The Lost Roses

Chapter Nineteen

We're at fricken Disney world. No. Way.
"Are we at Disney world?"
"Yep. And we're staying somewhere very special. Come on so we can get settled inside before other people show up." We walk to the back of the van and all that's in there now is our bag of clothes. All of the girls are gone.
"I hate I didn't get to say bye to any of them."
"They knew you cared about them. I told them if it weren't for you they would all be dead and getting dumped randomly. And that they should repay you by staying quiet about everything."
"They probably won't listen. I don't even care. Let's just go in." We head through the gates. I've never even been here before. It's pretty...magical. We walk through the gates and almost every Disney character imaginable is waiting inside. It is the most exciting moment of my life. Once I take a picture with all my favorite princesses, princes, villains and the original Disney characters, Lucas tell me has a surprise for me. He blindfolds me and leads me away. When he takes off the blindfold I see we have stopped in front of Cinderella's castle.
"I know it's not home but I wanted to make up for my behavior. You're a princess and deserve to be treated like one."
"You're kidding."
"I wish. But you mean a lot to me. And I want your trip to be magical." I can't believe it. I hug him really hard and then kiss him. Probably a little more passionately than necessary.
"Let's go in!" I cheer. The inside is just as magical as the outside. We dump our stuff on the floor and run and jump onto the massive bed. "I could get used to this. Thank you so much." I start kissing him again.
"You need to stop before Mickey Mouse walks in on us having sex."
"Oh that's a horrid image. Let's go outside." I straighten my clothes and walk out and into the park.
"Let's go to the Animal Kingdom today."
"Okay." We decide to ride Expedition Everest, Kilimanjaro Safari, Dinosaur, and River Rapids. We go to lunch I between a couple Attractions and go shopping a little after them all. We have dinner at the Dino Diner and I love it. We take tons of pictures all day with his phone. We even get a few with Mickey and Minnie hats on. We head back to the castle after dinner and take showers before going to bed.
"We can go get you a phone tomorrow."
"That would be awesome. There so many more pictures I want to take here. How many nights do we have?"
"Just two. It's more expensive than you'd think."
"I'm sorry."
"It's perfectly fine. You deserve it. You need to be treated better than you are."
"I love you. I honestly couldn't be happier with you."
"Really?"
"Really. I know I've been really iffy. But I think it's just because I didn't know how to feel. I know you've done some crappy things. But I don't care anymore. You've been good to me lately. And that's all the matters. You let the girls go and you brought me here. You've let me go places and do things. You're getting me a phone. And you were supportive when I miscarried. Not that I really cared. At the time I didn't want a kid with you. Now I still don't but for a different reason. Now, I just want to spend as much time alone with you as possible."
"That's impressive. I told you I would earn your love. That isn't something you can force. But I don't believe you're completely happy with me. Not yet."
"No. But that's just because I'm not living normally. I should be able to speak my mind to you and leave the house as I please. I want us to go out and do things and have fun. But I also want lazy nights cuddling on the couch. I want to be able to willingly, happily, marry you."
"And you will. I swear there will be no restrictions on you when we return home. Just that you tell me when you're leaving and when you'll be back. I'll even go back to work so you'll have more time to yourself."
"That sounds okay. Although I feel weird being alone."
"You don't have to be. You've got Courtney. She's usually home. She works from home actually."
"What does she do?"
"She makes, buys, and sells art."
"That's awesome."
"She's good at what she does."
"I used to draw."
"I remember. Maybe we'll get you some art stuff. It can go in that extra room upstairs at home."
"Why is that one room locked?"
"Umm. Personal reasons."
"How personal? I've seen you naked, I know why you're abusive, you've lived out most of your sick fantasies on me. What's left?"
"A whole nother world of fantasies you don't know about. It's a play room. I had it made for Ashley. Then I got you. But I don't think whips and chains are your deal."
"Like tying me up and doing me? Not quite my thing but I could deal."
"I won't make you do anything that makes you uncomfortable."
"I know. Let's go to sleep."
"Okay." I lay my head on him thinking about how cool it is we're sleeping in Cinderella's castle. I fall asleep pretty quickly exhausted from our day.
"Zoey. Wake up! Time to go to Epcot!"
"Ugh. What time is it?"
"Early. Now hurry up." I drag myself out of bed and get dressed. "Ready to see the world?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." He grabs my hand as I slip on my sandals and drags me out and away to Epcot. I have to admit it's pretty flipping cool. When we've finished here and taken a butt ton of pictures we decide to ride Soarin, Test Track, and Spaceship Earth. They're all amazing rides and we have a ball. I start to get hungry and ask about lunch.
"We can just grab a burger or something at one of these little places. Then we can go to MGM. After that we could watch a couple more shows. Maybe one in Epcot and one in MGM. Then we could go to dinner. I have the perfect place."
"Sounds like a plan." We grab a couple burgers and fries and a soda and sit down to eat. "I'm happy we got to do this."
