Robert was at the club and the music was pounding through his body. The DJ had the crowd right where he wanted them – and Robert was right there too, dancing on the fringes. It’d been such a long time since he’d been able to immerse himself in the music and feed off the energy of everyone around him. He felt good. After so long, he finally felt like he was going to be alright.

He was about to move into the middle of the dance floor so he could turn off his mind and lose himself in the mass of bodies, when he saw Georgie out of the corner of his eye and froze. She was by the bar with her back against the wall and her hands were over her ears, as if the music was too loud for her. She looked heartbreakingly beautiful dressed in her ugly clothes with her hair in the braid.

My God, I’ve gone mad, he thought, as he was overwhelmed with anguish. His heart started beating faster and he blinked hard, but she was still there. He could feel the tears coming because he knew she couldn’t be there. It was impossible.

Some blokes passed her, looking at her curiously as they went by. One of them even turned for a second look as they walked away.

Wait, he thought desperately. They saw her too – she has to be real. He started to go to her.

Georgie was wearing her new club clothes, black wide leg trousers and a silky blue top, with her wavy hair down framing her face. She didn’t feel comfortable wearing tight or revealing clothes in public yet but Robert still thought she was the most beautiful girl in the club. When he got to her, she still had her hands over her ears, but she was smiling happily.

He kissed her cheek so he wouldn’t muss up her lip gloss and she yelled to him, “It’s so loud!” over the music. He thought maybe he’d buy her ear plugs before they went clubbing again so she’d be more comfortable.

She leaned against him, putting her arms around his neck and he put his arms around her waist as they moved together to the music. He looked into her blue eyes, thinking he didn’t know if he’d ever felt happier in his life. She slipped her fingers in his hair to pull him down for a kiss.

Robert woke with a start and looked at the clock out of habit. It was just after four in the morning and still dark outside. Georgie stirred next to him, saying faintly, “What? What?” He carefully rolled over on his side, pulling her to his chest and she snuggled against him.

“Nothing, Georgie. Just a dream. Go back to sleep,” he whispered, and kissed her forehead.

He rested his cheek on the top of her head, putting his nose near her hair while she drifted back to sleep. While he held her, he relived the dream. The club, the music, the mass of bodies moving as if they were one being – and Georgie, home with him. The last part was so real, the details were so true, and it hurt like hell. It hurt like hell because he was almost certain now it would never happen.

Over the last few days, a terrible fear had been building up in him. For so long he’d felt secure in the knowledge the bastard would never know he was going to return for Georgie. But then he’d realized he’d been incredibly stupid – and it was because of the food. The bastard had never tried to keep their location a secret, which meant he had no intention of staying put after Robert was let go. And that meant Georgie would be gone long before he would be able to return for her. He feared he was going to lose her forever, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

When he’d first been kidnapped, the bastard had said he’d be released soon. During the early days, he’d thought he’d be home within a month, but now it’d been over a month and a half. He couldn’t believe they’d keep him longer than two months. That meant his time left with Georgie was probably down to weeks. He had weeks to spend with the sweetest, most beautiful girl he’d ever known or loved, and then he’d never see her again. He couldn’t bear the thought of it.

But he knew it would be far worse for her than for him. She’d be left alone, grief stricken with the fucking controlling bastard. He’d probably figure out within seconds why she was so upset. Then what would happen to her? Robert felt panicky just thinking about what was in store for her. How would she survive? And how would he survive, never finding her or knowing what had happened to her? Here she was in his arms, so safe and loved – and it was all so fragile.

He could refuse to leave, he thought desperately. Just insist the bastard keep him a prisoner forever so he could stay with her. But he knew it was a fucking ridiculous idea. There was no way in hell he’d ever be allowed to stay, and if he asked, it would tip off the bastard to how serious everything had gotten between them.

