Page 49 of Monster

16

Charlotte

I scoffedas I watched the man walk back inside as if I was of no consequence to him. Well, the man played a wild game of manipulative tennis, but the ball was back in my court and I knew what I wanted to do with it. But instead of chasing after him, probably like he expected me to, I allowed him to walk away. I watched his long, languid legs carry him back into the house without so much as a glance over his shoulder at me.

Before that stupid guard from this morning stepped outside.

“Downstairs,” he said.

I straightened my back. “And if I don’t?”

In the blink of an eye, he had a gun leveled between my eyes. And since he didn’t say a word, I figured that was his answer.

“Well, at least Teo knows how to make a lady feel welcomed,” I murmured.

With a gun pointed at me the entire journey back, I found my way back into the basement. That damned guard held me at gunpoint as long as he could before he stepped backwards through the door and quickly closed it. On the one hand, it brought me great pride to know someone felt they needed a gun around little old me while I was clad in nothing but lingerie.

On the other hand, though, if Teo wanted me to trust him? Or give myself over to him? He’d have to come up with a lot better than holding me at gunpoint.

Worse had happened to me simply by standing in a courtroom next to my own mother.

But, Teo stayed true to his word. I didn’t hear a single peep upstairs until after the sun had set. After getting out of that awful lingerie and slipping back into what had become my new normal—a long button-front shirt and a pair of socks—I climbed into bed. I fell in and out of sleep without even bothering to pay attention to my stomach until I heard Teo’s footsteps above my head. I leapt up from the mattress and rushed into the bathroom. It was almost nine o’clock at night and my stomach felt like it was trying to eat my heart for lunch and dinner. Part of me was shocked that Teo stayed away all day after subsequently being gone all night, and I wondered more than ever what the hell that man was up to.

And if I wanted answers, I had to play nice.

“Okay,” I whispered to myself, “okay, okay, okay. You can do this. You’ve got this.”

“Hey!” a voice barked above my head.

It startled me so badly that I jumped against the wall and sent a picture crashing to the floor.

“In there. Now. I said, now!”

My eyes widened at the harsh sound of Teo’s voice. Footsteps scurried around above my head as doors slammed and something rolled along the floor. I chased the sound out of the bathroom, keeping my eyes toward the ceiling as I followed it into the closet. I didn’t even know this damned thing was a walk-in closet until I rushed in, following the sound of yelling and wheels rolling over the hardwood floors above my head.

Something was wrong.

And I cursed myself for wanting Teo at my side in case anything happened.

“Over there. Hurry. Yes yes, move that as well. No, not that. Those. Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Right there and hurry.”

Teo’s voice sounded panicked. Sounds mounted and blurred together into a dull roar that caused the hairs on the nape of my neck to stand on end. And in all of the desperation and chaos erupting around me, I looked down at my wrist.

Holy shit, I’m not cuffed.

How in the world had I not seen that I hadn’t been cuffed all damn day? Whatever, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was me capitalizing on all of this chaos. I rushed over to the door and tried to open it. And of course, the damned thing was locked. I jiggled it and moved it around, seeing it anything would pop out or give. Then finally, I started banging my fists against the door.

“Somebody, help me! I’m down here!”

I yelled at the top of my lungs, but the sounds above my head only grew louder. Even in the midst of panic, Teo knew how to override me, and that made me infuriated. I started slamming my shoulder into the door like I’d seen in so many movies, trying to see if it worked. And after crumbling to the ground with tears of pain wafting behind my eyes, I let my head fall back against the door.

“Somebody, please,” I said weakly.

A knot grew in my throat as my tears refused to stay at bay. They dribbled down my cheek effortlessly and cased my neck as if the damned river were on a mission. My hands quaked. My shoulder ached. The entire room felt as if it were swirling around me while my stomach cried out for sustenance. And through the foggy haze that slowly settled itself over my mind, only one thing stood out:

Is Teo safe?

“He’s fine. He’s a big boy. He can take care of himself.”

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