Author's note: I should be doing homework, but I would much rather be writing :)

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A horrible pain was running down the side of my temple. My dry mouth was filled with an awful taste. I moved my heavy mouth from side to side to try and build up some saliva. I swallowed and my throat burned.

I peeled my eyes open, and the light coming through the window caused the pain to spread across my skull. I groaned, and tried to roll over onto my side. My body was stuck, and something tore into my wrists. I looked up, and realized I didn't have my glasses on because the room was blurry. I squinted to see that thick coils of rope were binding my hands to a wooden headboard.

The awful taste of bile filled my mouth. The last thing I could remember was Gabe on top me with a needle. I pulled my arms down, and the rope burned into my wrists. I gritted my teeth as I tried to pull myself free. I twisted my body from side to side hoping that it would loosen the the knot.

My bare legs rubbed each other as I rolled my body to the side. I looked down to see that my naked body was covered by a blanket. I lifted my head a bit to see that the only thing I had on was the gold necklace in the shape of a dove that my mom had given me for graduation.

I let my heavy head fall back onto the pillow. The tears pricked at the back of my eyes.

How could I be so stupid? How could I possibly think that it was a good idea to go into a strange man's hotel room? I should have called my mom. I should have called her crying, told her about Owen cheating on me, and begged for her to give me some money. She would have done it. Now, I'm kidnapped and probably going to be sold into sex trafficking.

A door creaked open, and I took in a sharp breath. My warm tears were rolling down my cheeks. A tall figure walked into the room, and did not come into focus until it sat on the edge of the bed. Gabe was sitting beside me. He reached forward and wiped the tears off of my cheeks with his calloused hand.

"Please." My voice cracked. "Please, just let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone."

"There's nowhere to go," he said. "You're staying here."

I squeezed my eyes shut, and a few more tears escaped.

"Leah, don't be upset," he said. "I brought you home. You were all alone, and we have brought you into our family."

"I am a family," I said. "They're going to wonder where I am."

"That family all the way in Alaska? That is your birth family. We are your real family. We are going to take care of you."

"Please." I pulled against the ropes.

Gabe's hand covered my wrist, and I stopped moving.

"Don't hurt yourself," he said. "My son, Jared, just turned twenty years old. It was time for me to go out and find him a wife, and I found you."

"What are you talking about?" I asked. I was gasping for breath between the sobs that were racking my body. "You can't do that."

"Yes, I can. It is this family's tradition."

Gabe stood up, and walked over to the the doorway. He poked his head out into the hallway.

"Lindsay, come here," he yelled.

A smaller figure hurried into the room.

"Can you clean up Leah?" Gabe asked. "Jared will be done outside in an hour."

"Yes, I will," the woman said.

"I will untie her," he said. "She is still pretty weak from the sedation. If she gives you any trouble just call me. I'll be downstairs."

Gabe came over to the head of the bed. I gritted my teeth as the ropes shifted across my skin as Gabe untied the knots holding me in place. My shoulders screamed out in pain as my arms dropped after being set free. I cradled my hands to my chest, and rolled onto my side. I curled up into a ball, and continued to cry. I buried my face in my hands. My head was throbbing so much I could barely think about what was going on.

Someone brushed a piece of my hair away from my face. The fingers were slim and soft, so I knew it was not Gabe. I looked up to see a woman crouching beside me. She had dark hair that was pulled back into a ponytail. Her skin was pale, and faint creases were formed around her eyes and lips. She had large dark eyes that seemed like they were way too big for her face.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'm not going to hurt you. My name is Lindsay. I'm Gabe's wife."

He told me that this was their family tradition. She must have been kidnapped too. If Jared was her son, she would have had to be here for twenty years. She had to help me get out of here. She must want to get out of here too.

"Please, help me," I said.

Lindsay's lips lifted into a soft smile. She tucked a few more of my stray hairs behind my ear.

"I am going to help you," she said. "Let's get you freshened up."

Lindsay got up off her knees, and went over to a room attached to the bedroom. She flicked on the light, and then there was the sound of water running.

I balled my fist into the blanket, and held it against my chest. My arm shook as I pushed myself up, and propped my weight up on my elbow. I slid my legs forward so that they were hanging off of the bed. I planted my feet on the cold ground, and pushed more of my weight off of the bed. My head was pounding, and my muscles could not find the strength to move. I managed to push myself up so that I was standing. My knees wobbled underneath me like my legs were made of jelly. When I took my hand off of the bed, I crumbled to the ground. I collapsed beside the bed. The blanket was still wrapped around my body and clutched in my fist.

Lindsay ran out of the bathroom, and got on her knees beside me. She held my head in her hands, and was checking it for any bumps or bleeding.

"Leah, are you okay?" she asked.

I groaned a response. I wanted to pull away from her, but every time I moved my head it was like a lightning bolt of pain shot across my temple.

"What happened in here?" I heard Gabe ask.

"I was just in the bathroom for a moment and she fell," Lindsay said. "I think she was trying to get out of bed."

"You're going to be a troublemaker, aren't you?" Gabe asked me.

He did not wait for a response. He bent down and scooped me up in his arms. He set me back down on the bed. I tried to roll away from him, but he grabbed my arm and kept me lying on my back.

"Don't give Lindsay a hard time," he said. "Or I will tie you to the bed again and Jared will have to deal with you. That's not a good way to start off. Understand?"

I managed to form a small nod.

"Good girl," he said, and then left the room.

Lindsay sat on the edge of the bed. She had a warm cloth in her hands, and began wiping the tears away from my face. She hummed softly as she clean the tears and dirt off of my face. A series of scars were littered up and down her arms. Thick white lines were decorating her skin.

"I've always wanted a daughter," Lindsay said. "I only have two boys: Jared and Theo. You'll love Jared. He can have a bit of a temper, but I promise that he has a good heart."

"I need to go home," I said.

"You are home," she said.

"Did they take you?"

"They saved me."

The tears poured from my eyes again. This woman was my only hope, and she was crazy. She was loving this life these kidnappers gave her. She said she had a second son. Hopefully, he had a wife who wasn't crazy yet.

Lindsay washed my neck, and then got to my chest. She stopped and picked up the pendant at the end of my necklace.

"This is really pretty," she said.

She got up off of the bed, and went back into the bathroom. She came back with a brush. I could barely lift my throbbing head off of the bed. Lindsay stack a few pillows behind my shoulders so that I was sitting up a bit higher. She combed through my tangled strands of blonde hair. My hands stayed clutching at the blanket over my chest.

"You are beautiful," she said. "Jared is going to be so happy."

The sound of a door slamming shut echoed through the house. It was followed by a series of soft voices. Lindsay got up off of the bed and put the brush back in the bathroom. She did not say anything to me as she left the room, and closed the door behind her.

I listen, paralyzed with fear, to the sound of footsteps and voices coming louder to the bedroom. I wanted to run away, but I couldn't even stand on my own.

The bedroom door opened, and another figure was standing in the doorway.