The Heartthrob's Dark Obsession

Chapter 29

Chapter 29:

Nori awoke in a state of confusion. When she opened her eyes she was greeted by darkness. She tried to sit up but was hindered by restraints around her wrists.

What had she done to earn Theo's ire this time? She couldn't remember. She made the assumption that he'd drugged her. She was nauseous and had a massive headache.

Nori squinted through the darkness. She was fairly certain she was chained to a pipe and she felt like she was low to the ground.

What happened? She remembered begging Theo for the television and a woman had come into the room. But who the woman was or why she was there was an absolute blank.

She laid in the darkness trying to conserve her energy. She could tell her blood sugar was low, but at the moment that wasn't her biggest concern. The scar on her chest twinged in pain at the thought. Though, maybe she should be more cautious about it in the future.

When the bright fluorescent lights came on, Nori jumped up. Well, as much as one could jump up while chained to a pipe. Sat up was likely the more accurate phrase. Theo was coming. At least that's what she thought. But he didn't come.

With the newfound light she squinted around her surroundings. She couldn't be sure, but it looked like a basement. The walls were beige and the floor had a brown carpet. Or maybe it was a wood floor. She actually couldn't tell at all without glasses. What looked like a small window was above her. It let in no light. Theoretically it could have also been a painting, again, really hard to tell when she didn't have glasses.

Her frames were no where to be seen. She squinted around the immediately area looking for any hint of the thick black rim. If she squinched her eyes tightly she could vaguely determine shapes in about a small radius and this room was not small.

She thought there may have been furniture across the room but it also could have been a painting or a different color wall. Or even cardboard boxes. She really had no way to tell.

The only thing she could definitely tell about the space she was in was that she was on a cot on the floor. It was the kind bed used for camping. She had a pillow and a thin comforter and had been stripped naked. Theo had seen everything. She wasn't afraid of him seeing her nude. But her fear of the unknown was certainly amplified without her glasses.

She looked down at her restraints. They were made of leather and held closes with a heavy lock then held to the pipe with the kind of chains used on truck tires.

A sadness fell over her. Nori's parents died in a car crash. It had been the middle of winter. Her parents owned this big old red truck. Despite the blizzard ragging outside and dangerous conditions they still went out. Her father spent two hours in the garage looking for his tire chains. He didn't find them so he and her mother braved the storm. It was only eight days before her fifteenth birthday.

It wasn't even the storm that killed them, but an inexperienced driver in a car ill-suited to heavy snow, who crashed into them, running them off a road. The police said the tire chains likely would have lessened the severity of the accident and they probably would have survived. But that didn't matter.

Nori's life was changed that day. She spent a little over a week in a group home before moving to foster care in Philadelphia. After her parents death she vowed to never drive. Winter was a tough time for her. The sight of snow made her sad. Deep down she knew that was a deciding factor in her move to Los Angeles.

As Nori came back to reality she began tugging at her restraints to no avail. But something caught her eye. The leather shifted and a white bandage peeked out. Although she couldn't remember what happened she was certain that Theo hadn't done it. She had. Her heart drop realizing that whatever he made her forget had almost driven her to suicide.

The banging sound of a heavy door interrupted her thoughts. His footsteps sounded heavy and angry. Could footsteps sound angry? If they could that would be the only way to describe Theo's current gait. Nori wished she could fall into the depths of hell to escape him. Then again she couldn't be sure if that's where she already was.

As Theo walked into Nori's blurry view, her heart leaped into her chest. Why after all this torture did he still cause such a reaction in her?

He sat down on the cot next to her with a tray of food, oatmeal, a bowl fruit, and a carton of orange juice were on the menu. He put the tray down, His jaw was clenched. He silently pulled out her blood sugar meter. She wasn't sure what to say. He swiftly punctured her finger with the needle and got a reading then put the meter back in its bag.

He put the tray on his lap. "Open your mouth." She scooched away, putting all of a couple inches of distance between her and Theo.

"I can feed myself."

He grabbed her arm and roughly pulled her back. "No. You can't. In the last week you've proven to me that you can't be trusted."

"I--"!

"No. You don't get to speak right now. You tried to kill yourself. You broke my cardinal rule. Don't try to escape. And last night you crossed the line. Am I so bad that death is a better option?"

"Theo..."

He put his hand up to stop her. "I'm not done speaking. I want a happy life with you! I'm doing this to protect you!"

"How are you protecting me?" she shouted. "Keeping me chained in your basement isn't protection. Branding me isn't protection. Raping me isn't protection!" Theo slapped her.

"I wouldn't have to do all that if you would obey me! And fall in love with me like you were bloody supposed to!" he screamed.

Nori felt the tears running down her face. Theo was messing with her head. She knew he was manipulating her. But she felt like she had brought this upon herself. He was her favorite actor. Maybe she had given him the wrong impression. Maybe she did cause this.

No. No. She couldn't fall into his trap. It was his fault. She wouldn't let him brainwash her. She took a deep breath.

Theo looked furious. He was close enough that even without her glasses she could see how much rage he was truly holding back. A slap was nothing in the grand scheme of things. He could do so much worse. He picked up the tray. "Open your mouth."

She knew if she didn't obey him that he'd flip on her. She quietly opened her mouth and let him feed her. They sat in utter silence until she finished the food.

 When he finished feeding her she asked, "Can I have my glasses back?"

"You won't need them for a while. You can have them when you are back in our room."

"But I can't see anything without them."

Theo raised his eyebrow at her. "That's the point. Until I can trust you, I'll be doing everything for you. And that absobloodylutely includes seeing."

"What do you plan to do to me?" she whispered.

Theo's hands wrapped around her throat and lifted her lithe frame several inches off the cot . "What are you having trouble understanding little one? I own you! I'll do whatever I see fit to make sure you don't pull a stunt like that again." He tossed her down, then stood up, towering over her.

"You don't own me! You kidnapped me!" She probably looked so menacing with her squinted eyes.

"You're smart! But you keep acting like you don't understand. I love you. I could make you so happy if you let me."

"This isn't love. I'm never going to love you. I can't be manipulated by you, Theo."

Theo muttered to himself, "She'll change her mind. I'll make her. I'll make her. This isn't...this isn't what I wanted, I'll make her change her mind."

Theo quickly stormed out of the room. He slammed the heavy door behind him with a deafening thud, leaving Nori alone and confused.