Expect the Unexpected

Chapter 20: Lost and Found

Catherine's point of view:

When I woke up the only thing my brain could process was the splitting headache I had, and how cold it was. I tried to move my arms but I only heard the clanking of shackles keeping me chained to a bed, stark naked. As soon as I had taken the last bit of that muffin I knew I should've listened to Skylar. I just secretly hoped that she was wrong.
"Well, well, well, look who woke up you fucking freak" I looked up to hear a metal door bang shut and none other than James causually walking through the room, as if he had't just kidnapped me.
" I was hoping to fuck you so hard your insides would come out, but since your junk is bigger than mine I can't do that. Bitch" He muttered, grabbing a whip from the nearby table. He brushed it through his fingers, laughing maniacally. I was scared, and I knew that he knew I was as well, which only made the situation worse. The only positive note was that my member was bigger than his. He really is pathetic.
"Stop thinking and lie in a star position" he yelled, cracking the whip on the bed, the sound echoing around the room. I complied and got into the sar position, leaving myself vulnerable to him and his whip.
He laughed again and raised the whip, brushing it slowly across my feet and legs. I was ticklish as hell so it didn't work well for staying still.
"Stop moving bitch" he yelled again, cracking the whip against my thigh, pain immediately resigning through my body. He didn't have any type of gag on me but to try and avoid getting whipped again I stayed as quiet as possible and thought of my little family and all the happiness they brought me.

Like the maniac he is, James slowly and meticulously dragged the whip all around my body, head to toe. It tickled like hell, but I tried my best to avoid flinching. He taunted me with the whip, not going easy on me at any point. All I wanted was to be at home, yet at this point I wouldn't know if I could be after experiencing this trauma.

Skylar's point of view:

3 weeks. That's how long it has been without Catheirne. I could tell Thalia and I were both being affected by her absence, especially during Saturdays at the park. Travis was with his aunt and uncle from California, and so far doing well. James's apartment had been empty these past few weeks, police being stationed at the same place. There were no major leads so far, despite the police giving it their all. I was depressed from the lack of Catherine around. It was hard to get up in the morning without her snuggles and warm breath against my neck when we spoon.
"Mama can I have a snack" I looked down to see Thalia looking at me with her arms up wanting to be held. I picked her up and hugged her close to me, trying to give her double the love since her mommy was gone.
"Of course baby go sit down I'll make you something" she nodded and pushed her hands against my chest, signaling she wanted down. I let her down and went into the pantry for goldfish and then to the fridge for carrots and ranch dressing, one of her favorite snacks. I'd been trying to partially spoil her since I could tell she was down, even if it meant giving her two scoops of ice cream.
When I brought her snack Talia was sitting on the couch, playing with her barbie doll. She gave me a small smile and started eating. I turned on the TV to Arthur, one of her favorite shows. Seeing her smile nowadays was rare and I loved her toothy smile.

It was a monday, and I was dropping Thalia off at daycare. She still hugged me goodbye, but I think she didn't want to leave me since she was scared I wasn't going to come back. That just meant longer hugs which I didn't mind.

She didn't let me go easy but a little while later I was driving to school. So far we'd had a long-term sub named Mrs. Tremor, who literally looked like a rock. Her gray hair, yellow teeth, and round body drew me to that conclusion.

As soon as I walked into the main hall of the school, Rachel and Alex swarmed me asking if I had any news. Without talking I shook my head and continued walking down the hall. They seemed to understand and walked next to me as we walked through the hallway and talked before we had to go to class.

The day went by super slowly, and I kept glancing at my phone to see if there was an update. I got in trouble twice in two different classes for using my phone but since I don't usually use my phone the teachers seemed to know that something was up.
When it came to english class as soon as I walked in Mrs. Tremor barked orders to pick up papers and go to our desks. Today we ended up doing something revolving, reading Hamlet and analyzing the text. Apparently since we didn't have a teacher we were going ahead in lessons and doing hard stuff with a little older woman who didn't have any background on the topic.

Class ended and while I was packing up my phone rang. I immediately looked down and saw it was Catherine's mom.
"Skylar, they found her, came to the Patrick Henry Hospital on 4th street asap. Don't worry about missing school she needs you. He. he touched her" she was bawling at the end. I said my goodbye and hung up, springing up from the seat and sprinting to the car. On the way I called mom to pick up Thalia  since I wanted to go straight to the hospital.

I drove like a maniac and probably over the speed limit but it was worth it when I got to the hospital in under 10 minutes. On the way I picked up a dozen yellow and pink roses since they were her favorite. I ran inside the hospital, holding the roses and asking the man at the front desk what room number Catherine was at.

When I reached room 5A I looked inside and saw Catherine laying in bed, looking asleep. I knocked lightly on the door, gaining Catherine's parents attention.
"Skylar, hi honey thank you for coming" I nodded and accepted her hug. Mr. Brooks patted me on the shoulder, his face streaked with tears.
"She's asleep, found on the side of a road about an hour ago. We're just letting her rest but there's been no activity so far" I nodded and walked closer to her bed, taking the roses with me. I grabbed her hand, lightly kissing it before resting the flowers on the side table and squatting down next to the bed. Her hair was dirty and all tousled, had a bruised face, but she still looked beautiful to me.
"That's so sweet that you brought her flowers Skylar, she'll love them". I looked up from Catherine and saw her parents looking at me and smiling.
"Thank you, hopefully she will" I looked back to the sleeping beauty.

I stayed in Catherine's room for a while. A few minutes ago her parents left to go get coffee and a snack, but I didn't want her to possibly wake up alone.
The doctor came in a few minutes later, taking her vitals and then leaving. She seemed like a nice woman.
Mom called a few minutes ago and told me that Thalia was safely with her and eating goldfish. I filled her in about Catherine and we talked for a little bit longer before we hung up and I held Catherine's hand once again. When her mom said that James had touched her, I swear I wanted to beat him to death. How could one human do that to another? It was just despicable.

Catherine's parents entered a bit later, and gave me a sandwich. I hadn't realized I was hungry until my stomach growled and I saw that it was after 8:00. I decided that it was time to rest, but of course not leave Catherine. I wanted to be one of the first people she saw when she woke up, whenever that might be.

Thank you for reading this chapter, I hope you liked it. Please comment and vote on your thoughts!
- Jane