Kidnapped

Talk - 39

Emma POV

I was wallowing in self pity inside Chris's bed, when the door to his room opened. Chris flicked the lights on, his eyes filled with a mixture of worry and confusion.

"Emma, what happened?" He asked, his eyes darting around as he scanned me for any injuries. "Did Alex hurt you?"

"No," I mumbled, averting my eyes away from his face.

Chris walked towards me, sitting at the foot of his bed. Although his lips were pursed into a tight line, his eyes were soft as he eyed me with concern.

"Don't look at me like that." I hissed. Seeing my kidnappers show me more kindness than the people I knew in my life rubbed me the wrong way.

"Like what?" He asked, furrowing his brows.

"Like you care for me. We both know you said you'd help me just to shut me up." I snapped. I've been letting my rage out at the only person who treated me with decency and it only made me feel like shit.

"I'm human, Emma. I too feel empathy," he started. "I do want to help you out, I'm just trying to figure out how to do it without the others finding out it's me who helped you escape."

I wanted to be angry at him. To accuse him of lying about having emotions. But I find myself not wanting Chris to hate me, and these emotions confused me. I want to trust him, I want that glimmer of hope... Of kindness.. But I also don't want to fool myself and end up getting hurt.

"Y'know what's funny?" I asked him as I wore a bitter smile on my face. He eyed me patiently. "The idea that you and the others have actual complex emotions never really crossed my mind..." I admitted. I felt slightly ashamed that I failed to empathise with others, but was angry that others don't empathise with me.

Chris raised his brows in surprise as he studied me for a few seconds. "I can't really blame you, Evan and Josh were cruel to you. I'm sorry I couldn't stop them from hurting you."

I looked at him with a tight smile as I nodded. My eyes stung and I wasn't sure why. I was having trouble understanding my emotions and it only added to my frustration.

Chris patted me shoulder. "I promise that I'm not trying to deceive you. I don't know how to prove it, but I will try to."

"I'm sorry I keep snapping at you." I said, changing the topic. I wanted to get rid of the guilt that gnawed at me for a little while. So please stay on my side...

Chris was caught off guard. I can't blame him, this was probably the first time I had a meaningful talk with him, with anyone, in a long time.

"Um, don't worry about it..." Chris said, not knowing how to respond. I only nodded.

"The second thing I'm gonna do when you help me out of here, is get a decent haircut." I said, wanting to end my little moment of vulnerability.

Chris laughed and eyed my hair. "You roast Alex's hairdo skills, but you're worst at it." I grinned, the motion feeling foreign to me. When was the last day I smiled so much... First Alex, now Chris. Careful Emma... Don't forget where you are.

"So what's the first thing you will do when you get out?" He asked, curious.

"I'mma report my foster parents and get away from those assholes."

"Why didn't you do that before? Why now?" He asked.

"Lately I have been realizing that I deserve better than what I was getting." I stated truthfully. And I couldn't deny that if I learned anything during my awful time being here, it was that I wanted justice. That I wanted to be angry, and not just take the abuse quietly. It took me losing my freedom to realize how much I had before I was kidnapped.

Chris smiled at me, his features softening. "I agree, you do deserve better."

I smiled softly at him. It was weird to have such a conversation with one of my captores.

---

The next day I was lounging in my usual spot on the couch as Mason and Chris worked-- on what I concluded was selling weapons on the dark web-- when Alex barged into the room holding a worn out book in his hand.

When his eyes landed on me, he quickly marched my way, his face glowing with determination. I sat up, not liking being in a vulnerable position.

He held out the novel to me. "Truce?" He asked with a grin.

I eyed the paperback novel, it looked worn out, the cover dented in a few places. It was obviously well loved. I snickered. "Twilight?"

"Don't girls love this book?" He asked as he handed it to me. I glanced at the cover, some of the pages were dog-eared.

"Alex, are you team Edward or team Jack?"

"It's Jacob, not Jack." He corrected making my grin grow wider.

"I didn't realize you were into this book." I laughed when his face grew red.

"What? I'm not! My sister was a fan, its her novel!" He exclaimed.

"Mhm, of course it is." I looked at him with a knowing smirk.

"Emma, don't act like you didn't read it when you were 13 years old!" Alex scoffed and Mason cracked up, no longer able to hold his laughter as he watched the scene unfold.

"I didn't. But did you?" I asked, endlessly amused. Alex crossed his arms and looked at the ceiling with a frown.

"When you have an older sister who forces you to read her favorite books so she could gush about them 24/7 with someone, you have to make sacrifices." He proclaimed as his cheeks got redder.

"So which team are you on? Edward or Jacob?" I asked again with genuine curiosity.

"I'm team mustache." He grinned.

I opened my mouth, about to tease him, when the door opened and in walked Evan.

"Someone looks like they're in a good mood." He said as he stepped closer to me.

The light atmosphere was replaced with thick dread as he smiled at me.

"Guess who was identified at Iker's party?" His face grew cold and I knew this will not end well.

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PLEASE VOTE IF YOU ENJOYED!

Thank you for reading! Sorry for the delay, I finally was able to reset my password, but then got a bit caught up with work.

So what do you think about the conversation between Emma and Chris?

Do you think Chris is being honest?

Is Alex actually team Jacob or Edward?