by ML Ross
“See something you like?” She turns her blushed face away from me and I have to calm myself down before I do something really stupid. I take a couple breaths and look up at her. She’s staring at the wall again. “I’m sorry you can’t go home. I know tomorrow is Christmas. I promise I’ll take you home as soon as I can figure out what’s going on.”
“I can call my parents. I can tell them you’re innocent. They’ll help, they’re good people.”
“I can’t let you do that. The police have witnesses that it was me. I ran. I took you. I’m in big trouble and I can’t trust anyone. Not even your parents. I’m sorry.”
“I believe you didn’t do it.” She whispers. She attempts to sit up and I rush over to assist her. I sit next to her on the bed feeling a little guilty about where my thoughts travelled earlier.
“Thanks. That means a lot. Listen, you could probably use a shower. There’s shampoo and soap in there. Nothing girly. We’re both going to smell like Old Spice. Be careful with that arm.” I can tell she trusts that I’m not going to hurt her but it doesn’t mean she won’t run. She wants to go home. I don’t like the idea of keeping her prisoner here but I can’t go to prison. “Just so you know, we’re very remote in the mountains. There are several miles of dirt road until you get to another house or another road. Nobody is out here this time of year. The road is covered now with several inches of new snow. What I’m telling you is, don’t try to run again. You won’t make it far.” I try not to sound too threatening but she needs to know she can’t leave.
She just nods her head, glaring at me. “Where is my bag? My phone?”
“I don’t have them. They must still be in your car. I can give you something to wear.” I search the closet and dig through some stuff. I don’t have much but I guess she’ll have to make this work. I hand her a pile of clothing and she holds each item up in front of her. An extra-large Western Colorado t-shirt, a pair of sweatpants in a large and a pair of men’s boxers in a large. She’s tiny so I know what she’s thinking.
“It’s all I have. Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll cook us something to eat, then you should really lay back down and rest. I don’t have any fancy food here. Is macaroni and cheese okay?”
“Yeah.”
“You need help?” I ask as I see her wince when she swings her legs over the side of the bed.
“What? No!”
“I didn’t mean anything by it! Shit! It’s going to be hard for you to get dressed and undressed with a sore arm and bruised ribs. I’m not a fucking creep. You said you believed me.” I don’t know why I’m so mad. Maybe because I just finished jacking off to the vision of her handcuffed in her underwear begging me to fuck her. I am a fucking creep. Shit!
“I didn’t mean to offend you. I just don’t know you, that’s all.” She yells back at me.
“I get it.” I pull at my hair in frustration before I walk out. She has every right to be weary of me. I held her against her will for fucks sake!
Chapter 6 - Vanessa
I take the clothes and walk out of the bedroom looking for the bathroom. The cabin is probably no bigger than 600 square feet. One bedroom. An open space with a small chair in front of a fireplace, a small TV off to the side and a kitchen area in the back with a card table and two chairs. Ryan’s in the kitchen, so I take the opportunity to glance at the front door again. It’s really dark outside now. He told me I wouldn’t get very far. I have no idea where I am and it’s freezing out there. I don’t see a phone anywhere and mine is in my car somewhere on the side of the road. I walk towards the bathroom watching Ryan work in the kitchen. As he’s holding the pot that’s filling with water, I can see his back muscles flex through his shirt, and shit, I think I need medicine for my fever. He must sense my presence. He turns his head towards me and nods once. I step into the bathroom and close the door. My heart is beating so fast. I lean against the door and close my eyes. I don’t know if this funny feeling in my tummy is from fear or something else entirely.
It is really hard to undress with a disabled arm and bruised ribs. I squeeze my eyes tight trying to bare the pain but once I step into the hot shower, I forget about it. I just stand under the stream of hot water and let it massage my sore body. I reach for the soap and almost laugh. He wasn’t kidding. It’s old Spice. I wash the best I can. I can’t wash my hair. I can’t lift my arm above my head, but where am I going? It doesn’t really matter. I turn off the water and go to grab the towel.
