Stolen Love

15

15

"Were you alright last night?" I ask while we are eating dinner, leftovers from yesterday.

Chris tenses up for a second, "Yes," he says, "Of course."

I nod. "Well, you know how you were saying I suck at lying?" I say, he nods. "Yeah, you're just as bad."

He sighs, "I'm alright-"

"You were talking in your sleep," I say looking down, "You said my name."

We keep eating. The food still tastes as good as it did yesterday. Finally he says, "Ok, so I had a bad dream. It's normal."

"Wanna talk about it?" I ask. I already know his answer, but I might as well try.

"No, Morgan, I really am alright," he says. Of course he won't tell me, but I still want to know. I'm not going to let this drop forever.

It's quiet again. Chris has been kind of cranky all day. He looks tired and troubled.

I know it's not the best idea to push the topic, so I let it drop. Instead I choose something twice as worse, "So who was at the door yesterday?" I ask.

This time when he grows tense, he doesn't relax. He wears a scowl on his face that looks like it won't ever come off. "No one." He practically growls the word.

Now it's my turn to get angry, "I heard the knock. You were gone ten minutes talking to them, don't tell me it was no one."

I expect him to say it was no one again, bit instead his eyes burn in to my gaze. And I know I'm in trouble. "You said them," he growls lowly, "How did you know there was two of them." He didn't say it has a question, more like an accusation.

I start to dumbly say, "It was just a guess," I stutter a little and my voice squeaks at the end. I've probably just proved my guilt.

"Morgan," his voice is still low. If looks could kill, I'd be long gone. "What did you see?"

Something tells me to answer quick and I try, but my mouth just can't form words. "I- I-" I stutter. Oh, I can't look any more guilty, can I? "I didn't see-"

"Yes you did!" He shouts. "Answer me!" His voice sounds cruel and unforgiving. No matter what I say now, he won't believe me.

So now I have a choice, either tell him I was eavesdropping. That would probably get me in more trouble, because I was snooping. Or I could go along with him and say that I saw Ryan and my brother.

The second choice would be a better choice- Crap! What if he asks me if it was Devan or Evan? I don't know which one it was, and he would know that I'm still lying.
Before I know what I'm doing I say, "Your Mom told me," oh god what am I doing? "She said that there were two guys at the door. That's all I know, I swear."

He abruptly stands up, knocking his chair to the floor. He starts to walk away but comes right back. I think he is about yell at me and call me a liar, but instead he speaks in a calm voice, that sounds like it's cracking from rage, just like a volcano before it erupts. "Just leave," he says, "before I hurt you."

"Trust me," I say, "I'd leave if I could." Then I grab my crutches and get out of there as fast as I can.

What am I doing? My heart is beating fast. I thought I was done for. And why the heck would I say that when I left?

An I trying to get myself killed? Or maybe I like getting him mad, getting him out of his zone. Just like he does to me everyday.
I hear a big crash come from the coming from the kitchen. A small smile finds it's way to my cheeks. Yes, I do like doing this to him.

When Chris said to leave the room, I don't go too far. I go to the living room and wait for Netflix to come up. Chris hasn't yelled or broke anything in rage for a few minutes. I never knew he could get so mad over something so little.

I'm trying to think of how bad it would've been if I told the truth. Maybe I would've been the thing he took all his rage out on, or something much worse. Whatever it would be, I'm glad I told the lie.

It's not a big deal or anything. All that happened is my brother and Ryan knocked on the door asking if Chris has seen me. Obviously, he said no and they left. No big deal.

Ok, maybe it kind of is. Just the fact that they are looking in the area has got to be putting Chris on edge. Because if somebody looks at the house at the right time, they'd see me. And it would all be over.

I smile at the thought, but my heart just isn't in it. Ok, I seriously need to get out of here soon. I can't be not wanting to leave.
Because if they do find me, I might do something stupid. Like say that Chris didn't take me, that we ran away together. That wouldn't only hurt me, but it would hurt my family more than I'd ever know.

I'd never do that in purpose, but people say that love makes you blind...

So I wouldn't be thinking about my family or what's best for both of us in the long run. I'd only care about what my heart wants, until it's to late.

It's kind of funny, before I was taken, I thought I was ready to leave the house. I even thought I could handle any curveball life threw at me. I was so wrong.

All it takes is for someone to take me and I'm a wreck. I can't think right half the time, and I'm even falling in love with my kidnapper.

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

But even with all of this happening, I feel like I've grown. Not physically, but mentally. If I hadn't, I don't know where I'd be right now.

"Hey," Chris says. I jump a little bit, he snuck up on me. His voice is much cooler, he must've calmed down. I cross my arms over my chest.

I don't say anything. I just flip through all of the shows and movies on. He sighs and sits next to me. No one says anything for a while. I'm still not sure if I'm in the clear yet, and I don't want to make it worse.

"Didn't you say you were going to teach me about 'The Vampire Diaries'?" I smile a little bit, at least he's trying to be himself again.

"Not teach," I say quietly, "Watch."

He smiles, seeming more interested in me talking than the show. "Same thing."

I scroll back up the the show. I'm about to press play, but then he says, "Wait." It's not demanding or full of anger, which helps me relax a little.

"What do you know?" He asks. I stay quiet. I'm going to lie, but why is it so hard for me?

Probably because lying about your brother and best friend is hard, especially when they can save you. He must think that I'm not going to answer, because Chris says, "I won't get mad. I promise." I can't know that for sure, he even sounded uneasy as he said it.

My arms are still crossed over my chest. I relax them a bit and say, "All I know is two guys stopped at the house yesterday and that you were kind of spooked about it," the words roll easily off my numb tongue. Why do I have to be so confusing?

"That's all?" He asks gently.

"What else is there to know?" I say simply. It's best not to say a lot, because I might as well be saying I know who it was if I say to much.

He looks relieved, "You're right," he says, "There is nothing more to know."

I hit play and we start watching the show.