The Man on the Other End

Day Three: Burning My Skin

I woke up the next morning to Travis lying next to me in bed. He wasn't asleep; he was just staring at me. My heart started racing. I tried getting out of bed but Travis pulled me back and held me in his arms. I started crying quietly so he didn't hear me. I almost died the night before; I'm not ready to die.

"Today is a new day." Travis kissed the back of my neck. I cringed. "Don't be mad at me, Princess. I'm sorry, it's not like I wanted to do it. You made me do it, if only you would have listened to me." I tried to wiggle away and he gave me that death stare, I had to come up with something and fast.

"I have to take a shower; it's the most important part of my day." It was true but I didn't really want to. I just needed to get away. Travis let go of me and nodded.

"I understand, I'll go ahead and get breakfast ready." Travis smiled. When I crawled out of bed I noticed that I was in my pajamas. Travis changed my clothes. My eyes started to water, what did he do to me? "I didn't rape you, don't worry. We will have our time just not until we are ready. I don't want to rush into anything. Your body is beautiful though." He winked at me then laughed. I picked out a random outfit and quickly walked to the bathroom. I turned the shower on as hot as it would get.

I sat in the tub letting the hot water burn my skin while I cried. Travis is not to be trusted. I grabbed the bar of soap and the washcloth. I scrubbed my body roughly until I couldn't stand the pain any longer. My neck was soar, it hurt to move it in certain ways. I stayed in the shower ten minutes longer after I cleaned myself. I just wanted my skin to burn; I needed to be clean from his touch. The water was hot but I was enjoying the pain, it made me feel clean.

When my shower was finished the whole bathroom was steamy, I dried off my body and wiped the steam off of the mirror. I couldn't recognize myself. There were bruises on my neck and one on my cheek. I couldn't understand how a person could be so cruel. I pulled my pants up and looked down while I zipped them up. I felt my neck crack, it was painful. I slowly put the rest of my clothes on trying to be careful. I didn't want my neck to hurt any more than it already did.

Knock knock.

Travis was knocking on the door.

"Breakfast is ready, hurry up before it gets cold." Travis' voice was muffled. I opened the door and he looked at my red skin. I could tell he was angry by the look in his eyes. "What did you do to yourself?" I could tell he was trying to keep his voice calm as he spoke.

"I didn't do anything, I just like hot showers." I lied. I don't like them that hot. It's not like I could say I was trying to sanitize my body after you touched me. I want to get on his good side so I could get the hell out of this miserable place.

"Go sit and eat before your food gets cold." Travis pointed to the table. I walked a couple steps to the table and took my seat. I started eating the two eggs and toast with the plastic fork. "How is it?" Travis stared at me.

"It's good," I hesitated "thank you, Travis." I can't believe I thanked him, but my life is important to me. I want to see my mom again. I want to be doing crazy things with my best friend again. I am not going to die down here. If that means I have to pretend to be nice and be his pet, then I'll swallow my pride and do it. I only have to be nice to his face, when he's gone I will be planning my escape.

"What's your favorite animal?" How can a person go from trying to kill you to asking your favorite animal?

"I like dogs." I said quietly.

"What about cats?" Travis asked.

"Cats are cool." I looked down trying to avoid eye contact. I ignored the pain in my neck. We finished our breakfast. He took the dishes to the small kitchen and washed them.

"Pretty soon this will be your job." He yelled from the kitchen. "Why don't you go to the living room and we will watch a movie." Is that supposed to be a joke? I walked into the living room and sat on the small two person couch. I turned the television on and it was still on the news channel. Before I could see what was going on it went to commercial. I was waiting patiently for the news to come on but Travis was already in the living room. He was putting a movie into the DVD player. Travis sat next to me and changed the channel over. He skipped through the previews and pressed play. Travis tried wrapping his arm around me and I jerked away. He grabbed onto my wrist and squeezed it hard; it felt like it was going to break. I could almost feel my bones moving. When he let go my wrist had a red handprint. He wrapped his arm around me again and this time I didn't pull away. I felt like a dog in training.

After the long movie that I didn't pay much attention to finished, Travis kissed my forehead. He's disgusting.

"I have to go to work, I don't know if I will be able to see you again today. There is food in the kitchen. I will make it up to you tomorrow, I promise. Bye, Princess." Travis kissed me on the cheek and went up the stairs. After the door shut I heard it lock right after. I heard footsteps above me then they stopped. I heard something that sounded like a garage door. I turned the television back on and watched the news. There was nothing but commercials on so I decided to search the basement again. I looked in every possible spot that I could think of, I didn't find anything. I went back to the couch and removed the cushions. The only thing I found was a bracelet with letters that spelled out Savannah's name. I put her bracelet on and put the cushions back on the couch. I heard my name on the television; I immediately sat down and watched. I saw a female police officer with blonde hair pulled back in a hair tie. "Alice Jane is still missing it has been three days. I'm working on her case day and night. We have a possible suspect in custody, that's all I can tell you for now." I hope its Travis, I hope they find me. I feel happy for once, all I have to do is wait.

I spent the rest of my night clicking through channels; watching different shows and movies. I started to get hungry and went to the kitchen. If I wanted to get out I needed my strength, so I needed to eat. There wasn't much to pick from so I made Ramen noodles. After I ate I brushed my teeth, got in my pajamas, and went to bed. I was tired, it must have been late.

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Thanks for reading comment and vote if you liked it.

Is Travis the suspect?

If you don't think he is, then who is?