“Oh God!!” I scream like I’m being murdered. I back up as far as I can against the wall screaming my head off. The door flies open and Ryan runs in pointing a gun! A fucking gun!
“What are you doing?!” I scream at him.
“You were screaming! What happened?”
“There’s a spider on my towel!” I point in horror. “It’s big!”
“What the fuck?”
“Shoot it!!” I scream at him as if he has no common sense.
“I can’t fucking shoot a spider.” He laughs at me while I continue to squirm naked in the shower. “Relax.” He walks over to the toilet paper holder and tears off three squares.
“You’re gonna need more than that. It’s meaty.”
He walks over and gently scoops up the giant spider with the toilet paper and then promptly flushes him down the toilet.
“He was dead, right? He’s not going to crawl back up the side, is he?”
“He’s gone. You’re safe.” He holds the towel in front of me but when I go to grab it, he pulls it away, smirking at me. I stand against the wall dripping wet and naked in front of this stranger and I don’t even try to cover myself. I let him look. He takes his time. His gaze roams over my breasts and my hard nipples, down my flat stomach and lands on my bare pussy. His tongue darts out of his mouth and touches the top of his lip. He must do that when he’s turned on. I can see he’s turned on. His jeans are bulging and I can see his chest moving in and out vigorously with each breath. I should be frightened. I’m his captive. He’s been here alone for over a month with no contact. He could do anything to me and I wouldn’t be able to stop him but I’m not scared anymore. I’m buzzing with adrenaline. His eyes stroll back up to my eyes and we connect. My heart beats rapidly as we have this strange connection.
“See something you like?” I ask sarcastically, throwing his words back at him. He smiles and his entire face lights up in amusement. He wasn’t expecting that. He shakes his head looking down at the ground and then brings his eyes back to mine and replies, “You’re beautiful.”
He slowly hands me the towel and then looks away with this hands on his hips, like whatever happened between us just now spooked him and he’s trying to pull himself together. I grab the towel from him and cover myself. My entire body is hot and I feel like I need to squeeze my thighs together to stop the ache that’s developing there.
“Thank you.”
“You are very welcome.” He says winking at me before he exits the bathroom.
I dry off and dress quickly, keeping my eye out for any more of those eight-legged creatures. Spiders and creepy bugs absolutely terrify me. My hair is still dripping and I don’t have a brush so I leave it. I’m exhausted all of a sudden from all the activity. I walk out of the bathroom and Ryan is sitting at the small table with a spoon of macaroni halfway to his mouth. He freezes, running his eyes over my body like he did in the shower. I look down at myself wondering if I forgot a piece of clothing. He’s already seen me naked now so it doesn’t matter. His shirt hangs almost to my knees and even though I rolled his sweatpants at my waist three times, they still drag on the ground.
“You look good in my clothes.” He says with a crooked smile and then winks at me again. “Come sit with me. Eat.”
I sit down and stare at my bowl with uncertainty. “Seriously?” He chuckles. “You think I spiked your mac & cheese? Even after I saved you from the spider?”
His laugh is infectious so I laugh too. Something about him makes me feel so comfortable. I�
�m starving, so without any more hesitation, I dig in. I shove a huge bite into my mouth and close my eyes. “So good…” I moan with my mouth full. I never usually allow myself the pleasure of mac& cheese. I open my eyes and notice him staring at my mouth for a moment and then he tears his gaze away quickly.
“Glad you like it. It’s either this or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Actually, I’m out of jelly. So peanut butter sandwiches. Tomorrow everything is closed but Tuesday I can take you out to get anything you need. We just have to disguise ourselves and be careful.” He studies me probably wondering if taking me out in public is smart. I can scream. I can run. I can go home.
I suddenly feel sick to my stomach knowing I am going to miss Christmas with my family. Mason is probably hysterical. I feel my eyes start to burn with tears.
“I’m sorry.” He whispers.
