Chapter 52 | Rae
Rae
I didn't know how long I had before Caleb would be back, so I knew I had to be quick.
I ran toward our room and picked out one of his flannel shirts, a lacy bra and panties, and then headed towards the bathroom.
“Come on, Duke!” I called as I walked into the bathroom and shut the door behind me, locking us in before I turned.
A couple of minutes into my shower, I heard something outside of the glass walls.
I peeked my head out and saw Duke staring at the door, ears up.
“Is Caleb home, buddy?” I turned the water off so I could listen, but when I didn’t hear anything, I continued my shower.
Even though my glasses were off, I could still make out Duke standing by the door.
It seemed awfully fast for Caleb to be back already, but maybe he came back to get something.
I finished my shower and stepped out onto the bathmat. Duke had not moved from his spot and had not stopped staring at the door. “Buddy, I don't hear anyone out there.” I put my ear to the door. “Nope. Nothing. He probably came back to get something and left, bud.”
Duke looked at me and sat down.
I got dressed and looked at myself in the mirror. While I still didn't see myself how Caleb saw me, I'd become more confident since I'd been with him which made me smile. I was standing in a flannel with nothing but a bit of lace under it, and I felt good.
My skin was flushed, and my heart sped up at the idea of being with him when he returned from the barn.
I put on my slippers before I opened the door to the bathroom. As soon as I opened the door, Duke jumped up and pushed past me, nearly knocking me over. “Duke! What the heck, bud?”
He went to the bedroom door and waited. When I opened the door, Duke walked out and began searching for something.
I walked past the spare room and saw the door open.
I swore I closed it earlier. Maybe Caleb did forget something and came back to get it.
I glanced at the front door and pet Duke’s head on the way.
“Bud, the front door is still locked.” I looked out the kitchen window and saw Caleb and Luke near the barn.
“Looks like they've got one more horse to lock up before they come back home,” I told Duke.
He lay in the middle of the living room, facing away from me.
I found the popcorn Caleb had mentioned earlier and put some in a bowl before taking wine glasses out of the cabinet.
Setting them on the counter, I went to the refrigerator and opened the door.
Our refrigerator was well stocked, and Caleb had put the wine away when we got home.
“Where is the wi—oh, there it is!” I reached towards the back to grab the bottle and then read the label to make sure I got the right one.
I jumped when I heard Duke growl and whine. Then a door shut. I stood up to see what had caused that noise since I was sure I was the only one in the house. I didn't know what to expect him to be growling at, but what caused it was the last thing I'd expected.
The world felt like it had started spinning, and I could hear my blood pumping in my ears, my heart was racing so fast.
“Hello, Rae.”
Glass shattered as I dropped the wine bottle, and wine splashed everywhere. Duke barked somewhere in the house, but he was no longer in the living room.
“Ethan. H-how did you get in here? Where's Duke?” I asked shakily, backing away from him. His eyes looked as black as the night sky.
“Don't worry, he's not hurt. He’s safe. I know you'd never forgive me if I hurt an animal. He's locked in a room. I had to get time alone with you, to convince you to come with me, but I didn't hurt any of the animals.”
“Did—were you the reason the horses were out?” The sudden realization hit me. Ethan grinned creepily.
“What are you doing here?” I cleared my throat to try and steady my voice. “I need you to leave.”
“Listen, sweetheart, you sound scared. I just want my girl back.” Ethan took a few steps forward, and I backed up behind the island, putting space between us.
I gripped the countertop in an attempt to steady myself. “I'm not your girl. I was until you hurt me. Leave.” My voice came out forceful despite how shaky I was.
“Okay, I'll leave, but I want you to come with me.” He reached out a hand and took another step towards the island.
“I will not be going anywhere with you. Leave. Now. Before I start screaming.”
“I don't think you'll be doing that.” He pulled a pocket knife off his belt, causing a chill to go up my spine. “Just come with me and we can be in love again. I saw how you were with him. You—”
I cut him off, yelling, in an attempt to sound more angry than scared. “You mean you stalked me, trespassed, and then took photos of him and I naked? That's what you mean.”
