There was a leak in the ceiling that I hadn’t noticed until I heard the locks click. A single drop of water could be heard every two minutes. I had counted the drops, but lost count after I reached two hundred. I was forced to hold my bladder in. I wanted to spare myself the embarrassment of smelling like urine when they finally did return. My body was growing weak. My head was still pounding from the car crash. I found it rather odd of them to have taken Norman to the hospital for a asthma attack, where as the girl with a concussion ended up being locked in a room to die for three days straight. This only made me want to kill Xander. Though, I don’t think that was something I was capable of.

Sleep was not something I was familiar with during this time. Although exhaustion had me nearly fainting, I just couldn’t fall asleep in fear that while I slumbered, someone would come in and end me.

Startling me from the corner I sat in, the door handle jiggled before being shoved open completely.

I shielded my eyes away from the light, waiting for Xander to begin yelling at me yet again.

Warm arms wrapped around my shivering body and lifted me up. I peeked through my hands to look at their face.

It was my brother. He carried me in his bulky arms out of the room into the well lit hallway. It sounded as if only air and dust had graced the hallway since I’d been locked in the room. His strong jawbone and hazel eyes seemed foreign to me. I managed to reach myarm up to his face and brush my fingers across his cheek.

“Dillon...” My fragile voice trailed off. He looked down at me. A weak smile pushed its way past his frown. It had been way too long, a good five years since he graced my presence.

“Shh... It’ll be alright. Just stay quiet.” He whispered in my ear.

He finally got to the end of hallway and I could vaguely see him opening the door and sunshine flashing onto my face before I fell to a peaceful sleep.

I swore it had been a dream. Dillon’s face wasn’t how I had remembered it. It had to be a dream, yet I woke up to a fresh pair of sweatpants, a plain white t shirt, a nice big breakfast. The room seemed to be quite familiar. The room was about twice the size of the room I was locked in, but it was empty. There was a flat screen tv on the wall, velvet curtains overlapped the window, old paintings hung on the wall, and a vanity table sat right underneath the tv. I was enclosed in a dark red canopy bed. The canopy in a way made me feel quite safe. My feet touched the soft black carpet as I stood up.

A gasp formed at the back of my throat. Why hadn’t I realized it sooner? I was home.

A deep chuckle rumbled in the room, and it definitely wasn’t coming from me. Upon closer examination of the room, I noticed the tall, dark, and dangerous lurking man in the doorway.

“Daddy!” I called out, jumping up and wrapping my arms around him.

“I missed you, honey.” He muttered into my hair.

I pulled back from his embrace abruptly.

“Why didn’t you come to save me?” Tears flew to my eyes as I spoke.

“Oh, darling! I meant to, but I knew these guys. They would have killed you before a single person from my team stepped up to find you.” He started, his eyes sincere, “That’s why Dillon came and got you. You know how he would have nothing to do with me and our business.”

I thought for a moment.

“Okay, I forgive you.” I hugged him again.

This time, he pulled back.

“How are you feeling?” He questioned with concern.

“Great. Absolutely great.” I wasn’t lying, but my reply did come off a bit sassy.

He smiled at me, not catching my tone.

“That’s good, because I have a new assignment for you.”

My mouth fell open and I nearly slapped him, hardly catching myself before closing my mouth again.

“Sure thing.” I closed my eyes; there was no denying my father. “What do you need me to do?” He placed his arm around my shoulder. I could smell his expensive cologne and feel the bulletproof vest underneath his dark gray suit. I glanced at the clock on the wall as we stepped out of my room. It was only eight in the morning. Time didn’t matter to my father. He slept with that vest on.

“I need you to find a old client of mine. He name is Mona. I got word on a location twenty minutes ago. An associate of mine says she’ll be in Southern California on a hiking trip, tomorrow morning.” I raised an eyebrow.

“So? You want me to bring her here?”

“I want you to kidnap her. She’ll be with another young lady. Just make it look like an accident.” I knew what that meant. He wanted me to kill an innocent girl and kidnap another. I frowned. If I did this, I was in the same league as Xander and everyone else.

“Dad...” He frowned at me. I bit my lip and nodded. This was what I had signed up for.

“Until then, come have dinner with us.” He smiled, motioning for me to come with him.

