UNDER

Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

Caden

"It looks a lot better," I said over my shoulder as I looked down at the pink scar. "It's a good thing Pops brought the antibiotics."

Silence greeted my small talk. Kendall had refused to speak to me after I told her the truth. The only time I heard her speak was when Pops made her.

Hours after Pops left, she turned toward me with hatred in her eyes.

"How do you know me?" she had spat.

I had smiled and shrugged my shoulders.

Kendall grabbed the antibiotics and held them over a small sink. "I'll dump these," she threatened. "Or," she said, taking a step closer, "I'll shove them all down your throat right now!"

I had held my hands up in a defensive motion. The pain made me delirious. "Kendall, I know you from a long time ago," I admitted. "Do you remember the playground at the back of Crenshaw Grove?"

Kendall scrunched her nose. "The elementary school?"

I nodded. "I didn't go to regular school. I was home schooled. But I used to go there to play."

She narrowed her eyes on my face. "And?"

"One day, after Pops had dropped me off, this boy cornered me. He grabbed me by the wrist and shoved me on the ground. He called me dirt and said I should go home and play with my own kind."

Kendall blinked slowly.

"He started kicking me in the stomach. I was afraid he wouldn't stop," I continued.

Kendall pressed her lips together. "But he did."

I smiled at her. "He did."

"I stopped him," Kendall whispered.

Nodding, I smiled even more broadly. "You saved me, Kendall. You told me your name was Kendall Taylor and promised to keep me safe until my Pops came back to get me."

Her jaw dropped.

"I never forgot about you. Even after Pops came to get me and brought me home. He never let me go back to the playground, said I was an embarrassment to our family. But I never forgot your kindness. I used to draw pictures of you and me playing together on the playground."

Kendall took a stop backward.

I could tell my story had left a major impact on her. That's right... I thought to myself, feel sorry for me. I'll win you back. We'll finally be able to be together.

Her expression turned from a look of concern to a look of pure hatred. "So this is your fault?" she hissed, trying not to alert Pops. "Because you had some sicko fascination with me as a little kid, your father has kidnapped me and is going to keep me down here with you? You're worse then he is!" she declared. She chucked the bottle of pills across the room and raced to the other side of the room.

"Aw, come on, Kendall. We're in this together, right? Maybe we can lean on one another, you know, to make it through this... this event."

"Event?" she asked in disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with you? This isn't an event this is a CRIME! It's a felony! Like life in prison!"

"Listen, Kendall," I said, trying to reason with her. "I'm in a lot of pain and I need to lay down. I really don't want to go to bed angry... But I'm not going to last much longer. Can we agree to disagree?"

"The next time I speak to you, it will be in court, when I'm telling the judge what a psychopath you and your father are!"

Those were her last words to me. She had muttered a few things to herself since then, but nothing loud enough for me to hear.

It didn't matter, I would eventually wear her down. She can't stay quiet forever. She's a woman! They have to talk!"

As each day passed, Pops brought breakfast and I made a small mark in the corner. Counting the days had been a good way to help keep myself on a schedule. Each day went the same, but I tried to do little things to change it up.

After waking up, I would eat breakfast and then exercise. I would rotate between sit-ups, followed by stretching, and pushups and lunges, followed by stretching, and a few yoga moves I had picked up while attending London's yoga classes. I would continue my morning exercises until my arms or legs gave out. The pain in my wounded leg became a little bit more tolerable as each day passed. After exercising, I took a shower, changed into fresh clothing, and waited for lunch, often humming my favorite songs at the table. Lunch, typically consisted of a sandwich, juice, and a piece of fruit. Sometimes, when we had finished eating, I would tell Kendall a story. She pretended to ignore me, but I knew deep down that she loved them. A short time later, I would take a nap, which often went until dinner was delivered. Kendall refused to sit with me at the table, so I sat by myself for all of our meals. After cleaning up, I'd take a quick shower, brush my hair, apply a moisturizing lotion to my body, and massage my leg. The night ended with taking as many steps as possible. I had gone from a mere ten steps to over two thousand, which was approximately a mile.

Pops brought us meals three times a day and often came to get Kendall at least once. I knew what he wanted her for, but I would force myself to close my eyes and ignore the look of terror on her face as she followed him out of the room at gunpoint.

I could hear her screams at first, but after she came back with deeply bruised eyes and cheeks, she stopped protesting.

"I'm just getting her ready for you," Pops had told me once, after taking one of the girls he had brought me. "She needs to learn how to behave before you have her."

My stomach had twisted as I thought about Pops touching my special prize. Jealousy had boiled over once and I confronted him. "She's mine!" I screamed at him. The consequence had been swift and intense. Two weeks in the small room, strapped to the cot. He made her feed me and sit in the corner. After the two weeks were up, he broke her neck and made me feed her to the wild pigs that lived on our property.

I shook my head, remembering the sounds of the pigs tearing her flesh apart. Pops had made me watch.

"She couldn't behave," he said winking at me. "She just couldn't behave."

Bile crept up my throat as the images of her insides spilling out filled my mind. Trying to forget the memory, I looked at Kendall's sweet face. Her cheeks had sunken in and she had dark circles under her eyes. She barely ate or slept.

A brisk knock on the door startled me. We already ate breakfast. It isn't time for lunch yet, is it? I asked myself.

Pops burst through the door and flashed a toothy grin. "Come on, kids! I have a big surprise for you!"

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Undie Nation,

Hey, hey, hey! Happy Monday! :) Hope you enjoyed this update!

What do you think the odds are Kendall is going to make it out of here? Good, so-so, slim to none? ;)

Look for the next update this weekend or early next week!

OHHHHH! Also, if you like paranormal books, check out ORDER OF THE MIST! It's a new book I'm writing with my friend Jonathan Yanez and you can find it in my library! It's awesome and we'll be updating it weekly!

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on everything!

Hearts,

Kelly Anne Blount xoxo