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"Yes, thank you. But it's such a lovely day outside. It seems a pity to spend it indoors."
I can see his walls go up, and I hold my hands up. "I meant together, walking together outside."
"You...want to go for a walk."
"You can keep the chain on if you're worried," I say with a small smile. "Though I promise I'm not going anywhere."
He looks at me curiously and then nods. "Okay then. We can go for a walk outside. Some fresh air will do you good."
"Are there other people around? Shouldn't I get dressed?" I ask.
"You're fine," he says. That tells me that I'm not in range of screaming for help from anyone. We're far from town.
"You were gone a long time," I comment as he unlocks the chain from the bed and undoes it from my leg. He secures the chain around my wrist and nods.
"We can go now."
He leads me to the door and swings it open. We walk out into the brilliant sunlight, but it doesn't take my eyes long to adjust because the curtains have been open. I look around. The car park is abandoned, except for the junk truck. We're at a motel, or what used to be one.
"This place could use some fixing up," I comment. "How did you get the heating turned on?"
"I built solar panels," he says, nudging me forward. I walk confidently, but not tugging on the chain and not holding too far back as though I'm scared.
"You must have paid a lot to get this place ready."
"I used some of my inheritance."
"Nana's inheritance?" I ask curiously, looking at him.
My grandmother had left me some jewelry that was worthless and had left the rest of her estate to Eitan. Something about him always checking on her and making sure she's okay. She did die suddenly, and I wonder if he made that happen. Is he capable of making that happen?
If you had asked me a few weeks ago if Eitan were capable of kidnapping, I would have laughed. My loser ‘brother’? Who amounted to nothing? Who spends all day staring at me or disappearing. At least now I know where he was disappearing to.
My feet sink into the soft earth of the forest, and I wiggle my toes. My feet are going to be dirty, but I don't care. I walk further into the forest. I can hear running water.
"Are you getting the water from the river?"
"It goes through a filter so we can drink it," he says, sounding proud.
"That's genius. Can we walk down to the river? I'd love to soak my feet."
"Sure, we can do that."
He walks beside me as we stroll under the trees toward the water. It isn't far, and when we get there, I can see he has traps set up. I wonder how many traps he has set up in the forest. I'll have to be careful where I walk when he isn't leading me.
He walks me to the edge of the water, and I stick my feet in the cold river. I sit on the edge, squirming slightly to get the skirt tucked underneath me.
"You look so beautiful," he says quietly.
I look at how the sun is hitting my skin, and I sit back. "I can get a nice tan sitting out here."
"Do you like it out here?" he asks quietly, kneeling just behind me. He rubs my shoulders, and I resist the urge to yank myself away.
I nod slowly. "Yes, it's nice out in the fresh air. Maybe we can do this more often."
He tugs on the chain. "We should get back. There are bears out here."
I stand up and walk ahead of him. I can feel his eyes trained on me. I sway my hips slightly as I walk.