Duke hadn't stopped growling and barking, and now he was clawing at the door he was locked behind. I was hopeful my raised voice would make him bark louder. Maybe Caleb would hear even though he was still at the barn.
“His fault for leaving the curtains open. I saw a lot more than that. He doesn't know how you like to be touched, Rae. He doesn't know you like I do.” He took a couple steps, making his way around the island, glass shards crunching under his shoes as he kicked them out of the way.
I continued to circle the kitchen island as he did, waiting for the perfect moment I could make a run for the front door. Duke's barking had not been heard by Caleb yet.
“He doesn't have your best interest at heart. You've not lost weight since being here. Probably all that wine and pizza.” He pointed the knife at my stomach and thighs. I suddenly remembered what I was wearing and wrapped Caleb’s flannel tighter around me. “Keeping the curtain open while you sleep is unsafe. Eating processed foods, making you fat... That’s not good either.”
I've got to keep him talking until Caleb gets back. Come on, Rae. You can do this.
“I actually have lost weight since being here, since I'm working on the farm.” I took a shaky breath. “And Caleb loves my curves.”
“No he doesn't, Rae. He just knew you were easy and would get in bed with him.
I'm the one that loves you, and I'm actually glad I caught you like this.” He motioned again to my body.
“It will make our reunion that much easier.” His voice sounded angrier, and the way he looked at me, in nothing but my undergarments and a flannel, sent chills up my spine.
The look in his eyes was worse than the night he hurt me.
I pulled Caleb's flannel tighter around my body, trying to cover as much skin as possible.
“Ethan, please. Go. Now. I'm happy here.
If you love me, like you say you do, you'll let me stay happy. Here.” We'd continued to round the island slowly, and I was hoping something would distract him so I could run to the front door and escape.
Caleb, please come back soon.
As if Caleb read my thoughts, I heard him outside thanking Luke for calling him, and for his help. He was coming back to the house—thank goodness!
Hearing Caleb's voice getting closer, Ethan's expression turned desperate. I looked away just long enough to look at the front door. Ethan came up behind me, wrapping a big hand over my mouth, stifling a scream.
“You're coming with me now or your hillbilly gets his throat cut.”
I nodded quickly, fighting the tears that had begun to flood my eyes.
As soon as Caleb's boots hit the front steps, he must have heard Duke’s barking and growling, because his footsteps immediately picked up as he ran to the front door.
“Rae! Rae, baby! It's me! Open the door!”
I realized then that he hadn't taken his keys because I should have been able to let him in. None of this should have happened.
Ethan led me to the basement door, and I quickly realized that was how he got in the house.
I realized he was probably hiding in the spare room and it wasn't Caleb who opened the door.
At the bottom of the basement stairs, I saw the walkout door open.
The lock had been tampered with, from the looks of it.
Ethan pushed me to the door, his hand still over my mouth, and the knife still at my side on my bare skin.
“Move,” he ordered.
I heard Caleb at the front of the house banging on the windows and calling for me. I wanted to call for him, to tell him where I was so he could save me, but I couldn’t with Ethan’s hand over my mouth and a knife at my side.
I heard a loud noise along with glass shattering. Caleb must have broken one of the windows on the front of the house in an attempt to get inside.
As we exited the basement, Ethan tripped on an uneven spot in the grass, causing the knife to cut my arm and side as we fell.
Pain exploded into a ringing that drowned everything else out for a moment.
I placed my hand on my side and felt a small bit of blood trickling down my fingers and side.
Tears fell from my eyes now. The spots where the knife had cut me burned as I moved, causing me to cry out.
Wait, he’s not holding his hand over my mouth. He still hasn't gotten back to me yet! I screamed. I screamed as loud as I possibly could and yelled Caleb's name.
