Captured

The next morning, after a sleepless night, I walked down the stairs and into the living room.

There wasn’t much to it.

The large living room had white carpet, a light beige couch and a love seat. There was a glass coffee table, and a large flat screen TV that was mounted on a white wall.

I frowned when I considered the white walls in all the rooms.

If this was a cabin, why would it have smooth white walls?

Still frowning I turned from the living room and walked toward the kitchen, stopping at the entrance to see Kaden cooking at the stove.

He glanced over his shoulder at me before returning to the stove, “Have a seat, breakfast should be done soon.”

I looked around the kitchen, seeing the small hall that lead to the garage to the right of Kaden, an island counter separating the room, a sink perpendicular to the hall, granite counter tops, and a wood table at the far end.

The room was as impersonal as the other rooms, not even a single magnet adorned the fridge that was across the island from Kaden.

Walking to the table I sat as he transferred food onto a couple paper plates.

“Why, if this is a cabin type house, are the walls smooth and white?”

The question seemed to throw him for a bit, confusion tightening his brow as he sat across from me, “The walls?”

I nodded.

“When the cabin was built, the previous owners wanted the feeling of wilderness on the outside, but a modern look inside. So they had the architect plaster extra walls on the inside.”

“Does it keep the room warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer?”

He shrugged, “I have no clue, but I would assume it made it easier to hang pictures.”

He pointed to the right where a small hole marred the wall.

“Oh. What happened to the owners before you?”

He looked down at the table and picked at his food, “Car crash. Their truck slid on ice and took a tumble down the mountain side.”

Biting my lip I look down at my plate, then stare at the food on it.

“What is this?”

“PBB.”

“What?”

He looked at me and smiled, “Pancake Breakfast Burrito.”

Looking back down at my plate I see that he rolled eggs, sausage, and bacon in a thin pancake instead of a tortilla, “Is it good?”

His smile grew, “Of course, especially with some syrup.”

I watched with wide eyes as he layered syrup over the entire thing, “You’re going to have a heart attack.”

“Yes, but what a way to go.”

~*~

That evening, bored out of my mind, I sat on the bed in the master room.

What am I supposed to do when Kaden has me on lock down?

Deciding to do a little snooping I walk from the bed to the dresser and pull on the drawers, wondering what was inside.

Nothing.

Sighing I walk away, a little disappointed that it was empty.

I was really hoping to change out of my dirty clothes, seeing as how I’ve been in them for a couple days now.

Hmm, maybe the closet will have something clean I could wear.

But, like the dresser, the closet was empty. Opening the two side-by-side doors I investigate further into the walk-in closet.

Not even a single mothball on the floor.

Just as I turned to leave something shined from the light that entered through the open doors, catching my attention.

Stepping closer I kneeled and pulled out an old delicate hand mirror.

It was beautifully carved from pure metal making me believe it was very old. The border swirled around the glass reflection and down onto the handle. Running my fingers over the tarnished metal I gently set it down and reach back into the mostly dark corner that I pulled it from.

Dragging out a small cardboard box I dig past the frayed flaps.

Rummaging through the box I extract a handful of old photos, some with bent or broken corners.

The first one was yellowed with age, but the couple it focused on was beautiful. It was a wedding picture, the bride in a traditional white gown and the groom looking dashing in his tux. Who ever took the photo knew just when to snap the shot so that instead of the newlyweds looking at the camera they were staring into each other’s eyes, as if there wasn’t anything else that mattered in the world but them.

With a small smile I flip to the next photo, careful to gently lay the current one back in the box.

The next photograph had the same couple, but it seemed as if this one had been taken a few years after the wedding. The picture was taken low to the ground and a bit crooked; causing me to think a child had taken it. The woman, with her thick dark hair pulled back with a clip, was laughing and reaching out for the camera, one knee on the ground. Behind her the husband was waving as he stood by the foundation of a house. They were surrounded by trees and vegetation while construction workers milled around.

Gently laying that photo aside I glance at the next one and stare at it with wide eyes.

The house was no longer a wooden skeleton, but a beautiful cabin with a wraparound porch adorned with a rocking chair and a bench seat that hung from the porch’s roof.

It was this cabin. There wasn’t a wide clearing surrounding it then, but the forest and mountain terrain were the same.