Robert felt despair as he held Georgie close to him. She would be in so much pain she probably wouldn’t want to live, just like when she lost her family. She’d already admitted she’d attempted suicide more than once, there was nothing stopping her from trying it again. He could easily see her throwing herself off the balcony. If that wasn’t an option, if she was somewhere else, he knew she’d try to find another way to kill herself. And, unlike last time, she’d know what to do. Maybe if the bastard knew she was going to kill herself, if he knew he was going to lose her anyway, he’d just let her go.

Robert's heart stopped for a second as that last thought filled his mind. Was it possible the bastard could just let her go? Could there be a reason that would convince the bastard to let Robert take her with him? There had to be at least one reason that would make him willing to give her up. Maybe even more than one. If Robert could think of those reasons and get the bastard to talk to him, he might have a chance to try to convince him to let her go. If he did nothing, he was going to lose Georgie forever. He had to try.

As he watched her sleep, he felt a tiny glimmer of hope as thoughts started racing through his mind. Of course he couldn’t just blunder through something like that. The whole thing would have to be carefully thought through before he attempted to ask for her. He’d have to put together a convincing case that it was in the bastard’s best interest to let her go. And he’d have to be careful not to let it slip he knew their location. He couldn’t assume what the bastard thought Robert knew. He didn’t want to accidentally force the bastard’s hand, making him decide to disappear when he hadn’t planned on it.

After a while, Georgie woke up. As soon as she opened her eyes and saw him watching her, she smiled at him, her face glowing. He couldn’t resist pulling her to him for a long kiss. He usually wasn’t up when she left to go on her morning run, so it was nice to be able to spend some time snuggling together.

“Good morning, Robert,” she said happily.

“Good morning, Georgie. Did ya sleep well?”

“Yes, Robert. And did you sleep well?”

“Never better,” he said, smiling at their usual morning chat and pulled her in for another kiss.

When he released her, she settled next to him, running her fingers through his hair. If only he could capture this moment, he thought with a sigh, when she was safe and loved in his arms, he’d live in it forever.

After a few minutes, she pulled away and he reluctantly let go of her, trying to hide his disappointment. When she got out of bed, she took her time getting her slip and putting it on, letting him get a long last look at her. Then she kissed him good bye and he held her hand as she left, letting go when she got too far away, both of them smiling at their little ritual.

As soon as she closed his door, he got up and went to his t-shirt drawer. He pulled out the stack of lyrics, shuffling through them to find some clean sheets of paper. Using his book as a writing surface, he wrote anything and everything that came into his head, then went over it again and again, scratching things out, adding things, and making notes in the margins.

When he was too hungry to continue, he put the papers under his mattress. Under no circumstances could he allow Georgie to know what his plan was. He didn’t want her to get her hopes up, thinking she’d be able to leave with him. It would crush her if it didn’t work.

He found her in the kitchen with her coffee and book. Her face lit up when he came in. They said ‘good morning’ to each other and he squeezed her shoulder as he passed her to get his cereal. When he sat at the table with her, she put her book away and said, “It’s the floor today.”

Damn it, he thought, but he kept his face free of expression. All he wanted to do was go back to his room to work in private, but he had no choice. It was an awful job and he wouldn’t leave her to face it alone.

While he looked at her, he remembered the part of his dream when she was home with him and coping with her new life on the outside. He’d never thought about how hard it was going to be for her once she was free. When he started thinking about it, he realized how many issues they’d have to deal with. She hadn’t been in school for years, she was already suffering psychologically from what she’d been through, she might not be eighteen yet, she was a U.S. citizen, and that was just the start of it. If he thought about it long enough, he could probably come up with more. And how would he take care of her? He barely made enough to support himself and lived with three mates in a two bedroom flat.

Life with Georgie was going to be much more complicated than he realized. But it didn’t matter, he thought firmly. He had to make a plan for how he was going to take care of her. He’d have to take everything she’d need into consideration. He couldn’t afford to fuck this up. He had to be thorough for her sake.

The whole time he was working out and scrubbing the floor of the music room, he thought about the request. What to say, how to say it, what responses to have prepared for the questions he imagined the bastard might have. And he started seriously thinking about what he’d need to be able to take care of Georgie when he got her home. When he went back to his room after they were finished cleaning, he was so busy writing, Georgie had to knock on his door to let him know it was time to make dinner.

