Can You See It?

There's An Explanation

Without being able to look out the window, Lauren was never sure exactly how much time had passed, but she estimated it had been nearly a week since she had been kidnapped. While the situation she was stuck in might not have exactly resembled the stereotypical idea of “kidnapping” - she hadn’t been tied up or beaten - there was no denying that she had, in fact, been kidnapped. She was locked in one bedroom except for when she was brought down to eat. Even then, the masked woman kept close to her, guiding her with a hand on Lauren’s back.

As far as treatment went though, Lauren couldn’t deny that she had been treated fairly well. Despite their questionable and “rocky” - to put it nicely - start, the two seemed to get along fine. Lauren was always fed and clothed, her clothing being washed after she had bathed. After Lauren had gotten sick, the woman had stayed by her side, offering her medicine every few hours. Of course, the woman was silent and very little conversation was made, always one-sided and initiated by Lauren and therefore lasting only a moment, but most of the time, Lauren was fine with that.

It wasn’t long before Lauren found herself becoming comfortable with the routine of her new life, though she knew she shouldn’t. More often than not, she would remind herself, “It’s just until I’m healed, then I’m getting out of here.” With her cold cleared up - it had thankfully lasted only a few days - Lauren found herself anxious. She wanted the deep cuts on her body to heal faster so that she might have a chance at escaping, but she also knew how little of a chance she had, even if she had been completely unscathed. After all, she hadn’t been able to escape her assailant in the mine when it had really counted, but the odds had already been stacked against her.

Laying in her room - what else was new? - Lauren decided she was sick of laying around. She wanted to do something, something outside of her room. She wasn’t sure yet what that “something” was, but anything that occurred outside of her own room sounded wonderful, even if it was something absolutely boring like laundry.

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, Lauren pushed herself up, wincing at the pain in her arms and abdomen. The cuts were slowly but surely healing and the wounds weren’t fresh, but the incident had occurred only a week before so she was still sore. Sitting on the edge of the mattress, Lauren huffed a deep breath before standing up. Like every time before, she turned the knob first - a fruitless attempt to leave, but she still wished she could. Being held prisoner wasn’t exactly her favourite pastime.

The knob clicked beneath her grip, the door cracking open. Lauren drew in a sharp breath, frozen in place for several seconds before she slowly opened the door. She half expected the woman to hear the nearly silent click of the door and come charging down the hall, but no figure appeared. Why was the door unlocked? Had the woman just forgotten to lock it back? That seemed unlikely, considering the door was always locked from the outside whenever the masked person wasn’t in the room with Lauren.

The light in the main entrance before the front door was on, but the rest of the house was cast into darkness. Down the hall, Lauren couldn’t tell if the lamp and books had been picked up from their places on the floor.

With the entirety of the house resting in silence, Lauren could easily hear the sound of crying from down the hall. It was a soft sound, but unmistakable. A thought - irrational as it might be - struck Lauren and then it was the only thing she could think. Maybe Kate had returned; of course she would be overwhelmed, but Lauren was finally there. She could comfort her.

All of the doors down the hall were closed and as Lauren slowly made her way past the staircase, the sobbing grew quiet until she could no longer hear it.

“Kate?” Lauren whispered, hoping she would get an answer, though she knew it was highly unlikely. Opening the first room to the left, Lauren was greeted with a mostly empty room, a small table and several boxes the only things present.

Closing the door silently, Lauren tried the next room. Like the first, it was empty of people. The room was exactly as Lauren had found it when she had arrived, not a thing out of place since then. Across the hall, the bathroom was in the same condition as the bedrooms. That only left one room.

Silently feeling her way down the hall, Lauren approached Kate’s room. Her heart was hammering in her chest; she knew something was about to happen, be it getting caught or finding Kate. Holding her breath, Lauren turned the knob to the last bedroom. Like every other room she had looked in, there was no person to be found and the room looked exactly like it had over a week prior. Something about the room compelled her though and Lauren entered, her eyes taking in the unfortunately familiar sight of the papers scattered across the floor and pasted to the walls like wallpaper. The lamp on the desk was still on and the glass covering the carpet hadn’t been disturbed. With the glass shattered across the floor, the room was a few degrees cooler than the rest of the house, the wind sweeping in uninhibited and ruffling the curtains.

Something in the floor caught Lauren’s attention and she approached the small trash can, uncomfortably bending down to pick up the crumpled piece of paper that was dropped beside it. It looked as if it had been crumpled up and thrown away, but had missed its target. Unfolding the white piece of paper, Lauren found a handwritten note in black ink. Her stomach churned and she suddenly felt sick as she read the message.

“Kate,
“I want to see you again. I can't stop thinking about you, Kate. About us. I'm sorry for what happened in the park - maybe I shouldn't have said those things. I know you may not feel the same way, but I don't want to let you go. I hope someday you'll change your mind. I'll be here waiting for you. Please, just think about it some more. I have so many things I want to show you, so many things I want to share with you. I want to protect you. I hope we can at least still be friends.
“Yours truly,
“Carl-Ross”

Crumpling the letter up in her hand, Lauren felt tears sting her eyes. Of all the things there were to cry about, this was perhaps the most ridiculous, but Lauren couldn’t help it. CR wanted to protect Kate? Well he had sure done a marvelous job of it, considering they were both missing. Lauren felt sicker at the idea that maybe they had run away together, tried to leave everything behind, but she put the idea away. That seemed unlikely, especially considering it seemed like Kate didn’t reciprocate Carl’s feelings.

Movement from the corner of her eye had Lauren turning to find the masked woman in the doorway. Though Lauren couldn’t see her face, she could feel the rage radiating from her and it terrified her. The dark, dried blood on the once-white hoodie felt more ominous than ever and Lauren nearly shivered in fear.

Lightning fast, the woman darted into the room and snatched Lauren’s arm, gripping the limb wrapped in bandages tightly as she tugged her out of the room. The crumpled paper in Lauren’s hands was dropped as she gasped, the pain setting her alight.

“I’m sorry,” Lauren pleaded, praying the grip on her arm would relent or just shift further down. The cuts beneath the white bandages throbbed; the only time they had felt so badly was when they had first been inflicted.

“I’m sorry,” Lauren desperately repeated. “I thought I heard something. I-I wasn’t going to leave.”

At the end of the hallway, she was pushed into her room and the door was slammed behind her, the lock turning loudly into place. Lauren flinched at the loud sound of the door slamming and as the lock slid into place, sealing her in the bedroom once more, Lauren began to cry. She felt like a child crying over things outside of her control which did nothing to help the situation.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Lauren sobbed to herself, wishing more than ever that Kate was there with her.