And, standing in front of the cabin, was the young couple.

They were smiling, love and pride shining from their eyes.

But it was the child that caught my attention. He was lifted in his father’s arms between them and laughing.

Even at such a young age, maybe six or seven, I recognized those eyes.

Kaden.

“What are you doing?”

Jumping I whip around to see Kaden standing at the closet entrance.

This Kaden’s eyes weren’t filled with joy.

No, he looked pissed.

“I… uh… was looking for something clean to wear.”

Well, at least it was partially true.

I watched as his eyes flicked to the photos in my hand and when they came back to me they were emotionless pits.

“Just leave your clothes in a pile by the bathroom and I’ll wash them while you’re showering.”

He turned and walked away, leaving me feeling guilty in the dark closet.

~*~

Two days later and I still haven’t brought up the pictures I found.

He’s never mentioned anything and when he brought me a box of clothes he found in the attic he just dropped them off in my room and left.

I highly suspect they had belonged to his mother, who was apparently a little shorter than me since her clothes didn’t quite fit.

And every time he saw me in a new outfit he would stop and stare.

And I could see dark shadows swirl in his light eyes.

Sighing, which is something I seem to be doing a lot lately, I walk out of the bedroom and into the hall, my hair still wet from my shower.

It was later in the evening and I knew Kaden would be on the front porch looking out over the mountain side.

He stood there every evening, just watching the sun set.

Stepping out of the front door and onto the porch I walk over to Kaden’s side as he leaned against the railing.

We stood in silence for a while and just watched as the forest prepared for night.

It was comforting, knowing that I didn’t have to speak and have think about what was the right thing to say and what was not.

I don’t know how long we stood there, comfortable with each other’s presence.

But then, after a few more minutes of silence, my curiosity got the better of me.

“Was this your parent’s house?”

Kaden glared at me, “That’s none of your business.”

“But, I found some old pictures in the close-“

“You shouldn’t be snooping around in other people’s things. It’s rude.” He interrupted.

I glared at him, “I wasn’t trying to be rude. I just found the pictures-“

“Those picture were in the back of the closet and out of sight, you were snooping.”

I was really getting tired of his interruptions.

“I wasn’t snooping! I was just curious and bored and when I saw the light shinning off the mirror I looked closer and-”

It was his turn to glare, “You should have just left it alone. It’s just like a woman to make everyone else’s business their own.”

I felt my anger rise. How dare he judge my actions? All I want to do is know more about him and his family and he goes and makes me into the bad person?

But, just as I was about to speak, I watched Kaden’s body tense and his eyes turn murderous.

“Get dow-“

A shot echoed through the night as Kaden threw me down, his body falling and jerking to the ground. I grunted when I landed on the porch, my lungs compressed when Kaden fell on me.

I gasped in air and tried to roll Kaden off, but he wouldn’t move.

And that’s when my hand slipped in something warm and wet.

Pulling my hand from his chest I stare at the blood that covered my arm.

Oh, God.

Then, out of nowhere, a hand grabbed me and roughly pulled me out from under him.

More men came and surrounded me, dragging me away from a lifeless Kaden.

“Don’t worry, Miss Collins, your father sent us to rescue you.”

With one man holding each of my arms I was dragged to a large SUV that was speeding up the drive way.

The SUV screeched to a stop in a cloud of dust that blocked Kaden and the three men surrounding him from my sight.

The men shoved me into the back seat, one forcing me over to the other side as he trapped me in the seat.

“Sir, what do you want us to do with the traitor?”

The man sitting beside me looked at the guy who was still standing at the open door.

“Shoot him again then burn the house down around him.

With a nod the man slammed the door shut and walked away, heading back to the house.

“No,” I whispered, unable to speak any louder.

“No need to worry Miss Collins, you’ll never have to fear him kidnapping you again.”

The driver threw the car in reverse and fishtailed backwards until he had the front pointing down the mountain. Just as the car jerk forward I heard the familiar echo of a gunshot.

And as the car turned around the first bend I watched through the back window as the beautiful cabin exploded into flames with the sun setting behind it.

All I could think about was that this was the last time I would ever see Kaden again.

And this time, when I spoke, the SUV vibrated with my screams.