22. Cain
CAIN
The room I had designated as Delilah's wasn't ready yet, but I was done waiting.
I'd be damned if I let that mother fucker harm one more hair on her head.
He didn't even bother to close the drapes before beating her.
He was so god damn cocky thinking he could get away with his abuse like he always had. Well, that fucking ended today.
The chemical I'd used was a powerful one, and risky since it was known to knockout grown adults, sometimes managing to kill them.
A welcome side effect if it ended John, but not one I was willing to chance on Delilah.
I had to get in and out in under five minutes or the damage to her lungs would be irreversible.
Thankfully, she'd found the mask, just like I hoped she would when I tossed it to her, putting it on for me while I dealt with her shit bag of a husband.
Her head lolled against my shoulder as I carried her down to her new bedroom.
It had all her favorite things that I remembered she had mentioned.
Books, movies, Twizzlers— the pull and peel kind.
But it also had industrial strength chains that I'd drilled into the wall for her own safety.
There was no telling how she would take to being essentially kidnapped, even if it was done to save her.
I had to make sure she didn't do something to harm herself.
Still, the bathroom wasn't fully finished, and the lights had some faulty wiring that made them flicker occasionally.
I'd planned to make it one more week surveying their life, but it couldn't be helped.
I had to act, and act fast. And this time I was the one walking away with the girl.
She was lighter than I thought she would be.
Like the years hadn't only stolen her fight, but her vitality as well, siphoning it from her bit by bit until she was a husk of skin and bones.
I made a mental note to stock up on more food.
Maybe tacos. She always talked about how much she wished we could run out of Kingston and grab a good fucking taco while we sat by the beach.
When this was all over, I'd make sure she'd have that and more.
She deserved to have anything she'd ever wanted.
As I laid her body down onto the plush bed, she began to stir.
The sedative I'd injected into her arm must have been wearing off.
I had to hurry. Before she woke, I shackled both of her wrists and propped her head up on a plush pillow, the best I could find in the small town next to us.
I couldn't risk being seen yet. It would raise suspicion and I was already risking everything by changing the plan.
Glancing over her body, I noted her injuries. Her left eye was swollen and her ribs had large bruises. I couldn't tell if they were broken or not, but I made a note to grab some binding material to help patch her up. She would need ice packs and ibuprofen for the pain.
Before she could fully wake, I exited the room and locked the door.
This was real. She was here. After five whole years of waiting, I finally had her within my reach.
Would she still want me after all this time? Would she be grateful? Scared? Angry? I didn't know the answers, but I had hope for the first time in a long time.
I grabbed the supplies I needed and some food and water for when she woke up. While she might freak out initially, I hoped she would come to understand that she was safe with me. Even if she didn't want me like she once did, at least I could say I kept my promise. I came back for her.
She didn't stir as I bandaged her busted ribs and only winced slightly as I placed the ice pack on her swollen eye.
My thumb stroked the uninjured side of her face with my black glove.
I wore the mask over my face knowing that she was in no position to have to see me so disfigured right now.
Hell, maybe she didn't want to see me at all.
Maybe I was nothing more than a reminder of the worst day of her life and my presence would only piss her off.
It was my fault for not ending Pastor John like I should have, and because of that, both her and I were forced to suffer atrocities.
Her eyes fluttered open and she sucked in a sharp breath, yanking herself out of my grasp.
"Wh-Who the hell are you?" she asked with her bottom lip quivering. She held one hand to her heart and the other to the top of her head.
I shook my head no.
That's when she realized she was chained. Her eyebrows pulled into a frown as she yanked against her restraints.
"What do you want with me?" she asked. Not in a yell like you'd expect, but in a whisper like she was a submissive animal that was resigned to her fate.
That spark she'd had at Kingston seemed to have been snuffed out.
Well, that wouldn't do. I'd help her find it again.
And I'd fan the flames until she was a raging inferno.
The Delilah I knew was in there somewhere.
I could feel it. I just had to help her find wherever she'd buried her.
I tapped the pill wordlessly and handed her a bottle of water. She eyed me warily but took the water bottle from me.
"Are you going to hurt me?" she asked.
I shook my head no, again.
She seemed to be studying me. Whatever conclusion she came to in her mind must have been acceptable because she took a tentative drink of her water, coughing and spilling some down the front of her chin and down her chest.
She wore a modest gray 50's style dress.
Something you'd see in an I Love Lucy episode.
I assumed the wardrobe choice wasn't one she made, but one she'd been forced to conform to.
Had she ever been able to make one decision for herself?
She'd gone from her overbearing parents’ house to Kingston, then to Pastor John's.
Each place more controlling and diabolical than the next. But I had her now.
There were some napkins on a table next to the bed that I reached for, handing her a wad of them so she could wipe herself off if she wanted. She grabbed them quickly like I was going to bite her and dabbed her wet chin and chest.Her chains rattled with the movement.
"What is it you want with me?" she asked, thumbing the cuffs that sat delicately around her wrists.
I couldn't answer. My throat bobbed and I swallowed once, twice, three times around my Adam's apple.My mouth felt so damn dry. Like sandpaper.
"Are you just going to stare at me?" She asked again, before covering her mouth, both of her blue eyes went wide like she couldn't believe she'd just asked that.
When I moved, she flinched, but I backed up to give her enough space.
The key was getting her to trust me. And in turn getting her to trust herself as well.
Who knows the kind of fucked up games John put her through in that house, or the kind of damage he'd done to her psyche.
Her eyes narrowed to thin slits and then she asked, “You weren’t in my room earlier this week, were you?”
An involuntary garbled grunt escaped my throat, and her gray-blue eyes went wide. “You were, weren’t you! I thought I was dreaming! And the daisy on my car, that was you, wasn’t it?”
She went to move her hand, placing it firmly against her chest like she needed to feel her heartbeat under her palm to know this was real. “I don’t know what it is you want with me, but if you aren’t going to hurt me, why not just let me go?”
I shook my head no. Not a chance, angel . I had to watch her go already and the experience nearly killed me. I wouldn’t let her get away that easy. Not again.
She frowned, clearly upset at the situation she now found herself in, but it had to be done. Pastor John would end up killing her if she stayed in that house much longer.
I could see the exhausting clawing at her, so I backed up once more, letting her have some space, though, I wanted to run over to her and put my arms around her again. She’d been through enough for one night and needed her rest.
“Where are you going?” she asked as I left. But I didn’t answer her, and then as I shut the door, I heard a loud crash hit the wood paneling.
That little firecracker. I knew she had some spark left in there.
Good. This plan of mine might just work after all.