Falling Up

50. Time

Time passed. Whether that was slow or fast, she couldn't tell. From the sun glaring in through the high up windows and the way the shadows changed as they cast their eerie shapes across the room, a couple of hours could have easily passed.

She hadn't talked to Jason or Kain since. Not that she didn't want to. Her stomach was twisting in so many knots that she wasn't sure if words or the contents of her stomach would be the first to come out.

After a while, her legs and back ached on the cold concrete floor. As much as she would have loved to sit there in her own bubble of denial, she physically couldn't manage it any longer. And the fact that she hadn't even tried to find an escape was gnawing on her insides. Her survival instinct was kicking in. The least she could do was check around the room some more. At least try to find a way out of the situation she was in.

Stretching out her achy legs, she pushed up on the wall behind her, shaking out her legs to bring blood back into her extremities through the tingling feeling of pins and needles. She stumbled. Her legs knocked over a nearby box before regaining her balance.

"You okay there Riley?" called out Kain at the loud noise her movements were making in the otherwise dead silence of the rooms.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just going to have a look around."

"Be careful."

Riley sniggered. "I'm in a locked room, Kain. I think I'll be fine."

The door was her first point of call as she stumbled over more boxes, shoving them aside and making her way to the door. Her hand ran over the cold steel frame before touching the doorknob and giving it a tug. Locked. But she wasn't expecting anything else.

Her eyes moved on from the door, scanning the area opposite, which was crammed with boxes piled almost high enough to reach the ceiling. She pulled one closer to her, opening the unsealed brown cardboard box, and glanced inside. There was a stack of papers that she pulled out and proceeded to read, seeing if she could gain any information that would be useful.

In the top right corner of a couple of pieces of paper contained a company name, Prime Printing, along with an address registered in Drummond, about an hour from the university. Could that be where they were located? It was hard to tell, but after pulling a few more boxes out, she saw the same letterhead on several more pieces of paper.

Before she had a chance to investigate any further, echoes of footsteps were coming from the hallway and she sprinted back to the hole in the wall, fearful of what was coming next.

"I think he's coming," said Riley as she heard the unmistakable but muffled sounds of Vincent talking to someone outside her door. A guard, perhaps.

"No," called back Jason's fearful voice as he slammed on the wall dividing them. His fists against the wall became violent as her back pressed into the wall, feeling the vibrations of his strength that was pounding on the barrier between them.

"Hang in there Riley," shouted Kain, who sounded just as frustrated and scared that he couldn't reach her. The realisation sank in that they wouldn't be able to reach her as she took a deep breath, waiting for the inevitable.

The door swung open with a bang, the steel of the door harshly connecting with the wall as Vincent strolled in. He glanced around the room briefly before setting sights on Riley. Her back up against the wall and the noise of Jason and Kain desperately trying to reach her.

"Cute," Vincent said as he stormed over to her, grabbing her harshly by the wrist and pulling her away from the wall. "Sorry there boys," he shouted back over Jason's and Kain's voices. "Rileys got some business to attend to."

Riley struggled against his grip, which was already bruising her skin. She knew it was pointless, but she screamed back for Jason and Kain as she was dragged forcefully from the room hearing only their shouts of anguish as they were unable to reach her.

Eventually, her screams died out, and she was left being dragged behind Vincent. There was no strain in his movements, despite the fact that she was forcefully pulling herself away from him. After some time, her wrist began to ache painfully that she stopped pulling away and merely walked next to him, causing him to loosen his grip.

They passed down the corridors she arrived through and back through the warehouse. When she looked at the surroundings closer this time, it did, in fact, look like an old printing house. Conveyor belts which once used to print stacks of papers were now used to cart around packages of an unknown description, tucked away in unidentifiable brown boxes and packaging.

She didn't know what sort of operation they were running, but she didn't really care. There had always been hints at Vincent being involved in things that were less than legal and she was sure that one of those were drugs, given the amount of times her mother was high as a kite on the couch.

None of that mattered now as she struggled to keep pace with Vincent as they disappeared around a corner and down another corridor. If they ever did find their way out of the room, it would be difficult to remember the direction with the similarities of the maze-like corridor structure they were following. No one would find her here anytime soon.

Eventually they both came to a holt at a plain white door. Vincent let go of her hand, rummaging in his pocket as the jiggling sound of keys were pulled out. Placing a key in the lock, he turned the key and opened the door before grabbing Riley by the back of her neck and shoving her roughly in the room.

The lights came on in a blast, causing her to squint her eyes at her surroundings. Vincent walked in behind her and closed the door as she heard the awful click sound of the lock being put into place behind her.

Trapped and alone, her heartbeat increased, palms perspiring at the mere thought of being trapped alone in a room with Vincent. Her eyes darted before her, desperately looking for an exit, but they came across none.

It was a large room with an industrial look to it. Opens pipes across the ceiling that looked rusted and in desperate need of an update. A black desk, centred to the room and covered in stacks of papers facing the doorway and most likely used for more private meetings. Hidden behind the desk was a bed. Enough to hold two, but it would be cramped, especially with Vincent's size. Her mind was already drifting to the reality that the bed was going to become very familiar to her soon. The absence of windows was noticeable with the contrast of the bright fluorescent lights providing the only lighting.

"Come here," said Vincent as he walked over to the bed, neatly made with dark grey sheets tucked in at the corners.

She walked over, unsteady on her feet, following behind Vincent. She didn't know why, but her body had a mind of its own when it came to Vincent. Almost a self-preservation that caused her to absent-mindedly follow his instructions.

"Put this on," said Vincent as he pointed to the outfit laid out on the bed before heading back to his desk as he started to flicker through pieces of paper.

Her first thought weirdly enough was how? Looking over the lace lingerie in front of her, she had never seen anything that delicate and complicated to put on in her life. It was a three-piece outfit. A halter bra of white and blush pink with a thin black strap that went around the breasts and up through the centre, turning into a collar around the neck. The bottom piece was the same colour, with similar black straps that wrapped around the edges of her hips. And the last piece to make up the ensemble was a pair of black stockings with a garter belt attachment.

She looked down at the outfit and took a deep breath. It wasn't clear to her why he always made her wear such degrading clothing. They never lasted long anyway, but this was even worse than it used to be. It was clearly purchased to make her feel exposed and uncomfortable. There was no way she was going to put this on.

"I'm not wearing this," said Riley, making a stand as she turned to face him, crossing her arms over her chest in protest.

The look on her step-father's face was one that made her regret her decision to not put on the outfit. He slammed down the stack of papers he was holding on to as his face contorted with rage. She shrunk back, knees shaking as they bumped into the back of the bed, coercing her to bend her knees and sit down, staring back at the violent man who was storming towards her.

She should have just done as she was told.