Captivated

CHAPTER TWELVE

I'm half asleep, thinking about how lovely it would be to have pancakes or ice cream right now, when I hear a gentle knock at my door. If I wasn't conscious before, I certainly am now. My eyes fly open and I scoot back as far as I can, pressing my entire body to the corner where the walls converge, knowing that Dane is back and fearing what he has in store for me now. The door opens and to my surprise, Avery walks in cautiously.

"Avery!?" I gasp, not fully believing that it's really him. I have to be awake, right?
"Hi Reign. Can I come in?"

I'm too shocked to respond. He takes my silence as a yes and walks towards me, sitting at the edge of the bed. Is this real or am I dreaming? I didn't think I'd ever see him again. How long has it been? Three, four, five days? I hate that I have no way of keeping track of the time in here.

"How have you been?" he asks through melancholy eyes.
"I'm... um," I pause. "I'm okay."
"Did he did he hurt you?" I nod my head and the tears fill my eyes, blurring my vision. "Fuck," he mutters. "I'm sorry."
"It's okay," I say as I wipe my eyes. "I'm fine." But who am I trying to convince; him or myself?
"Are you hurt? Can I get you anything?"
"No," I shake my head. "Thank you though." I say. He nods sympathetically. I am a little taken back by his sudden change in attitude. "Is he here?" I ask, looking around the room, realizing that this may be too good to be true.
"No, he's gone for the day."
"What day is it?" I ask.
"Friday."
"Friday the...?"
"Twelfth." He says. I close my eyes. It's been so long. "Are you sure we're safe to talk?" I nod my head towards the door.
"I had no idea he was recording our conversations. But I think I figured out a way to block the signal, temporarily."
I pause for a moment, thousands of emotions running through me at once. "I'm sorry!" I blurt out.
"For what?"
"Getting you in trouble. This is all my fault." I say as I start to cry again.
"Hey, hey," he says as he scoots closer to me. He puts his arm on my shoulder and I look up to meet his eyes. "None of this is your fault. You didn't choose to be here. You simply want to leave. I'm just an idiot for trying to help you."
Ouch. His words sting. "Oh..."
"You know what I mean," he says. "Either way. I's fine now."
"Did he hurt you?" I ask.
Avery nods. "I'm used to it though."
"You shouldn't have to go through that Avery. You need to defend yourself."
"Did you see what happened the last time I tried that?" The memory returns of him tackling Dane from across the table. "It's okay. I'm fine. I promise." he reassures me.
"Okay," I say. "So why'd you come?"
He hesitates. "Well, I...first I wanted to make sure you were alright,"
"Well, I'm not. I don't know if I'll ever be alright. But for now... I will manage."
"Okay,"
"And secondly?" I ask.
"Oh," he says. "And secondly..." he pauses. "I went to Berkeley."
"You what!? When? How?"
"The other day. Dane was at work so I left and found my way there."
I feel the tears rising in my eyes again. "Did you... find him?" I ask. He nods his head. But he looks almost... upset? Oh no. "What is it?" I ask, fear making its way to my chest.
"I don't know –"
"What happened!? Is he okay?"
"He's fine."
"Then what is it? What's wrong," I stare at him waiting for an answer. He is silent for a long time. Then he finally speaks.
"Do you know anybody by the name of Laiken?" he says.
"Yeah, that's my best friend, why –" then it hits me.

Fuck.

I can't control it. The tears come faster and harder, streaming down my face. I'm gasping for air, trying to catch my breaths in between the sobs. Avery has moved beside me and is rubbing my back trying to calm me down. After minutes of crying, I finally begin to breathe steadily and collect myself.

