Taken ((N.H.))

Chapter 3

-Cece's POV-

I lay my head against the cold brick wall. I've been down here for 4 days now. I don't really eat anything, I've lost most of my appetite. Niall still scared the shit out of me and I'm scared to talk.

I know that if I say something out of place, he'll hurt me. I already have a couple bruises on my legs from landing on the ground and bags under my eyes from lack of sleep.

I hear the basement door open, but I don't flinch. I'm too drained to do anything. I stare into nothing as Niall opens my cell door, the familiar rattle of keys jiggling in the lock. I hear him set the usual tray of food beside me and sits in the other corner.

My feet are freezing. Niall took my shoes. Probably to make sure I don't run away. Running bare foot hurts like hell.

I turn my head to see a slice of bread, chicken noodle soup, saltine crackers, and water. I look back at the wall I was staring at earlier.

"You need to eat." Niall says standing up.

I shake my head lightly. "I don't want to. I'm not hungry." I say quietly. My voice is raspy from crying and not drinking enough.

Niall sighs and sits down beside me, brings the tray into his lap.

"Please?" He asks. He usually does this and I cave most of the time. He forces me to eat when I don't feel like it.

I turn my head to barely look at him. I glance at the tray of food and then back at him. He tears a small piece of bread and brings it up to my mouth.

Great, now I feel like a baby.

I still stare at him. He stares back. I open my mouth a little as I look down at the ground between us. A small smile makes its way onto his face as he places the food in my mouth. His fingers barely skim my lip as he retreats his hand to retrieve more bread.

I slowly chew the food as I stare off into space and get lost in my thoughts. Those questions that I wish could be answered still swim in my mind.

"You don't get to speak unless I say so."

"And you're here because I want you to be."

Those words stick in my mind as Niall continues to feed me. Why does he want me here? What value am I to him? What do I have that he needs or wants?

My stomach drops as I think of my family. My lovely mother is probably worried sick and has police looking all over town for any trace of me.

They most likely found my bag. Unless... Unless Niall grabbed it and brought it with us.

Niall brings another spoonful of soup to my lips but I turn my head away from him. I have too much going on to even think of eating anymore.

"Cece, please eat." Niall begs. I shake my head and purse my lips together. I close my eyes as a single tear escapes them. Niall sighs and sets the tray off to his side. He brings his hand up to my face and placed his finger under my chin to force me to look at him. He cups my face with his hand and stares deeply into my eyes.

His thumb wipes away the tear the was shed earlier. "I don't want you to be afraid. I just want you to know that I'm in charge." He says seriously. I still stare at him, wondering what he's thinking right now. His thumb now grazes my cheekbone. His gaze flickers between my eyes and my lips.

Is he thinking about kissing me? He bites his lip and twirls his lip ring. My gaze falls to his lips as well.

God damn it Cece, pull yourself together. You can't kiss him. He kidnapped you and threw you in here without explanation. I pull my head away from his grip and stare at the ground. I have a staring problem.

He sighs. "Would you like to come shower? I have some fresh clothes for you. And all that other girl stuff you might need." His face flushes at the last part. Awe how cute, he's embarrassed. No! I can't think like this.

"Ok." I say quickly. He grabs the tray and stands quickly. I slowly stand up, I haven't stretched my legs for these past 4 days. My legs feel like jelly and I almost collapse. Niall catches me by my arm, pulling me more towards him. Once we reach the top of the stairs, he opens the door and bright lights come flooding into my eyes. I wince and close my eyes tight. I slowly open them to see the house is very open and airy.

"Stay right here." Niall orders. Not like I could go anywhere anyways. He turns into what I believe is the kitchen and begins to clean the plates and bowls out. I look out one of the windows and see that we were basically in the middle of nowhere. So if Niall was right. If I tried running, it wouldn't exactly work. He would catch me no matter what.

"Come on, the bathroom is upstairs." Niall says suddenly beside me. I jump a little as he latches onto my hand and pulls me up more stairs. We walk down a short narrow hallway until we reach the bathroom. "The clothes are already inside on the counter. Freshen yourself up." He says opening the door. I nod before entering and locking the door behind me.

I look at the clothes to make sure Niall wasn't one of those perverted guys who make their girlfriends wear basically nothing but their underwear. I sigh in relief as I see it's a simple white t-shirt, boot-cut jeans, and some undergarments. I look under the sink and see what Niall was talking about when he said "other girl stuff you might need".

I strip free from my dirty clothes and turn the water onto hot. I've always enjoyed hot showers. I take hotter showers than I should, but I don't care. I love the feeling of being free and relaxed.

After cleaning myself up and changing into the new clothes that happen to be my size, I unlock the door and peek out real quick to see Niall is sitting on the floor across the hall.

He stands and grabs my hand once I've fully left the bathroom. "I have a guest room you can stay in if you promise to not try and run away." He offers. I just stay quiet and nod. He pulls me along with him down the hall into a bedroom.

There's dust everywhere and the room seems to have been untouched for a long time.

"This is it. Just know, the door will remain locked unless I come inside. Same with the windows. They're locked as well." He informs me. I turn around and nod, looking at the ground. "I'll be up later with lunch." He says before closing the door, locking it after.

I sigh and slide down against the door. I can't help but think of my family again. My mother is probably over the fucking grid with panic attacks. Motherly instincts I guess.

I walk over to the bed and gently pull back the covers, climbing into the comfy bed. Sleep instantly takes over me and I fall into a dreamless, well needed sleep.