I Need a Hero (Stolen sequel)

Chapter 2

Frank had made eggs and toast for the both of us. I had no appetite whatsoever, but I knew I needed to eat something. Not only to keep him happy, but because I couldn't remember the last time I ate. The only thing that helped me finish my plate was the thought of my malnourished  body trying to fight off Frank in a fake scenario in my head. I needed to keep my body and mind strong enough if I wanted to escape. 

"Thank you for breakfast, or lunch," I muttered, setting my fork on the empty plate. "I guess brunch, as the kids are saying nowadays." I tried adding a joke to keep his good mood going. 

"Thank you for keeping me company," He smiled as he stood up. I grabbed my plate and began to stand as well, but he stopped me.

"No, please, leave it. I'll grab it for you. Sit down and relax," he walked over next to me and grabbed my plate from in front of me. He took the dishes to the sink, and just set them down to worry about later. 

Why was he being so nice to me? Did he feel bad for what he did? There was no way he had any remorse for his actions. Was this his trick to get me vulnerable? Because if that was the case, it wasn't going to work. He had a plan, and I was going to outsmart him. I just needed to know how I was going to do it. 

Frank sat at the table again, across from me. 

"Now what?" Was all I said. 

He didn't say anything for a few seconds, as if he was shocked at the question I asked. 

"Whatever you would like. I have some cards for us to play games, we can watch a bit of TV on the couch, or if theres anything else you had in mind. I'm down to do anything." He winked. 

Barf. I knew I needed to play his games, but if he was going to be this way, this was going to be way harder than I thought. I'm not that great of an actor. 

"I think I just need some time to settle into the new place. It's a lot to take in, in just a short time. I think some time to readjust will help me open up more."

"Well, what did you have in mind? I want to make this transition as easy as I can." 

I just stared at him, trying to hide my disgust. He seriously had no sense of the situation. There was no "readjusting" to something like this. I couldn't just live at peace knowing what he did to me. There was no easy way to live knowing the intentions of the person who abducted you. If he truly wanted the best for me, he would set me free. But there was no way to tell him that without any consequences. 

I looked away from him. "I just think I need some time to warm up, I guess. I know this isn't what you want to hear, but I think to help me ease into everything, I need to get used to the idea of living here." 

He was silent, almost like he was trying to hold in his angry response. This was new to me. The old Frank would have fought with me until I was scared enough to obey. But this Frank was different. This had to be a part of his plan, because there was no way the Frank I knew would be trying to be nice on purpose. This was almost a scarier approach. 

"I understand. I'll give you all the time you need. I just ask for one favor before I send you away to do whatever you need to do."

This shocked me. I sat there, dumbfounded. I had an idea on what he wanted, but I was debating on if it was worth the freedom he was willing to give me. He was being too reasonable to reason with. I knew I needed to keep my guard up, but that was hard to do when he kept throwing me off with how suspiciously nice he was being. 

"What is the favor?"

"Can we just sit for an episode of a random show? I just want to enjoy our first day together with a nice moment to help set the mood, or vibe, as the kids are saying," he chuckled, revisiting my joke from earlier. "No funny business either, I promise. I just want to start this journey on a positive note." 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I know I'm probably paranoid, but this was definitely a part of his plan to manipulate me into becoming vulnerable. I couldn't help but feel...bad. I was incredibly angry about what he has done to me. There was no forgiving him for the things he as done to my life, so why did I feel bad for him in this moment? Should I just give him what he wanted so he would give me the space he was willing to give me? 

I sighed. "What did you want to watch?"

I finally looked at him again. His eye lit up as if he wasn't expecting me to comply. The excitement in his face made me feel like I made the right decision. 

"I was just going to flip through the stations until we found something we both like." He smiled eagerly. 

I shrugged. "Okay, we can watch one episode together, if that's what it takes to help me get some more alone time around here."

 Frank didn't seem to care. He seemed genuinely ecstatic that I agreed to even watch something with him in that moment. He jumped up from the kitchen table the second I agreed to his offer. He offered his hand to me. I looked at it for a moment before reluctantly taking it. He started to lead me to the living room. I sat on one end of the couch while he grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. He respectively sat on the other side of the couch, leaving a distance between us.

The distance threw me off, almost like he planned it. He never looked at me, he kept his eyes on the television, searching for something that we would both enjoy. I couldn't help but take this moment to observe his face, which might have been a bad idea. Even though I knew what kind of monster he was, I couldn't help but admire his features. This was once a face I would draw for hours, now turned into the face of my nightmares. There was something about his enthusiasm that made him seem almost human, like he actually had good intentions about just watching television with me. 

"I found some reruns of FRIENDS episodes, is that okay?" He asked after searching for a while. 

"I love that show! Yeah, turn it on." I smiled. 

I was surprised when he stayed on the opposite side of the couch after turning the show on. I almost didn't know what to do with myself. His arm was resting against the top of the couch. I tried looking at him from the side, but I must not have been as subtle as I thought I was being. 

"Is there something wrong?" He asked. 

I blushed a little, I was caught red handed.

"No, not at all" I kind of stuttered.

Maybe I should throw him off by doing something unexpected. Maybe that will throw his plans off.

I debated for a little bit before slowly scooting over, sitting closer to him. I slowly moved until I was as close as I could get without touching him. He looked over at me with no reaction, like he was afraid he would ruin the moment. He stayed still and held his tongue.

I kept looking at him, waiting for a response. This was probably the craziest thing I could have done, but it was all for my master plan of getting him gullible enough to fall under my control.

Without saying a word, he moved his hand from the top of the couch to around my shoulders. I could feel my face warm up. This was not what I was anticipating, but this might help in my favor. I allowed his arm to stay there, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

Either this was a smart move on my end, or an even smarter move on his. I alsmot didn't mind his arm around me, it was almost comforting...

No.

That's not the kind of thoughts I should be having. But I couldn't help myself with how perfectly I fit in his arms. 

What was I getting myself into? Was my plan worth all of this effort? Or am I putting myself in a worse position than I think? 

I had the control here.... didn't I?