“I can help you figure out what’s going on.”
“You’re probably a missing person now. They’ll be looking for you too.”
“Which means we have to come up with a plan quick and figure out what’s going on. They will find us eventually.”
“Why would you help me?”
“Because I want to go home.”
“Can I trust you?” He asks.
“Can I trust you?” I throw back.
We stare into each other’s eyes trying to read each other.
“I guess we have no choice. We have to trust each other.” He says.
Chapter 7 - Ryan
I wake up early Christmas morning and feel overwhelmed with guilt that this sweet girl is missing Christmas with her family because of me. While she’s sleeping, I sneak out of the cabin and find a 4 foot tall evergreen that is perfect for a Christmas tree. I rummage around the shed and manage to make a little stand for it. I haul it into the cabin and set it next to the fireplace, figuring we can decorate it later. Together. If she wants.
I hear tiny footsteps and turn to see her shuffle out of the bedroom in my t-shirt. She looks sleepy. Her hair is all messy and there are little red creases on her face from the pillow. I see her squint at the little tree.
“I know you want to be home with your family today but I thought maybe since we’re stuck here we can make the most of it.” I say shoving a huge bite of a frozen waffle into my mouth. I just got out of the shower and threw on some sweatpants. My hair is still damp and I haven’t put on my shirt yet. I notice her scan my chest and I immediately get hard. Fuck! I need another shower. A cold one.
“Where is your family, Ryan? Can’t they help you?” She asks as she walks toward the table.
“I don’t have any family.”
“What do you mean?”
“Sit.” I say pointing to the chair across from me. It’s a long story. I’ll make you breakfast”. I slip two frozen waffles into the toaster and push the lever down.
She pulls up a chair and waits for the waffle to pop up. I toss them quickly on a plate trying not burn my fingers. “Sorry, no syrup.”
“It’s okay. So, where’s your family?” She asks biting into her dry, burnt waffle.
“I don’t know my biological parents. I was adopted as a baby. My adoptive parents agreed on a closed adoption. When I was sixteen, they died in a car accident. I was sent to a foster home and lived there for two years. The day I turned eighteen, a few weeks before I graduated high school, I got a call from a Lawyer. Apparently my adoptive parents set up a trust fund when they adopted me. The trust fund was enough to pay for my college tuition and even enough for a deposit on a small house. I moved out of my foster family’s house and I rent a studio apartment near campus. My foster brother and I still keep in touch. His name is Landon. He’s a few years older than me. He’s the only family I have. When I found out I was in trouble, Landon gave me the keys to this place. It belongs to his grandfather who is in a senior home now. Anyway, Landon’s the only one I really consider family, besides Kim.” It used to be hard for me to talk about the death of my parents. Now, I have a hard time talking about Kim. She has always been there for me. She’s my family and now she’s charging me attempted murder.
“What about your foster parents? They wouldn’t help you?”
“They only took me in because I was 16 and they only had to deal with me for two years. I got in a lot of trouble during those two years so I assume they probably think I’m guilty as hell.”
“Your adoptive parents, were they good to you?”
“The best. My Dad owned a small company that rented different types of equipment out to companies and even residents. You know, like rototillers, chainsaws, things people might need for a project but don’t have the money to buy the tools. He was a good businessman and a good father. My Mom stayed at home and raised me. She spoiled me rotten. We were best friends. She was always the one to help me with my homework, drive me to sports, and take me to the mall to meet my friends. We used to watch movies together, cook together…...” Shit! I guess it’s still hard to talk about them. “Anyway,” I swipe my eyes with the back of my hand, glancing up at her, hoping she didn’t see me cry like a pussy. She’s looking at me like she wants to hug me and that shit makes me hard. I squirm a bit and try to refocus. “Anyway, it’s just me now.”
“I’m sorry Ryan.” She pauses as if another thought just flew into her head. “You know, it just occurred to me. How the hell did you escape the accident without a scratch?”
