by Darla Lark
“Okay Cheyenne, you can do this. Just be a good girl and bide your time. Do what he says and you’ll be all right.” She paused. “Oh my God!” she muttered. “I really am losing my mind. I’m talking to myself.” The sound of the door being unlocked nearly stopped her heart. She ran to the sleeping bag and quickly climbed in, not wanting him to know what she was up to. It was best for him to find her the way he had left her.
“Hey sleepy head, wake up. Wake up. I picked up some lunch for us.”
“Huh?” She raised her head and looked at him with one eye. “Lunch? I thought it was still morning.”
He glanced at his watch. “Well, sort of. It’s eleven-thirty. We can just call it brunch.”
“What did you bring this time?”
“I thought some subs from Subway. You get a turkey sub and a bag of Doritos with a bottle of coke. Sound good?”
“Yeah. It’s fine. Thank you.”
“Do you need help?”
“I think I got it.” She was trying to ignore the pain with much difficulty. If she could ignore it, then when the time came she could run. It was the only way.
~
Later that evening, Daniel brought a pizza and breadsticks for dinner. So far she was keeping him happy, which was increasingly helping her situation. At least for now, she could breathe a sigh of relief. It won’t be much longer now.
Chapter 40
Now she’s seeing things my way. Finally. I’m only sorry it took a couple of beatings, but was worth it in the end. Our life together will soon begin. In fact, I found a house that I’m in the process of buying for her. It is much better than Michael’s. Cheyenne is going to be very happy. The thought of her as she smiles and laughs as I carry her over the threshold gets me excited. As does the idea of her lying next to me for the rest of our days. She belongs to me now. Things are going my way for once.
We’ll get exactly what we want out of life. I will keep her safe from all the evil in the world. After all, aren’t I her Prince Charming and she my Cinderella? Our love story is a living fairy tale, one we can tell our children with some minor modifications, of course. Ever since that day in the courthouse, I knew she was the one. The perfect woman. Yes she is. Cheyenne is the most unique, gorgeous woman I have ever seen. Whenever I hear her name and see her face, my heart races. Never have I met anyone who makes me feel the way she does, which makes me wonder why she had been so resistant. It doesn’t really matter now since she’s mine. The only thing that matters now is keeping her happy.
Chapter 41
Cheyenne’s wounds healed slowly as she plotted and planned over the next several weeks. He hadn’t hit her again, but had tried choking her. He yelled and screamed at her quite often because she kept putting up a fight. It made him really angry. Her ribs still hurt and occasionally sharp pains ran through them. Her body felt weak because he would often punish her by withholding food from her. He was weakening her, which she thought was either because he wanted to kill her, control her, or both. Her body wasn’t as strong as it used to be, but her mind still was. Her mind had to remain strong enough to survive. Through sheer determination she had to survive. Everything, though, weakened through lack of food or drink. If she didn’t get away soon, she was going to die. The only opportunity she might have is what Daniel had told her. He had mentioned he might take her out. Although, that was a big if. She hoped he would because; it might be her only chance to live even though she had a plan of escape. The outing would be the perfect opportunity.
“I’m so hungry. Please let me eat something,” she pleaded as she hugged her pillow.
He rolled over on his side and wrapped one arm around her. “Maybe later. It depends on whether or not you’re a good, obedient girl. Besides, you still haven’t opened my gift for you. That’s rude.”
“I-I-I’m so sorry I’ll open it. I promise. But please feed me something. Please.”
“Like I told you, maybe later.”
She cried into the pillow and thought about food. Even a cracker sounded good. All she wanted was a little something. Why wouldn’t he allow her something? Her stomach hurt so badly. With all the anger she could muster, she wished him nothing but harm. Poor Raina must be out of her mind with worry. Cheyenne knew she might never see Raina again. Her only hope was Daniel would actually take her out.
~
An hour later, Daniel had her sit at the table. He slid the box across the table toward her and demanded, “Open it.”
Cheyenne stared at the box and felt her stomach tighten. She was afraid to open it. Her instincts told her not to because she wasn’t going to like it. Yet, pulled like metal to a magnet, she slowly untied the ribbon and her heart began to pound ferociously. She pulled the top off the box. In it was some white tissue paper thickly layered. She pulled it back and saw something white and sparkly. Something that terrified her. When she realized what it was, she knew she really was in deeper trouble than she could ever have imagined.
“What is this for?”
“What do you think silly? Our wedding day, of course. You didn’t forget, did you? Two days from today, we’re going to Vegas, to get married.”
Cheyenne swallowed hard. Their wedding? With him? Of all the men in the world, Daniel? She kept telling herself to play it cool and attempted to look pleased. “It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
“You really like it?”
“I love it.”
“Are you looking forward to the big day?” Daniel’s eyes were wide with excitement and his smiling face scared Cheyenne.
“Yes, but I’m a little nervous.”
He reached across the table and placed his hand over hers. “It’ll be okay. We can do this and make it work. Right?”
