“Eat your food.”

I stare out of the one tiny window I have in my room. Outside, the sun shines, offering what I can only imagine is a beautiful summer’s day. I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Two, maybe three months. I stopped counting after about five or six weeks. “I don’t want to eat it. I want to go home.”

Liam visibly sighs his frustration. “I already told you. Your mum’s not home anymore. She died. I just didn’t want you there to deal with all the shit you would have had to put up with afterwards. I’m protecting you.”

My eyes widen. “By keeping me prisoner?”

He gives me a sideways glance. “It’s for your own good.” With his hand, he moves closer, and I instinctively move away. He edges forward towards my plate and with a flick of his finger, he pulls up my plate before moving his finger away. It thuds back down onto the tray. “Eat,” he commands again. “You’ve lost too much weight.”

“What do you expect?” I bite back. “You drugged me, took me here, and now you won’t let me leave. Of course I’m not going to feel like eating.” With an exasperated breath, I ask, “What do you want with me?”

His hand moves forward again, and I think he’s going to demand I eat again, but instead, he surprises me by stroking my hair. I flinch, pulling away. “I’m not going to hurt you, Ray. All I want to do is take care of you. I’m all you have left.”

Not wanting to believe him, I say, “My mum is who I have left. She’s all I need.”

Liam closes his eyes before wiping a bead of sweat from his brow. It’s a hot day today, and the lack of air conditioning is killing me. If it wasn’t for the fact that I have my own bathroom and plenty of water, I’m sure I would have died by now.

Once he opens his eyes back up, he fixes his cold blue irises on me. I can’t say Liam’s an unattractive man. In fact, when he came into my mother’s life, I was all for them dating. With his megawatt smile, clean-cut image, spiky blond hair, and light blue eyes, he seemed like the perfect gentleman. Mum seemed to be into him, and they were friends for a long time before they started going out. It was just three weeks into that when he took me.

And I still haven’t found out why.

“I already told you. Your mum’s dead. She died the day I came to collect you from school. I’m just trying to protect you from dealing with everything that comes after. Wouldn’t you rather be here with me than stuck in some foster home with God only knows who? That’s what would have happened. You’re only fifteen. They would have put you in care.”

I shake my head. “I need to get out of this room, Liam. It’s driving me crazy.”

He exhales, offering me a gentle smile. “One day when the dust settles, and the authorities stop looking for you, you can. Until then, I have to keep you safely locked up here. We can’t risk you being caught and taken away from me. I may be all you have left, but you’re all I have left too.” He takes a look around my vast room. “You have everything you need. Books, DVD’s, your favourite music—lots of stuff to keep you entertained. I thought of everything for you.”

My eyes follow where his go. I may be stuck here, but the room is at least clean and comfortable. It’s big too, but sometimes, I feel like it’s so small that the walls are caving in on me.

“I know that, but I need fresh air. I’m fifteen, and I’ve done nothing wrong. I should be out at my age—not locked up like I’ve committed a crime.”

Liam sighs again, his broad shoulders rising and falling. “I understand your frustration, Ray, but I assure you it’s only for a little while longer.” He looks at my pained expression, and his face softens again. “Look, I know how bored you get here. Why don’t you eat your food? It’s your favourite, a Quarter Pounder with cheese from McDonald’s. After you’ve eaten, maybe I can go rent a movie, and we’ll watch it down here together. What do you say?”

My eyes roam to the burger sitting on the plate and the McDonald’s bag next to it. My stomach starts to growl in anticipation. “Are there chips in there?”

Liam chuckles. “There certainly are.”

“Okay,” I reply, leaning forward to grab my plate.

Grabbing my head, Liam lands a kiss on my temple before getting up. “That’s my girl. I’ll go have a look for some movies while you finish up, okay? I’ll be back soon.”

All I offer is a nod, but it seems to greatly please him. He turns, walks towards the door, and pulls the handle. Once he walks through, he turns to see me eating the burger. He smiles again. “I’m so glad I found you,” he says before shutting the door. The instant I hear the door bolt, I jump.

Shooting up in my bed, I gasp and feel as sweat drips down my breast bone. In a panic, my eyes scan the room. I’m home.

I let out a deep breath, allowing my panic to subside. It was only a dream. I’m not in that room anymore. I’m where I belong. Where I’ve always belonged.

Tension in my hands causes pins and needles, so I start shaking it out before wiping my hands over my face. It’s still dark in my room, making me wonder what time it is. My eyes glance over to my phone where I light it up. It’s a little after three. In four hours time, I have to get up for school. I groan, settling myself back down onto the pillow. I attempt to shut my eyes, but no matter how much I try to block out the images, Liam is still there, invading my thoughts. I shift, my body heating as I turn over. Already, I’m uncomfortable again, and I’ve only just moved.

I sigh, turning over yet again and resigning myself to the fact that I won’t be able to get back to sleep tonight. Maybe I should read. It might help. As I stare up at my phone, the green light shines, letting me know it’s fully charged. The thought makes me think about Easton and his text messages. I never did respond. Maybe I will tomorrow. I smile, thinking about our encounter last night. It’s definitely better than those I had with Liam.

As I go over it all in my head, my eyes begin to droop, and surprisingly enough, I fall asleep after all. What’s not surprising is that I fell asleep with the image of a brooding, intense Scot with the most beautiful eyes I have ever seen foremost in my mind.