“With who?”

“Just me, your brother, and a few of my bodyguards.” He grinned. “There is also a new lady I want you to meet. She’s a catch.” He laughed.

“What?” I couldn’t believe what he was saying.

“I met her about two months ago. It was around the time you went missing...I needed something to comfort me.”

“You mean someone.” He shrugged as I followed behind him. It took everything in my power not to grab the gun from his waistband and waste a bullet into his skull. He may have been my father, however, he was the most sick, apathetic man you could ever meet.

As we finally reached the dinner table, I nearly laughed at the scene. Dillon was arguing with one of the bodyguards, a woman sat with her legs resting on the table and a fur coat resting on her shoulders as she smoked a cigar, and a pile of dishes lie broke on the marble floor. Dillon’s voice was rising over the bodyguard’s. They stood nearly touching nose attempting to intimidate each other.My dad clapped his hands.

“People, people. Have some manners.”

Almost immediately, everyone stopped. A dish clattered to the floor before the bodyguard slammed down in his chair and wore a blank face. Dillon sat down, his arms crossed in front of him and an unhappy pout on his lips. He reminded me of an overgrown toddler.

The woman put out her cigarette and leaned forward, providing my father with an unorthodoxed amount of cleavage.

I rolled my eyes at them and sat in the chair closest to my brother, farthest away from the woman. My father took a seat in the chair closest to the woman, scooching even more so that their shoulders were touching. I nearly gagged.

“Please, save the PDA for when no one’s around.” Dillon called out, rolling his eyes at them.

My father shot him a glare and diverted his attention back to me.

“Will you pass the salt?” He smiled, as though this were a regular meal with a regular family. For some reason, this made me furious.

“You know what?” I stood up in my seat, angrier than I had been since I got home, “Here’s your goddamn salt! Take it!” I tossed the glass salt container at his head. My father ducked just in time to avoid it.

“Honey, Val, what’s wrong?” My father stood up, going to comfort me.

“You are what’s wrong! You have never acted like a normal father to me! I hate you, you bastard!” I cried out, standing up and accidentally knocking over my chair.

I spun on my heel and raced towards the door.

“Valerie Erica Delaney, you get back here this instant!” My father shouted at me.

I stopped, my hand on the doorknob. I twisted it slowly before turning around and making eye contact with my father.

“I swear to God, Valerie. If you step out of that door, it will be the last time you ever step foot in this place.” His face was contorted into an angry expression, but he still didn’t come after me. The fact that I wasn’t good enough to chase made my final decision.

“Then I guess this is goodbye.” With that, the door flew open and I ran through it, slamming it shut on my way out.

~*~

After I had left, I wandered around the neighbourhood, no destination in mind.

I came across a dead end and sighed. My whole life was a dead end. I sat down on a cement block that was blocking cars from driving over the end of the road.

Honestly, I missed Xander. As harsh as he was, I will admit that I had a slight affection towards him.

Then there was Norman and Nicholas. It was so obvious that they liked each other, they just needed to admit it.

“Hey, lady!” A small voice popped me out of my thoughts and I looked up, only to find nothing. Blaming it on my whacked up mind, I went back to thinking.

My father wanted t-

“Hey, I was talking to you!” A tedious tapping came across my thigh and I peered down at the source; a young girl, no older than five.

The sassy little thing placed one hand on her hip and flipped her dark, curly brown hair behind her shoulders.

“Yeah? That’s great.” I ignored her and peered at my nails.

“I don’t like you anymore!” The small child yelled at me, causing me to startle and move my attention to her again. Tears were gathered in her light blue eyes.

I sighed.

“I’m sorry, I’m just kind of tired.” I lied lamely.

“You’re lying.” She pouted, crossing her arms across her chest, “Momma used to tell me that lying was for bad girls. Are you a bad girl?”

I ignored her question.

“What’s your name?”

Suddenly, she tilted her head up and looked at me with wide eyes.

“Gretchen Isabelle Linscott, at your service.” She saluted, causing me to giggle at her, “Who’re you?”

“Valerie Erica Delaney.” I mimicked her actions, saluting her as well, reacting in her laughing at me..

“I changed my mind.” She smiled cutely. “I do like you.”

