Somehow Robert knew they hadn't locked the door to the outside. He put his ear up to it and listened. It was so quiet he was certain no one was outside. He tried the doorknob and it opened. His heart was racing as he stepped out of the flat. He carefully closed the door behind him so they wouldn't be tipped off he'd escaped. He walked quietly down a long hallway of closed doors, listening as hard as he could to hear if anyone was about. He turned the corner, and there was another long hallway with closed doors. Soon, it was a maze of long hallways with closed doors and he could never seem to reach the end of them.

He turned a corner and saw Moreau standing with his back to him. He backed up quietly as quickly as he could and doubled back, trying to find another escape route. He turned another corner and Moreau was there again with his back to him. He backed up feeling like he was never going to find a way out. He was so confused about which way he'd gone already, and it seemed no matter which way he went, Moreau was always around the corner. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't figure it out, and he started running through the endless hallways, trying to find the way to escape.

Robert woke up with a start, sweating and breathing heavily, as if he'd really been running. He looked at the clock. It was nearly five in the morning. The curtains were closed, but he knew the sun hadn't come up yet. He laid there for a while, waiting to fall back asleep but he couldn't, and decided to get up. He wasn't hungry yet, and he didn't feel like reading, since he was going to be reading most of the day anyway. Maybe it would be a good idea to run, in case the girl decided to clean in the ballroom again, he thought. He dressed and when he opened his door, he saw the grey clouds covering the sky were getting lighter.

Before he even got near the ballroom, he could hear the girl running on the treadmill. When he stepped in the doorway and saw her, he was shocked. She was dressed in regular workout clothes, and looked like any girl back home on a run. She had on trainers, running shorts and a sports bra, all in black, with her braid down her back. The shock he experienced wasn't just from seeing her in normal clothing, it was also seeing her body for the first time, and so much of her skin exposed.

His eyes were drawn immediately to her legs. She was a tall for a girl, but now he saw how long, and surprisingly shapely, her legs were. He'd known she was slender, but now he could see she wasn't skinny. She had slight curves that had been hidden by her clothes. He'd seen enough of her breasts already to know they weren't that big, but they seemed to fit her. They were just enough to give her a little shape. Her rib cage was slim yet narrowed to a smaller waist and then flared out slightly to her hips. Her bum was a surprise, round and high. Her whole body was just as pale as her face. Except for her arms, he saw the bruises he'd made on them were nearly gone, fading to a pale purple and yellow.

She ran with an easy measured pace, and the movement of her long legs and arms made her look graceful. He could see the muscles in her legs and back working as she ran. Now he knew why she'd seemed so strong in spite of her size that first night when she helped him walk to the toilet. Her clothing hid how athletic she was.

She was completely lost in her own thoughts, not noticing Robert and he backed up, stepping out of the room before she saw him. He tried to decide what to do, and then thought he might as well eat while he waited for her to finish. While he had his cereal, he couldn't help thinking about her. He knew she must've run on the treadmill, but he'd never really thought about when she did it, or what she wore when she worked out. It was a mystery to him why she would dress like she did most of the time, when it was obvious now she wasn't opposed to wearing normal clothing. She had a nice looking body, he thought, and then immediately felt horrified. He would not think about her that way.

He was soon finished with his cereal and cleaned up. He walked back to the ballroom and she was still running. Might as well start on the weights and run when she's finished, he thought. He was amazed at how long she was able to go without stopping or slowing to a walk. She was more in shape than he was, he thought half grudgingly.

He tried not to look at her when he entered the room but he didn't think she saw him, still focused on her run. He positioned himself facing away from her while he worked out with the weights, but he could still see her a little in the mirrors at the far end of the room. He concentrated on what he was doing and tried to forget she was there.

Eventually, he heard her slow down, and the treadmill stopped. He thought it had worked out well, he was nearly finished too. Then he heard her say, "Holy shit!" in a breathy voice.

He turned suddenly, alarmed that something had happened. She was stumbling backwards, nearly falling as she looked at him with horror. She obviously hadn't realized he was there, and his sudden presence had scared her. He felt bad he'd scared her but didn't say anything and turned to put his weights away on the rack. He couldn't help thinking it was funny to hear her swear like that.

When he'd put the weights away and looked back at her, she was still standing near the treadmill and had covered her top half with the small towel she'd used to wipe her sweat. Or tried to cover herself, since it was barely big enough to cover her breasts and rib cage. She was tugging on it, as if she was trying to make it cover more of her and looking at him, her eyes wide with fear. He had no idea what was wrong with her.

He walked to the treadmill and she backed up suddenly, hitting the French doors so hard they made a loud banging sound. It surprised him and he stopped next to the treadmill, pushing his hair out of his eyes to see her better. She was still breathing heavily from her run, but he could see her body trembling, her eyes wide with terror. After a moment of confusion, it finally dawned on him, she thought he was going to try to rape her.

