Lily

She moved so she was leaning over the edge of the bed, her feet on the floor and tried to feel around with her toes. It was impossibly slow going. A lot of bottles of pills that rattled, jars, boxes, a pair of scissors that she tried and failed to pick up with her toes and random small things, including an open safety pin that she did pick up since it rammed into the bottom of her foot.

She was resting, exhausted and in pain when he came back in.

"Jesus! What the hell, Lily?" he demanded, coming in and looking around. "Look at this mess! I told you to rest!"

He went to her, swatted her bottom that was bent over the bed, then laid her down. It wasn't hard, just enough to infuriate her. "Don't you DARE touch me! You... creep!"

"You just lay down and be still while I clean up your mess!" he said angrily. "Were you looking for these?" he asked, pulling the keys out of his pocket. "Unlike you, I am not an idiot."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Then stop acting like one! Look at you! Look how far you pushed yourself! Why is your foot bleeding, what did you do? Stop kicking at me or I really will spank you! Spoiled brat!" He held her feet down with one hand, gripping her ankles in a vice grip while he looked at the bottom of her foot. "Step on a tack? It's just a little hole that bled a lot. You're fine."

"I never said I wasn't! You ASSHOLE! Let me go!"

He stood up, half shoving her feet. "If you think I am going to let you treat me like shit just because I am a nice guy, you have another thing coming!"

"You aren't a nice guy, you are a kidnapper!"

"What the fuck? I saved you! I got you out of there before they all raped you again and before they let the staff rape you too. I got you to safety and I am keeping you safe!"

"Because you want me for yourself! A real nice guy would have taken me to the police, told them what was going on, not brought me here and washed away all the evidence like his daddy's good little boy!"

"The police would have handed you right back to him and fuck you! I thought you would want all that cum off of you!"

"You wanted to put your hands on me!"

"When I put my hands on you, you will be awake for it and begging me not to stop," he growled.

"You lay a hand on me and I will cut your tiny dick off and feed it to you!"

"As if I even want to touch you now! You're nothing but an ungrateful, spoiled bitch! I have no idea what I ever saw in you!"

He stormed out and Lily deflated, then curled up and sobbed, defeated. She finally cried herself to sleep, then woke up with a start and a cry from a nightmare. She sat up, panting and looking around in the dark, then remembered where she was. Her hands were uncuffed and she desperately needed the ladies room.

"R...Ryan?" she whispered.

"What?" he answered sleepily from a foot away. He had to have been sitting on a chair next to the bed.

"I need the restroom."

He turned on the light and helped her up, then led her to the small half bathroom down the hall. No window, so she knew it was on purpose. He closed the door and she quickly went, then washed her hands before quietly opening the medicine cabinet. Empty. The cupboard below the sink was also empty save for an extra roll of toilet paper. She came out glowering at him and he curled his lip.

"I'm not an idiot," he repeated, leading her back to the bedroom.

"I'm hungry."

"I brought you food but you acted like a brat, so no dinner."

"You aren't funny."

"I'm not joking. You can't treat people like you do and expect them to be nice to you."

"I don't have to be nice to my kidnapper!"

"I. Saved. You. Get it right."

"And now you are holding me here against my will! I want my phone!"

"You left it there."

"I need to call Terri."

"It's 3 AM. Go back to sleep."

"No! I slept all day, I'm not tired."

"How long have you been having nightmares? You whimper in your sleep, cry out for help. Until that last scream woke you up."

"None of your business. You are watching me sleep, you creep?"

"I am staying close in case you need something, brat. And so you don't try something idiotic like running. And I wasn't watching you, I was trying to sleep, but it's hard to do with you making so much noise!"

"I'm hungry."

"Too bad."

"Look, I haven't eaten since the appetizers at the party and a couple bites of bread."

"Lay down and go to sleep."

"No! I'm hungry! I'll get it myself," she snarled, trying to get out of the bed.

"You set foot off that bed and I will welt your bottom," he snapped. "Stay right there and I will get you a fucking sandwich."

Lily moved to the end of the bed and leaned on the wrought iron baseboard, looking into the kitchen where he was. There was a door in the kitchen, and past the kitchen, a living room. She realized, looking around, that this wasn't a bedroom she was in, it was an alcove off the kitchen where they had an extra day bed for guests. He didn't want her in one of the bedrooms? She wondered why that was.

