Page 13 of Little Darling

I held up my wrist. “This isn't trust. This is abuse.”

A shadow of darkness passed over his face, and I inhaled sharply, afraid of what I saw.

“Saying that shit isn’t helping matters.” With one more hard, unyielding look, Lars turned and headed for the door. “I suggest you eat and finish your water. After that, get some rest.” He didn’t look at me, just stared at where he gripped the door handle. “Your clothes are in your bag. Put them in the dresser as you see fit.” He glanced back at me then. “Once you’re feeling better, we’ll wash you up and talk more later.”

“We’ll wash you up?”Oh, hell no!

He opened the door, but before walking out of it, he said, “It’s best if you don't leave. The cabin is out in the middle of nowhere. The woods are dangerous, and you’ll just end up hurting yourself before I get to you.” He stared at me with cold, black eyes. “And Iwillfind you. Be smart about this, Dolly.” With that ominous statement hanging between us, he left and silently shut the door behind him.

I didn't hear a lock engage, so I could only assume he was so sure about me not leaving, or that he’d find and catch me if I did, that he wasn't worried about keeping me in this prison with lock and key.

I stood there for a moment, numbness spreading through me because I was good and fucked. Fight or flight told me to make a run for it no matter what he threatened. But what if things got worse if I tried to leave, and he found me?

As reality settled in, I sank to the floor and let the tears I’d been holding back spill forth. I was trapped in an isolated place with a man who had been stalking me, and believed we were meant to be together in some fucked-up and twisted fairy tale.

I stared down at my one and only tattoo. I was now marked permanently with his name. There was no doubt he had a claim over me, no matter how nightmarish it was.

I was trapped.

I felt helpless and weak.

But if he wanted me so badly, there was no way in hell I would make it easy for him.

12

DOLLY

It had been a day. But I couldn’t be sure because time seemed to melt together with a strange, warped sensation. The weight of everything that happened was almost suffocating.

Lars had brought in two more meals, and taken me to the restroom a few times, but I never saw him do it. I’d doze off for only a second and wake up to find the meals waiting for me. I watched the sun set and rise once each. I’d barely slept. I was too on edge, too afraid to close my eyes because I didn't know if he’d try to tattoo me again.

And every time I drifted off, I woke up in a panic thinking Lars would be standing over me with a needle and ink, watching me intently, or maybe with rope to bind me to the bed so he could do what he wanted to me.

But on the heels of those nightmarish thoughts, I knew if he wanted to hurt me, he had ample time and opportunities to do so already. He’d been feeding me, had brought all my creature comforts here, but despite “taking care” of me, I was his prisoner.

I’d just finished a light… lunch? Hell, I didn't know what time of day it was to know if I was eating breakfast, lunch, or dinner.I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the door because I heard movement right outside just moments before.

I’d had a lot of time to just think about what I was going to do. I knew he’d probably catch me if I ran, but I was going to fight back. I wasn’t going to just submit, even if it was a senseless war.

Lars didn’t lock me in the bedroom. I knew that because I tested it earlier. Would I have tried to leave at that moment? I thought about it as I reached out with my trembling hand and turned the knob just enough to hear the faint click of the latch disengaging.

But fear had taken over, and I hadn’t opened it. I couldn’t bring myself to. The idea of actually stepping out of the room and facing the unknown—of facinghim—filled me with a cold, paralyzing fear.

I checked the window, but it would’ve been no help in my escape, either. This cabin was so old that thick layers of paint sealed its edges. The glass was immobile, but I didn't know if that was because of Lars or because this place was ancient and just built that way.

But despite all that, I’dtried.

I focused on the door again. I didn’t know exactly where I was, but I had to assume I was still in Romania. I could see between a couple of the logs that the cabin was isolated. There was nothing out there but a densely wooded forest and danger.

More dangerous than what's in here?

There was so much… silence. I didn’t hear cars or any kind of civilization. The only sounds I could hear were the rustling of trees as the wind picked up, the chirp of birds, and the animals scurrying around on the forest floor.

And then there was the occasional creak of the floorboards as Lars moved back and forth just behind the door that was my lockandkey to this prison.

Lars had done one hell of a job completely cutting me off from the outside world.

No phone. No computer or internet. Nothing but the decades-old furniture and bedside lamp that gave the room a muted, eerie vibe.

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