Pope sat me down on a simple wooden chair with a floral cushion next to a large wooden farm table in the kitchen. The sun beamed through the lace curtains that hung over the large windows that were on two of the four walls. I had no idea what time of the day, or even what day it was, which added to my disorientation. The kitchen reminded me of something plucked right out of a Home and Garden magazine. Martha Stewart herself could have decorated it for all I knew. It had a country charm with the bright yellow walls, the off-white cabinets accentuated with antique brass handles, and the oversized farm sink sunk in against large slabs of dark granite that made up all the surfaces. The refrigerator was far larger than they would ever need for two people, but it matched the masterful aura of the room. China plates of different patterns hung on the walls adding to the charm. If I wasn’t kidnapped sitting barefoot in my captor’s cotton shirt that smelled of his masculinity, and scared shitless, I would have actually enjoyed having a cup of coffee in a room such as this one.

I pulled my knees up to my chest again, feeling the strong urge to cover every inch of my skin with the oversized shirt. My survival skills were kicking in as I scanned the room for a way out of my hell. There was a door that led outside, but the large windows in the room showed me that we were indeed in the woods. All I could see were thick stands of trees all around. So even if I somehow made it out of the door and ran to the woods to hide—then what? I believed Vivian when she said we were out in the middle of nowhere. I was barefoot. How long would I survive against the elements of the woods with no idea which way to even run? I also noticed a knife block nestled up next to the toaster on the counter. There were six knives tucked into their proper slots.

Pope pulled me from my thoughts of planning my escape when he said, “I don’t know where to begin.”

His mother stood behind him, and by the intensity of her trembles, and her worried face, I could only assume she was still Viv. Pope leaned up against the counter and studied me as I sat in a ball on the chair.

Viv took a few steps toward me, but stopped when I flinched at her movement. “I’m sorry. So sorry.”

I looked at her, then at Pope, and then back at her. “Why am I here? What are you planning to do to me?”

I wanted to cry, but I didn’t have any more tears to shed. I also didn’t want Pope to know how truly broken I felt. If he knew how weak and frightened I was inside, it would give him more of the upper hand. But my head swam, my heart pounded, and my gut wrenched. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be tortured, get raped, or even die in this sick and twisted game they were playing. I don’t know why I expected a kidnapping to be more black and white than this. It was as if I was expecting something that wasn’t playing out as I had thought. I had absolutely no idea how this story was going to end. In fact, I had no idea what the next line in the paragraph was going to be. If Pope and Vivian had planned to fuck up my mind, they had definitely succeeded in their mission. It was like how a cat toyed with its prey before finally killing it. A cat never mercifully executed the mouse or bird. No, the cat continually gave the victim hope by allowing it to move, to feel free for a few moments only to be pounced upon again, all before eventually meeting its demise. Pope and Vivian were the evil cat toying with me, but that also meant my demise was near.

“Nothing,” Pope said with firmness and even anger lacing the word. “Nothing at all.” He still had no shirt on, which only added to the bizarre element in the room. “My mother is,” he looked at her and then at me with sadness in his eyes, “sick.”

“I know,” I said softly, but that still didn’t explain why they kidnapped me. And why was I even talking to them? I should just lunge for the knives and stab one in their throats before they saw it coming. Just like the movies, I could suddenly have super human powers and the thirst to kill with a vengeance.

“Not just the Parkinson’s. She is sick in other ways.” I could see that Pope was struggling with what he wanted to tell me. Though he was still powerful in stature and appearance, his face and eyes told a different story. “She has split personalities. There is another person who comes out in her. One that she can’t control.” He looked at Viv who was staring down at the ground, appearing ashamed by her son’s confession. “The other personality inside her did this.”

Was this all part of the cat toying with the prey?

“I don’t need to know why you kidnapped me. I just want you to let me go.” I looked at Pope and then Viv frantically. “I won’t say a word. I won’t tell anyone. Please, just let me go, and I will never say a word. Just don’t hurt me.”

