Chapter Eleven

Melanie had since lost track of the days, but she knew it was daytime. While the window in the room had been boarded up from the outside, inside the bathroom that was off from the bedroom, there was a window made of glass blocks. She had figured out she was in a cabin. Years ago, she remembered visiting a cabin with Lisa and her family. The cabin was up in the mountains, with nothing but trees around it. Melanie placed her face against the glass, feeling the warmth of the sun. She couldn’t see clearly but could hear birds fluttering and singing nearby.

Whoever took her wanted to keep her around for a while. She just couldn’t figure out why. She tried to think about the people who had come up to her in the club. No one had followed her out of the club that she could remember. There were a lot of creeps who had asked her to dance, but no one stood out to her as a horror movie–type creep. That was exactly the way she felt, like she had been snatched up and dropped in a scene. She laughed out loud. “Could this be another reality show? Let’s take a peek inside the life of a woman as she slowly loses her mind.”

She kept leaning her head against the thick glass. Melanie never heard vehicles or voices. Her throat was still raw from yelling over and over again that first day. Melanie returned to the bedroom. The bedroom was at one time probably used a lot. It was decorated like any other cabin bedroom. The quilt on the bed was quaint. She could tell from the dust that adhered to her hands when she touched the furniture that the room had not been used in a while. This didn’t help her. There was no telling how far this place was off the map if no one used the place.

She didn’t know what was beyond the door. Was anyone else here? She wished there was a television on the stand across from the bed.

Melanie didn’t have the best relationship with her stepmother, but she’d let her move back in until she could get a new apartment. Hopefully, she had noticed that Melanie was gone. Even if she hadn’t, Lisa would have noticed. She called without fail every day. Melanie sat on the bed. He’d taken her bag and her phone. He’d even taken her shoes. Smart man. Those three-inch heels would have come in handy.

She reached for the bottled water on the table beside the bed. When she’d explored the room, she’d found water and other snack items, like you would in a hotel room. She twisted the cap and gulped down the liquid. The smell of roasted peanuts filled her nostrils as she pulled the packet open. She’d never eaten this many peanuts in her life. It wasn’t a four-course meal, but she was so hungry. She’d waited as long as she could to open it. It was the last bag of peanuts.

As she drank and ate, she prayed.

This wasn’t her first prayer, but one of several. The first time she’d prayed, her words had sounded so foreign in her ears. Praying was something she did when she was a little girl. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Now she just prayed, God save me. Save me, please.