Chosen

Chapter 21 - Blair's POV

The alarm was set to go off in five minutes. I turned away from Tyler and pulled the covers over my head. I hadn't been able to sleep at all during the night, after Tyler forced himself into me, taking away the one thing I wanted to give freely.

My chest hurt from the sobbing I had been doing all night long. Suddenly, the alarm blared from his side of the bed. I groaned outwardly, quickly sitting up in bed. As soon as Tyler's eyes opened, I hopped off the bed and muttered a quick, "I feel sick", before running off to the bathroom.

I ran the water in the sink for a moment, knowing there would be a knock at the door any second. Tyler's heavy hand thudded quietly, and I heard him call out to me. "Baby, are you okay?"

I faked a gagging noise and splashed some water around to try to make it seem like I was sick. I flushed the toilet, and unlocked the door, coming face to face with Tyler. "I don't feel good. I think I'm coming down with the flu. I want to shower and lay down, if that's okay."

There was at least a minute of silence before I heard, "Come out so I can get you settled into bed."

I smiled cheekily to myself then made sure to put on my best act. I tiptoed out of the bathroom and carefully into our room. Tyler was sitting on the bed and jumped up as soon as he saw me. He helped me over to the bed, and I had to fight hard to not roll my eyes.

"Thank you," I whispered quietly.

He smiled and grabbed my hand. "Just relax today honey. I'll come in early to make lunch."

"No!" I shouted. Tyler narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on my hand.

"I-I mean, no, thank you, but no. I'm sure I will feel better by then, and even if I don't, I need to do my share of work." His grip loosened, so I knew my response must have satisfied him.

"Alright, love. I'll see you for lunch." He kissed my forehead and left the room. I heard words exchanged between the family, then plates scrape and the door front door open and close.

I waited for thirty minutes before deeming it safe to leave the room. After last night, things changed. I no longer wanted to take my time trying to find a way out, I needed to find a way to escape, and quickly. Kissing him was weird enough, but...

I shuddered and quickly dressed in comfortable clothing before leaving the bedroom. I quietly made my way into the kitchen area, seeing that all the breakfast dishes appeared to be done already. I quickly surveyed the fridge and the cupboard, looking for something quick to make for lunch. I settled on pasta and a creamy tomato basil sauce. That would take me no time at all to make, which was exactly what I was going for.

I set the pasta on the counter and left the rest of the ingredients in the fridge until it was time to make the sauce. I left the kitchen and made my way into the living room. I had scoured this room before, but I was hoping if I looked in unusual places I might find a spare key, or a phone, or even a radio.

I spent the next hour looking through every nook and cranny I may not have gone through before, but to no avail. As I made my way back into the kitchen, I heard screams coming from what I could only assume was the barn. I shuddered and started singing to myself, hoping to drown out the noise.

I quickly started on lunch, noticing that the time was flying by. I took a small hunk of meat and quickly cooked it to add to the rest of the family's pasta sauce. I would need to put a lot of freshly grated cheese on top of my bowl to make it seem like I had the same thing.

I quickly set the table with everyone's bowls, mine included and sat down to wait just as the front door opened. Tyler and his "parents" quietly scuffled over to the table, continuing whatever conversation they had been having.

"I think he's the one is all I'm saying son." Ma looked at me pointedly as she sat at the table. Tyler scoffed and scraped the chair against the floor loudly as he pulled it out from the table.

"I don't want to hear it. We will discuss this later and I will find out." Ma nodded at this and everyone tucked into their food quickly.

Murmurs of approval filled the room, and Tyler looked over at me with a huge smile on his face. "This is delicious. How can you taste how great it is with all that cheese on top?" He held up a forkful of his own pasta, and I could see several pieces of meat on top.

I shook my head and smiled shyly, panic setting in. "I tasted it before I put cheese on. I like the cheese better."

Tyler frowned. "Try mine, Blair. This isn't an option."

I glanced around the table and noticed Ma and Pa had both gone silent. They both were staring at me with a smile on their faces. I couldn't eat his food. I had avoided it for so long, made my way around it without them noticing. Had he finally noticed?

"Please, Tyler, I already know what it tastes like, I'm eating it after..." I was silenced by his fork shoving its way into my mouth.

"Don't you dare spit it out, girl. You better swallow." Pa's yellow teeth stood out against the white glow from the light above the table as he scolded me.

I chewed slowly, praying I wouldn't be sick. I swallowed and everyone relaxed. "Good girl." Tyler smiled and kissed my cheek.

I needed to get to that barn, and I needed to do it soon.