The Dreadful Story of Cassidy Harper *Discontinued*

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

A/N Shorter chapter this time... don't forget to comment/vote/share

"How did it turn out like this?" Cassidy questioned herself. Just a while ago she was just a student. Sure, her life wasn't great, but it was uneventful and consistent. Now she sat in the cellar of a man she'd idolized for months.... Doing laundry...

Owen had taken her to the little room off of the kitchen that turned out to be a pantry. In one corner there was a hatch on the floor that led to the cellar. It was fairly clean and cobweb-free, despite concrete floors and being unfurnished besides laundry machines.

It was here that Cassidy had sat, folding clothes. They were all girl's clothes and Cassidy had a sinking suspicion about their origin. The thought that he'd taken this many girls; that he'd killed this many made Cassidy sick to her stomach.

Despite the nausea, Cassidy's stomach rumbled as she folded up the last of the load. It must be nearly dinner time... Cassidy could hear the sounds of cooking upstairs, and a savory smell had started to seep through the floorboards to tempt her. She could only hope that this new "kind" Owen would allow her to eat something with him; something that didn't come out of a can...

Before long she heard the hatch open, and Owen climbed down to her. He scanned her folded clothes. Without any indication of his thoughts on the quality of her job, Owen scooped her up and brought her upstairs, setting her next to the table.

The smell of garlic and chicken overwhelmed her. Cassidy's mouth burst forth saliva, and her stomach rumbled yet again. She observed Owen as he set up a place at the table. She never knew chicken could look so scrumptious, but it had just been so long since she'd had a proper meal.

Owen sat down and started eating without even glancing at Cassidy. Her face fell, and her stomach dropped. He wasn't going to let her have any... At that moment Cassidy would've done anything for just a bite... But she decided against taking any action. She didn't want to upset Owen.

But she couldn't help looking at him...slowly putting bites of chicken and vegetables into his mouth. Owen looked down at Cassidy and met her gaze. He took his foot and pushed Cassidy's head away.

"Don't look at me. It's ruining my appetite." Cassidy's head snapped to the ground. It was unbearable to listen and smell it, and know that she wouldn't get any of it. Owen must've known how hungry she was. So, why didn't he let her eat? She'd done what he'd asked, and he'd been so nice earlier. Owen didn't make any sense!

After a while Owen sighed in satisfaction. He leant back in his chair and spoke.

"Look here." Cassidy lifted her head wearily. She spotted a half eaten chicken scrap still left on the plate. Her stomach jolted... If only she could just...

"Do you want it?" Owen asked, grinning. "I can tell you're hungry. I'll give it to you if you promise me something." Cassidy's eyes widened. "You're interested? Good," Owen bent over Cassidy, his nose almost tickling her's. "Just promise that you'll never try to run away again. That you'll stay here with me as long as I want." Owen was grinning like a child who'd just been given exactly what he wanted. The smile contorted his face unnaturally, and Cassidy felt chills running up and down her back. But she wanted to eat...

"I promise."

"Say it all."

"I-I promise I'll never try to leave..." Owen sat back up and passed his plate into Cassidy's greedy hands. Within seconds she'd scarfed down the scrap of chicken. The garlic taste felt like heaven and the texture of real food brought some amount of peace to her soul. Cassidy looked up at Owen wordlessly asking for more. Owen smiled gently and ruffled her hair.

"Good girl." He stood up and scooped another piece of chicken onto the plate, and handed it back to her. After scarfing the chicken down Owen handed her a glass of water. With her stomach tamed and purring Cassidy felt much more content.

"Well since I made the meal, you can clean up," Owen told her. Cassidy glanced at her useless legs, and wondered how he expected her to do that when she couldn't even stand. Owen dragged a chair over in front of the sink. Once again he grabbed Cassidy's arm and pulled her to the chair.

Sitting her up in it Owen handed her a dishrag and some soap. He took all the dishes that he used to cook and sat them next to Cassidy.

"This shouldn't be too hard, right? Just make sure they're clean." And with that he left the room and headed down the hallway.

The work was slow going, but eventually Cassidy managed to finish all of the dishes. By now she was thoroughly exhausted from all the movement and work she'd been made to do. She looked at her shriveled, red hands and thought to herself....

Maybe Owen really wasn't so bad...

But he had hurt her.

That was because she deserved it...

One of these days he'll kill you.

Maybe dying wouldn't be so bad...

What next? Going to start cutting, idiot?!

Stupid! Stupid!

"Hey, stop ignoring me." Owen's voiced snatched Cassidy from her runaway train of thoughts.

"S-sorry, I ju-"

"Don't care, I asked if you were done." Cassidy nodded. Owen glanced down at the full dish rack. Unlike with the clothes, he inspected every dish carefully. After a bit he pulled out a medium sized sauce pan.

"Do you see this?" Owen's voice was calm with an enraged undertone that set Cassidy's nerves on edge.

"W-what?" she replied cautiously. Without warning Owen shoved Cassidy off her chair, and she fell to the ground with a crash. Once again wracked with pain Cassidy sat on the ground in a state of shock. Just a bit ago he was petting her hair, and now...

Owen started swinging at her, throwing punch after punch, leaving Cassidy gasping for breath and crying steadily. Finally he stood up leaving Cassidy a mess on the floor.

"Next time don't leave a fucking piece of food on the dishes."

It was like he was a completely different person... Who's the real Owen? Why does he seem to like her, but then turn around and hurt her?

Nevermind that, one thing was for sure. Cassidy wouldn't be able to let her guard down around Owen. No matter how nice he acted.

A/N Yep so this one was shorter. I'm going to take a break this week and focus on editing the chapters I already have. I'll do this every 10 or so chapters till the end of the story probably. So Ill update some time in the week of March 5th.