Viv looked up from the wood-planked floor. “My son had no part in this. He didn’t know.” I wasn’t sure if I rolled my eyes, or if my obvious disbelief was evident on my face, because she added, “She kept it all secret from him. She made sure he didn’t know. It’s why she had me keep you quiet the entire time. It’s why she had me drug you.”

“She?”

“Vivian. Vivian did this.”

Pope slammed his fist onto the counter causing both Viv and myself to jump. “How the fuck did this happen? How did she get here? You couldn’t have done this yourself. How?” His voice mastered the room and sent a chill down my spine. When his mother didn’t answer but only started to cry instead, he looked at me and asked, “How did you get here? Who did this?”

Could it be? Could Pope truly have had no idea his mother kidnapped me?

“You had no part in this?” I asked with narrowed eyes.

“None.”

“I find that hard to believe. How in the world could you have no idea you had a drugged, tied, and gagged woman in a box? How the fuck could you not know you had a naked and kidnapped woman in your wine cellar?” Anger sizzled my core. “Who the fuck do you take me for? There is no fucking way you weren’t part of this, so don’t even try lying to me! Just let me go! I just want you to fucking let me go!” I stood up, my legs feeling weak, and for a second I worried I would collapse right there. “You drugged me, you packaged me in a box, you loaded me on a truck, and transported me here by plane all to be your captured bride! Don’t you dare stand there and act like you have no idea what is going on! I don’t know why you and your mother are playing these games with me. Why are you doing this?” Tears cascaded from my eyes and my vision blurred. “Why? Why?”

Pope grabbed his mother by the arm. “Who helped you do this? There’s no way you could have done this by yourself. Who helped you? Tell me!”

Viv appeared terrified by her son’s aggressive behavior. “Richard,” she squeaked.

“Who the fuck is Richard… Your handyman? The man who helped move our stuff?” Pope’s voice intensified in volume. “The man knew she was in one of those damn boxes of yours? Are you telling me that you both drugged this woman and brought her here? Why the fuck would you do that? What the fuck is wrong with you?”

For a minute, I wondered if he was going to hurt his own mother. The rage coursing through him was obvious in the way the veins in his body pulsated against his flesh. The color in his face reddened, and his jaw tensed with every single syllable of his words.

“I… I don’t know what to do. What are we going to do?” Viv looked so fragile as Pope towered over her.

“What are we going to do? What are we going to do? I have cleaned up your messes my entire life! We’re here in the middle of nowhere because of you. My life is destroyed because of you. I have given you everything! I gave you my freedom! I went to jail because of you! So how dare you ask me what we are going to do? You fucked me! Do you know what’s going to happen to me? When she goes to the police, they are going to lock me up for good. There is no we, Momma. There is only me and my fucked up life because of you!” Pope slammed his fist against the granite again and then stormed out the kitchen door before I could even take my next breath. The door slammed so hard that one of the china plates on the wall fell and shattered on the floor.

Stunned by Pope’s outrage, I stumbled back and sat down on the chair where he had first placed me. I looked at Viv with the odd desire to give her comfort. Something about her still pulled at my heartstrings even though I knew it was because of her that I was in this situation to begin with.

That was, until she looked at me.

Vivian had returned. I didn’t even need to hear the southern accent to know she had. I could see it in her eyes. I could feel the energy change.

With a swipe of her hand to wipe away the tears that Viv had shed, she calmly spoke in her elegant and eerie way. “Now, child. Look what you have done. You got Pope all upset.” She paused as I watched a surge of strength reenter her body. “He does have quite the temper. His father always did as well. But don’t you worry. I know how to handle a fiery passion such as his. As part of your training, we are going to have to work on how to keep a man from losing his temper. It’s the job of a good wife to understand how to placate and diffuse the alpha nature of such a man as Pope.” She walked over to where the shattered plate had fallen, knelt down, and picked up the pieces as if it were an every day occurrence.

I frantically looked over at the knife block, prepared to grab a weapon. This was the time. Pope was outside, Vivian was on her hands and knees with her back turned to me. This was the moment. Act now!