“I was driving a Toyota FJ. It’s an off road 4 wheel truck. You were driving a “bug”! You’re lucky you didn’t suffer worse, considering you didn’t have your seatbelt on either!”
Her eyes glaze over as if she gets lost in her thoughts. “I remember now. I took it off so I could answer my phone.” She says softly.
“Boyfriend?” Shit. Does she have a boyfriend?
“We had just broken up.”
“Fuck, what a shitty day you had!” I say sarcastically. I feel a bit of relief, although, what the hell do I expect to happen. I abduct the girl, handcuff her to a bed, keep her from her family and now I expect her to, what? Be my girl?
She reaches over and slugs my arm. “So, not funny!” but I see her crack a smile.
“Why did you break up?”
She looks like she is unsure how to answer. Must be a story there. “Um, it’s personal.”
“Gotcha. So does it have anything to do with what you were doing alone on a deserted highway the night before Christmas eve?”
“No, I was actually coming home from Telluride. My best friend planned this ski trip for my birthday. It was supposed to be kind of like a kick off to my new life. My mom was sick for two years and I took care of her and my family. I sacrificed school and basically my life. Now that’s she’s healthy, I decided to live a little, ya know? It was supposed to be girl time, dancing and wine. Instead it turned out to be Mission: Get Vanessa Laid. I tried to hook up with a guy. I had never had a one-night-stand. It ended badly so I left early and I was on my way home.”
“You never had a one-night stand?”
“Nope. I didn’t think it would be a big deal but….”
“But what?”
“I don’t know. It sort of was. It didn’t feel right. I stopped him in the middle and pushed him off of me.”
“In the middle of sex?”
“Yeah.” She giggles.
“That is not funny! You can fucking kill a man!”
“Well, I didn’t feel bad. I was really drunk. What kind of guy does that?”
“Vanessa, that was stupid. Shit. You’re lucky that guy stopped. He did, didn’t he?” Just the thought of some guy taking advantage of her pisses me off. She nods her head. “You could have gotten yourself into trouble.” I feel like a dick. I’ve had about twenty one-stand-stands. I’ve never had a girl stop in the middle but I wonder how many felt just like her. She looks at me sheepishly as I’m thinking about my sex life. I want to ask her about her experience; how many guys she’s been with, what she likes, what she doesn’t like or what she won’t ever do. I feel
my dick twitch and I know I have to change the subject.
“Want to tell me about your family?” She looks at me knowingly and smiles.
“We’re really close. My Dad owns his own medical practice. He used to work as an ER surgeon. Two year ago, my Mom was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and got really sick. My brother, Mason, and I took care of her. My Dad had a hard time with the guilt of not being around and ended up opening his own office just a few months ago so he can be home more. Her illness changed things for all of us. We became very close because of everything we went through. Last year, we spent Christmas in the hospital. My Mom wasn’t doing well. That’s why it was so important for me to get home in time for Christmas this year.” She stops and clears her throat. Shit. I’m such a prick.
“You said your mom’s healthy now?”
“Yeah. She’s doing really good. Her hair is finally starting to grow back and she has more energy. I was really looking forward to her apple pies today. She loves to cook but hasn’t for a while.”
“What about your brother?”
“He’s great. He’s turning eleven. Just getting into girls and loves skateboarding. We’re really close too.”
“I bet it was hard on him when your Mom was sick.”
“It was very hard on him. He started to take his frustration out on kids at school and he’d get into trouble. I had to go pick him up a lot and have chats with the principal. Things have been much better though.”
“What about you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You took care of your Mom and your brother but who took care of you?”
“Um, well I had my boyfriend and I also had my best friend Megan. She’s the one that I was with in Telluride. She was my shoulder to cry on. She was my voice of reason when things got really bad.”
“And your boyfriend wasn’t?” Ah, so there is a story.
“He was there but he’s not the emotional type, ya know? I think he was uncomfortable when things weren’t going well. He didn’t know how to comfort me.”