Everything was a broken line for her in those days. They drugged her for most of her stay, making it difficult to remember a lot of what happens to her while she is awake. She was slipping into the empty spaces between darkness and light.
Everyday she wakes up with a new bruise or cut. Her body became almost unrecognizable to her. Tyler had promised that they wouldn't hurt her too bad and that they wouldn't touch her in any sort of sexual way.
But he wasn't always around.
He didn't know of the things Charles did to her when they were alone. He didn't know the pain she went through.
Her arms were constantly numb from lack of blood flow. Her wrists were raw from the restraints that she once spent hours on end tried to wiggle out of. She could see her ribs begin to show beneath her skin. There was an IV stuck in her arm, probably because she hardly ever drank any water. Tyler had told her that she collapsed one day when she tried to use the bathroom. She can't remember it. She can only assume that's when the IV came into play.
They tried making more videos of her to send to Bradley but she no longer had the motivation to live. She didn't have the fire in her that she did when the first filmed her. She didn't have the hope of escaping that she used to. She just felt tired. And numb.
She didn't know how much Bradley had paid them so far. She knew it was a lot of money. Money that he was saving for Lea.
"Rise and shine, doll face." Tyler shouts as he opens the door.
She opens her eyes but doesn't move to sit up. She didn't have the strength to anyways.
"Time for another video." he announces, taking out his phone instead of the camera that he usually has.
She looks at him with confusion as he holds the phone out to her.
It was ringing.
She looked down at the screen and saw Bradley's number across the top. She slowly pushed herself to sit up, her breathing becoming shallow as tears form in her eyes.
"You have two minutes." Tyler says before walking out.
"Pick up, pick up. Come on, Bradley." she whispers.
The ringing stops and Bradley's face appears on the screen.
"Oh." she sobs with relief, a smile stretching across her face. He looked worn. More worn than she had ever seen him look. His eyes were blood shot, a large contrast to the dark bags under his tired, blue eyes. His beard was grown out as well as his dirty, unbrushed hair. He didn't look like her Bradley.
"Stefani?" he asks with disbelief.
"Bradley." she sobs, her dry and cracked lips still stretched into a smile.
"Stefani. Oh my god. Oh my god, it's you." he whispers with wet eyes, his hand covering his mouth.
"Bradley we don't have much time." she says with worry.
"Stef, I'm gonna find you. I swear to you I will get you out of there soon, baby." he says, his voice cracking.
"Bradley-"
"I'm so sorry, Stef. If I had just taken you home that night...if I had just-" he cries, his hands shaking.
"Bradley, listen to me." she says sternly, effectively silencing him.
"There's nothing you could have done. Neither of us knew this would happen so stop blaming yourself and listen to me."
"Okay." he whispers.
"It's Tyler. He took me. And there's another man too. Bradley they won't stop until they take all of your money. You have to hurry." she says quickly.
"Are you okay? Have they hurt you at all?" he asks. She opens her mouth but hesitates. She takes in his frazzled state. Bradley, her rock, the man who was always there for her. She barely recognized him. She knew that it was her turn to be there for him.
"No. No they've been very kind to me. They haven't hurt me in a while. I'm okay." she says with a nod, trying to fight back tears.
"You're okay?" he asks.
"Yes. Yes I'm alright. But you need to act fast and listen closely, okay? I am going to try to get out of this room and look for windows. If I see anything then I am going to get this phone back and I am going to call you-"
"I've been searching for clues. I found the tire tracks in your yard but they disappear at the end of your driveway. They told me they would kill you if I involved the police." he says quickly. The way he moved, his mannerisms, the tone of voice he had...it made her wonder if he might be losing touch of reality. They had her physically tied to a bed it seemed she might not be the only one being held captive to these men.
"B, you have to breathe, okay? Whether I make it out of this or not-"
"Don't say that-" he whimpers.
"Listen to me." she says sternly.
"If I don't make it out of here...if you can't find me...you can't let yourself die with me. You have to keep going, okay? Lea needs you. Promise me you'll move on."
"I'm not going to promise that. I can't. I'm going to find you." he tells her.
She doesn't say anything. There was a lump in her throat. So she just nodded.
The door began to unlock, signaling the end of their call.
"Bradley, I....I have to tell you something before I go-"
"Don't go. Please dont-"
"Bradley-"
"Times up." Charles says, walking into the room.
"Please just a few more seconds. Bradley, I-"
"I gave you two minutes." Charles says angrily, ripping the phone out of her hand and ending the call.
"I love you." she sobs.
"I love you. I love you."
He pushes the gag back into her mouth and fastens it before grabbing the syringe.
She continues to mumble the three words that she needed Bradley to hear. The three words that he needed to hear.
It was then that she decided that she needed to stay alive for him. All the fire for survival that had been lost was back. It was a mistake, them letting her see Bradley. They didn't know how powerful she could be when she had a drive.
And Bradley was her drive. He was her muse. So she decided that she needed to live for him. She needed to fight to stay alive, whether she wanted to or not.
Hey guys! I'm back....sort of. Sorry for the spelling/grammar mistakes. It was a rushed update. I've been really busy because I just got a job at a hospital so I've been studying like crazy and probably will continue to do so. But I still love Bradga and I will still write about them. The updates will just be a little slower. Sorry! xoxo
