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And as hard as it was, I ignored them all, walking outside to where the Devil was waiting.
Chapter 51
Catharina
Aweek came and went, and then another. And I was still here, the thought that I wouldn’t find civilization before Cedric found me, preventing any escape.
If I ran and I didn’t find help, he could send me somewhere worse.
I wouldn’t be able to hide with the tracker, and I needed two hands to try and get it out.
My wrist still ached. The limb, still slightly swollen, rested uselessly on the kitchen table. Cedric sat opposite me, slurping the oats and sugar we’d been surviving off for the last four days. Tomorrow, it was back to the stew and the luxury that was cheap cola.
“Some of your gifts are coming in today. Are you excited?” He smiled, the food slipping through the gaps between his teeth.
A tipped chin stopped me from seeing it splat into his bowl.
“I am,” I lied, taking a sip of water. “What’s coming?”
“Your sanitary stuff. Bleeds have gotta be due soon.” He took another mouthful, his cheeks swelling with the fullness as I ignored his choice of words. “Oh, and that sketchpad you wanted.”
A small smile crept on my lips; my love of pictures, still strong. I hadn’t requested a camera, wanting no memories of this reality if—when I escaped it.
I’d draw better pictures—Rhylie, safe and well, smiling.
Taking the last spoonful to my mouth, I finished my oats, swallowing them in lumps because I knew how far from the truth my designs would be.
“I’ll work on getting you the rest of the stuff you asked for, but we’re running low on money. I probably shouldn’t have bid so high for you. I almost lost you, you know. But you were perfect. Couldn’t let that happen.”
It was crazy, but I was glad he hadn’t let that happen. I was glad to be here, where he still hadn’t touched me.
Because it could always be worse.
Cedric had walked me around the property before I came back to my room for the night, reminding me no one was around for miles as we collected my stuff from the mailbox at the edge of the property.
His knife was in his boot, as always. There, in case I’d decided to run, I’d imagined.
The only place I’d run was back to my room. The door was closed, just as it had been since that first night, keeping the creepy shadows at bay. I didn’t have room to fear whatever lurked in this house—and something did lurk in this house, only coming out at night.
Pushing the shadow from my thoughts, I returned to my sketchpad, and an image stared back. I ripped out the page, scrunching and tossing it at the dirty window.
I was unraveling it a second later, my fingers smoothing out the lines on each imperfect feature. It looked a little better in the moonlight, and I found my eyes focusing on the globe in the sky.
Could Rhylie see it, too?
The light rained down on a poor excuse of forestry, on the pretty rose bushes that looked like they didn’t belong on this malnourished land. Highlights fell on something moving around in my view, from one bush to another.
The shadow.
The shadow that was here last night and the night before…and every night this week.
Sucking in a breath, I stepped back a step, peeping around the drapes.
It had stopped moving, the black silhouette staring up at my room...at me.
Bang, bang, bang.
I jumped out of my skin, turning with a gasp to see Cedric, who hadn’t waited for an answer as he stood in the doorway.
