Set Fire to the Rain

Eliza’s POV

I awoke this morning with no idea as to what day of the week it was, and in all honesty I’d lost count of how long I have been held captive by David a while ago. The days had started to mold into one continuous beating; no matter what I did to please the man, he always wanted more, physically and mentally. Some things never changed. I figured I have been stuck here at least 8 days, possibly more. During that time, I had asked permission to do some light chores. And much to my surprise, David had started allowing me to do the dishes after each meal; all the while he never took his eyes off of me. But that was alright with me. Things were slowly coming together, and then hopefully I could get the fuck out of here.

David had taken to sleeping in bed with me at night starting at around the 3rd or 4th night, it made my skin crawl, but I didn't really have a choice in the matter. I had to stay compliant and keep up appearances that I was beginning to accept that we were ‘back together’, and I was following his rules. Currently, I was tied up to the bed. It was dark outside; so I knew it had to be some time after 8:00 in the evening. My mind started to drift and before I realized it, I was thinking back on something that had happened a few nights ago.

I had finished my evening chores, and David had walked me into the bedroom carrying a glass of juice. He placed it on the dresser opposite the bed, then pulled a clean night shirt from the top drawer, and turned to me nodding his head. This was a sign to me that I could go ahead and strip off the short shorts that I was wearing along with my underwear and t-shirt. He watched my every move and all I wanted to do was throw up. I was standing at the side of the bed, cold and naked looking at the floor waiting for his next move. He slid his hands down my arms and lifted them above my head so he could slip the shirt onto my bruised and battered body.

“You may get into position now my love.” He said smoothly.

I nodded slowly and sat on the edge of the bed sliding my legs up onto the mattress getting into the position that had become a ritual every night.

“Good girl. Here now drink this for me. A special treat for behaving tonight.” After David tied my wrists and ankles to the bedposts, he walked to the dresser and picked up the glass holding it in front of me waiting for me to drink the whole thing down. When I finished the juice, he leaned in and kissed me gently on the cheek and pulled away. “Sleep well darling. I will join you soon.” He said, standing up with a devious smile, and left the room as he usually did before returning to lay with me later in the evening.

Not long after David left the room though, I started to feel off, my head became fuzzy and I couldn't keep my eyes open. No matter what I did to try and stay awake, I lost against the darkness; finally giving in and falling into a dreamless sleep. Thinking on it now, I knew he had to have put something in the drink he had given me. I do vaguely remember waking a few hours later, to the sound of a closing door and the tumble of a lock. Then a few moments later, I heard the car engine turn over and the crunch of gravel under tires. The most obvious thing was that David was missing from his so called spot in the bed next to me. He had left the house for some reason. My guess was that he had gone to get supplies, which we had to be getting low on. When I tried pulling on my restraints, I knew it was in vain. First off, David had drugged me; therefore my strength was significantly diminished. Second, he would never have left me alone if there was any possible way for me to get loose. David would have triple checked everything before leaving. However, if I could stay awake long enough to figure out how long he was away for, it might give me some idea as to how far away the store is, or maybe there might be a neighbor close by. If, indeed that was where he had gone to. No matter how I tried to fight it, the drugs pulled me back under, and I awoke some time later, to the sound of cabinets opening and shutting in the kitchen.

I had no idea how long I had been asleep for, or how long he had been gone for. Deciding to err on the side of caution, I decided to shut my eyes and think on it later and get as much rest as possible, hoping against hope that maybe I might have the sweetest of dreams; dreams that someone else’s arms would be wrapped around me as I slept that night, or that maybe he might find me and save me from this nightmare. I love those dreams, and I hope against hope that Shannon is dreaming of me too.

So as I lay here thinking over things, it dawned on me that wherever David went it couldn’t have been that far. He never would have left me for an extended period. It would have driven him crazy to be gone, not knowing if I was up to something or not, regardless of whether or not he had drugged me. It’s not in his DNA. The man is the ultimate control freak. Given that, I can’t imagine the place not being any more than 10 minutes away tops. That works in my favor. The downside is that I have no idea what direction this ‘place’ would be in. On top of that, if I do get away; and that is a big if, chances are that I will have a crazed lunatic chasing after me. Not good. I have no idea where his car keys are hidden, let alone the keys to the house. Yeah, the man locks us into the house at night, from the inside with a key. If there were to be a fire, we would burn to death. And that’s alright with David. Better that we die burning together, than to die apart, David said. Fucking psycho…

No matter the plan I seem to come up with, when I try to run it through in my head the next day, something always happens to throw the proverbial wrench into my well laid plans. I know that my biggest problem is David’s temper and instability. He is all over the map, and I have to try and stay in line in order to keep the beatings to a minimum, which is easier said than done. Then trying to predict David’s next move is just not a feasible idea. The more I lay and think things over, the realization hit me, that I could try and plan this escape, as it were, until I was blue in the face; but the fact was that no plan in the world would ever work with David. I was lucky enough to get out of the marriage when I did.

This situation isn't exactly what you would call a normal, or even close to normal. Given that, I knew I would have to do this all at the last second and just go with my gut. Not how I wanted to do it, but I had no other choice. And who knows, maybe David would let up a bit if he didn't sense something was up. Because if my guess was correct on this, that is exactly what he is waiting for. He probably knew something was off with the way I have been acting; hence the drugging. I guess we shall see if anything changes.

Not realizing how much time had gone by, I saw the lights shut off in the other room, with the exception of the kitchen light, which David always left on at night. He was doing his nightly check over the house before coming to bed; and a few minutes later, I heard the creaking of the wood floors and I shut my eyes, silently praying that David would leave me alone once he climbed into bed with me. Unfortunately for me, that wasn't to be. It was a long, painful night and one I wish I could erase forever from my memory. David was the beast and I had become his harlot; tonight, I all I wanted was to disappear from existence.