Page 70 of Trapped: Until The Darkest Of Night

“My trust is earned. I don’t just give it out.” I lean against the counter, cross my arms, and squint at her.

Lou tilts her head and a few hairs fall across her face. “Then give me a chance to prove myself. No chains for two days.”

There’s something in her eyes. She looks at me like she did back in the visitor center parking lot; her eyes sparkling as if before an imminent adventure. Like she’s dying to be alone with me so I can kiss her.

No! No! No!

“How else are you going to find out if I’m trustworthy?” she replies challengingly, and gives me another smile. A genuine Lou smile that makes me vibrate like I’ve swallowed a hummingbird.

Rigidly, I stare at her even though everything inside me is in turmoil. “You’re not playing fair—and you know it,” I say, not knowing whether to be angry or happy.

“What’s fair anyway?” Her voice falters a little, but she continues smiling. She’s truly brave. Maybe she deserves a tiny concession. The whole time she was so apathetic, so distant. Today, she is alive again for the first time. Maybe I need to finally show her that I’m not the uncompromising creep she believes I am. While I’m reluctant to take that leap of faith, I can certainly arrange to keep an eye on her.

No, Brendan!

Yes, that could work. It’ll only be for two days, after all.

Without a word, I walk to the cupboard over the sink and find the bells I’ve stowed on one of the top shelves. I once read an article somewhere about how to prevent domestic cats from catching young birds. The owners gave them collars with bells so that they jingled with every step. I think that’s animal cruelty, but Lou isn’t a cat with extremely sensitive hearing.

Just a weird, amazing, kidnapped, lonely girl.

“What are you going to do with those?” Lou asks, dumbfounded, when I show her the bells in my hands. “Tie them around my neck like a dog?”

“Something like that.” I turn away again and grab some zip ties from the same closet. “The bells will tell me where you are at all times. Now you can even walk around outside without worrying about bears. I was planning on doing it this way from the beginning, but you were more difficult than I expected…” I can’t help it, but her indignant expression makes me smile again.

“So, you’re going to put the bells on me and then I don’t have to wear the chain?” she asks, stunned. It appears she wants to stuff the bells down my throat.

I nod curtly. “We’ll try it this way for the next two days. Not at night, obviously.”

Lou pets the pup’s head. “What if I have to feed Grey at night?” she asks with an innocent angelic look.

I eye her skeptically. Her expression does not give me a clue if she’s been lying to me or if she’s going to abandon Grey if an opportunity to escape presents itself.

“While I’m awake, it’s not a problem. For when I’m not, I can chain you to the kitchen.”

“Good idea,” she whispers, a little too sweetly to be believable.

I snort in disgust, but I’m glad she’s not so depressed anymore.

Chapter

Eighteen

That night I sit by the fire for a long time. It’s one of those starry Yukon nights where the sky above me looks like an imperturbable black sea with millions upon millions of white points of light. It seems as if the firmament itself is a piece of eternity. I recall the cold day in December when I looked out of the log cabin at the stars.

Girls’ hearts.

It all started with those words. I found Lou. And now she is so much more than I expected. Basically, I don’t even know what I was actually expecting. Anything somehow. And I thought it would be easier. As if I could get Lou to leave everything behind at the push of a button. Of course that was a misconception, and to be honest, I didn’t want to delve into all the details. It was easier to indulge my fantasies and leave the rest for later.

I grab my sketch pad and pencils from the closet, but I soon find that I don’t need to draw to feel better. I’m actually feeling better. With the pad on my lap, I smoke a cigarette and listen to Lou rattling dishes in the RV.

There’s something calming about it because before, she was always so still, just lying or sitting on the bed.

Today, she was occupied with Grey all day. The kitchen is a battlefield of kettles, leftover milk powder, bags, and dishes. In the evening, I couldn’t even do the dishes because Lou took up the entire work surface with Grey’s paraphernalia.

The tiny wolf always seems to be hungry and now drinks every half hour. Luckily, he’s keeping most of the milk down and I’m praying he’ll put on a few pounds by weigh-in day. Lou didn’t have time to be unhappy today because she was so busy feeding the pup. She built a lair out of blankets, but still carried Grey around with her most of the time, even to the bathroom. I hope she’s not afraid I’d steal him from her and drown him without her knowing.

As I walk back to the RV for a beer, I hear her talking to him through the open windows. Automatically, I stop. Her clear voice rushes through me like the wind through the aspens, reminding me of my dream. That’s how she talked to me during the blackout.

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