“You’ve been so quiet in your room today, Robert. You didn’t play the piano at all,” she said softly while they cooked. He didn’t like that she’d noticed he was behaving differently.

“Y’know I’ve been working on my songs, yeah? I worked on the lyrics today,” he said, pushing his hair out of his eyes so he could see her, watching her reaction.

“I hope you get to finish them before you leave so I can hear them,” she said without looking up.

“I’ll try to, Georgie,” he said quietly, his throat starting to hurt.

This wasn’t the first time she’d brought up him leaving like this. Thankfully, after that one awful night when Robert finally understood why she was waking up screaming his name, Georgie’s nightmares seemed to have reverted back to whatever it was she normally dreamed about. But since then, she’d started working his leaving into their conversations like she had just now. Lately, she’d been doing it a few times a day.

He was amazed again, how she could say it so casually without completely breaking down. Once he’d realized he might lose her forever, the thought was so painful he rarely allowed it to enter his mind. He wondered if this was her way of preparing herself for the loss, a way to minimize the pain so she’d be able to survive it. He wasn’t about to ask her. He wasn’t going to go there.

Over the next three days, Robert worked feverishly on his request for Georgie’s freedom until he felt he was ready to face the bastard. He had his arguments ready and they were as sound as they were ever going to be. He didn’t think there was anything more he could add.

He waited until Georgie was dancing to go to the telephone by the door to the outside. He picked up the receiver and waited.

After a moment, a voice said, “Oui?” expecting it was Georgie.

“I want to talk to Moreau,” Robert said in a firm voice, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.

“One moment,” the heavily accented voice said.

It was a few minutes before he heard the bastard greet him with a hearty, “Robert! What a delight to hear from you!”

Robert swallowed because he suddenly felt sick to his stomach hearing the man’s voice. He tried not to let it show.

“I want to talk to you,” he said loudly, trying to sound confident.

“I’ll come by tonight, shall I?”

“No!” Robert practically yelled. “I need to talk to you in private. Not here,” he said in a much quieter voice.

There was a long pause, then the bastard said, “You’re making this very interesting, Robert. Very well, I’ll take a meeting with you tomorrow. I’ll make the arrangements,” and then the line went dead.

Robert hung up the receiver and went back to his room. He started to pace, then stopped and pulled out the lyrics he’d been working on. He knew there was no guarantee it was going to work and he wanted to have all the songs he was writing for Georgie finished before he left. He wanted to be able to leave copies with her so she’d have tangible proof she was loved. It might be the only thing keeping her alive while he desperately tried to find her.

He was so nervous that evening, he couldn’t sit still. As soon as they were done eating and cleaned up the kitchen, he went to play the piano and it helped ease the tension. Georgie sat with him after her bath and combed her hair. To give them something to do, he taught her a song to help take his mind off the meeting and, he hoped, distract her from noticing his behavior.

She was so happy and excited to learn a new song, he felt terrible he didn’t think of doing it sooner. He’d forgotten when she’d sung to him in the library how much she seemed to love singing. Of course that was the day he’d gotten drunk and fucked things up pretty well for a while.

While he taught her the lyrics, he worked with her to open up her voice again. She was uncomfortable at first, but once he was able to get her to forget how she thought she was supposed to sound, she relaxed and he was finally able to hear her beautiful strong, sweet voice again. When he sang with her, it was wonderful to hear their voices together, as if they were always meant to be that way. He couldn’t help thinking how wonderful it would be to spend many more nights like this, and it made him even more determined he would convince the bastard to let her go home with him.

When they went to bed, he stayed up until Georgie had her nightmare, pacing with his papers, double checking everything and imagining the meeting in his head. He imagined himself winning arguments and being persuasive. It was no different from preparing for exams or competing in a swim tournament. He knew what he needed to do to increase his chances of being successful.

