SPLIT

Chapter 17

Hope.

It's a funny thing if you think about it.

You never realize how little you have of it until you actually need it.

Over the course of the last week they've been anything but humane to me. Aside from the fact that I was now their glorified live-in maid , I was also their trophy wife . It was sickening the way they handled me.

They had to go back to work last week -their leave or something being over - so they had this bright idea to slap an ankle bracelet on me. Each time I would try to step off of their property, it would shock the living daylights out of me. To my surprise, they had allowed me to step out of the house- not that I could go far if I wanted to - but their reason being ' I needed fresh air and could do the laundry while I was out there.' It was disgusting. 

"Thank you for the yummy breakfast doll" Linus said placing a kiss to my right cheek while Seth squeezed my bum roughly.

"Okay." I said trying not to express my pain and discomfort as I untangled myself from their hold.

"We should get to work but we'll see you tonight."

"Alright. " I said showing no emotion while gathering the dishes. When the door closed behind them I broke down in tears , sliding down to the ground as I cried in pure fear and misery. 

Never in my life would I have thought this to be my downfall. With everything I've been through in my life with not having a father, working myself to death at the Pit and those horrible living conditions, I never thought being a suburban housewife would be my breaking point.

I felt so pathetic. I felt like one of those preppy , stuck up girls who cried because she didn't have enough. But the difference between them and me was , I had too much but nothing at all at the same time.

Sure the food was great and the house was gorgeous. But I was a prisoner in a place I hardly knew -away from everyone I held dear- and no matter how much I wish I could leave,I was stuck. And it made my heart break a little more each day.

****
My body was in immense pain and I was exhausted ! I lied back on my bed for the first time since this morning when I heard the front door slam shut.

"Vera !" He called , giving big and heavy stumps up the stairs. I sprinted up , brushing my clothes down before pulling my hair back up and opening my door. "Where are you!?"

"I'm here! Sorry ." I said while he came to a stop before me.

"What were you doing ?"

"Me ? I was uh , putting laundry away." I said nervously while turning my attention back to him. I watched as his eyes darted to my messy bed before he roughly gripped my face between his right hand.

"Don't lie to me Vera." He said through gritted teeth.

"I'm not. I swear Linus." I said pinching my eyes shut. He released his hand as my head collided with the wall behind me from the harsh grip.
"I expect you to be downstairs with dinner when we get home." He said before walking back down stairs.

I rubbed the back of my head before following closely behind him seeing Seth at the table already.

"Find her ?"

"Yeah. Was doing laundry or something. " Linus said in distaste while Seth looked me over before going back to his conversation with Linus.

I rushed around trying to finish dinner while they talked about things I knew nothing about -not that I minded - as I carried their plates out.

"It's about time." Linus said impatiently while I apologized and sat down between them. They continued to talk while I pushed my corn across my plate mindlessly until Seth's hand gripped over my hand grabbing my attention.

"We're talking to you." He said , motioning to Linus looking like he was about to explode.

"Sorry. You were saying?" I said putting my fork down.

"I said , did you want to watch a movie with us tonight ?" He must've seen the confused look on my face because he blew out a frustrated breath before saying; "here. In the living room. " he made it sound like it was obvious but how was I supposed to know what he meant when I didn't know any better?

"I- uh ..."

"It wasn't a question. " Seth said towards me before taking his own plate to the kitchen.

"Then I guess so ?" I said more so questioning my own sanity for agreeing while Linus too stood up going upstairs without another word. I looked around confused as Seth leaned over the kitchen counter watching me.

"Go up, take a shower , put on your pajamas and meet us down here in 15 minutes. Got it ?" He said sounding more calm than Linus before he too went upstairs.  Nevertheless, I didn't want to be thrown around again like a rag doll , so I did as I was told and finished under 10 minutes.

When I came back downstairs they were both on each side of the couch while Linus turned around seeing me. "Good , you're here." He said patting the middle of the couch while I hesitantly sat down as he moved closer to me putting his arm over my shoulder. I wasn't exactly sure what I should've done but when I saw Seth motion to me to put my head down , I understood that must've been his intention so again , I did as I was told. Just like a little lap dog.

"What is this ?" I said while he pressed play on the screen.

"You'll like it. It's called The Perfect Date." He said before pulling a tub of popcorn over to us. I have noticed that in all of this craziness, Linus seemed to be the more 'invested' one of the two . Seth showed that he cared, just not to the extent that Linus did. It was weird.

I laughed so hard that my body shook when the one guy dressed up in all those silly outfits, they must've thought I was going crazy but when I noticed they were staring I immediately stopped and apologized. I watched as they looked passed me to eachother sharing a look before Seth too moved up next to me.

"Don't be. I like your laugh. It's cute. You should laugh more often." I know that what he said was supposed to be meant as a compliment but what I so badly wanted to yell at him was ; how  do I do that when I'm in this situation !? There was nothing funny or good about my situation, and as much as I wanted to say that, I didn't.

"Thanks. " I said forcing a smile. I watched Linus motioning for me to put my head on his shoulder again while I did as I was told when I felt Seth's hand intertwined with mine. My instinct was to pull away but my mind told me that would be a bad idea.

Once again , I was trapped. I couldn't run. I couldn't do anything to defend myself and I despised every minute in this place.

That's it! Any thoughts? Please let me know down below cause I'm not sure how I feel about this ??? Thank you so much for reading. Until next time keep howling my wolves ❤🐺