"What happened?" I ask between sniffles.
"I uh, I went to the football team to ask around for the captain. The guys told me he was just grabbing lunch and that he'd be back shortly. So I waited. I heard one of the guys call 'Colby', so I looked up and saw who I presumed to be your boyfriend. Except..." he pauses.
"Except he was with her." I finish for him. He nods. "Dammit," I say and more tears fill my eyes. My throat feels tight. "How did you know it was her?"
"Well... when I looked up and saw him with this girl... they were, um, holding hands, and..." he speaks cautiously as he watches my reaction. "I didn't think it was him, because, you know, I thought he'd be... not with a girl. But then the guy that called him walked up to him and started talking to him. And I thought, that can't be Colby. But it was. So I went over..."
"You talked to him!?"
"I just said, "hey man, you Colby?" because I had to find out. And he said yes. And then I told him I was looking for the football captain and he said that was him. And then I asked him some questions about football and if there were any tryouts. I didn't know what else to say. And then I looked at the girl, who was staring at me the whole time, and I stuck my hand out and said, "I'm Avery," and she shook my hand and said "Laiken". He stops speaking and lets me take in all of this information.
"You're an idiot." I finally say.
"Pardon me?"
"For using your real name. You should have at least made something up. Like, I don't know, Tim, or Frank, or John."
He laughs. "I wasn't thinking, okay?"
"Clearly." It goes quiet again and he studies me.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"You don't have to keep asking me that."
"Well... I don't know what else to say."
"Hmmm, well, I'm being held captive by a sociopath and now I find out that my beloved boyfriend is cheating on me with my best friend."
He winces. "I'm sorry."
"Not your fault," I say dryly. "You're just the messenger." I say. He looks down. "I'm so stupid," I say. "I should have known."
"You couldn't have,"
"No, I should have known. This has probably been going on for months. Neither of them are cold-hearted enough to start seeing each other after I was taken, which means this has been going on for a while. And the fact that he's not even trying to hide her from his friends... even worse."
"He's a douche." Avery says. I laugh. "He is. He must be a real idiot to choose someone else over you."
I look up at him. "Well, it's not entirely–"
"Don't defend him Reign. He's a jerk."
I laugh again and wipe my eyes. "Yeah, you're right. He is a jerk." I say. But then I think about everything we've been through – all the love, memories and happiness. Tears fill my eyes once more. "He is a jerk – but I love him." I cry. Avery sits there awkwardly, not knowing what else to do. I'm sure he's not used to over dramatic crying girls. "It's only been twenty days," I say. "Being locked up here, it feels like a lifetime. But for him... Twenty days is only two weeks of class. Twenty days is only eight practices. Twenty days is nothing. And yet he's already moved on and I guess so has she."
"Don't beat yourself up over it, okay?"
I sniffle. "I'll try not to."
"Okay, good." He pauses. "I have to go now."
I look up at him. "Already?"
"Like I said, the signal is only blocked temporarily. I have to go make sure everything is okay. Unless you want Dane coming down here and –"
"No," I say. "No, it's fine, go."
He nods. "I'm sorry Reign. I'll try to be back soon, okay? Hang in there."
"Thank you." I say.
He stands up walks away from the bed. "Goodbye." He says as he opens the door.
"Bye." I whisper, and he disappears into the darkness.

__

Later that night I find myself tossing and turning, not able to fall asleep regardless of what I do. One minute I'm too hot and the next minute I'm too cold. I've tried counting sleep, switching positions, and attempting to mediate. Finally, somehow, I manage to fall asleep. It feels like only minutes later that I hear a creaking sound and my body drifts back into consciousness. I try to ignore the sound, until I realize it's the sound my door makes when it opens. My eyes fly open and I immediately sit up. To my surprise, Avery walks in, closing the door quietly behind him.

"What are you doing?" I ask through a hushed whisper.
"Shh, keep your voice down." he says as he walks over to my bed.
"What's going on? Where's Dane?"
"Shh, Reign. It's okay. I'm here."
"What?" I ask, confused. "Avery, what is happening?"
"We're leaving. Tonight."
My heart sinks. Did I hear that correctly? "What?"
"We're leaving, come on, let's go." he says and pulls my hand. I stand up, adjust my night gown, and follow behind him, not asking any other questions. But just as I get near the door, the chain on my foot yanks me backwards and I stumble.
"Avery, the chain." I say. He doesn't answer. He just stares at me. "Get the key. Take it off." I say.
"I can't do that Reign."
"What?"
"Come on," he pulls my hand again but I can't move.
"What is happening?" I cry. I watch as Avery walks straight ahead and right through the wooden door, like a ghost. Have I lost my mind? Am I dreaming? A second later he's back. He's right in front of my face and he's pulling my wrists.
"We have to go – now." he says.
"Avery, what did he do to me? Am I drugged?"
"Shh, keep it down." he says and then vanishes right before my eyes. He appears again a second later and is standing in front of me.
"Avery!" I cry. What is happening!? He stands there, staring into my eyes. He brings his hands up and holds my face gently. He tilts his head, studying my face. I feel tears running down my cheeks and he wipes them away with his thumb.
"Do you want me?" he asks.
"What?"
"Do you want me, Reign?"
"Avery, I –" He cuts me off by leaning in and pressing his lips to mine. I'm startled but I don't move. He kisses me gently then pulls back and looks at me again.
"What are you doing?" I ask, confused.

He takes my hand, pulling me back towards the bed. He sits down and pulls me onto his lap. He kisses me again and I lean backwards, feeling the weight of his body on top of mine. But then he whispers, "I know what you're planning." and disappears from right there in front of me.

My eyes fly open and I sit up, gasping for breaths. I look around my room – it's empty. I was dreaming. It was just a dream – that's all. I'm so startled and confused by what just happened that I barely notice I've kicked all the blankets off the bed. What is happening to me? Did Dane drug me again? The dream – it felt so... real. But it wasn't. And I'm hopeless again. Because the chain is still on my leg, my room is empty, and Avery isn't here telling me that we're leaving.