My hands started to shake and tears came to my eyes.

I can escape. I can go through the vents and run home. So why? Why can't I move?

I fell to my knees as tears flowed down my cheeks.

What is wrong with me?

I heard the door open behind me and then noticed him kneel next to me. I stared at the screwdriver in my hands, knowing that he was watching me. My tears were pooling in my hands, drowning the metal tool as my inner war came to an end.

This man, for some reason, hasn't harmed me despite the situation. I want to know...No, I need to know why. Why was he hired to kidnap me?

"You could've escaped." He stated and grabbed the screwdriver from my hands. My sobbing finally subsided and I wiped my tears away with my sleeves.

"How much?" I whispered.

"What?" I looked over at him angrily to see his eyes were tinted with confusion.

"How much are you getting paid?" I asked louder. His eyes calmed in understanding and then looked down at the tear covered screwdriver in his hand.

"One mil." He said softly and then stood up and held out a hand to me. "Come on, I want to suggest something." I looked up at him. I was starting to see this man in a different way. He wasn't just some monster who kidnapped me now. He seemed more...human. I took his hand and he helped me stand up. He kept a hold of my hand as he led me to the door that he had used to go in and out of the warehouse. As soon as we stepped outside, I held my arm up above my eyes from the bright sun.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To where you'll hopefully be staying from now on instead of tied to that chair." He responded as he led me to a building a few yards away. When we walked in, I saw that it was a small apartment. A kitchenette was to the left of the room along with a small table and two chairs. A bed sat on the other side of the room with a tv. Across from us I saw a door that I concluded must have been the bathroom.

"Where are we?" I asked as I inspected the place.

"This is where I've been staying." He said as he sat down on the bed. I looked over at him with wide eyes.

"This is your home?" I asked.

"No, I live in Arizona."

We aren't in Arizona anymore?

"What state are we in now?"

"I can't tell you that." He said and then grabbed a worn looking book from the nightstand.

"I'm confused. You're not going to tie me up again?"

"Nope. As long as you don't try to run away anymore." He responded calmly as he read his book.

"How long are you supposed to keep me here?" I asked as I walked closer to him.

"Not sure yet. My client said to keep you here until he said otherwise." He seemed completely unfazed by this as he focused on reading.

"And I'm just supposed to go along with this?" I sat down next to him on the bed and he glanced at me out of the corner of his eye.

"Do you have much of a choice? You know I'm going to catch you no matter what you try to do. And should I mention the moment that you could have run but you didn't."

"I guess you're right." I mumbled to myself. I looked around the room again before realizing something. "Wait...where am I supposed to sleep?"

"You'll sleep in the bed. I will sleep over there." He said and pointed to the door.

"You're going to sleep outside?" He shook his head and his lips turned up a bit in the faintest smile.

"No, I will sit against the door so you can't run away. It's the only exit since the windows can't be opened." As I thought about what he said, it all started to make sense.

"You're going to sleep sitting up?" I asked and he nodded in response. I looked around the room again and stared at the door to the bathroom.

I haven't had a shower in days...

"What is it?" He asked suddenly, bringing my attention to look at him. He still seemed to be reading but had obviously paid attention to what I was doing.

"Can I...take a shower?"

"Yeah, I guess that's ok." He said and set his book down on the nightstand. He stood up and led me into the bathroom. He showed me how to work the knobs and gave me a towel to use when I was done. After he left, I took off my grungy clothes and stepped into the warm water. I sighed in happiness as I let the dirt, grime, and sweat that I had accumulated over the last few days wash away.

I wonder how long it's been? I know I've for sure been here for one night but I also don't know how long I was knocked out for when he first captured me.

As I rinsed and scrubbed my body, I thought about what my next steps would be.

I have to figure out who hired him.

As I stepped out of the shower, I dried off and then looked down at my tattered clothing. Wondering what I should do, I wrapped the towel around my body. I opened the door a tad and peeked out. I saw him sitting on the bed, reading his book.

"Hey, John." I whispered, feeling a small blush color my cheeks. He looked up and when he saw me, his eyes widened.

This is so embarrassing but I really don't want to put those nasty clothes back on.

"Wh-what are you doing?!" He blocked his view of me with his hand as he stuttered.

"I'm sorry. I just don't want to put my dirty clothes back on. Is there anything else I can wear instead?" I asked as I pulled the door closed a little more to hide my body.

