House of Dolls

Her Confusion

Anna quickly sat back, perplexed about what she had done. She despised the man sitting next to her, so she couldn't comprehend the compassion she felt for him at the time. Nathan sagged back, embarrassed, as he watched Anna regret her decision to kiss him. He wished she would touch him again as she had before, thinking that would make her feel how much she truly loved him. He paused in his seat for a brief moment before reaching out his arm to clasp Anna's. She quickly shifted in her chair to reject his approach.

"What's wrong, Anna," Nathan asked with a sense of concern. His embarrassment was beginning to fade as irritation took over.

"Nothing, Nathan. Can I please go back to my room?" Anna hung her head with sadness as she quietly muttered those words to Nathan.

Nathan wanted to make her sit there and talk to him until she realized how important he was to her. He contemplated keeping her strapped to the chair until she gave in to his love. He felt he could force her to love him, if that's what it took, but ultimately decided he wanted her to actually love him without feeling she had to.

Nathan eventually agreed.

He complied with her wishes, zip-tied her wrists in front of her, and guided her back to her room. As he approached her door to unlock it, Nathan turned to face her, "Anna," he began.

"Nathan, don't," she stopped him from continuing his next sentence. "I just need to lie down. Please."

He then took the keys from his hand and unlocked her door. Anna entered her room, tears streaming down her cheeks. Nathan could see her crying as he rested his right hand on her shoulder, "Anna," he said again.

"Nathan, please don't," she begged him to leave her room while she tried to make sense of what had just happened downstairs.

Nathan reluctantly obeyed her request and moved slowly out of her room. "I do love you, Anna," he said slowly as she lay down in her bed. With that, he shut her bedroom door, locked it as he exited, and trudged down the stairs slowly.

Anna curled up on her bed, pulling the soft fleece covers over her head to comfort herself, and sobbed. She was angry that she kissed Nathan, knowing how much hatred existed for what he had done, but the love she had once felt for her longtime friend began to emerge. After a short while, the comfort of the blanket rocked her to sleep, giving her temporary relief from her racing mind. She eventually fell asleep while Nathan headed to the kitchen to prepare food for the other girls.

Nathan quickly prepared a meal for the other four victims he had imprisoned in his basement. He didn't make them steak as he did with Anna; instead, he made them each a grilled cheese sandwich with an apple and a bottle of water. Nathan then unlocked the basement doors, placed all four plates and water on a tray, and went downstairs to feed his other girls. As Nathan entered the basement, he set the tray on a nearby table, ran to close the doors, and continued to pass out their food.

He began by going to Kayla's room, as she had been the most obedient. He set the food in front of the service hatch and knocked on her door, saying, "Time to eat." As she lifted the hatch and grabbed the meal, Nathan tapped to alert her. He then began to move toward Mia's door, repeating the process for her and Jordyn before moving on to Katherine. Nathan placed Katherine's plate of food in the same manner as the others and knocked to alert her to grab her plate. As he approached Katherine's door, she was leaning against the wall. Her knees were close to her chest, and her head was wedged between them.

Nathan knocked again, and a third time, demanding, "Katherine, grab your food."

"I'm not hungry," she replied dismissively.

"Grab your food, Katherine, I said. Have you learned anything during your time here? When I tell you to do something, you must do it or face the consequences." Nathan's voice was stern, as he expected Katherine to comply with his demands.