Chapter 11

Charlie muttered his morning goodbye through the door, thinking she would still be asleep. It was much more comforting that she was in the next room than so far away as she was before. But his workday would still be troubled by the fact it was another change. For a week now he had been home to make sure she adjusted well. Gabrielle had enjoyed her new bed and clothing yet the way the other Annabel Lees had handled it made him fear the worst. They tried to escape and leave him. Clearing his throat and making for his car, he reminded himself his newest love was different.

“She would never try to run from me,” he spoke softly to himself. “She loves being my Annabel Lee.”

The door closed behind him and he made for his car. Unbeknownst to him, Gabrielle was waiting for that. Since she was not as used to the bright sky it woke her up earlier every morning. Plus the sounds of Charlie moving about the house kept her from returning to sleep. But she was okay with that. She was on the first floor with only a key-lock standing between her and freedom.

The sound of Charlie’s tires drove off and Gabrielle was left alone. And the faster she got out of the house, the farther away she could be when he came back. The clock on the wall said it was still 7am so she had plenty of time to leave. She bolted off from her bed and made her way to the wardrobe, quickly dressing into more comfortable clothing. The corner of her lips turned up with her choice. It was her outfit the day Charlie had taken her.

Back then the shredded jeans were a bit too big around the waist but snug around her calves. She never cared how they fit since they made her feel both a loner in the background and a hero on the stage. With the diet Charlie had been giving her they molded to her impeccably well. Her muscles had diminished leaving her slimmer legs and the waist band wasn’t a size too big anymore. Adding the army-green tank top, she felt like her old self.

First step done, she sighed. Now, the hard part.

Gabrielle never picked a lock before. The movies make it seem easy but she didn’t find it to be that way. Using one of the wire hangers from her wardrobe, she struggled with keyhole and pulled at the doorknob. It took her fifteen minutes before she gave up. The metal hanger made a loud clang as she threw it against the wall in anger. It was the day she was supposed to be free. It was the day she was going to make it out and back to the people who missed her.

And that clicked in her mind. There were people out there, family and friends, who were wondering where she was. Were they still looking? Gabrielle didn’t know but doubted it. Seeing as it was a very random kidnapping three months ago on a road with no security cameras, she figured they would have let the case grow cold. It dawned on her what her old life had become.

Did her friends go on without her? Yes and most likely happily too. Did her band get a new singer? Her classmate Paige was always trying to take her spot anyways. Did her parents think she was dead? Probably. It made her heart break to know they all went on with their lives. She probably wasn’t missed too much. Her chest felt hollower but now she had a new resolve.

Gabrielle rubbed her eyes and shook out the nerves boiling beneath her skin. It was time to prove them wrong. She wasn’t dead and nor would she give up. She was going to live. She didn’t have to return home since all she wanted there was to leave for college. Living and freedom didn’t mean the girl had to give up the gorgeous house.

Picking up the wire, she tried the lock again. Five more minutes passed. With a heavy pull on the knob and the hanger clicking in just the right spot, the door burst open sending her happily falling on her butt.

Perfect!

Her feet nervously stepped out into the hall. It was eerily quiet; not even the sound of the ventilation broke the silence. She found it odd how she could be standing in a house she lived in for so long and still feel so vulnerable. Charlie wasn’t even there.

He will be gone until five, she thought cautiously. But her reasoning meant nothing. Checking her clock again she saw it was almost 8am. There was plenty of time left in the day to find her kidnapper’s kryptonite.

Charlie nodded his thanks at the grocery store’s cashier and walked back to his car. His decision to call off work today made him smile. Annabel Lee loved his surprises. It would be one of his last great gifts to her before their sacrifice together. His warped mind looked forward to the day ahead. It was going to be filled with anything and everything to woo her. She deserved to be treated as the only woman in the world worthy of affection.

He got in his car and drove an hour to his home singing songs on the radio at the top of his lungs. Why? Because he could. The amount of joy he felt could only have been rivaled with the amount of deviousness the girl at the ‘kingdom’ was feeling.

Gabrielle searched leisurely through the house, combing each drawer for medications or cleaning supplies. Each place had ordinary household products and there wasn’t anything except the locked basement and her room to suggest Charlie was different from any other man. Her lips rippled like a horse but she continued to look through his bathroom cabinets. She had no idea her kidnapper was on his way home until the whir of a car in the distance caught her attention.

The young girl halted with her hand on his filled prescription sleeping tablets. Charlie was home! Her brown eyes widened but she quickly blinked her shock away.

Now or never, she thought.

Gabrielle hurriedly poured out three pills into her hand and replaced everything the way it was. The cabinet closed soundlessly enough and she ran from the bathroom. Charlie was just parking his car as she charged into the living room and to the bedroom hall. She was almost safe.

Then her boot slipped.

The hallway runner slid on the wooden floor and had Gabrielle crashing into the wall just outside her bedroom. Her head hit hard into the seashell painting on the wall and she felt a rush of dizziness mess with her senses. She was too unsteady to stand and her eyes could not focus enough to know what was going on around her.

However, outside as he stepped out of his car, Charlie heard the crash. And he was not happy.

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AUTHOR’S NOTE: Gabrielle! :O Get your butt up and move it! Or do you want Charlie to find her out of her room? I’m still undecided so your opinion actually matters for the next chapter. So tell me what you want happening! Also, votes are appreciated.