Chapter 14
Oakley
After a quick dinner, I was back to being chained to the bed. The only difference this time was that all the books on the bottom shelf were taken out of the room and placed somewhere else in the house.
I kept my place on the bed, legs folded up as I watched Sabastian take three armfuls of the books away. Each time he passed the bed, he didn’t speak a single word to me. He hadn’t spoken at all since he told me it was dinner time.
Maybe the silent treatment was better than being yelled at. Either way, I knew I was in trouble. And I knew what it was for this time.
The book, actually, two books because I was dumb enough to try my luck, were hidden under my pillow. I had expected his voice to come through the speaker when I was back over there by the bookshelf hours ago, but it hadn’t.
Maybe he wasn’t watching me then. Or maybe, it was to test me somehow.
I had plans to move the books tonight when he’d be fast asleep if I wasn’t chained to the bed. I wasn’t so sure at the moment on that, though.
“I’m going out tonight,” he said, taking any books off the rest of the shelves that weren’t deemed appropriate for me to read. Those that were left weren’t ones that I wanted to read anyway. “I’ll be out late. But, I will be watching you.”
Was that a threat?
I didn’t reply, I simply blinked. If he was attempting to make me think about my actions, or use this as a form of punishment, he wasn’t doing things right. And I wasn’t going to tell him so.
“I expect you to be going to sleep by ten. No later. Teeth brushed, lights off.”
I nodded again. Most likely, I’d be fast asleep by then. Last night had been long.
“Tomorrow, we are going to talk.”
If he said so, I thought.
I looked him up and down as he looked around the room. For once, it appeared like he was unnerved by me, which was a laughable thought. I was at his mercy, ready to be used in whatever way he deemed fit. Yet he was the one that wasn’t able to look at me.
He was dressed in tight black jeans and a matching shirt that was just as tight. He didn’t look comfortable dressed like that.
When my eyes went back to his face, it was pinched in worry and acceptance. I didn't think he was thinking about me. I was merely someone who was just here out of convenience tonight.
“Actually,” he breathed. “I won’t be home at all tonight. I’ll be back in the morning with breakfast.”
That was a surprise.
Me, alone in the house. Sure, during the day was fine. But nighttime was different.
My heart began to beat heavily in my chest. Now, I knew that sleep wasn’t going to be my friend.
“I’ll be out taking what I need from someone who’s of age. Not a little kid who disobeys my orders.” His gaze turned to glare like he knew what I had done.
What would he do, though? What, leave me to the monsters that wanted me from outside? Join the club. Sir liked to taunt me to them. I could survive them. Maybe.
“Light off by ten,” he repeated before turning his back on me.
This time, he left the door wide open. I could see into the room across from the hall, right where he sat all the books right in the doorway. I knew they’d be out of reach. But that wasn’t going to stop me from being stupid one more time.
I waited until I heard the front door open, and then close. It was louder than it had before, like he had slammed it.
After pacing around the room, glaring at the leash and cuff a few times with nothing better to do, I toed the line of the doorway. Looking both ways, there was nothing but a few pictures.
Why did he leave the door open? Was it another test? Or was it a form of punishment for the books?
Stepping out of the room, I went as far as the chain allowed.
Did Sabastian forget to measure this direction when he made the leash?
On the other side of the hallway, I could reach the room. And the books. Easily, actually.
Bypassing the books, because I was already going to be in trouble, I wanted to make it worth it.
Never before had I tested boundaries. But really, that was least was my worry. The man said I could only go as far as it allowed me to. And this room was where it led.
Flickering the light on, I blinked against the harshness before the room came into view.
Why didn’t Sabastian put me in this room instead of his?
There was a small bed off to the side, covered in light green colors. The walls were a soft pale cream, small picture decals dotted about. Maybe they were stars, but I couldn’t be sure.
A bookshelf was beside the bed, a stack of markers sticking out of the cup on top.
Other than a dresser, and a TV that hung on a wall, there was also a white desk and a box of what appeared to be toys or stuffed animals.
The room was more for a kid but looked a lot like the room I once had before Sir took it all away. And after that, I lost having markers, using them all up, and never got to have anything else after that.
My hands itched to take a marker, or a colored pencil, to a page and color. Or to do a puzzle. Or, better yet, have something soft in my grasp to hold onto.
Was this the punishment? Being able to see what I could have had if only I just obeyed Sabastian? Now, was it going to be dangled over my head as something I’d never get?
Sniffing, I slowly backed away, shutting the door on my way. The books no longer held my interest. Nor did anything.
This was one of the cruelest punishments. Hanging the best treat I’d ever want right there, out of reach.
And it was all because of my own doing.
I even shut the bedroom door, not wanting to see the hallway or the reminder of what was across the way.
Not in the mood to be sneaky now, I went to the bathroom, getting ready for bed. I brushed my teeth, twice, to make sure that I behaved the best I could.
I shut off the light, and only then did I remove the two books from under my pillow. Hoping that Sabastian couldn’t see in the dark, but just in case he could, I took a blanket and the pillow to the corner. There, I slipped the books behind the dresser, but right where I could grab them again.
After fixing the pillow, I tucked myself under the blanket, my entire body hiding from the darkness. Maybe, this way, the monsters outside wouldn’t know I was left alone in a house that wasn’t mine.
***
Sleep wasn’t nice to me. What had I expected? I didn’t sleep well most nights when I was with Sir, so why would that change now?
I should be used to long nights, used to the noises of the monsters trying to break into the house, into the room. But I wasn’t.
My thumb found its way to my mouth, not caring that the suction stung on the bite marks. I couldn’t care when my body jerked with each creak, with each pop.
The monsters were there, looking for me. I could feel their eyes on me. I could hear their steps through the house.
Pulling myself into the tightest ball I possibly could in the corner, I hoped that tonight wouldn’t be the night they found me. Or maybe, they could find me and free me from my chains. Would they help me escape this crappy life?
I was covered in sweat, but I didn’t dare poke my head out. Or my toes. I would suffer if it meant the monsters didn’t get me tonight.
I yelped as a door somewhere in the house slammed.
Was there a better spot to hide? Or was it better if I stayed still?
Sometimes, it was best if I stayed right where I was. If I moved, then there’d be sound and I’d be found.
One time, a monster had gotten a hold of me. That one time, the monster came through my door and held me down face-first. They touched me with cold hands like they were dead. They hurt me, too. And Sir had loved that, telling me that he’d let the monsters come to get me again.
I held my breath as the bedroom door flew open. It banged against the wall, echoing around the room. My heart was in my throat, and I feared it was going to take off, bursting from my chest.
Not daring to move, not daring to make a single sound, I listened with both ears through the rushing air that pounded through my head.
There was no sound. No footsteps. No breathing. No scratching.
I knew better than to peak out, though. That was when the monsters pounced. They liked games, just like Sir did. The monsters with cold, slippery fingers were waiting for me to make a mistake.
I had to wait them out.
I could. I had no choice but to do just that.
“Oakley?” One of the monsters called me. My name dragged out in a whisper.
I closed my eyes, trying, and most likely failing, and leveling my breathing. Pretending to sleep was possible. I’ve done that before. Although the monsters liked that game too, it didn’t hurt me as much.
A strangled scream tore from my throat, muffled around my thumb, as the blanket was taken off of me in one swift move.
They found me.