That Summer (Part Two) (13 page)

“I’ll
go to the police.”

I’m
shocked by my own statement, not sure if I really meant it or not. I don’t know
if I could ever do that to Cole again. The phone call I made was the hardest
decision I’ve ever had to make and I don’t think I have the strength to put
either one of us through that for a second time.

“You
really think I’m going to make the same mistake twice? You think I’d let you
near a phone?” He taunts me.

“So
you’re planning on keeping me down here forever? You really have lost your mind
if you think that’s even possible.”

“I
don’t want to keep you down here, Serena. I want to be able to show you the
rest of the house and I want you to see our bedroom… if only I could trust you”

“Whose
house is this? Where are we?”

He
smirks at me, relishing in my discomfort and confusion.

“This
is our house, Green. Yours and mine.”

“You’re
deranged.” I inform him sharply, turning away from him.

“Serena,
I’ve spent the past year planning all of this and making the arrangements which
were necessary for us to live here.”

“How
could you do all of that when you were in prison?”

“I
have contacts.” He replies evasively.”

“God,
I don’t even want to know. Is there no end to your criminal activity?” I retort
disdainfully.

“Listen,
I want to untie you. I want you to let me take you upstairs, run you a hot bath
and give you something to eat.
Please
let me do that for you, Serena.”

He’s
practically begging, switching back to the Cole I once knew. It’s a painful
reminder of the man he used to be and I find myself softening towards him,
craving the affection he once would have shown me.

“And…
and I won’t have to come back down here?”

“Only
if you try to escape.” He answers me directly.

“You
know there are times when I’m going to have to leave the house, don’t you?”

“I
realise that but I’ll make sure I’m with you when you do.”

“Cole,
you can’t be with me twenty-four hours a day.”

I
exhale loudly, squirming with discomfort and vexation. I
need
to get out
of this room and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m willing to do anything to
make it happen.

“Can’t
I? Just watch me.”

He
turns on his heels and shuts the door behind him, leaving me in darkness once
more.

He
waits another half an hour before he comes back for me, apologising for the
delay before he gently unties me. He winces when he sees the abrasions to my
wrist, covering me with kisses as he promises he will fix everything.

“Baby,
I’m so sorry.” He whispers, carefully lifting my fragile body from the bed.
“I’ll make it all ok again, I promise. You don’t have to worry about a thing
now because I’m here and I’m going to take care of you.”

I’m
so weak, I honestly don’t think I have the strength to stand. Cole tried to
convince me that I had to eat something over the past few days but I refused,
nibbling on a dry piece of toast when my hunger became far too intense for me
to handle.

“I
feel sick.”

“Shh,
it’s ok.” He soothes me, placing a kiss against my forehead. “You’re just
hungry. You’ll feel so much better once you’ve had something to eat.”

“What’s
happening? Where are you taking me?”

“We’re
just going upstairs where I’m going to run you a nice hot bath and you’re going
to relax. I’ll fix you something to eat as well and then you can have a sleep.
I’ll show you around the rest of your house when you’re feeling better.”

“Don’t
make me go back down there.” I beg him. “Please don’t do it.”

He’s
still carrying me in his arms as we reach the top of the stairs. I guess I
really was locked in the basement and the knowledge of that is more than terrifying.

“I
promise you I won’t do that. I fucked up and I made a mistake but it won’t
happen again. I’ll take care of you from now on and no harm will come to you.”

He
continues to assure me and makes promises that I’m not certain he can keep. I
must fall asleep in his arms because the next thing I know, I’m waking up in a
different bed. It’s extremely comfortable and it would be so tempting to go
right back to sleep. However, the sound of water running from the en-suite
bathroom is enough to arouse my curiosity.

“Cole?”

My
voice still sounds croaky and my throat is exceptionally sore. I long for a
cold glass of water and hope I won’t have to wait too long for another drink.

“I’m
right here!” He calls out from the bathroom, emerging a few seconds later with
a look of alarm on his face. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“I
just wondered where you were and also where I am.” I explain, rubbing the
centre of my forehead to ease some of the tension.

“Sweetheart,
this is our room.”

“But…
but it’s enormous.” I gasp, taking in my surroundings for the first time since
I woke up.

 I
sit up in bed so I can take a good look at my new location. It’s breathtakingly
perfect and it takes me a few moments to digest what Cole just told me.

“Do
you like it?” He asks, struggling to conceal his nervous enthusiasm.

“Cole,
where are we? Whose house is this?”

“I
told you it’s
ours
.”

“But
how can you afford this? It must have cost a fortune.”

“You
needn’t worry about any of that. I don’t want you to concern yourself with
that, ok? From now on all I’m going to do is what I should have done from the
very start and that’s take care of you.”

“Just
tell me.” I plead with him, unable to control my endless list of questions I
want to ask him.

“Look,
your bath is almost ready. I’ll be back in a second.”

He
leaves the room for a moment before he comes right back with a towel in his
hands.

“What’s
wrong?” I ask, noticing the anxious expression on his face.

“I’m
just wondering if… if you want me to leave you alone while you’re in there? I
can go back downstairs so you can have some time to yourself or I can wait in
here if that’s what you would prefer? I swear I’ll go wherever you want me to
while you’re having your bath, so long as you feel comfortable.”

He
wrings the towel he’s still holding in his hands, awaiting my response with a
great deal of apprehension. It’s as though he’s switched places with someone
and the person standing in front of me is someone I don’t recognise. He’s awkward
and uncomfortable, reluctant to offend me and almost…shy.

