Try to Scream

The ringing woke me; the God awful high pitched ringing that caused my head to throb. When I opened my eyes, I was confused. Lady bugs covered the walls and the bedspread that covered me. I looked around, there were stairs just to my right leading up to I don’t even know where. A door right across from the large bed I was in, lead to a bathroom.

To the left of that was a closet area. I saw some of my clothes and a shelf of snacks. On the wall opposite the stairs was a dresser with a TV, DVD player and a stack of movies. Along the wall by the stairs was a rather large bookcase filled with books.

I sat up slowly, only to lie back down, crying in pain. “Stop.” I whispered. “Stop!” I said louder, tears streaming my face. I curled up on the fetal position and dug my nails into my hair. “Make it stop. Stop ringing, stop, stop, stop!” I rocked slightly.

A slightly clicking sound came from the top of the stairs. I shot up in bed and watched as a pair of boots thud down them. The man the boots belonging to stopped at the end. I knew the face the moment he reached a good burst of light. The events that followed in the house suddenly rushing back to me. “Don’t…don’t come any closer.”

“I was just bringing you some aspirin. I forgot to leave some when I put you to bed.” He set the bottle on the bookshelf and smiled. “Do you like it? I did it all for you.”

I looked at him with my teary vision and tried to control my panic. “Where am I?” I asked, looking at his brown leather boots.

“Home. It’s not the best, but I only have a couple months to make it perfect.” His hands found his pocket and I looked up at his cheerful smile.

I didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t my home, I knew it. I thought of all the shows I’d seen about kidnappers. Most knew they were committing a crime. This guy, the dark haired man before me seemed convinced I belonged here. How was I supposed to reply to him? “Who are you?”

“Munro, you are so silly today. I’m Trent, your boyfriend.” My heart dropped. He’s my boyfriend? He really thought I was his girlfriend? I forced a half smile. “Are you going to get dressed? It’s already noon, silly.”

“Trent. Um, I would rather get dressed alone.” I looked around the room as I tried to think of what to say. Do I act nice, act like I know what is going on? Do I tell him that he’s mistaken? My instincts told me to play along, so I did. It was my best chance at this point. “T-thank you.”

He shrugged and pressed his cheek to his shoulder, as if embarrassed slightly. “Anything for you, Munro.” There he went again, using my name. I hated the sound of my name coming from his lips.

“I’m going to get dressed and then we can leave.” He suddenly snapped to attention. His face hardened.

Shaking his head he looked at the door and gripped the keys hanging on his belt. “N-no, you’re not going anywhere. You are staying here. You have to stay here.”

“I can’t stay down here forever, Trent. I need to see my friends and family.” I smiled at him.

His fist hit the railing and he screamed, “No! I am your friends and family! You don’t need those other ones, they don’t love you like me. They don’t know how to treat you!” He turned and hit the wall with his fist. He drew his arm back and hit it again.

I wanted nothing more than to cry, to scream and try to hide. But there was no place to hide, there was no crying. I was scared, but I couldn’t show him that. I could see it now, he was completely delusional, he was crazy. There was no talking to crazy people; there was no getting away that easy. “Trent! Stop, you’re going to hurt yourself. Please, stop!” I covered my ears.

He paused and turned to me, his face changing from anger to sadness. “No, no. Munro, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m sorry. I’ll go.” He turned on the steps, “I’ll go….” I heard the door lock and let myself break down.

Painful tears and sobs escaped me as I lay in the foreign bed. My body shook so hard, I worried he would hear me. I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to quite the sounds as I sat up. I needed to figure out where I was, figure out what was here for me. I needed to get out of here. I literally fear for my life.

My legs felt like jello as I stepped out of the bed. I looked at the spot of stone wall Trent had focused his rage on. Blood speckled the light gray bricks. I brought my hands up to my eyes and rubbed them; turning away from the site I knew I’d have to clean later.

My first thought was to search the room for other doors and windows. But there was nothing. My only conclusion was, I was in a basement. I looked in the closet and found all my clothes folded and stacked neatly on shelves. Not a single thing on a hanger.

The shelf beside it held a few bags of chips, cookies and fruit bars. There was a mini fridge of water and juice on the floor by a pair of slippers. There were no other shoes, not even the boots I wore to the house with Niall and the others.

Niall. He must be freaking out right now. I was there and then I was gone. I had no idea how long ago that was or where I was now. I didn’t know a thing. I couldn’t find my phone and the TV had no cable. I was completely shut off from everything and Niall was probably worried sick.

Niall, Cora, my family and the other boys. They had to be looking for me. They had to be close. They had to be. I couldn’t be here. This wasn’t going to happen to me. I wasn’t going to disappear like other girls. I was going to be found. Niall would find me. He had to. He just…he was my hero, how could he not find me?

I slowly began to realize what was going on. Not that, I was beginning to process what was happening. I knew I was basically screwed. I knew I was kidnapped and my friends and family were going to be worried. I knew they would do everything to find me. I knew I had luck on my side. I was with One Direction, they’d do everything they could to find me. I meant something to them.

The only thing that was keeping me sane was the idea of getting out of here. But slowly, the pain of my head stopped any and all thoughts of rescue.

I was unsure about the medication Trent had brought to me. How was I to know it wasn’t going to poison me, or do something it wasn’t supposed to.

Slowly, I allowed the idea that it was just normal medication take over. He seemed fascinated by me, why would he hurt me with pills? He went through so much trouble. He collected some of my cloths, some pictures, decorated the room to be something I’d like. Why would he just kill me now?

I gave in and popped 2 pills in my mouth. My faith in his fascination with me, paid off as the pain slowly went away as I dressed and scrubbed the blood off the wall. I knew I’d be here for a while, there was no way I’d look at blood before I slept.

My only choices were to stay calm, get comfortable, and look for a way out when he wasn’t around. I had to do it, he had a temper and I knew if I hit the wrong button again, that it might be me instead of the wall.

When I finished cleaning the wall as best I could, leaving only a faint red tint, I sat in the bed and looked around, trying to plan something, trying to figure a way out of this. As hopeless as it was.