CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
MY EYES FLUTTERED open. I was lying on the bed upstairs in the guest room. Zane was above me. He unlocked a metal cuff from around my wrist and let my heavy hand fall onto my face. He snickered and got off the bed. It was sometime in March. Several weeks had passed since I hid in the coat closet.
“You reek.” He wrinkled his nose and shuddered. “I should take you out back and hose you off.” He bent over and picked up my dress. He twisted it in his hands and snapped it against my bare breasts. “I don’t want to touch you. Get up.”
“Mhh,” I mumbled. My mind was stuck in a perpetual heavy fog. I sat up, so dizzy it was hard to smooth out the dress and slip it over my head. My eyes closed on their own accord. I swung my legs over the bed, pausing to collect my balance.
Inpatient, Zane took a hold of my hands and helped me to my feet with uncharacteristic gentleness. He wasn’t being nice. His patience was learned, albeit it had taken him several weeks to learn it. I was too heavily drugged to walk on my own. If someone didn’t escort me back into the basement, I wasn’t able to get there until the drugs left my system.
He kept a steady hold on me as we walked down the stairs, through the first level of the house, and into the basement. He dropped me off at the bottom of the stairs. Phoebe and Lily stood in front of the mirror, getting ready for another night’s work. I wobbled on my feet and leaned against the wall or support.
Phoebe set down the tube of lipstick she held and rushed over. She wrapped her arm around me and led me to my cot. I flopped down on it and fell backwards. Phoebe lifted my feet onto the mattress.
“You burning hot.” She pressed her hand against my forehead. “Lily, bring me wet cloth.”
Now that she had mentioned it, I did feel warm. “I’m okay,” I slurred. I blinked. Or at least I thought that was all I had done, but when I opened my eyes, Lily stood over me, folding a dripping washcloth in half.
“I say damp, not soaking,” Phoebe said.
“No, you said wet,” Lily told her.
Phoebe shook her head and took the washcloth from Lily. She wrung it out on the floor and draped it over my forehead.
Lily knelt down and put her hand on my cheek. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“I not know.” Phoebe smoothed back my hair. “She have fever.”
Lily shook her head, causing a cascade of strawberry blonde curls to fall into her face. “It’s been three weeks. They need to stop drugging her. It’s, like, gonna damage her brain or something.”
“Guys,” I mumbled. “I’m fine.”
“No,” they said in unison. Phoebe cast her eyes to the ground. “Addie,” she said gently. “You sick. You not feel it because of drugs.”
I nodded. She was right, and I knew it made sense. After my failed attempt at running out of the house, Nate locked me in the closet for three days. If it wasn’t for Lily and Phoebe sneaking me food and water, I might not have made it.
When Nate finally let me out, he strapped a house arrest anklet on me and shoved a pill down my throat. As the grainy pill disintegrated, he told me that the anklet would alert him if I tried to take it off, and it had GPS. Even if I got out of the house, they would find me. I had begun feeling fuzzy as he spoke. It wasn't long until I was pulled into a drug-induced haze. I was too out of it to protest. I was too weak to run.
That had become my new routine. For the last three weeks, I was drugged, dragged upstairs, and chained to the bed. Once my work was done, Zane brought me back down to the basement. If Lily or Phoebe were there, they would help me eat, shower, or lay down until the drugs wore off. Then I’d have a few hours of being sober until the day repeated.
“She’s shivering.” Lily pulled the quilt over me. “Should I get her water?”
“Addie, you thirsty?” Phoebe asked.
“I think so,” I answered. My throat burned. Maybe. I couldn’t really tell. I still felt numb. Lily scuttled away, returning with a cup of water. I struggled to push myself up onto my elbows.
“Ugh,” I groaned. I hated not being able to easily move. Phoebe took the cup and put it to my lips, slowly tipping it so I could slurp down the cold water.
“You almost ready?” Rochelle called and clomped down the stairs.
Lily shot up and scrambled over to the vanity. Her green eyes widened with fear, looking like she just got caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to be doing. “Yeah,” she said right away.
“No you’re not!” Rochelle stopped at the base of the stairs. “You don’t have any makeup on.”
“She doesn’t need any,” I mumbled.
Rochelle ignored me and strode past. She sat Lily down on the stool in front of the vanity and started caking foundation over Lily’s flawless skin. “Come on, Pheebs.” She cast a look over her shoulder. Phoebe set the cup down and hugged me.
“Rest as much as you can,” she whispered. “We go on two day trip. See you later.” I collapsed back onto the bed and closed my eyes. I tried staying awake by listening to the girls getting ready but it didn’t work. When I woke up, they were gone.
But I wasn’t alone. Nate and Zane stood next to the cot, both dressed in formal suits. They both looked handsome. Inhumanly handsome, at that. I wanted to vomit.
Nate narrowed his eyes and looked at his watch. “I have some business to attend to.”
I blinked and swallowed. Yes, my throat was definitely sore. “And I care because?”
“It’s out of town,” Nate continued.
“I still don’t care,” I told him and wished my voice wasn’t so scratchy.
“You’re not going.”
“No shit, Sherlock,” I spat and hid the fear. Nate was up to something, as always. Why else would he be downstairs?
Nate sighed. “You just won’t break, will you?”
“I never will.” I said each word slowly and stared Nate right in the eyes.
“You know what they do to horses that can’t be broken?” He shook his head. “Never mind.” He turned to Zane. “Put her in the closet.”
“No!” I screamed. Not again, not in the dark. Not alone.
“Stop the antics,” Nate said, sounding bored. “I’m not leaving you to your own devices while I’m away on business.”
Zane picked me up. The drugs weren’t as strong, but I wasn’t at full strength, and even if I was, being sick put a damper on my ability to fight off anyone, let alone Zane. He carried me like a rag doll and flopped me down into the closet. He kicked me in the stomach for good measure and dashed out, slamming the door.
I didn’t get up. What was the point? I hadn’t been able to get out before, and now I was weak. Tears filled my eyes. Nate was lying. He had to be. He really wouldn’t leave me all alone for two days, would he? My lip quivered. I had been in there for three days before, and Nate had no problem with it.
Yes, he had to be serious.
Zane and Nate went up the stairs and locked the basement door. I lay on my side, curled into a ball, and cried. It hurt my throat. I desperately wanted water. I took in a slow breath and thought about my family. I was sitting at the dining room table again. My mom handed me a steaming cup of lemon tea. It was her cure-all for colds.
I would have given anything to be home again. Though I tried not to cry, the tears began to fall again. I shivered and hugged my legs closer to me. My body ached. I wasn’t sure I would make it two days.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to.