“What’s
brought all of this on?” I demand harshly. “You didn’t care much for my privacy
when you chose to break into my house and vandalised my dress, did you?”

He
lowers his head, refusing to make eye contact with me as though he’s being
consumed by shame and regret.

“You’ll
never understand how sorry I am for all of those things I did to you, Serena. I
guess the only thing I can blame it on is insanity. I lost my mind when I lost
you and there was a big part of me which thought that it was going to happen
again. It was the only way I could think of to keep you but I now know how
wrong I’ve been. Baby, I’m so sorry.”

“You
hit me, Cole.”

“I
know, I know I did!” He exclaims loudly, falling to his knees in front of me. “And
I don’t know how I’m going to live with myself. I have no idea what I was
thinking but everything makes sense now and… and although I know there’s a good
chance you might never forgive me, all I can do is ask that you try. Please,
Serena. I’ll do anything to make you happy.”

He
takes my small hands in his own and cradles them tightly, glancing up at me
when I don’t pull away from him.

“I
can’t think straight!” I cry, yanking my hands from his grasp.

“I
meant what I said, Serena. I don’t mind leaving you alone. I realise you must
have a lot to think about.” He says up, standing up so he can make his way over
to the door. “I’ll give you some peace and privacy.

“How
do I know you won’t be standing outside the bathroom door? You told me I
wouldn’t be allowed to leave this house without you just over an hour ago!” I
remind him bitterly.

“I’ve
calmed down since then, managing to think things through. I can see clearly now
and I know I don’t have the right to keep you here against your own free will.
I guess that all I can do now is hope that you will somehow change your mind
and actually want to stay… with me.”

I’m
left wondering what the hell just happened as he closes the bedroom door behind
him and I’m left alone. I turn around so I can absorb the exquisite furnishings
of my new environment, taking in the four-poster bed which is placed in the
centre of the room. There are some cream drapes which hang on either side of
the floor-to-ceiling windows, preventing me from being able to see outside.

There’s
a vintage dressing table right opposite the bed as well as a huge plasma screen
TV on the wall beside it. I cannot believe the splendour as well as the
consideration which has gone into the decoration of this bedroom and I can’t
help wondering if the rest of the house is furnished like this. If it is then
I’ll be even more furious that Cole refused to let me out of that dark basement
for several days while he was living up here in luxury.

The
windows are covered by the drapes so I can’t see out of them. However, I am
desperate to take a look outside so I can try and figure out where we are. I
pad across the plush carpet which is beige. It blends right in with the rest of
the furnishings of the room and this is enough to convince me that Cole must
have hired an interior designer to create something as magnificent as this.

I
gasp when I pull back the curtains, astonished by what I see. We’re in the
middle of nowhere, surrounded by endless fields and trees. I can almost make
out a forest or a woodland of some sort in the distance but as far as being
able to glimpse some sort of town or city… there is nothing.

Deciding
that a hot bath would do me the world of good right now, I head into the
bathroom. My mouth falls open when I see the size of it and the luxurious
sunken bathtub which rests just above floor level. There’s a gigantic mirror as
well as a walk-in shower and a cupboard which is full of cosmetics and beauty
products.

There’s
a white dressing gown which Cole must have left for me hung up on the bathroom
door. I’m grateful I won’t have to go and ask him for something to wear and
hastily remove my own items of clothing.

I
spend about half an hour in there before I hear Cole knocking on the bathroom
door lightly, interrupting my peaceful solitude.

“Serena,
are you ok?” He asks, speaking to me through the closed door. “It’s just you’ve
been in there a while.”

“I’m
fine. I’ll be out in a minute.” I assure him, quickly jumping out of the tub so
I can reach for my dressing gown.

It’s
like déjà vu all over again as I’m transported back in time to the grotty motel
we first stayed at when we ran away. I remember Cole being outside of the
bathroom door, trying to coax me out of the shower and how uncomfortable it made
me feel.

It’s
the exact same thing right now and I pray he will respect my privacy and not
open the door to catch a glimpse of me with no clothes on.

“I’ll
wait for you downstairs. Feel free to come down when you’re ready.” He replies
politely, leaving me alone once again.

I
tie my robe around my waist, tightening it as I make my way over to the large
mirror. I avoided my reflection when I first came in here but now figure it’s
about time I see what state I’m in…

Oh,
my God…

I
look horrendous. There are dark circles underneath my eyes and a nasty bruises
on my cheek from the blow that Cole gave me. My cheeks are sunken in as though
I’ve been starved for several weeks and my hair is an absolute mess, all
knotted and sticking up in three different directions. I can’t believe I look
this bad and cover my face with my hands in horror.

Deciding
that my first priority is to get something to eat, I decide to wash my hair
later on and open the en-suite door which leads back into the bedroom. Cole is
nowhere to be found so I make my way into the expansive hallway.

There
are several doors on either side of me but I continue walking down it until I
reach the top of a spiral staircase. I guess I must be on the top floor of the
house and that somehow makes this whole scenario even more dark and creepy.

Taking
hold of the handrail, I take each step at a time with caution. I still have no
idea where I am or what time it is, although it’s still quite light outside so
I can tell it must be daytime.

I’m
terrified when I reach the bottom of the stairs, finding Cole pacing back and
forth in the centre of the living room. He’s tugging on his hair and his
demeanour is extremely anxious, oblivious to my presence until I clear my
throat.