He came back in and thrust a sandwich at her.

She took it, glaring at him. "What is it?"

"Ham and cheese with mustard. You don't like it, I will throw it away and you can go hungry."

Still glaring, she took a bite.

"You're welcome," he huffed, throwing himself back down into the lazy boy he had dragged in.

"I said I would do it myself! You don't get to be pissy because you refused to let me do it!"

"It's still polite to thank someone when they do something for you! Like send you flowers. You don't throw them away, you say thank you!"

"Yes, thanks so much for pursuing me after I made it clear I wasn't interested and making me super uncomfortable at work! Thanks for allowing me to have food that I said I would get myself! Thanks for holding me here against my will!"

"You have one minute to eat that," he said angrily.

"Or what?"

"Or you will starve after I put this ball gag in your mouth to shut you up!"

"Oh, that's real fucking nice! Thanks, my hero, for bringing me here and cuffing me to a bed and gagging me. Not creepy and kidnapperish or stalkerish at all, you're just a nice, solid dude who is misunderstood, right?"

"Thirty seconds."

"Dick," she snapped, then went back to eating her sandwich.

He sat glaring, watching her eat, waiting for her to finish. She took the last bite, then scooted back against the wall to glare back at him, silently daring him to do his worst.

"You keep treating me like I am the enemy," he finally said, his tone softer. "I'm not the enemy. Hate me all you want, but we do have a mutual enemy. You can work with me long enough to make sure they don't get their hands on you, right?"

"You are them. You have been letting this happen for how long? Just because you saved one single girl, that doesn't make you a hero. You wouldn't have bothered at all if it wasn't the girl you had been stalking. You could have gone to someone, someone higher up than cops, the FBI or something and blown this open a long time ago. You haven't. You aren't even doing it now, you are just hiding one single girl. Not out of the goodness of your heart, but because you want her for yourself. You didn't even try to keep it from happening, you let it happen before you took me out of there. No, Ryan. You are the enemy. You may think I am, but I am not an idiot and I will never see you as anything but a creepy little stalker who is afraid of daddy, no matter how much you try and convince me you are helping. The only person you are helping is yourself."

"Shut up! You are so full of shit! You said you never gave me a chance because I was too short. What kind of shallow, self absorbed bitch does that? Then treats a guy like he is less than dirt because he dares look in her direction? Yeah, I followed you after I found out what was going to happen to you. I was waiting to get you alone so that I could keep you out of their hands, but you were never alone. And yeah, I thought it was shitty what that band guy did to you, making you think he was a nice guy when he was just cheating on his girlfriend. I was doing you a favor when I deleted your number."

"It wasn't your choice to make! I didn't want to date him, I wanted a little bit of fun!"

"So you were just going to fuck him."

"Not your business."

"So even for fun, to blow off steam, it has to be a freakishly tall guy?"

"Not your business."

"You are such a cunt," he said, shaking his head. "Everett was right, girls like you aren't worth it. You think because you are hot and tight bodied now that it will last forever and you can run over hearts like they don't matter. When you are looking for a good guy down there road, there are none left because girls like you fucked them over. You'll be one of those pathetic bitches on a barstool who's hoping anyone will be willing to take them home that night."

"You don't know anything about me! I have had three boyfriends my whole life! My highschool sweetheart and I broke up when he went away to college and cheated on me. My college sweetheart and I broke up when he cheated on me, and I broke up with my last boyfriend because he was into gaming more than he was into me. So tell me again about how I just run over hearts. Just because I said no to you. You creeped me out from day one. It wasn't just that you were too short, you have a creep vibe."

"I'm not listening to this," he said, getting up.

Lily tried to dodge out of his reach, but she ended up checking her chin on the wrought iron baseboard and ringing her own bell. He had the gag in her mouth and was securing the cuffs when she finally blinked her vision back to normal.

"That was karma," he said, his lip curling. "And now I don't have to listen to you anymore. Go to sleep."

"Mph?"

He sighed, then pulled the gag off of her, but she just worked her jaw and moment and blinked some more.

