You woke up and could feel a soft bed under you even though it was too dark to make out where it was. You jumped up as soon as you realized you weren’t tied to anything and tried to feel your way around in the dark. You found a light switch and flipped it on and leaned your head back to breath a sigh of relief when light flooded the room.
You looked back at the bed and it was decorated in soft feminine colors and it was obvious someone had gone to great effort to make it comfortable. A closer look and you realized there were no real windows and the walls were made of thick concrete. You were in a basement.
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Who would have grabbed you and gone through all this effort to make you comfortable? Hopefully that was a sign they didn’t plan to hurt you. While you were still trying to gain your bearings, you heard a door at the top of the stairs you’d just noticed, open.
A tall, thin man walked down carrying a tray of food. It was hard to see enough to identify him because he was wearing a mask that covered his face and hair, but you knew it wasn’t Jaden. Jaden had a snake tattoo but it didn’t wrap around his entire forearm the way this one did.
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You: “You need to let me go. Do you know who I am? Who my father is and what he’ll do to you when he finds me here?”
Masked Man: “This is a hot breakfast and there’s also lunch in there. I’ll be back with something for dinner.”
He sat the tray down and turned his back to you like you weren’t even talking. You grabbed his arm and spun him around: “Hey! Are you listening to me? I don’t need this, I don’t need dinner. I need you to let me go!”
Masked Man: “I can’t do that, I’m sorry.”
When he pulled his arm away from your grip, you flinched. You saw him soften a little and hand you the soda he’d carried down in his pocket: “Hey, I’m not going to hurt you but I just can’t let you go.”
You: “How long do I have to be in here? It’s cold and I want to go home.”
Masked Man: “There are more blankets and clothes in that dresser and you have a full bathroom over there.”
With that he disappeared back up the stairs where he’d appeared from.
Over a week had passed and the same masked stranger who’d brought you every meal since you got there was walking down the stairs again, this time carrying a fast food bag. You glanced at the door and he turned back to look at it then back to you: “Don’t bother trying. I have a key and I locked it behind me.”
You knew the door was locked tight because you’d tried picking the lock multiple times over the last few days when you realized that not even the bathroom had a window.
He handed you the bag and you wanted to protest, but the smells coming from the bag made your stomach ache for what was inside. You dug in and pulled out a burger and fries along with a chocolate shake from your favorite restaurant in town.
It’d been hard to keep track of time because there was no clock in the room, but you’d been marking off sunrises on the top of the dresser since you woke up. Today, of all days, was a hard day to accept being locked away.
He started back towards the stairs when you called out: “The least you can do is keep me company while I eat. After all, it is my birthday.”
It was hard to read his expression through his mask when all you could see were his eyes, but he had the kindest eyes. You saw them soften when you told him it was your birthday.
Masked Man: “How old are you today?”
You: “17. Crummy way to spend my last birthday as a kid, huh?”
Masked Man: “I shouldn’t be telling you this, but my boss doesn’t plan to hurt you. He’s just holding you until he finishes some business and then you will be returned to your family.”
You: *in shock* “Wait, then why are you telling me?”
Masked Man: “Call it a birthday gift.”
You offered him a drink of your milkshake and he shook his head no. You laughed because you realized there was no way to drink through his mask.
You: “It’s okay. I actually got all the birthday gifts I needed before I was locked in here.”
You twisted the ring that was still resting on your finger and smiled.
Masked Man: “Someone special?”
You: *choking out a response* “Uh- Yeah. They were.”
The man noticed you starting to tear up as he processed you using the past tense of they were. He reached his hand across and wiped the tear that had broken past your barrier and you shivered as you leaned your cheek against his hand.
You’d missed feeling someone touch you and you closed your eyes and let yourself imagine you weren’t locked away in that basement. You reached up to pull his mask off but his hand jerked to your wrist and pulled it back to stop you.
Masked Man: “Don’t do that.”
You: “Why? Why are you even doing this? This doesn’t seem like you?”
He jerked away and stopped before climbing up the stairs: “You don’t even know me.”
