Love & Lies

Chapter 2: ~Natalia~

The next day she was woken up by the dark-haired man, who she still did not know the name of, abruptly opening the door and walking in with a tray in his hand. He puts it on top of the small table and told her to eat it. Not asking but commanding. The moment she saw the breakfast her stomach growled with hunger and so she paid no attention at the way he spoke to her. She could not remember the last time she ate anything. She still did not know how long she had been held captive by this man.

As she quietly ate her food, she tried to go through the faces she saw the day before in her mind. She had not recognized anyone. All were strange men. All but this guy who, even though was still a stranger, she couldn't help getting the feeling that he knew him somehow. It felt as if they had met before. And this only sparked on her curiosity.

You'll find out soon enough. She repeated the words he had said to her the day before on her head.

And as if called by the heavens, someone did come. The same dark-haired man whose presence and attitude were also beginning to annoy her stormed through the door startling her and making her jump on her seat. Without even glancing at her he threw a black bag on the floor and walked back out as if nothing ever happened. She stared at the door waiting for him to storm back in and bark more orders at her, but after a while he did not return.

Slightly skeptical she walked to the bag on the floor and slowly opened it. Inside she found clothes. Pants, shirts, a couple of bras and panties, socks, and a pair of old sneakers. She also found a bar of soap, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and a small bottle of perfume. As she held the items in her hands, she noticed all but the bar of soap were used and worn. She wasn't squeamish about wearing old clothes as long as they were properly washed and sanitized, but she did find using someone else's deodorant disturbing, so she put it aside. She smiled a little and took the bag with her to the bathroom. She made sure to lock the door behind her. The last thing she wanted was to have this man walk in on her while she was completely naked.

While washing her hair she thought about the bottle of perfume in the bag. For some reason that small item stayed in her mind. It was a brand of perfume she knew because she used it when she was in high school. Images of all other items ran through her mind, the clothes, shoes, the perfume. All of them were things she no longer used. They were all hers. There was no doubt. It was as if this man wanted her to be reminded of her past. Maybe it was a message. But as she thought about that she remembered that there was only one place she had left all her old things. Her father's house. A place she swore never to return.

I should have burned that place down when I left. She thought. He must be alive. What other explanation can there be? All of this must be because of him.

There was a knock on the door that startled her out of her thoughts. It sounded close. Someone was on the other side of the bathroom door who continued to knock repeatedly. She quickly turned off the shower, wrapped a towel around herself and walked over to it. She opened the door ajar and this time it was a different man. The guy with the hoodie from the night before.

"W-what?" she asked with a slight stutter. This man looked deadly, as if he were ready to have her killed any second.

"Get out, get ready. Do it now." He snarled between closed teeth and walked away slamming the bedroom door hard on his way out. She waited a moment to make sure no one else was coming in but when nothing happened, she obliged. When she was lacing her second shoe someone walked inside the room without any announcement or knock on the door. She was starting to get annoyed at the men. She had been around people like this a long time ago and she did not miss it. When she looked up to see who it was, it was a different man again. His face was young, unlike the roughed ones from the other two men she had seen the night before and that morning.