"May I please have some water and something for my headache?" she asked, her head pounding too badly for her to yell anymore.

He quietly helped her sit enough to put two pills on her tongue and tip a water bottle up to her lips.

"Thanks," she whispered, wincing at the pain. Could jaws dislocate? She was pretty sure if they could that hers was.

He turned her face to his and thumbed her eyelids back. "Maybe you shouldn't sleep," he said, frowning. "You may have given yourself a concussion."

"Ok... just... in a few minutes?" she asked, pulling away and closing her eyes.

He sighed again and debated, then decided to let her sleep. She curled up on her side, huddling and he pulled the blankets up, then turned the lights off. In a few minutes, she was whimpering again and jerking fitfully. He leaned up and put a hand on her head to check for a fever, but she had none. She did go still though. He eased his hand back and in seconds, she started mewling and whimpering again. He put a hand on her arm and she went still again. He sighed, moving his chair closer so he could hold her hand as she slept. Not that she deserved it.

He shifted an hour later, pulling his hand up to lean against his fist as he slept and moments later, she woke up screaming again.

"Hey, shhhh, easy," he mumbled, grasping for the hand he had been holding.

"Don't touch me!" she shrieked, pulling away as far as the cuffs would let her.

"Calm down, I was just trying to help. Jeez. I like you better when you are asleep."

"Like your dad does? Creep."

He sighed and got up, getting something for his headache, then offering her some as well. She took it without saying anything and he held the bottle up.

She looked away. "Thanks."

He grunted and went to the kitchen to make breakfast.

"You still have coffee?" she called in to him.

"It got cold and I dumped it."

He brought her in a plate of scrambled eggs and undid her cuffs before going back to the kitchen.

"Can I have a shower while you do that?" she asked loudly around mouthfuls.

"After, when I am done and can watch you."

"Creep!"

"Not like that! I am not leaving you alone in a room with a window."

"Do I look like I can get up and through a window?"

"You don't look like you could move a wrought iron bed and jerk a drawer out with your feet, but you did."

"Well if you let me shower alone, I promise I won't try and sneak out the window."

"How can I trust you?"

"Look, I really don't want a guy close to me right now, ok? I want to shower and get the feel of hands off me and I want to do it alone."

"I will turn around and work. I'm not leaving you alone, it's not happening so drop it."

Lily sighed and looked down at the empty plate. "Can I have more, please?"

He looked around the corner, looking surprised. "Wow, you really are hungry," he said, taking the plate. He brought her back more and she devoured it. "More?" he asked curiously.

"No thanks. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"No reason," he said quickly, going back to the kitchen.

She got up and went out to the kitchen. She eyed the door, but sat down in a chair as he looked over at her warily. "You cook?"

"I can scramble eggs, boil water, make toast. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich or ham and cheese."

"So, essentials."

"Yeah," he answered, eyeing her warily again. She was being almost nice which meant she was up to something.

"Is there anything to drink in the fridge?"

"Whole milk or tap water is all there is to drink."

"Can I get myself a glass of milk?"

"I'll get it, but don't do anything stupid," he said, going to the cupboard to get a glass.

She shot up out of her chair and to the front door, jerking on the handle. He finished making the milk without saying anything, then set it on the table.

"I told you not to," he said softly. "Sit down and drink your milk while I eat."

She gave a final yank on the locked door and then sat down sulkily.

"You said you weren't going to try and escape."

"I said if you let me shower alone I wouldn't try and get out the window."

"I gave you a chance to prove yourself, I guess I can't trust you. More's the pity. Finish your milk."

She drank her milk quietly, looking dejected and broken again. He felt awful, but she refused to understand he was doing this for her.

As soon as he was done, she got up and went and did dishes. He watched her warily, noting how close she was to the knives. She never reached for one, just stood at the sink, washing awkwardly with as short as she was. She finished and turned, waiting.

"Back here," he said, leading her down the long hall with bedroom doors shut tight. He took her into the master bedroom and through to the master bath. It was big and roomy with a walk-in marble shower. He locked the door and sat on the edge of the tub, facing the door and away from her. She showered, hiding from him and standing in the hot water. She let herself break down again, trying to wash away the feel of hands, the nightmares of all the groping hands and the laughter.

