Hey Baby

Chapter 18

I pointed to a Ross, which as a college student was my absolute go to store. He looked at me like I was insane. Me insane? Me? "What?" I asked hesitantly. I still don't know when his moods will change and he'll hurt me. I really don't want to get hurt. "Let's go somewhere nicer, yeah?"  I just looked at the ground not knowing what to do. He started to pull me forwards so I complied and walked with him, his grip still firmly on my hand. I saw a little boutique and was intrigued by the simple outfit on the model. "Oh ok. We can stop in here."  He said. "Wait no, it's okay. You already gave me a whole bunch of clothes."  He just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but girls love shopping and I want to make you happy."  How do I tell him I shop online because I hate shopping with a passion. I definitely decided against saying anything at all, as that would absolutely ruin the trip. And I definitely needed to be able to leave the house again. There was no cashier or anything, but the lights were on and soft bohemian music was playing. The whole store smelled like expensive creams and essential oils. Literal heaven. I walked over to a rack of flowy and really soft shirts. I picked up a bunch and then put them back, not wanting to overstep my boundaries. Damiar was mindlessly playing with the ends of my hair, but then sighed and picked up all of the shirts I had put back and but the clothes in a bag. I turned around to look at him. "Hey we've got to pay for those." He chuckled. "Roan, when are you going to realize that I have everything for you. Just relax. Have fun."  I have a bad habit of freezing up when I don't know what to do. Which is most of the time to be honest. He placed his hands on either side of my shoulders. "You okay?"  I nodded. He wrapped his arms around me and brought my head into his warm chest. He smelled much different than the expensive oils and fragrances. But to be honest, it also smelled like heaven. Home. As soon as those words entered my thoughts I jumped back and ran a hand through my hair. He could probably tell that I was relaxed for a whole 5 seconds. If he was angry at me for pushing him away, he didn't show it. I just continued handing him clothing I liked and he would either nod or shake his head. We did that for a few stores and by the time everything was done, Damiar was completely covered in bags. This was only because obviously I couldn't hold them because obviously that's not my job and obviously Damiar is supposed to take care of me. Can you tell those aren't actually my words? I was starving. It was probably about 7pm if not a little later than that. "Hey Dam can we go? I'm really hungry." He nodded smiling. "I'm glad we're on the same page." We started walking out to the car, but not before Damiar shoves all of the bags into one of the guards' hands. I hadn't really dressed for the weather. It was usually warm in the house, and I guess this week was the first week of fall. Damiar took off the pullover he was wearing and plopped it over my head making me turn around and look at him with an unsatisfactory glance. He started cackling like I'd never seen before. It wasn't manic or evil, he was just having fun. I couldn't help but laugh too, leaving the bunched up sweater on my neck that left my hair in turmoil and my face bright red. I guess I was laughing too hard because I didn't even notice Damiar taking a picture until I saw the flash. "What! No! So not fair!" I said still giggling. He just rolled his eyes smiling and shoved his phone back in his pocket. He walked over to me and pulled down the sweatshirt as if I couldn't do it myself. Once I was finally warm, we continued our journey back to the car and got in. The sky was black and purple, that beautiful dusk hour that I would look forward to seeing after a long day of studying. The pullover smelled like him and I pulled my head further into the warmth. The back of my head screamed at me to chuck the jacket off and throw up at his scent, but I was too tired. To hungry, too relaxed to care. Damiar strokes my hand as we arrived back at his house. He got out of the car and I took off my seatbelt to do the same. As soon as I opened the door a strong hand pushed me back against the car making me scream. "Roan! What the fuck are you doing! We had such a nice time and then you go to break the rules?! You idiot!" He said, slapping me on the last insult. "I-I wasn't trying to run, I just wanted to hold your hand." I said between sobs, crying because it was true and it shouldn't be. With one last shove he got off of me and walked in circles obviously stressed. But it was me was was in true distress. For whatever reason I was warming up to Damiar. The killer of my roommate, and probably hundreds of other people. And most importantly my kidnapper. And then he does just what a kidnapper should do. So why am I surprised? I stand by the car looking at the ground, not wanting to make him anymore upset. I saw his feet walk over to me and flinched at his touch. He sighed knowing he really screwed up, but nonetheless brought me to the front door. The warmth of the house was a nice change from the outside that I just stood in for what seemed like forever. Once I was in front of him, he locked the hand-scanning door and turned to face me. "I'm sorry Roan. I didn't know you weren't- I thought you were trying to leave. I should have been. I didn't respond and looked down at the floor instead. It seems as though me and the ground have better conversations than anyone else. Damiar decided to leave it alone and gestured for me to follow him to the kitchen. "You okay with ramen tonight? I don't feel like cooking and by the looks of it neither do you." I shrugged and jumped on barstool leaning my head on my arms so I could breathe. I had perfect view of the door. Maybe one day I'll get through it on my own terms. But why didn't I try to escape when I had the chance? I softly hit my head on the counter trying to get that stupid question out of my head. Of course I want to leave. I just got to deep into me and Ethans plan. I somehow forgot or at some rate didn't care about his past crimes. But, the plan was working. He trusts me even after just a few days of being with him. Hopefully Ethan is having the same luck. We're just going to have to keep each other in check so we don't totally fall in. Speaking of Ethan, where was he? "Hey, um, where's Ethan?" I asked quietly. Damiar turns towards me from the stove. "You two have grown pretty close, huh?" I nodded. He didn't seem mad, just genuinely intrigued. "Well I'm glad you have someone else here to talk to besides me. And I know Eric feels the same way, he just gets a little overprotective. Funny thing is when I told him about you, he found it totally absurd and stupid. But then we were going to kill Ethan and then we didn't... fast forward and now he's totally enthralled." Creepy. Ass. Bitch. "So, um. Where is he?" "Oh yeah they're upstairs, but I wouldn't bother them, I think they're having some bonding time." I nodded knowing that Ethan probably wasn't enjoying the 'bonding time' very much. He brought over a bowl of noodles with the broth and all. I thanked him quietly but got out of my seat to drain the bowl. I'm not a big fan of the broth. "Wait, you don't like the soup part?" He asked incredulously. "No, never have." Finally something he didn't know. I jumped back into my seat next to him and we ate in relative silence. My thoughts kept my mind on edge the whole time. What the fuck is happening to me?

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A.N. Thank you all for being so patient!! I've had midterms all week so I've been pretty swamped, but seeing all of your messages and comments always makes it better. Hope you enjoy!! xx