"I am too. We needed a little fun." I kiss him and we finish our food. Then we go on to MGM. We decide to ride Rockin Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Great Movie Ride, and Toy Story Mania. We used fast passes for all of them since the lines were really long. I really like these bands we get to wear. They work for like everything and they're pretty cute.
"What show do you want to see at MGM?"
"Ummm. How about the muppets?"
"Seriously?"
"Yes?"
"Okay... Well we'll see Serveur Amusante at Epcot first."
"Okie dokie." We walk over to the show area and sit down waiting for the show to begin. "Thanks for picking the French show."
"I didn't care about where it was from. I just wanted to watch this one."
"Sure." I say sarcastically. He just gives me a funny look. The show is incredible. And the acrobats are amazing. "I wish I could do that stuff."
"You probably could. I mean you dance and you're pretty flexible. Not that I've tried that out as much as I'd like." He winks as he says that last part. I just roll my eyes.
"I suck at holding on to things. I'd slip and fall to my death."
"Well I'd be at the bottom waiting to catch you."
"Aww that's so sweet." I slap him lightly on his cheek twice. He tries to grab me in return and I jump up with a squeal. "No! Bad Lucas!" He runs out of the theatre behind me. Halfway to MGM he catches me and slings me over his shoulder. "No! Help! Someone help me!"
"Shhh! Someone is going to take this the wrong way and think I'm kidnapping you."
"Well they'd be two years too late but hey. Better late than never." He slap me on the butt and keeps marching on to MGM. "Don't be mad at meeee. I love you." I laugh and start poking him. He doesn't let me go until we get to the theatre to watch the Muppets. He carries me inside and sits me on a seat.
"I'm not mad at you. And I love you too." He kisses me on the forehead and I wipe it off. "What was that for?"
"What?"
"You just wiped off my kiss."
"Oh. Reflex. Sorry. I'm not used to people kissing my forehead and when they do it's usually not someone I want kissing me."
"Okay. Noted. How about this?" He pulls me closer and kisses me on the lips. The kiss gets much deeper than necessary at a place for children like this. We break apart when we here a couple of disgruntled parents go by. We giggle like naughty children and start to watch the show. Half way through I grab Lucas and walk out. "What?"
"I don't want to watch this anymore. And I'm hungry. And tired. Today was a busy day. And fast passes are not as fast as they seem. What time is it?"
"About 7."
"See. Perfect time for dinner."
"Alrighty. Let's go." He leads me away to this cute little place called California Grill. We go in and get seated and start going through the menu.
"Would you be upset if I wanted alcohol?"
"No. We're going to the room after this. I'm just giving you a two drink limit. And no that doesn't mean you can get two drinks the size of fricken cereal bowls. In that case you can only get one."
"Damn. Well I want either a Cucumber Fizz or a Passion Fruit Margarita. Maybe I'll get both."
"You are going to be an alcoholic. What about food?"
"Oh! Well I want the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli. You?"
"The Spicy Kazan Roll. I like Japanese food. And spice."
"Spicy food is always good food."
"I don't think so."
"Yea because if it's hot enough you can't taste anything."
"I guess that's true."
"What are you getting to drink?"
"Since you're drinking alcohol I thought I'd get some too. I want to try the Innis and Gunn Original. It's a Scottish beer."
"What's the description?"
"It says it is made with roasted barley, Styrian malts and matured in oak to produce a smooth Scottish beer with hints of toffee, vanilla, and oak. What about yours?"
"That sounds pretty good. And I don't even like beer. The Cucumber Fizz is made of Chopin Vodka, Limoncello, and Cucumber Water with a splash of Sprite® and the Passion Fruit Margarita is made of Patrón Silver Tequila and Cointreau Noir with Passion Fruit Purée."
"There you go. Vodka and Tequila."
"The drinks of the gods. Those two are my favorite. They get you drunk fast if you do it right."
"I know they do. But sometimes I think you drink too much."
"Sorry dad. I'll try to get my shit together." I glare at him. The waitress come up and instantly starts checking him out. She doesn't even try to hide it.
"Can I get you anything?" She doesn't even address me. She doesn't even ask the correct question or introduce herself.
"Hey? Yea you can do me a favor and go get someone else."
"What? I'm sorry I don't know what I did?"
"Just go get me a Passion Fruit Margarita. When I finish it bring me a Cucumber Fizz. When I finish that repeat the process. I also want the Sonoma Goat Cheese Ravioli. He wants the Innis and Gunn Original and the Spicy Kazan Rolls." She struggles to write everything as quickly as I speak.
"Uh. Um. Anything else?"
"No. Tootle loo." She walks away blushing furiously.
"Why are you being so fucking rude? And I said two drinks. You are not getting anymore."
"First of all I'm not five so don't treat me like I am. Second I don't appreciate her staring at you like you're a new pair of limited edition heels or the only chocolate cupcake in a pan of bran muffins. You are mine. And I don't want anyone thinking otherwise. You want to be over protective of me? Fine. I'll do the same to you. I dare anyone to try to flirt with you when I'm around."
"You are something else."
"That's why you love me." Some other bitchy waitress comes walking up to us.