The next morning, he was nervous but he tried not to act any differently around Georgie. While he ate his cereal, she told him it was laundry day. He was grateful. It wasn’t too much work for her to be left with while he was out of the flat. She started the wash and he worked out.

After he’d finished and was shaving before his bath, he heard the telephone ringing and quickly came into the sitting room, wiping his face with a towel. He saw Georgie running to get the phone. She spoke in French for a moment and then held the receiver out to him.

“Sir wants to speak to you,” she said, looking worried.

While he walked to take it from her, he realized she’d just referred to the bastard as ‘Sir’. He wondered if it was because she was afraid he’d overhear her.

He took the receiver and said, “Hello.”

He was once again greeted with a hearty, “Robert! We will meet at eleven-thirty. Be ready by the door.”

“Alright.”

The bastard didn’t say anything else and he went to hang up the receiver, but Georgie snatched it from his hand and turned her back to him, saying quietly, “Oui monsieur.”

He wondered if she was afraid to hang up without confirming the bastard was finished speaking. To Robert’s surprise, he wasn’t and she spoke to him for a few minutes in hurried, quiet French. He imagined the bastard was grilling her, trying to figure out what was going on. When she hung up the receiver and turned to face him, she looked frightened, her eyes swimming with tears.

“Hey!” he said with alarm, and he pulled her into a tight hug. She immediately started sobbing into his chest while she clung to him.

“What’s wrong, Georgie? What’s wrong?” he asked, but she wouldn’t say anything. He held her for several minutes until she finally stopped crying, but she was still tense as she clung to him.

“What’s wrong? Did he say something to you?” he asked quietly in her hair. She shook her head against his chest. He waited to see if she would say anything but she just clung to him.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he prodded. She shook her head again. He sighed and held her tightly.

Obviously, the bastard had said something to upset her but she wasn’t free to tell him what it was. He was frankly surprised she didn’t ask him why he was having a meeting with the bastard. When it came to him, they each had their secrets now, Robert thought grimly. After a few more minutes, she pulled away from him and he let her go.

“I’m sorry, Robert. I’m okay now,” she said wiping her face with her sleeve, but she wouldn’t look at him and he could tell she was still upset.

He put his hand on her cheek. “Don’t worry, alright?” he said, wishing he could say more to reassure her.

“It’s okay. I’m fine now,” she said, finally meeting his eyes. When he looked at her, he suddenly realized she was frightened for him and was trying not to let it show. For a moment, he wondered what she thought was going to happen to him, but immediately pushed the thought out of his head. He couldn’t allow himself to get rattled before the meeting. He needed to be confident when he faced the bastard.

She started to turn to leave and he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before she stepped away, then went back to his room to finish cleaning up. Once he was dressed, he went over his papers one last time, making sure he was prepared for the meeting. He paced while he imagined himself convincing the bastard to let her go.

When it got close to the time, he folded one of the papers and started to put it in the waistband of his briefs to hide it from Georgie, then thought better of it, and stuffed it in his sock. If she hugged him before he left, he didn’t want to take any chances she’d find it.

When he left his bedroom, Georgie was waiting for him in the sitting room, trying hard not to cry. He had to force himself not to look at her so she wouldn’t upset him. He was nervous but felt prepared.

She joined him when he went to the door and waited, standing next to him and holding his hand with hers. He noticed it was shaking. When they heard the locks on the other side being opened, she squeezed his hand tightly. Before the door was opened, she let go and moved away several feet, standing where she wouldn’t be seen. He looked at her just as the door opened in front of him. He saw terror in her eyes and tears rolling down her cheeks.

****

I told you we were in for quite a ride!  I know you can't wait to find out what's going to happen next so I won't keep you long.

Since Robert was at the club in his dream, I put up some club music .  In case you were wondering, Robert is a very good dancer, kind of like the guy in the video starting around the 2:40 mark.  This is my current favorite dance song with a great beat and a lot of base.  Yes, I'm one of those annoying people in the car next to you, blasting my base like I just don't care who can hear it!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!  Don't hesitate to comment and vote if can't wait to find out what's going to happen with the bastard!