I woke up to the sound of a slamming door. I looked over my shoulder to see John walking past me and towards the table with the lamp on it. He grabbed the ointment off of it and walked over to me. He crouched down in front of me before speaking.

"How are your wrists?"

"They're sore, along with my entire body." I groaned as I stretched my limbs as much as I could. Sleeping upright the whole night had made me ache all over.

"I'll put some more medicine on them." He said, ignoring my latter comment. He moved behind me and cut the rope for my wrists. I pulled them in front of me as he walked back around. He unwrapped the bandages and put more ointment on my wrists. As he put new bandages on them, I tried to make my plan.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" I asked. After he finished wrapping my wrists he looked up at me.

"Yeah." He cut the rope around my ankles and I immediately shoved his shoulders so he fell to the ground. I ran straight for the door but slyly grabbed the screwdriver that I had spotted the day before. As I continued to run, I stealthily slipped it into my pants. I raced towards the door and grabbed the handle but felt arms wrap around my waist. I shoved my feet at the door, using the momentum to make us topple to the ground with me on top of him. I rolled off quickly and tried for the door handle again. He wrapped his legs around mine and grabbed my wrists with one hand. He then wrapped his other hand around the back of my head as we crashed to the ground. I felt his hand smash against the cement floor instead of my head. I looked up at him in shock; our faces only inches apart.

Did he...put his hand there on purpose?

"Why?" I breathed.

"I told you. My client asked for me to keep you safe. If I can, I'm supposed to keep you uninjured. I don't get a payday if you get hurt." He explained. I stared at him in disbelief.

That may be true but...

"You didn't have to go that far, though." I whispered. For some unknown reason I felt like I shouldn't talk too loud.

"Hm." He stared at me for a moment longer, seeming confused. He then released my legs and stood up, pulling me up into his arms. This time, I didn't fight him. I felt like I was paralyzed. He walked back to the chair and set me down in it. As I sat there, still in my trance, he tied my ankles to the chair again and my wrists behind me.

"I'm going to get some food for you. I'll be back soon, alright?" I heard him walk out and the door slam behind me once again. The screwdriver was painfully sticking into my skin from sitting down. I shimmied myself until it wasn't pinching me anymore and sighed in relief. I started thinking about the altercation I had earlier with John.

His hand is probably cut and bruised pretty badly. I wonder if he will take care of it.

I shook my head from my thoughts.

What am I thinking? He kidnapped me! I should hate him!

I looked over to the lamp and watched as the light glow from it flickered.

So why...am I so concerned for him?

I heard the door open behind me and I jumped from surprise. I turned my head so I could see him. He brought a plate up to me with eggs, toast and bacon. The aroma was so wonderful I couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Here." He held a fork full of eggs in front of me and I opened my mouth. As he fed me, I couldn't help but watch his face. He was so concentrated on his task that he didn't notice my gaze. His hair looked soft as it fell in small waves over his forehead. It was roughly cut just above his eyebrows like he had done it himself. His skin looked like he had bathed in the sun for too long and the corner of a tattoo peaked out along his neck. It was part of a word but only two letters showed.

Re? Rebel? Reaper? Resist?

As I pondered what the whole word might be, he kept feeding me. Once the food was gone, he helped me drink a bottle of water.

"You have to use the restroom?" He asked as I opened my mouth to speak. I closed it and nodded. He sighed and shook his head.

"If you promise you'll stop trying to run away." I blushed as I thought of the screwdriver in my pants.

"I promise." He walked over and cut away the rope on my ankles. I looked at his hand that had been crushed to see it had turned a dark purple with a few cuts that had continued to bleed.

"You should clean that up." I said softly. He glanced up at me and narrowed his eyes.

"And why do you care?" He asked. I looked away from his gaze.

I don't know.

"Because...you only got hurt because you were trying to protect me." I improvised. Seeming to ignore me, he helped me stand up and led me to the bathroom. I suddenly tripped over something and started to fall but he caught me in his arms. I looked up to his face and watched as he looked over my body like he had the day before.

"Are you hurt? Why did you trip?" He asked as he kept looking me over. I looked at where I had tripped and saw a crack in the cement.

Why? Why is he being nice to me despite the fact I'm his prisoner?

"Im fine, I think I just tripped over that." I said and nodded my head at where a piece of the cement was raised due to the crack. He stared at it for a moment before nodding and then held the door to the bathroom for me.

I walked in and he shut the door behind me. I stood there staring at the window in confusion. I slowly took the screwdriver from my pants and slid it so I could hold it right. I climbed on top of the toilet and tried to reach the vent but wasn't even close due to my hands being tied behind me. I sighed in defeat and got down. I used the toilet and then slid the screwdriver back into place. I tapped at the door with my foot and he opened it. He led me back to the chair and tied my ankles back up.

"Do you really have Jessie?" I asked nervously. He glanced up at me and then shook his head.

"No, I was just trying to get you to shut up...so don't look at me like that." He said as he avoided my gaze. I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"Like what?"

"Like you're gonna cry." He answered as he stood up in front of me.

He really doesn't like it when I cry. He got uncomfortable when I cried the day he kidnapped me, too.

"Am I the first girl you've ever kidnapped?" I asked cautiously. His eyes widened in surprise and then glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"No! Why would you even ask that?!" He walked away and slammed the door behind him.

Well, then...

I heard the door open and slam again behind me. His stomping footsteps led up to me and I cringed away from him, thinking he was about to hit me. I felt his hand on my shoulder and I opened my eyes to see he was standing in front of me with his eyes closed tightly. He looked like he was in pain but I didn't understand why. His hold on my shoulder tightened slightly and I stared at him, trying to figure out what was happening.

"Are you ok?" I asked hesitantly. He opened his eyes in surprise and took his hand off of me.

"Yes...I'm fine." I looked down to see he hadn't taken care of his hand yet.

"Let me help you." I said quietly, unsure of why I even wanted to help him.

"What?" He gave me a confused look and I nodded at his hand. He glimpsed at his hand and then back at me.

"I promise I won't try to run...I just want to clean up your hand." I whispered. He examined me for a while before cutting both my wrists and ankles loose. I grabbed a rag off the table and walked over to the sink and wetted it down. I turned around to see him standing right behind me. I went to back up from surprise at the closeness but bumped into the edge of the sink with my back. Trying to recover, I took his hand and placed the cold wash cloth onto it. He didn't even wince as he watched me.

"Thanks." He mumbled. I looked up to meet his eyes. We were so close, I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks.

"Um, no problem...doesn't it hurt, though?" I asked. He shrugged in response and I focused my attention back on his hand. I rubbed it lightly with the rag, cleaning all of the dirt and blood from it. I could see that there were three cuts on the top of his hand and two on his palm. His callouses were much clearer now as I studied his skin. I traced my fingers along his hand to see if I missed any other cuts. He shivered in response and I looked up at him. His cheeks had a slight shade of pink to them as he stared at me with wide eyes.

"What's wrong? Did I hurt you?" I asked. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

"No, no. I'm fine...I'm just not used to people touching me." He said and then looked down at our hands. I focused on his hand and noticed how swollen it was.

"Do you have any ice? We need some to get the swelling down."

"Yeah. I'll be right back." He said and then headed to the door. He stopped right as he opened it. "Don't run." He commented and then walked out. I stared after him in shock. When the door closed, I froze.

This is it. This is my chance.

I ran straight to the bathroom and stared up at the vent, feeling a rush of adrenaline run through me. I pulled the screwdriver from my pocket and stared down at it in amazement.

I'm going to be free!