactly polite, they were still quite cruel with their words but after learning of my past, I think they realised that they had not helped matters and I had overheard them talking about my mental health. 

I understood why they were concerned because if I learned that somebody had been abused, I'd be worried about them too and want nothing more than to help them. However, when that concern is coming from a man that had kidnapped me, it was no surprise that I wasn't sure what to think. Shadow had told me he was no longer planning on torturing me, on account of me being abused. In all honesty, it felt like I was being treated like a fragile little doll and while I was sort of glad of that fact, I was slightly annoyed by it too. 

Seeing the bruises was enough for the two of them to treat me differently, if my shock confession to Rose wasn't enough. What they were expecting I didn't know, but judging by the look on their faces when I had lifted my top to show them, it was clear they hadn't expected my body to be covered in bruises as much as it was. That was also when Shadow realised why he had not healed the pain in my head but the pain in my body.  

I was still confined to the bedroom, something I doubted would ever change, though they allowed me to keep my phone on account that they were allowed to check the messages if they wanted to. I agreed to the deal purely because it meant I could keep in touch with Rose and it succeeded in making me feel a little bit safer. He even gave me my suitcase back to which I was shocked as I wasn't aware that he even had it. I has assumed he left it. 

I knew that I was in a constant state of impending doom, just waiting until Shadow flipped out and killed me in a rage but as the week went by, he seemed to be calmer. Almost as if he was actually afraid of hurting me, not that that made any sense to me. If he cared about hurting me, he would let me go seeing as each second that ticked by meant that I was hurting mentally. I missed Rose.

Being confined to the bedroom came with its disadvantages, however, and it wasn't just because I couldn't escape. It was because that gave me too much time alone with my thoughts, thoughts that could be quite dark at times. I found myself regretting that I had stabbed Shadow, though it had been necessary under the circumstances. I found myself wishing that I could just die. Worst of all, I found myself wishing I would never be allowed to leave because the harsh reality is that if Shadow told me to leave, I wouldn't have anywhere to go. I couldn't impose myself upon Rose and her family, that wasn't right no matter how much she disagreed. 

I still hadn't laid my hands on the books I wanted and I doubted I'd be allowed out of the bedroom. Every meal they brought for me was to be eaten in the room and then they'd come and collect the plate after. I was only allowed to leave when I needed the toilet and even that was supervised. 

There was still a part of me that was thought that being locked in my own 'prison cell' was better than being in a hotel back home with no idea what to do next. I was confused, unbelievably so. About everything. Since Shadow and Leah found out about my past, they'd be kind to me, too kind in fact. It was beginning to worry me. What was their plan? I couldn't figure it out. 

So to say I was confused about the circumstances in which I found myself was definitely the understatement of the century. I had no idea what to feel or think. I wanted them to let me go but I also knew I'd have nowhere to go if I did. I was terrified he'd change his mind and kill me but I was also curious, intrigued even, by him. 

It would be safe to assume that my head was a total mess. 

***

I was laying on the bed, playing Monster Busters on my phone when the bedroom door was unlocked and in stepped a furious looking Shadow. I gulped, wondering what he was going to do. Storming over to the window, he glanced out of it. I waited patiently for him to say something as I didn't want to anger him further.