Page 11 of Fighting Shadows

The punch comes from nowhere, cracking against the side of my skull, and I slip into the abyss again.

Chapter 5

Autumn

‘Head Above Water – Avril Lavigne’

3 Days…

Red-hot hands roam up my thigh, grazing the underwear I’ve been wearing for the last three days.

I want nothing more than to remove them, but I refuse to give him any sign that I want him to touch me in that way.

They’re my armor against his unwanted touch. He’s not gone that far yet, convincing himself that I will give in willingly from all the small touches that he attempts to be soft, the same smile he used when I was a child that I fell victim to.

Now, it just makes my stomach churn and bile rise in my throat.

“How are you feeling, Little One?” Charlie asks me, his tone pleading.

I realized he lets his guard down the longer I’m sick.

Pretending that I’m weak isn’t hard since I still don’t feel one hundred percent ok from whatever he injected me with to get me here.

The chain around my wrist is the only thing stopping me from attempting to run, but I know he’d catch me; he’s barely been feeding me. He wants me to slim down so I can fit in the clothes he’s bought, especially for me.

He wore his signature manic smile as he showed off the childlike, small clothes he had purchased while he told me about our future here.

He wants to put a baby inside of me, the idea of it enough to have me turning my head to the side and vomiting, not quick enough to miss my arm.

“I feel like hell,” I rasp out, hoping he’ll let me out of this chain so I can shower.

I fought him the first time he let me out.

Desperation to escape had taken over, and the only thing I could think about was getting out of this godforsaken cabin and back home to my men.

It earned me a black eye, and for him to stick to his promise of leaving me to rot in my waste for the last two days with minimal water to reduce my need to pee.

His hand stills on my thigh. I’m praying that my fake raspiness is enough to get this chain off. My arm has lost all feeling, and no matter how much I move around, I can’t get comfortable.

“Let me check your fever,” he says before he gets up.

He left the room, and I let out a breath of relief. His hands feel like fire on my skin, but I’m powerless to get him to remove them.

I need a weapon, a plan, and a phone to get out of here.

If I can get him to let me shower, I can try to pry apart the razor blade in the bathroom into something I can use to hinder him in some way.

But I need to convince him to let me shower alone to be able to do that.

My head spins, and I slam my eyes shut. The lack of water and food is already taking its toll on my body.

“Open your mouth,” Charlie demands, appearing above me as I open my eyes.

I can’t help the automatic jerk back from him, but he doesn’t notice.

He looks concerned as he looks over me, with no lust in his eyes this time.

A thermometer rests in his hand, so I obey and let him place it under my tongue.

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