Taken pt 3

Authors note:: For reference to any that have not read/or need a refresher::

A girl who had been entranced by a stranger's beauty had been taken against her will onto a boat, in the middle of nowhere. Follow her journey as she discovers why he has done this and how to escape. 

I turned sharply to face my captor. For a moment we only stood there and studied each other. I opened my mouth several times but had to close it because nothing came out.

I finally managed to croak out, "What. What is this?"

He just shook his head and stepped out into the light. I have to admit, the sun did feel nice against my face. The longer I stood there, gaping, the more hopeless I felt.

I finally managed to say, "Why me? Why are you doing this to me?"

He sat the platter of food he was holding down on one of the glass tables and then he turned to face me.

Gently, he said, "You remember how vulnerable you were 2 days ago?"

My heart fluttered and sunk into my chest. 2 days ago. Well, now I know how long I was out for. At the same time, I tried to suppress the memories that came flooding back to me. My best friends, Izzy and Dom, had left me on the side of the road a few days ago.

They had abandoned me with just my thoughts on the corner of main street and I62. The next morning, I had woken up on the side of the road where I had slumped, defeated, and too far away to walk home.

I shook my head violently. I could not afford to think of all the horrible things that had happened to her. Not when this was by far the worst. I walk towards him and study the food.

He caught me looking and gestured to the plate. "I didn't poison it, you know." He took a pancake and popped it into his mouth to prove his point.

*Not asking for each others names for the first 3 chapters?? Total red flag*

Somehow, I got the courage to say, "I never really got your name. My name is Aurelia, but everyone calls me Lia." That's not particularly true, only my family and my two friends called me that--If she could still call them my friends.

His eyebrows raised in surprise. I am not sure how he expected me to respond, but it certainly wasn't to ask his name. Of course, I had another intention of asking him, not just so that I had a name to call him. I needed his name so if I got off of this boat I would know who to report. --'when'-- I corrected myself. When I get off this boat.

"My name is Torin," he said in between bites. His usual arrogance had returned as he turned to face the rest of the boat. "It's not much, but it is all that I have," he said sitting down at the little barstool in front of the counter.

I made no move to join. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs until someone came to rescue me. But there is no chance of that happening. Not when we are stuck on a boat. In the middle of nowhere.

I observed him in silence for a few more moments and, seeing that he hadn’t died from eating the pancakes, grabbed a few from the pan and scrambled back out of arm’s length from him. I had no intention of letting him touch me again. Not after he had taken me…

He raised his eyebrows in response. That arrogance made me so mad inside. I took a few tentative bites, my eyes still locked with his. They tasted so good I had to admit. Not that I would tell him that out loud. He would probably ruffle his feathers if I did.

I eagerly ate the rest and then made a grab for the orange juice sitting next to the platter. He blocked my arm smoothly and grabbed my wrist so I couldn’t pull it back.

“Slow down, will you? You don’t want to be sick and puke it all up after.” He said rolling his eyes.

I yanked my hard from his grasp and grabbed the orange juice anyway. Who knows how long I had gone without food or water, and the pit in my stomach finally seemed to ease a bit as I drank.

He just shook his head and said, “How much longer are we going to play this game Lia? I’ve already told you, everything I have done is to protect you.”

I shook my head emphatically. “I don’t believe you one bit. What are you trying to protect me from anyway?”

He hesitated, clearly unsure whether to tell me or not. I nodded slowly, making up my mind before a lie came out of his mouth.

“If you are going to lie about it, don’t say anything at all. I hate liars. While you make up your mind of what story to tell me this time, I need some time alone. To think.” I growled. To find a way out of here, I silently add.

I turn on my heal and walk back to the set of doors we had come through. That wasn’t a complete lie, but I still wanted to look around. When I opened the doors, I took a quick peek back to see if Torin was following me. He wasn’t.

Good. I didn’t want an escort so that I could take some time to explore. I walked slowly down the hallway, not sure where to start. I start down the winding hallways expecting to head back to my little bedroom but stop suddenly when I see a set of doors that are closed.

That wasn’t closed when we came through. All of the doors were open as I had noted when I first walked out of this hallway. I curiously pushed at them, and they gave way, creaking as they opened. I stepped into a generally large room with a huge waterfall in the middle.

Bath, I corrected myself. Not a waterfall, it was an elegant bath. Goodness this man must have his pockets full of money to afford something like this boat. The water sprinkled lightly into the middle of the bath making it sound like it was raining.

I looked around and spotted some towels on the side of the room. I grabbed on, slipped off my clothes, and stepped cautiously in. It was hot, but not scalding as I slipped in. My aching bones sighed, and I leaned my head back against the side.

It felt so nice to take a bath and with satisfaction, I noticed the dirt coming off from my skin that I hadn’t realized was there. I closed my eyes, not wanting to ruin this moment and the sound of the falling water lulled me to sleep.