"I'm sorry I need to see some ID before I can sell you any alcohol."
"Here you go." Lucas hands her two ID's. She hands them back and leaves, returning with our drinks. She leaves as soon as she has set them on the table.
"I'm not even 21. What did you show her?"
"Your current ID."
"You got a fake?"
"No it's very much real. I have your old ID."
"That doesn't explain me not being 21. Especially since I'm pretty sure it's expired by now."
"I haven't been completely honest about how long I've had you."
"We kept track as best we could. I was taken in June. Nine months later I became your pet. That makes it March. And we had a one year party for Luca. So that made 21 months. Almost two years. And now it's August. That's another five months. So that makes twenty six. That makes two years and two months. What do you mean you haven't been honest?"
"It's been three years. Luca was born a year and a month after I took you. That makes thirteen months. Then he celebrated his first birthday. That's 25 months. Then he celebrated a second. That's 37 months. Now it's August. So that's another month. That's 38 months. That's three years and two months."
"How did I miss a whole year?"
"You guys were sick longer than I made it seem. You guys were sick for three months straight. It seemed only a few weeks. And when you cut yourself? You were unconscious for three weeks. I made it seem like a day. I didn't feed you guys as regularly as you thought. I fed you once a day. It was just at very odd times so it seemed more frequent than it was. And that's when I fed you at all. I frequently gave you guys sleeping meds so time would pass and you wouldn't know. And when I beat you and Nicole you guys were in and out for three months. She got better. You got worse. You were sick for five months."
"Why are you telling me this now?"
"You asked how could you possibly be 21. That's how. You turned 21 last year. You turn 22 in a few months."
"How old are you then?"
"I'm still 25. Well, 26 now. Just had a birthday and all. I just wasn't completely truthful about your age at first."
"No wonder no one has asked for ID from me. You've had one."
"Actually it is the ID you had. It expires soon though. Well actually I think you've got three more years. But yea."
"Wow...." I notice for the first time that someone brought our food in the middle of our discussion. I start eating. I can't believe I missed a whole year. I bet people are looking for me then. I'm supposed to be home now. But then again I wasn't super close to anyone but my cat and my brother. I had friends... But none that would think foul play. Actually it would make perfect sense. My parents die and I leave to explore the world never returning. No one is going to be looking.
"Zoey..."
"It's fine. It just made me realize no one is looking for me. I'm not mad at you. I mean I guess I knew more time had passed than I thought. It was hard to keep time down there."
"I'm sorry. Please look at me?" I still can't bring myself to look at him. I know he's hurt. But he did it to himself. I look up enough to see that he hasn't touched his food. Mine is a battered picked at mess on my plate. It's good. I'm just not hungry anymore. "Please Zoey?" I can feel the desperation in his voice. I can hear and see him fidgeting. I know he wants to make me look at him. When I finally do look up I see a few tears have strayed down his face. I can't help but cry too. "I'm sorry. I really am. Please don't let this change anything."
"Is everything okay?" A waitress picks that moment to appear.
"Do we look okay? Leave us alone please." I try not to be rude but it's incredibly obvious something's wrong and that it's not her business. "I told you it's fine Lucas. Leave it alone." I pick up my drink and drink all of. Downing the next two as soon as they get brought too. I finish what I can of my food and order dessert. I can't decide between the Chocolate Pudding Cake and the Warm Homemade Fritters so I get both. Lucas doesn't say anything. He just watched me eat and drink, barely touching his own. When I finish I stand up and walk out of the restaurant standing outside he can pay the $140 bill, and then we can go. As I stand there I hear a large explosion in the distance. Fireworks. This must be why he wanted to come here. You get the best view of the fireworks. I stand there until I get cold and the fireworks have ceased. Lucas still hasn't appeared. I wander away and to the castle. I go inside and lay on the bed not even bothering with undressing. I kick off my shoes and throw my bag aside. I fall asleep quickly dreaming of being found by a lovely kitten. When I awake I'm the same way I was when I fell asleep. Sprawled across the bed and fully dressed. Lucas is still gone. That's fine. I decide to shower and get dressed and eat breakfast without him. When he still hasn't appeared I leave and go to the last kingdom we have to visit, Magic Kingdom. I ride Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Splash Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean, It's a Small World, Peter Pan's Flight, and the Buzz Lightyear ride. Not once do I see Lucas. I can't eat lunch or dinner because of that. He has all the money. Towards the end riding some of those things began to be very exhausting. I go back to the castle hoping he'll be there since he said he only paid for two nights stay. When I arrive he's still gone. I pack our things and take them to the entrance of the castle. I thank everyone and wait as patiently as I can for him. I get shaken awake by a worker after a while. I guess I fell asleep in the lounge chair.
"I'm sorry to wake you miss but we just got a phone call from Mr. Wolf saying he will be paying for one more nights stay and that you will be leaving in the morning."
"Oh. Thank you. Did he say where he was by any chance?"
"No miss. I'm sorry." I nod my head and carry all of our things back to our room. I lay on the bed and fall asleep again.