“It really would be a shame for Richard to have to hurt your dear friend Maria. He knows if he doesn’t hear from me at certain times of the day, to start going down my list of things to do to her and that darling baby. The list really is ghastly, but necessary, child. It serves a purpose for a greater good.”

I froze, no longer considering reaching for the knife. How could I? What if Vivian was telling the truth and had the ability to really hurt my friend?

“I feel simply dreadful over the fact that I missed my first check in with him ten minutes ago. With all the commotion and all, I was unable to call him.”

“Vivian! Please! Call him now!” Alarm bells rang, fear stabbing at my very core. “Please don’t hurt them. They haven’t done anything wrong. Please. Please.”

“Well, the first item on my list was to slash all four tires. Too bad really. I suppose it’s going to take that girl a full week’s salary to replace those. Poor Maria. I can only assume that working as a waitress and raising a baby makes her finances extra tight. Though it could be worse. The next item on my list is a fire I believe. An accident of course.” She chuckled lightly, looked over her shoulder at me, and gave a wicked smile. “A fire in an apartment building as old as theirs… Can you imagine the risk? I wonder if there are even proper fire alarms installed to warn them in the middle of the night.”

“Please don’t. I’ll do anything you want. Just call him so he won’t do anymore harm to them. Please.”

Vivian stood up and walked to the trashcan to dispose of the fragmented china. “Anything?”

“Yes, anything. Just tell me what to do.”

“I already told you what I wanted. Be a good girl and allow me to teach you all the ways to be a good wife for my son.”

“Okay,” I blurted, desperate to say whatever she wanted to hear. “Just don’t hurt Maria and Luis, and I will do whatever you want me to do.”

She smiled and walked toward the refrigerator. “I thought you would eventually see it my way, child.” She pulled out a package of raw chicken and placed it on the counter. “I think what this family needs right now is a good old-fashioned supper. Fried chicken is just what we all need. Comfort food.” She glanced over at me before she opened up a cupboard and pulled out a clear container of flour and some seasoning shakers. “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you this recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. Food is one way to capture a man’s heart for sure. But right now, you need to go outside and make it right with Pope.”

I stood up and looked toward the door he had slammed only moments ago. “Make it right?”

“Yes, child. He’s simply furious over this entire scene of yours you caused. So, you need to be a good girl and march yourself into his workshop and beg for forgiveness.” When I didn’t move right away, she added, “His shop is sort of his haven. All men need a haven of some kind I suppose. Pope has always been good with his hands. He likes to do carpentry and builds furniture and such. Just like Jesus, you know. Jesus was a carpenter.” She looked at me with annoyance on her face. “Go on now. The workshop’s right outside that door yonder. Go make it right and bring him back for supper. If you do that, then Maria and Luis will be all nice and safe for tonight. I’ll make sure Richard keeps a special eye on them to ensure it.”

I robotically made my way toward the door, but then paused and asked, “Vivian?”

“Yes, child?” She was hunched over, pulling out a frying pan from beneath the oven.

“Did Pope know you were going to bring me here?”

“No. He wouldn’t have understood. That boy can be stubborn just like his father. But I know what’s best for him. A momma always knows what’s best. And in time, he will thank me for all my hard work in making this happen. You will too, child. A momma always knows what’s best.”

“How could he not have known?”

“Oh, child,” she said with a giggle, “men are so easy to trick. You simply have to learn how. But don’t you worry. I will teach you the ways just as my momma taught me and her momma taught her. By the time you walk down the aisle with Pope, you will have him wrapped around your finger while he has no idea that you do.” She shooed me with her hands. “Now go on. Go pay the piper, though that will be far different than what should happen. Back in my day, an outburst such as yours would have warranted a good old-fashioned whoopin’. But most men these days don’t spank their wives anymore for misbehavior. They are weak. A mighty shame if you ask me. Nothing like a strong man who knows how to take his woman in hand.” She turned and focused her attention on the chicken. “Go on and apologize and fetch Pope for supper.”