Chapter 24
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kylie
Thirty days.
Or maybe not. It could’ve been fifty at this point. I wasn’t sure.
I no longer knew the actual number because time didn’t matter much anymore.
I suspected I had missed entire days because the protein bars and water weren’t disappearing as quickly as before.
And one of my jailers had mentioned they wouldn’t bring me more if I wasn’t going to eat them.
I hadn’t realized what he’d been talking about at the time, but I eventually figured it out.
From time to time, I would get these bursts of energy.
They never lasted long, a few minutes at most, but I figured it had to be my survival instinct making some last-ditch efforts.
My hope was dwindling. That had something to do with the fact that Martin hadn’t returned since our last conversation. When I told him to go fuck himself.
The fact that he hadn’t returned was a good thing.
It meant he hadn’t followed through on his threat.
I had to assume my husbands were protecting my children, and they would keep doing so.
Martin wasn’t going to win this. No matter what he said, no matter how angry he got, he was not going to use me to get to my mother.
It simply wasn’t going to happen. If he wanted Meredith, he would have to find another way.
So, no, Martin wasn’t coming back. I think he knew he was losing this battle. I didn’t have the information he wanted. And even if I did, I wouldn’t give it to him. I would never betray my family like that.
“Travis,” I whispered into the dark room. “I think it’s your birthday.”
Closing my eyes, I willed him to come visit me the way he had for the past couple of weeks.
I was sane enough to know he wasn’t really there, but at times, it felt so real.
I longed for those visits, getting to see him.
There was no doubt in my mind that he would be searching for me if he knew the truth.
He would be moving heaven and earth to find me.
Unfortunately, I was dead to them.
I figured soon enough I would be really dead. If I had to guess, Martin was watching me from somewhere, getting his jollies watching me wither away and die.
Which I was doing.
Quickly.
I wasn’t a medical professional, but my foot was infected.
The pain radiated up my leg at this point.
The infection would get into my bloodstream if it hadn’t already, and it would kill me.
On top of that, one couldn’t survive without food or water, and since I no longer had a desire for either, it was simply a matter of time.
Focusing on breathing in and out, I cleared my mind and thought of Travis.
“How does it feel to be forty-four?” I asked the image of him in my mind.
He smiled back at me, and it was so beautiful, I would’ve cried if I could produce tears.
“It feels good, Kylie. It’s taken some time, but I’m happy again.”
“I’m glad.”
“Are you?”
“Yes, Travis. I am. I want you to be happy. Even though I can’t be there.”
“We understand. We mourned you for a while, but we’re moving on. You should, too.”
“But I don’t want to. I want to come home to you.”
“You can’t. You’re dead.”
“But I’m not, Travis. I’m alive.”
“We had to say goodbye, Kylie. We had to let you go.”
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Happy birthday, Travis.”
“Thanks. I need to get back to my family. They’re waitin’ for me.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
“No, you won’t. But that’s okay, Kylie. We’re doin’ okay without you.”
My tears dripped slowly down my cheeks in the dark. That wasn’t how our conversations usually went.
Maybe hope had finally left me, too.