“Of course we can.” She let out a nervous laugh. “I’m scared after the divorce. You know?” To her, the dress looked hideous. It looked like some hooded cloak worn by the elves in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, only shinier. If she was going to get out, she had to be complacent. She had to go with the flow or else she might not make it out alive and see her sister again. “Can I eat something? Please?”
“I understand and, yes, I’ll go to McDonalds and get you some food. You know not to do anything stupid, don’t you?”
“I know the routine. I’ll be right here.”
Daniel went over to Cheyenne and kissed her on the cheek. “Be right back. Oh. Just one more thing.” He turned to face her and smiled.
“What?”
“I’m in the process of purchasing a house for us.”
“Are you serious?” She hoped he didn’t notice the fear or lack of enthusiasm in her voice.
“Yeah. Exciting, isn’t it? We’re starting a new life together.”
“I know and it’s great, but I can’t think or be too excited on an empty stomach.”
“Right. Of course, I’ll be back as soon as I can. I love you.” He stepped out and locked the door behind him.
A wedding dress? A house? He was insane. She had to escape now. That’s the last thing she wanted was to be his bride.
Cheyenne listened to make sure he left. After he locked her in, she whispered, “God help me, please. Get me out of here so I can see my sister again.”
~
Daniel returned with a cheeseburger, fries, and a bottle of water. Even though it wasn’t very healthy or very much, Cheyenne welcomed the food with open arms. She scarfed the food and downed the water. Not long after, she began to feel sick.
“Daniel, I’m not feeling very well.”
“Go lie down.”
“No. I feel like I’m going to vomit.”
He pounded his fist on the table and shouted, “Get to the toilet! Now!”
Trying to make her way to the toilet, Cheyenne tried to get to the toilet, but vomited on the floor before she could. She lay there on her side holding her stomach. Not eating for three days and this is what happens.
“What have you done?” he screamed. “You have to clean this mess up.” He grabbed a fistful o
f her hair, bent down, and got nose to nose with her. “I told you to get to the toilet, not vomit all over the floor. Why do you have to disobey me? Huh? Why?” He drug her back and forth through her own vomit as she kicked and screamed. Upon releasing her, he spit on her. “That’s what you get for disobeying me. Now, go clean yourself up and put something clean on.”
Cheyenne felt sicker than what she had been. Please God. Please get me out of here. She pushed herself up, walked over to the toilet, and picked up the baby wipes. She slid the nightgown that she had been wearing off and it fell to the floor. She set the wipes on the floor next to the toilet and began to wipe herself down with them.
Daniel had come up behind her and tossed another nightgown on the floor next to the wipes. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck. “You really need to learn to listen. All you have to do is obey me. Okay?” She silently nodded with tears streaming down her cheeks. “I’m sorry I hurt you,” he said. The last thing I want is to see you cry.”
“I’m sorry I upset you,” Cheyenne mumbled.
“That’s my girl. Finish cleaning up and go lie down on the sleeping bag. Okay?”
“Okay.” She barely even recognized her own voice. But then again, she barely recognized herself any longer.
~
She cleaned up and changed into the other nightgown, then proceeded to the sleeping bag. She knew she had to be extremely cautious with Daniel, because there was no way to know when he would jump off the plank. Not to mention, she absolutely had to increase her chances of getting out.
Daniel kneeled next to her. “I’m going out for a while. I’ll be back in a few hours.” He kissed her forehead and left.
Once she was positive he was gone, Cheyenne got out of the bed and looked around to see if she could find more crates to stack. Since he was going to be gone for a few hours she might be able to escape. She stacked the crates on top of each other. The only thing she would have to figure out was how to get the boards off one of the windows. But how? She would have to figure it out quickly. Once the crates were stacked, it quickly became obvious there weren’t enough crates to reach the high windows.
“Think, Cheyenne, think. Don’t panic. There has to be something. What’s here that could be useful?” She looked around and remembered her backup plan. Find something hard that could wound someone long enough for her to run. In survival mode, she looked over to her right and saw something on the floor in the corner. She noticed a piece of wood from one of the crates. Oh yeah. Perfect. This would work. She was sure of it. Now all I have to do is wait.
Chapter 42
Cheyenne sat on the floor by the door and fell asleep. She hadn’t had very much sleep in the time she had been his captive so it was difficult to stay awake. Upon waking, she rubbed her eyes and searched for the piece of wood. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw it lying next to her. Cheyenne’s heart raced. Would she be able to go through with it? Her breathing was labored and she was on the verge of a panic attack when a sound grabbed her attention. Click. The lock was being opened. She slowly stood, grabbed the wooden plank, and raised it. With a deep breath, she put herself in a baseball stance and raised it, preparing for her attack. Her heart was beating so loudly she could scarcely hear her own breathing.
The door opened. Daniel entered. She made her move and hit him as hard as her strength would allow. She watched him collapse to the floor. Cheyenne froze. She couldn’t move. Realizing he would catch her, she dropped the plank and started running. Daniel grabbed her by the ankle causing her to fall. She rolled over on her back and struggled with him. She kicked him twice. He let go and grabbed his nose. She ran out the door. Outside, she stopped to rub her eyes. The sun was so bright it hurt. She was finally able to look at her surroundings and quickly realized where she was. She had been in an abandoned warehouse, downtown. It was near the high level bridge. She knew train tracks were somewhere around the area, but she wasn’t going to risk and open area, anyhow. It was a place where there was little traffic and even fewer people around.