“You stupid bitch.” Ethan stood and grabbed me by the arm, yanking me up from the ground. He smacked my face and then stepped closer to me as he said something I couldn’t focus on. I could only focus on the pain and wonder where Caleb was.
Ethan spun me around so I was facing away from him, and he pinned my injured arm behind my back, causing the skin around the cuts to pull painfully tight.
He pushed me forward slightly, and the pain caused me to feel lightheaded.
“Go to the tree line. Now,” he ordered, shoving the knife against my side again.
Through the open basement door, I could hear Caleb searching the house, calling for me.
Ethan continued to push me forward, the space around us growing darker the farther we went.
By the time I heard Caleb’s voice again, we were already in the shadows.
I could see Jenny’s trailer a few hundred feet from us, and it pained me to know I was so close, but I couldn't call for Jenny’s help either.
Ethan turned us slightly to look behind us, and I saw Caleb pacing outside of the basement as he was calling my name.
It had probably only been a few minutes since Ethan had gotten his hands on me, but each minute of him touching me, in any way, felt like an eternity.
We were a few feet from the tree line and I froze.
I hated the dark, and he knew that. I looked at him with pleading eyes, hoping that there was some part of him that still cared about me.
A part of him that remembered, and cared, that I didn’t like the dark.
He was mostly the reason why it scared me, but I could only hope there was a bit of a soul left in him.
Ethan nudged me again and growled “keep moving” to me.
I looked at him and shook my head, hoping he would see the fear in my eyes and his heart would soften even a little.
With his hand still around my mouth, he pulled me in, close to his face.
“Oh, sweetheart... I remember. I remember how much you hate the dark. So, this—” he poked the wound on my side with the knife, causing me to scream into his hand, that was still over my mouth—“is going to be fun for me. This is because you left me.” I could smell his breath, like he hadn’t brushed his teeth in a week, and it made me feel like gagging.
He pushed me into the trees and the sounds of Caleb calling for me faded into the night. The brush and weeds scratched at my bare skin, causing more pain than I already felt.
When we made it to the other side of the tree line, I saw a van across the road. No. Please. This cannot be happening. I knew the second that I got into the van, the odds of Caleb locating me quickly, or even at all, would slip away.
He walked me up to the passenger side door and put the knife up to my throat. “Before I take away my hand to open the door, I want you to know something. Just know, if you try screaming, I will slit your throat immediately. Do you understand?”
I nodded and a whimper sound came out. I couldn’t stop the tears from falling now.
“Good girl. See, I just want what's best for you. I wish you could see that. We're going to be so happy now that we're back together.” His fingers brushed my ribs, and bile burned the back of my throat. He took his hand off my mouth and I immediately threw up in the dirt.
Ethan opened the passenger side door of the van and sighed. “You done being dramatic?” He tightened his grip on my arm as soon as I was done, and then he shoved me inside and shut the door.
The inside of the van smelled so bad, it made my eyes burn. As he went around to the driver side, I looked in the back and saw a few days' worth of clothes and paper bags from multiple fast-food restaurants. There was also something that looked like white paint dried on the seat and floor.
Has he been watching me for several days? How long has he been here?
Ethan got in the van and looked at me with what I assumed was his attempt at looking lovingly at me. Ethan leaned in, the knife in his hand placed at my stomach. He grabbed my face and kissed my cheek. I pulled away as best as I could, fighting the next wave of nausea that was creeping up on me.
“Fine. You don't want to kiss me yet? You will.” Ethan reached into the back seat and picked up some balled-up fabric. He shook it out and I realized what it was—a pillowcase. He was going to blindfold me. “No, Ethan. Please. Please don’t do...” He violently threw it over my head, pulling it down hard, before he had the knife at my side again.
The tears wouldn’t stop as Ethan started the engine, which made a loud sputtering sound, causing me to jump. He began to drive and switched the knife to his right hand, pressing it to my arm, so I knew not to move.
The next thing he said to me was in such a chilling tone, I knew I would hear it in my nightmares.
“Let's go home, Sweetheart.”