“So, Gretchen, where’s your mom?” I questioned, slightly confused as to why a young child was wandering around at night.

To my dismay, tears sprang into her eyes before rolling silently down her cheek.

“Wesley told me that Mommy flew up with the angels and that she couldn’t be with us anymore.” Gretchen started sobbing, but still no noise came out. She just shook as tears streamed down her face.

“Oh, honey,” I comforted her, pulling her into my arms, “Shh, it’s alright. My mommy flew away with the angels, too.”

I pushed her back, but held onto her shoulders so I could look her directly in the eyes.

“Who’s Wesley?”

“He’s my brother. He’s over there.” She pointed to the forest behind the end of the road.

“Are you sure? It doesn’t look like the ideal place for two kids in the middle of the night.”

“What does ideal mean?” Her innocent eyes peeked up at me, rimmed red from crying, but to my relief no more tears were coming out. I was never good at comforting people.

“Anyway,” She flipped her hair yet again, “Wesley isn’t a kid. He’s bigger than Bigfoot!”

She gestured with her hands, reaching as high and standing on her tippy-toes to show how tall he was. She still only came to my chest.

I smiled at her.

“Can you walk me back? Wesley says I shouldn’t walk through the forest alone, especially at night.” She looked up at me with a pleading look.

“Ok, lead the way!”

And with that, I was being led through the forest by a five year old.

The woods was foggy and wet. I could tell it had rained the morning I ran out because of the water seeping into my gym shoes, wetting up my socks. The little girl continued to talk more and more about her family and life, but all I could think about was my own life.

“We’re here!” Gretchen announced, dragging me out of my deep thoughts for the third time that night. I glanced in front of me, surprised to see a small cottage-like house in front of me.

“Is this your home?” I asked carefully.The light coming from the inside was dim. I saw a muscular shadow move past the window and a television screen illuminated from behind the sheer, cream colored curtains. The little girl’s small hand held three of my fingers as the wood creaked beneath my feet. A light shined in my face from the motion light that hung above the door.

I raised my hand to knock of the oak door, but it opened before I could knock. The man before me had light blue eyes and dirty blonde hair. His eyes shot from me to the little girl holding my hand.

“Gretchen!” He yelled pulling her in close to him. He hugged her for quite a long time. She slowly let go of my hand and wrapped her small arms around his neck. He stood up and moved to the side. “Go in the house.” His eyes were watering up. She slid past him and he looked at me.

“Who the hell are you?” He spat at me once Gretchen ran inside.

I didn’t answer him, causing him to grip my shoulders and push me against the wall.

“I asked you a question; who the hell are you?” He growled at me.

“Wesley! Leave her alone, she’s my friend!”

Wesley’s eyes softened and he eased his grip on my shoulders, yet he didn’t let go completely.

“Gretchen, I told you to go inside.” He tried to be stern, but it was obvious to me that Gretchen had him wrapped around her little finger.

“Not until you leave Valerie alone!” She yelled at her brother, stomping her feet angrily.

I almost burst out in laughter, seeing as Wesley obediently released me and shoved me out of the cold forest and into their cozy little cottage.

The inside of the cottage was simple. It didn’t have a second floor or walls to separate the “rooms”. The living room consisted of only a sofa, coffee table and cabinet where the TV sat on. Behind it was the kitchen and the dining room. There was a round table, probably for eating dinner. It looked like it could only fit four people. The fridge was next to the pantry and sink.

For both of two bedrooms, there was only a closet and one twin bed in each. Lots of family pictures hung from the walls, each one usually showing either Wesley and Gretchen or them with a woman who looked very much like Wesley. I could easily tell she was the mother, but I couldn’t see the father anywhere.

But most of all, the feeling of home and family was here. Something my so called “home” didn’t have. (Quick question, what happened to Val’s mom? Chapter Two, third page.)

“Gretchen, go get in bed. I need to talk to Valerie here.” Wesley commanded softly, making Gretchen pout but crawl over into the small bedroom anyway.

“Who are you?” Wesley was calmer now, nicer.

“I’m Valerie.” I purposely left out my last name, just in case he had heard of my father.

“Valerie..?” He trailed off, signaling for me to go on.

I sighed.

“Delaney.” I avoided eye contact.

