Unfound

9

I woke up with a start. I had somehow managed to sleep, but not for very long at the looks of the sun barely shining through the small windows. I sighed and flipped over to lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. I had missed the stars, but the ceiling held patterns that were close enough. I squinted at the patterns, making them more vivid as they came to life before me, spotting patterns similar to real constellations, and making up some of my own. I even spotted the Orion's Belt. 

I closed my eyes and thought of my dad. When the police saved me from the basement the first time, the first person to hug me was my father. The police escorted me up the steps, one holding me as the other tried to block my vision to what they were doing to the family friend. My father's arms wrapped around me, the stars just beginning to shine made an appearance over the family reunion, blessing us and my release. My dad apologized profusely, stroking my hair and kissing my forehead. Eventually he pointed up. When he was certain I was facing the sky he whispered to me, "That constellation, there. You remember what constellations are, right?" I nodded for he had told me many stories about the stars, "Good, good. That one, the three stars in a line," I nodded again. "That's the Orion's Belt. Those three stars are unmoving, next to each other in a chain. That's your mother, you and me. Unmoving and always together. Do you understand?" I nodded again, but barely listening. I was lost in the stars. That was the first I had seen of them in weeks. I was never going to take the sky, or anything else for that matter, for granted again.

My dad was in the worst shape when I left for college. He was always running around the house, mumbling to himself. I knew he didn't want me to move away, he was still nervous for me going places nearby on my own, with good reason apparently. I missed him, even before all of this I was missing him, my mom too, but my father and I had the deeper connection. We were the closest, he even coached me during my slight appearance as a soccer player when I was twelve. I had been gone for so long, still learning how to be apart from my family for the college months.

I wiped a tear from my eye. I pictured the universe, well, my universe. I saw the stars and the planets as they rotated around me. I created something beautiful, from nothing, watching the shooting stars dance across the stand still ceiling. The galaxy sparkled and came to life. The cement lit up with different shades of blues and purples and planets and comets and moons emerged from darkness, from nothing. Mine. No one else could see this. No one else could experience this. No one could take this from me. Seth was not going to make me cry. Not again, not ever. I couldn't give him the satisfaction or power over me. He already believed that he held all the power over me, I was determined to prove him wrong.

I pushed the stars from my mind, focusing on the only otherworldly creature before me. Seth had come down the stairs last night in pure silence. I heard he ascend back up towards the door, but there was no creaking on the way down. There was no humanly possible way that he was that quiet. When one sense diminishes the others become stronger, and my sense of sight was surely diminished. A smile appeared on my face, the only reasonable explanation is that there had to be another entrance. 

It seemed impossible, but he did have to uncover the secret bathroom for me or I would have missed it entirely. The walls gave way when he pushed in a certain spot, revealing the half bath. Because of that it is possible that there's another way in, which means a way out. He had to leave up the stairs so I wouldn't see him, but he wanted to sneak up on me during the night. He had to test me somehow, and he must have known how much waking up next to someone else would shake me. It had to be the explanation. 

That realization had me out of the bed in seconds. I wanted to immediately bang on all the walls in the dank room, but I knew what I had to do first. I still didn't know how particular Seth was about this room, if it had to be neat or if he was fine with messy, so I had to play it safe. I made the bed exactly how it had been set up, pillow fluffed and blankets so tight you could bounce a quarter on it. 

I examined my work. I hadn't made a bed like that in years. Just looking at the mattress made me recall what had happened last night. I swallowed my nerves, and the bile that had started to rise in my throat, and forced that memory to the back of my mind. I had to prepare myself for anything if I wanted to stay free of restraints as he had threatened. In order to do that, I had to control myself and my emotions.

I then went to the bathroom to 'freshen up'. I splashed cold water on my face and brushed my teeth, scrubbing way harder than I needed to, cleansing myself from his touch and taste. What I needed was a hot shower to burn him from me, but until further notice, I didn't have access to one and I wasn't going to ask for his permission until I became desperate. 

After feeling fully successful of a morning routine, I decided to begin my hunt for a hidden door. I lightly tapped on the walls and kicked at stones on the floor, starting with the one closest to the stairs. I didn't want to wake him if he was still asleep or alert him of my movements if he was up. I made my way along the walls, pushing from as far up as I could reach all the way to the floor. I made it past the bathroom, finding only the loose spot on the concrete which swung out the opening to the half bath in the first place. Not new news, but opened up the opportunity for another possibility of a secret door or compartment of sorts. 

By the time I had made it to the wall with the windows, I heard Seth stomping around upstairs. I paused my search to listen for him. Within seconds there was a click of the door and the heavy footsteps on the stairs. I stood still, trying to conjure a pleasant look on my face. Seth appeared very distraught so I didn't make any moves to approach him or to flee. He slammed a plate of food on the table, some lone strawberries flying off the edge to land on the hard wood. 

He turned to look at me, his face softening. "Good morning, Kara." I smiled back, "I brought breakfast for you," He motioned at the plate and I nodded. A slight frown formed on his face. "You're going to have to talk to me sometime, Kara. That's how this relationship is going to work. It's how all relationships work, but you know that." 

I couldn't hold back my frown soon enough, silence wasn't going to work with this one and that was all I had learned from the family friend. I knew how to control with quiet, not my words, "I'm sorry, Seth. I'm just not a morning person." I kept my voice even and my face calm, the only figure to give me away was my shaking hands, of which I shoved between my back and the wall.

Seth smiled again and approached me. The wall, I shouldn't have backed myself against the wall again. I tried to move closer to the center of the room, but he was on me in seconds, "I completely understand, butterfly." He cupped my face in his hands and planted a long kiss on my lips. I stayed stationary until he deemed that he was done. "I have been called in to work today. They apparently didn't like when I told them I needed to be home yesterday, but I had to make sure you were ok." Shit, it was Tuesday already. I had been gone three days already. I just hoped Liam would find this strange and report it to the police.  "I'll be back later tonight. You can find books and board games in a cupboard under the stairs, you can feel around the walls for a light switch." And with that he was gone. The green door clicked and I was alone yet again.

I couldn't picture him as someone with a job, but I guess he did live a seemingly normal life above here. That's what was the worst part. He was sitting somewhere at a desk or in an office, and those around him didn't suspect a thing. They didn't know he was a murderer or a kidnapper. They probably just thought he was a little odd and went on with their own lives, their lived with their families and friends, not knowing the secrets he was hiding in his basement. My life has been disrupted by this god forsaken man, and no one would notice. I couldn't help but wonder how long he had held his job, had known those people and they all believed that nothing wrong was going on. They didn't suspect him of anything, at least not enough to report it. If the police finally found him, those who work with him may be shocked, I know I was. I couldn't let him get away with this, not again and not ever. All of those other girls deserved better and their families deserved to know why they hadn't and wouldn't ever hear from them again.

I so desperately wanted to continue my search and maybe dive into the books under the stairs, but I had to wash my face again. The ghost of his hands on my cheeks feeling like spiders crawling on my skin. He was a monster and his touch felt like such. I scrubbed at the sink until my face was bright pink, losing layers of my skin down the drain. I felt along my cheek bone, the skin raw and aching, but his fingers were gone. The taste of his kiss I could manage, I'd eaten enough cafeteria food to stand the taste of rotten meat, but his touch was haunting. I shook him from me and decided it was about time to find a way out.