Play with Fire

Chapter 21

Delilah's head felt heavy on the pillow. She placed a hand on her head and begged for the pain to subside, even just a little. Her vision was blurred when she first opened her eyes. She fought to keep them open. It was then she felt something cold on her skin. She wiggled her leg a little and heard a noise. She couldn't quite make out what it was. She pulled her legs up to her slowly and moved her hand down to her ankles, something cold was wrapped around it. Her fingers brushed the cold material and came to something smaller attached to it.

A chain.

She tugged on it and it became taught. She pushed herself up and rested her dizzy head against the wall. She tried to pull her leg free, but to no avail. Every movement she made resulted in a small noise coming from the chain. As her eyes cleared she looked down at the shackle. She grabbed the chain and followed it to the end of the bed. She saw the chain disappear under the bed. She lowered her head down and saw it attached to the floor with a number of large sturdy bolts. She slid off of the soft bed and landed on the floor. She inspected the bolts before trying to tug on them. She twisted her hands around them every way she could until her fingers were red and raw. She gathered her energy and placed her fingers around the chain, she pulled as hard as she could. Delilah flew backwards and crashed into something behind her. She rubbed the back of her head and looked behind, creeped out to see a dollhouse.

Ignoring it, she looked around the darkened room. Where was she? She pulled herself up against the wall and felt around for a light switch. The wall guided her around the perimeter of the room, the chain shuffling along with her. She finally felt a small switch. She flicked it and used her hands to shield her eyes from the sudden blast of light. Once her eyes adjusted she looked around the room.

It was small with little furniture. The bed she awoke in sat in the corner of the room, pushed against the corner. Above it was a small window covered in bars and mesh: no way she could climb out of it. Even without the bars and mesh she wouldn't be able to fit. The pink dollhouse lay at the end of it. A table was next to the bed with a single chair, underneath it was a bucket. Everything apart from the bucket was fixed to the ground. "What the fuck?"

The door handle rattled.

Delilah shot back over to the bed and pulled the covers around her, hoping they could somehow grant her protection.

The door opened with a creak. Heavy footsteps approached the bed. "You're awake."

Delilah peaked out from the blanket. Rhys stood at the edge of the bed.

"Welcome home," he said with a smile.

Delilah smelled alcohol on his breath. She shuffled back further into the bed. "Leave me alone."

Rhys looked around the room with outstretched arms. "What'd ya think? I did a pretty good job finding you and getting you here, didn't I? I told you I would find you. Reunited at last! I bet you missed me, didn't you?"

Delilah scoffed. "As if."

"Well, it doesn't matter. You're here now, and you won't be leaving anytime soon."

Delilah waited for him to make the next move before throwing her leg out at him and landing it on his chest.

He grunted and quickly regained his balance, smiling at her attempt.

Delilah jumped off of the bed and ran to the door. Just before she managed to reach the handle she felt a sharp tug on her leg. She fell face first into the ground. She rolled onto her back and clasped her bleeding ankle tight.

Rhys took another step and leaned over Delilah. "Aren't I the smartest?" he smiled.

Delilah spat in his face.

He sighed as he wiped the saliva from his cheek. "Still the same rebellious girl. After all these years..."

Delilah swung a fist at his face, just as she had when she'd seen him last time.

This time, however, Rhys caught it before it hit him and yanked her up to her feet.

Delilah cried at the pain in her arm and let out another when she stood on her ankle.

The man stood up straight. "You want a fight? Let's dance."

Delilah watched him as he brought his fist back.

Delilah looked down at the mashed potato and gravy in front of her. Her stomach was begging her to eat it, but she refused. She wasn't going to appreciate anything this man gave her and besides, it could've been poisoned.

"You must be hungry."

She closed her eyes and rubbed her bruised arm. "How'd you find me?" she asked quietly and hoarsely.

He let out a soft chuckle. "I was wondering when you were going to ask."

A notebook landed next to the plate.

Delilah's eyes wandered over the leather cover. She reached out and opened it up to the first page. Her eyes widened as she flicked through the rest of the pages. "A private investigator?" she muttered under her breath.

"You thought I wouldn't notice you'd ran away?"

Delilah held her tongue. She was in enough pain.

"You're my girlfriend, Delilah." he placed his hands on her shoulder and squeezed them. "Your brothers would want me to look after you."

Delilah's fear transformed into anger. But she held back.

"It took him some time to find you. I had no idea where you'd gone. But you didn't have a lot of money so you couldn't have gone too far. He told me you were in this city called Gotham. I thought what on earth was she doing there? But I didn't dwell on your reasoning too much. The fact is he found you." his grip on her shoulders increased. "But just as I was about to come and get you, you moved and disappeared again. So did the investigator." he reached over her and began flicking through the book. "A few months passed without a peep from him. Until one day I received a phone call. You were working in a place called 'Indian Hill'. My girl who once wanted so badly to be a singer had now gone into medical science. I was so proud." he smirked.

Delilah watched his fingers flip the pages.

"He told me he had to stop contacting me so he could follow you without suspicion. Apparently he had built up quite a friendship with you, he'd gained your trust. He was going to bring you to me a few days ago. But I haven't heard from him. I heard rumors of a scientist and a patient disappearing from this Indian Hill place. I knew it had to be you. So I searched the streets trying to find you. And here we are." he ruffled her hair. "Good to have you home, Lilah."

Delilah's eyes were fixed on the page before her. The name of the investigator was scribbled in black ink on a crisp white page.

Dr. Caspian Lazar.