“Get back here now!”
Not knowing where to run for safety, she just started running. She didn’t care where she went as long as she got as far away from him as possible. As she ran down the sidewalk, she felt the pain in her unhealed ribs and glass slicing the bottoms of her feet. Tears were pouring down her cheeks. Despite the pain, she kept running. She tripped and fell a couple of times, but quickly got up. She knew she had to get help or find a place to hide. Cheyenne hoped it wouldn’t have to be the latter.
She saw the post office. Cheyenne breathed a sigh of relief. She was breathing hard and holding her side. Quickly looking over her shoulder to make sure he hadn’t followed her, she proceeded to walk toward the post office building. There was no way she could run any longer. It was too painful. Once inside, she noticed no one at the front desk. She nervously proceeded to the desk anyway.
“H-h-hello? Anyone here?” No answer. “Hello? Someone? Anyone? I need help.” Still no answer. She smacked the counter. A sob bubbled in her chest as she turned to leave.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
Cheyenne whirled around. “Please help me! Please! Call the police! He’s going to kill me! Please!” The woman standing at the desk pulled back and looked at her skeptically. “Look at me!” Cheyenne shouted. “He has beaten me. He has raped me. He forces me to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag in an old abandoned warehouse. Call the police NOW! Or I’m going to die.”
“Hold on one moment, ma’am. I’ll be right back.” She walked away, leaving Cheyenne alone in the lobby.
Cheyenne stood there with her feet, knees, and elbows aching and bleeding while constantly looking over her shoulder. She hoped he hadn’t followed her. She leaned on the counter and prayed to make it out alive.
The postal worker returned, her voice calm as she spoke. “I’ve called the police for you. They’ll be here in a few minutes, Ms. Harrington.”
Cheyenne stared at her in disbelief. “How do you know my name?”
The worker slapped a piece of paper on the counter as if irritated for the interruption in her day. “Here’s how.”
Cheyenne looked at the paper. It had her picture and a five thousand dollar reward. The phone number was her sister’s. Raina had been looking for her. Now she had the opportunity to go home. She held the paper close to her heart. Oh Raina. How I miss you. Tears welled up and she weakly smiled at the woman. “Thank you,” Cheyenne whispered.
“You’re welcome.” The postal worker stared at her as if contemplating what to do next before finally asking, “Would you like some water? Or coffee? Or something?”
“Water would be nice. Thank you.” After the worker disappeared, Cheyenne began to cry. She missed her family, Gaby, and Michael. All because of a lunatic who was jealous because she had people in her life that cared about her. Suddenly, she wondered if Daniel had done it before.
The door suddenly swung open. She jerked to see who entered. To her horror, Daniel staggered through the door. Cheyenne covered her mouth. She could feel her knees buckle. The look on his face was monstrous and murderous. His face was crimson red, smeared with blood. His eyes were dark with rage. He growled. With arms at his sides, he stared at her. Blood dripped down from his nose and mouth while he angrily clenched and unclenched his fists.
“Get over here! Now!”
Cheyenne shook her head “No! You’ve done enough to me. The police will be here soon, Daniel.” He moved toward her. She took another step back. “Leave me alone.”
“We’re getting married, Cheyenne. You are going to become my wife, like it or not. You will pay for what you did for the rest of your life. I will make your life miserable. It’ll be a living hell.”
“You already have made it that way. I don’t want to be with you. You have no idea what true love is. If you did, you wouldn’t have to kidnap someone to be with you. How pathetic do you have to be to do something like that? You needed to rape me because
you knew I wouldn’t give it up easily. If you were smart, and you’re not, you would know I’m not in love with you.”
“Get over here.” Daniel narrowed his eyes at her and took a deep breath.
“No.” She looked for an escape. Everywhere she tried to run, he could block her, but she had to try. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a door to her right. He suddenly lunged at her. She quickly jumped out of his way and made her escape. As she ran out the door, she bumped into a police officer. “Officer! Help me please!”
“Are you Cheyenne Harrington?”
“He’s in there. Please get him before he kills me.”
“Ma’am, calm down. Are you Ms. Harrington?”
“Yes. Will you please go in there?” She pointed at the post office. “Get him. Please.”
The officer pulled his gun out. “Stay here, ma’am. I’ll be right back.” He cautiously entered the post office. He was in there for a few minutes before he came back out putting his gun back in its holster.
“Where is he?” Cheyenne asked.
“There was no one in there but the postal workers. They said that he jumped the counter and ran out the back door before I walked in.” He stared at her “We’d better get you to the hospital to get checked out and call your sister and Mr. O’Neill.”
“Michael? He’s alive?”
“He is. Why? Did someone tell you otherwise?”
“My best friend was found murdered and I thought that Michael was dead, too. I was told he was dead. I had no idea.”
“Let’s get you to the hospital and call your family.”
“Okay.”