“Valerie Delaney. That’s a cute name.” I looked up at him, surprised to see him

smiling.“Thank you.” He said, still smiling.

“For what?” Confused, I questioned him. I didn’t get thanked very much.

“Bringing Gretchen home. She has a bad habit of exploring at night. It really scares me that

one day she won’t come back.” He shook his head slightly.

“So, who are you? I know your name’s Wesley but, other than that, I know nothing.” I changed the conversation quickly.

“Have a seat.” Wesley motioned to one of the wooden chairs around the table.

He stood up, walking around the table to get to the fridge.

“I made spaghetti for Gretchen, but she didn’t come home in time to eat it hot. You want some?” He questioned, raising his eyebrow.

My stomach rumbled in reply, causing him to chuckle.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” He reached up to the top shelf of the cupboard, causing his shirt to rise up and give me a very nice view of his midriff. I felt my face turn red as my eyes darted to the wood floorboard in front of me. Wesley set a glass jar down in front of me and grabbed a pitcher from the fridge. I raised my eyebrow toward him.

“What kind of juice is that?”

He smiled.

“I’m sort of a health freak. I make smoothies. You drink green smoothies?” I shrugged.

“I had a few. I don’t drink them often.” I said staring as he poured the green juice into the the glass jar.

“I’m sure you’ll love it.I use glass jars because it’s easier to clean, especially when you're drinking something like this. It looks gross but it’s good.” He took another jar out of the cupboard and poured him a cup. I took a sip of the juice. It wasn’t half bad. It was actually pretty good.

“Mmm.” I nodded.

“Pretty good, huh?” He grinned. “I’ll make you a plate as soon as I warm up Gretchen’s spaghetti.”

The sound of the microwave made my skin crawl. I hated the beeping because it reminded me of alarm clocks. There was a time, about ten years ago where my father would set an alarm for five in the morning everyday. He would set an training course before school and on weekends to test my defensive skills. If I didn’t pass, I would retry until I was successful. My grades suffered and my teachers would pay visits to him. My father was never one to listen. If you told him how to do things, he felt insulted. If he felt insulted, your next destination was a body bag.

Wesley drug me from my thoughts when he slammed the microwave door shut. I watched him take the plate to a back room. I sat in silence waiting for him to return. I heard Gretchen’s light voice from the back room.

“Did Valerie eat? I don’t think she’s ate in a while.” She tried to whisper. Wesley’s voice was muffled. I didn’t understand his response but he was soon warming up a big plate for me in the microwave. He leaned back on the stove.

“When did you last eat?” He wiped his hands on an apron hanging from the counter.

“Um...” I shrugged. “I can’t really tell you.” His head fell to the side.

“A week?” He questioned. I shrugged again.

“I’ve been held against my will for a long time.” His mouth fell open. He stepped over to the phone.

“Did you call the police? These guys can go to jail. When did you...” I stared down at my feet.

“I was rescued last night. Please don’t call the police. I don’t want anyone knowing where I am.” He slowly hung the phone up.

“You have anywhere to go?” He stepped over to me and bent down in front of me. I shook my head.

“No, not really. All my stuff is gone. I have no family to go to. Except maybe my brother.”

“You can have my bed.” I shook my head before he was even able to finish his sentence.

“No. I can’t. I couldn’t.” He disregarded my comment.

“If you keep track of my sister, you can help yourself to anything around here. Anything.” He had a glint look in his eye. The emphasis on ‘anything’ made me wonder if he was hitting on me. I wasn’t complaining.

“Are you sure?” He grabbed the tip of my fingers and rubbed them gently.

“You returned my sister. It’s the least I can do, love.” His voice was gentle. I could hear the slight Australian accent as he spoke those words. My lungs began to melt.

“Okay.” It was all I could mutter before diving into the plate of spaghetti he sat in front of me. Nothing else matter but my stomach in this food.

I nearly moaned in delight. The spaghetti, though it was reheated, tasted better than anything I had ever had before. I closed my eyes before shovelling more food into my mouth.

“Are you alright?”

My eyes popped open immediately. I blushed ferociously. Wesley’s face was merely two inches in front of mine, and he was smirking.

I nodded my head before swallowing and standing up.

“Okay.” He shrugged his shoulders and grabbed my hand, leading me over to the living room.