"Geez. Yeah, just hold on." He kept his hand up as he grabbed a black duffle bag and pulled out some clothes. He walked backwards towards me and then handed the clothes to me.

"Thank you." I whispered and then closed the door. I held the shirt up in front of me to see it a little better. It was a dark grey and looked like it was three sizes too big but it would have to do. I unwrapped the towel and slipped the shirt on. It hung down to my mid thigh and the end of the sleeves went down to my elbows. I looked at the shorts he had given me and sighed.

How am I supposed to get these to fit?

I pulled them up and rolled the the tops three times so they would stay up. I looked in the full length mirror on the back of the door and nodded at myself.

This'll have to do.

I gathered up my dirty clothes and walked out of the bathroom. I looked around for a place to put them when he pointed to another duffle bag while he kept reading.

"Put them in there. I'll clean them later." He said and I did as I was told. I combed my fingers through my wet hair and directed my attention to John.

"Thanks for the clothes." I said as I walked over and sat next to him. He glanced over at me and seemed to look over my body.

"Your welcome." He said and pulled the book closer to his face. I finally took the time to look at the cover.

"What are you reading?" I asked as I examined it but it was pretty worn so I couldn't really make out the words too well.

"To Kill a Mockingbird." My eyebrows rose up in surprise. Catching my reaction, he put the book down and narrowed his eyes at me. "What?"

"I'm just surprised. I mean, you don't seem like the kind of guy who would read something like that." I explained.

"You don't know anything about me." He pointed out and I nodded slowly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. I still don't even know your real name." He stared at me and I started to feel uncomfortable under his gaze. I noticed his hand again and I grabbed it. "We really should put some ice on this." I said and then stood up to walk to the kitchen. I started opening up drawers and searching through them.

"What're you looking for?" He asked and I turned around to see he was standing by the table.

"Ziplock bag to put the ice in and a cloth to wrap the bag in." He walked past me to a cabinet and grabbed out a bag and handed it to me and then a red hand towel. I walked straight to the freezer and pulled out a handful of ice cubes and placed them in the bag. Once I sealed it shut, I wrapped the hand towel around it. I sat down at the table and motioned for him to sit down, too. After he did, I pulled my chair close to him so I could reach him easier. I took his hand into my lap and placed the ice on it.

"How does it feel?" I asked and looked up at him as I held the ice in place. He shrugged in response and I frowned. "What does that mean? Doesn't it hurt?"

"Not really, I'm used to stuff like this."

Used to it?

"What do you mean?"

"I get injuries like this a lot...what do you think I do for a living?"

"I don't know. A free agent kidnapper?" I frowned at my own response. His lips turned up slightly into a small smile.

"You are very naive." He said with a shake of his head.

"Then tell me!" I said angrily.

"I think I'll pass. You don't really want to know."

"Yes, I do!" His smile turned to a straight line.

"No. You don't." I pushed the ice down harder on his hand but he didn't seem to notice.

"Fine." I turned my gaze away from him and pouted.

"Don't do that. I'm just trying to protect you." A flutter went through my belly and I looked up at him.

"From what?" His eyes narrowed and clouded over with something I didn't understand.

"Are you hungry? It's about time for lunch." He said, avoiding my question. I bit my lower lip and looked down at his injured hand.

"Sure, but let me cook. You need to keep the ice on your hand." I said as I stood up and walked over to the fridge. I grabbed some ingredients and started cooking. I tried to ignore his gaze but I couldn't help but feel nervous. After I finished, I set the food on a couple of paper plates. I set a dish in front of him and then sat down with my own food.

"Thank you." He said as he started eating the chicken. I smiled and nodded before taking a bite of my own.

"Do you really not know who hired you?" I asked cautiously. He stopped eating for a moment, seeming frozen in place.

"No."

"I just want to know what's really going on." I said more to myself than to him. He started eating again and I noticed he seemed upset.

"What's wrong?" I asked. He set his fork down and looked up at me. Our eyes met and I felt trapped by his gaze.

"Why aren't you scared of me?" He asked. My eyes widened a little from surprise.

"I don't know...I guess because...you seem like you don't want to be doing this." I explained out loud what I was trying just to understand in my own mind.

I could have escaped...but I didn't. So why?