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Chapter Twenty · Six

Eliza

The smell of fresh petrichor filled my nostrils as I walked through the dark, slightly humid and breezy night of downtown Los Angeles. It had just rained. My clothes were damp and my feet throbbed like hell walking along the wet and puddly sidewalk, passing many shopping stores and markets along the way. I ignored the pain, too, distracted by what had just happened a few minutes ago.

I stopped in front of some convenience store and pulled my phone out. I checked the time—it was just five minutes past nine. I should probably call a taxi. With thinking and doing so, I swiped my thumb over to the right, unlocking my phone, then dialed the number. It rang twice before the machine operator answered and told me there were no current taxis available at this very moment. I hung up and checked for an available uber and lyft, but the uber wasn't showing any rides available and lyft was entirely too expensive right now. I heavily sighed, overly frustrated. Fuck, just my luck—this night only seems to get shittier for me. I dialed the only other person I could think of: Julian. The phone rang about four times. Just when I had given up and was about to press the end call button, the ringing abruptly came to a halt and I heard the other line being picked up. His low and husky voice filled my ears, and it undeniably turned me on. This was so not the right time.

"Hey–Eliza?" Julian said. "Yeah, it's me, Julian, I'm here. Um, I'm so sorry to bother you, you're probably sleeping, but I'm stuck downtown with no way home... could you come get me, please?" I asked. "Uh–yeah, I could come–come pick you up, I mean. Give me–give me ten minutes. Will you be okay until then?" He said in a quick and nervous tone. I took a look around. I didn't really feel all that comfortable. I was a little drunk and standing alone outside, but I think I could manage." Um, yeah. I'll be okay until you come. Thank you Julian, really." I told him, appreciatively. He replied, "Anything for you." Soon after, the call ended. I smiled. He was such a sweet guy. I texted him about my exact location. Afterwards, I folded my arms over my chest and stood outside the store waiting for him to come. I hope he shows up soon.

*********

Julian

I hung up the call with Eliza and stuck the phone back into my pocket. I was giving Emelise a bath. Though she still hasn't said a word to me, I was able to do this much. I stepped away to talk with Eliza, allowing Emelise to get dressed in her new pajamas I bought her. I headed back to the bathroom. When I got there, the door was wide open, and she was no longer there. "Shit!" I cursed under my breath and ran a hand through my hair. I was mad at myself for getting distracted by Eliza and leaving her alone. I thought it would be okay since I was just down the hall. I didn't think she'd try something stupid, but when I find her, it'll never happen again. Wherever she was, it couldn't be too far. She had to still be in the house somewhere.

I walked into my bedroom first, turning on the light and checking the same simple spots I used to look for Krista when we were little. To me, this was just a game of hide and seek and unfortunately for Emelise, I was really good at it. When I didn't find her there, I went to the next room. There were only three rooms, and she had to be in one of them. There was no sign of her in this room, either. I didn't want to call out for her because I didn't want her to be aware I was looking for her. If she still thinks I'm distracted, then that's what I'll let her believe. I went into the last room, the room. I allowed no one to go inside. If she isn't in here, there's going to be some serious fucking problems on my hands. I walked into my art room and flicked on the light. Seeing all of my artwork around the room, some were hung up, and a few weren't. Every time I come in here, I'd be mesmerized by my creations. A lot of it was self-expression work — every piece of art I created represented personality, emotions, and thoughts from me. There were also paintings of Laura, Krista, and I as children; my memories. I was inspired by the people who played a part in my life. I even started on a painting of Eliza; I hope to capture her innocence and her beauty within her essence.

Come to think of it, it would make sense if she were in here before I took her. Every day that I saw her, she was drawing with her chalk, and this room obviously held coloring utensils and paper. It'd make too much sense that she'd be drawn to this room. So she had to be in here. There was nowhere else for her to go without getting past me.
I scoped out the room, moving slowly as possible. The room wasn't that big, there wasn't many things to hide behind either, although this room did have a closet, that I didn't check. I smirked. I walked to the closet and stood at the door, then put my hand on the knob. "Emelise, I know you're in there and if you come out now, I might not have to hurt you. I'm giving you a chance to be a good girl, that's what your father raised you to be, right? So think about your dad, how proud he'd be if you did what you were told." I waited a minute and nothing happened. I put my ear up against the door, then jiggled the knob back and forth for a second then stopped. On the other side of the door I could hear unsteady breathing, she was scared. I sighed. "Emelise, I don't have time for this. Now, I'm giving you one more chance to come out here before I force you out my way. You don't want me to hurt you, do you? If you don't you'll come out." Again I waited, after two minutes I suddenly heard the knob twist. I stepped back and the closet door opened with a low creaking sound made. She step out, cautiously and timidly from the closet, her damp, cocoa brown hair laying on her small shoulders. "I'm—I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left the bathroom, p–please don't h–hurt me." Emelise said in a fearful tone. 

I was mad at first, but the sight of her reminded me of Krista as a young girl and myself. Both of us were terrified of the terror our father was about to rain down on us. My eyes softened. I empathized with her. "I... I will not hurt you, but I need to take you back down to the basement." I told her. She put her head down and a teardrop fell from her eye onto the floor. I grabbed the cloth from my back pocket and approached her. Squatted to her level. I gave her one more look. "I'm sorry, but you made me do this." I snatched her hair and yanked it down. Her head went back. She screamed, but it quickly got muffled by the cloth I put on her mouth and nose. "Come on, you know better than to fight it. Breathe, just breathe..." I told her. She took a short breath and when she did, she also took in the chloroform. Her breathing was rapid; she was panicking. "Shh, relax, it's okay." I tried to soothe her. The speed of her chest rising and falling started to slow down. I could feel her body getting heavier as her limbs grew weaker. After a couple of minutes or so, her unconscious body collapsed, and I caught her in my arms. I didn't want to do this to her, but she defied me again and I had to punish her. She needs to learn. I stood up with her in my arms and took her back to the basement. When I had her secured in the chains, I went back upstairs and left out to meet Eliza.

I arrived in front of the store Eliza sent me to pick her up. I looked out of my passenger window to see her standing outside with her arms crossed. Small droplets of water landed on my car windows, making a thud sound. I was curious about what she was doing downtown this late. Shouldn't she have learned from the last time she was outside alone in the dark?

I honked my horn, and she spotted my car, speeding up toward it. I unlocked the door for her to get in. Once she was in, I put my car into drive and pulled off. "Thank you again for coming, Julian." Eliza said, shivering and rubbing her arms. I noticed she was wet, and I assumed she was out in the rain when it first started. I switched the air conditioner to the heat, so she could get warm. "It's nothing, don't worry," I say. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing down here this time of night?" I asked while driving."It's — a really long story, " she answered. I stole a quick glance at her, seeing her looking out the window before my eyes went back to the road. "Care to share?"
"I'm not sure you'd care to know." She says. Is she kidding? I want to know literally everything about her. "Nonsense." I remarked. The rest of the car ride to her house was silent. I wondered if she was going to tell me why she was downtown. If not, I planned to pull it out of her before she left my car. My curiosity always gets the best of me.

A few minutes later, I pulled into her driveway at her house and parked. Eliza unbuckles her seatbelt before turning to me and she asks, "You got some time to come in for a bit?" Her question caught me completely off guard, but I would not turn any time alone with her down. Emelise was also knocked out and she would be for a couple of hours. "I think I can spare some time." I say. A smile spread across her face and she said, "Great, come on." Before opening the car door and stepping out. Shortly after, I turned off the car and withdrew my keys from the ignition, then got out and followed right behind her.

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