The water turned off and she realized she was on the floor of the shower, freezing cold and sobbing. Ryan wrapped her in a huge towel and picked her up, then wrapped her in another as she sobbed. "I can't wash them off!"

"I know. Hey, it's ok, I have you and they will never touch you again. Come on." He took her back to the bed and set her down, drying her off as she shivered violently. He pulled out an old t-shirt and pulled it over her head before moving the towel, then laid her back down before wrapping her in the blankets. He stood up, looking down at her worriedly.

"Are you leaving?" she asked fearfully.

"No! I will be right back, I just need to get my laptop and phone. I have to work today, remotely. No one can know I am not there. Ok? Sit tight."

He hurried, a little stressed now. He knew the breakdown was going to come, but he hadn't expected it yet. He guessed if she remembered her first date with Luke that it was a few days coming. He sat down after pulling the chair close to her and stroked her hair back while he opened his laptop with his other hand and dialed his phone. She was quiet through his phone call, which surprised him. He was ready to say he had the TV on and cover her mouth, but she never made a peep. He looked at her constantly, her eyes wide and unseeing. He hung up.

"Lily? You alright?"

"No."

"I will stay right here close, I promise."

"I want to go home. I want my mom!" She broke down again and he felt helpless as he pulled her close, then into his lap.

He rocked her and held her, speaking soothing words as he stroked her hair, until finally she settled down. She fell back to sleep, one small hand out of the blankets, clutching his shirt. His heart ached with a physical need as he looked down at her. He managed to set his laptop on the bed and work remotely... very slowly with one hand, but he did it. She slept soundly, not a twitch or a whimper and he felt a contentment in that. She really was nice when she was asleep.

He leaned in and kissed her gently, then closed his eyes and tried to imagine. A nice date that had gone well and he was kissing her for the first time at her door. She invites him up and shows him her apartment, the bedroom last. Asks him to unzip her and he slides her dress off to reveal nothing underneath...

He opened his eyes and looked down at her perfect, sleeping face and leaned in to kiss her again. Her fingers tightened around his shirt, clutching as she shifted and he watched her face carefully. Her eyebrows furrowed and she twisted again, then cried out, "Ryan?" as she came awake panting.

"Right here! I'm right here!" he said soothingly, his heart soaring. She had called out for him!

She pressed in tighter, hiding her face in his chest and he went back to working with one hand as he held her close.

"You smell nice," she said after an hour had passed.

"Yeah, a gift from my mom. It should smell nice as much as it costs. Feeling better?"

She made a noise that could mean anything.

"You warm now? You want a blanket off?"

"I'm fine."

"You want back on the bed?"

"I'm fine."

"Do you want anything?"

"Coffee."

He half laughed. "Yeah, I could go for some caffeine too. If I go, I will have to cuff you?"

"Ok."

He stood and set her on the bed and she moved to sit up against the headboard so he could cuff her to it. She looked so lost and sad.

"Be back in fifteen. Anything else?"

"Is there a place with real food? Some tacos or something?"

"Coffee and tacos," he smiled. "Got it."

When he came back, he half expected to find another mess, but she was exactly where he had left her, her head on her hands, staring at nothing.

He set the food on the table and uncuffed her, then hesitated before picking her up and carrying her into the kitchen. She held onto him like it was not only alright, but normal and she wanted him to. He was loath to set her down, but he made himself be patient. Once he unwrapped her tacos, she seemed to snap out of it a little and look at the food. She sat up and ate and sipped her coffee and she almost looked normal and pleasant.

He watched her, his heart pounding again like it had the first time he saw her. She was so perfect! At least she looked perfect. Her tongue was acid and her heart was stone, but maybe he could get her to come around. Did he want her to? Yeah, he really did. He had been pining after her for so long before he had gotten the nerve to speak to her. He didn't want one night of strained emotions to ruin everything.

"Good? You full? I got extra in case."

"I'm fine. Thanks.You know what kind of coffee I like?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's always written on your cup and we have ridden the elevator together a hundred times. I have more work to do. You want to stay out here, or...?"

"Can we go in the living room so I can watch TV or something? Anything to get my mind off things."