He couldn't help feeling guilty for a brief second, remembering his near constant dreams about her, but he pushed it quickly away. He couldn't believe she thought he'd do something like that and he couldn't help feeling angry. He'd lost his temper with her, but he'd never given her any reason to believe he'd try to rape her. Did she really think that he'd see her in her workout clothes and attack her, like some kind of out of control lunatic? And it wasn't like she hadn't practically thrown herself at him the first day.

He considered saying something to her, but decided it wasn't worth getting into it with her. He didn't care what she thought of him. He got on the treadmill and started his run. He pretended he didn't see her, but it wasn't easy since she stood right in front of him. After a few minutes, she ran off, to his relief. When he went to get his lunch later, her bedroom door was closed and it was quiet in the flat. He spent the rest of the day in his room reading, trying not to think about how she'd reacted that morning, or wonder why she wasn't cleaning.

He was surprised he'd fallen asleep when he was awakened by her knock. And it was later than she usually came. He had to turn on the bedside lamp before he went to the door. When he opened it, he was dismayed. It was clear she'd been crying and was still upset by what had happened that morning. When she asked him if he wanted to cook, she spoke so quietly he almost couldn't hear her, keeping her eyes on the floor. He dreaded being with her long enough to cook and eat, certain she was going to try to draw him into her drama. He considered telling her 'no', but he was so damned lonely he couldn't make himself say it.

When he joined her in the kitchen, she didn't talk to him at all when they cooked. In fact, she didn't even ask him which job he wanted to do like she usually did. He had to figure out he should make toast after he saw her starting scrambled eggs. Now he dreaded sitting at the table even more, knowing what was coming. She wasn't going to be able to resist trying to pull him into whatever was going on with her, and that was the last thing he wanted.

As soon as they were seated, he started eating quickly, trying to ignore her as she sat hunched over her plate, not eating.

"Robert?" she said softly. Here it comes, he thought and tried to eat faster, keeping his eyes on his plate.

After a few seconds she said, "I wanted to say I'm sorry." He kept eating, wishing there was some way he could make himself not hear her.

"I know you would never hurt me like that. You're not – that kind of person. I insulted you and I'm sorry."

While he kept eating, he wondered what kind of game she was playing now. Did she think she was flattering him by telling him he wasn't a rapist? Was this her pathetic attempt to try to get to him?

When he didn't say anything, she continued. "I didn't realize you were there, and it scared me when I saw you. Sometimes, when I get scared like that, I – I –."

She didn't say anything else and he glanced at her. She took a drink of water, and then continued to stare at her plate. He had no idea what the hell she was trying to say.

After a few moments she said, "I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry."

He realized it had been a while since she'd tried these tricks on him. He'd forgotten how good she could be. He didn't want to let her get to him but the more he thought about what had happened, the more it made him angry.

"If you don't want me to see you in your sports bra, why do you dress like that?" he said glaring at her.

She'd just picked up her fork, and looked up at him suddenly with surprise, her eyes wide. It made him even angrier.

"It's not like this is a big place. You've got a lot of nerve working out in skimpy clothes and then getting upset when I see you! Why don't you wear a fucking t-shirt?"

She immediately hunched over her plate again. "You're right. I'm sorry about that. It's just – I don't have anything else to wear. I try to run early enough so you don't –. But you're right. It was my fault," she stammered quietly.

Robert stared at her as he remembered her nearly empty chest of drawers and wardrobe. He realized now the black underwear he'd seen wasn't underwear at all. It was her workout clothes. The only other clothes she had were the ugly clothes. If she was telling him the truth, and he couldn't help thinking she probably was, she was running at dawn to avoid having him see her. He felt ashamed suddenly that he'd been so harsh with her. He couldn't help thinking of how she'd looked when she was running, as he looked at her now, hunched over as if she was trying to make herself as small as possible. It didn't make him feel good.

He thought he should say something to her, but as he tried to think of what to say, he could feel himself getting angry again. Just because she didn't have any other clothes in her room, didn't mean she didn't have access to them. She could've brought some from wherever she came from. And it wasn't like there weren't t-shirts in the flat. In fact, she was probably the one who put them in his room. She could've taken one. It wasn't like he was going to miss it. He was sorry he'd scared her and he was sorry he snapped at her, but she'd caused this and he wasn't about to apologize to her. He got up and washed his half of the dishes, leaving the kitchen just as she started eating.

The next morning, when he went to get his cereal, she was at the table with her coffee and a book. While he ate, he glanced at her. She looked exhausted, with dark circles under her eyes, as she hunched over her book. He got the distinct impression she was only pretending to read, and it irritated him. When he finished and went back to his room, he grabbed a t-shirt from his drawer. He went to the kitchen and threw it on the table, covering her book with it. She startled then looked up at him with surprise.

"I don't want there to be any more excuses, understand?" he said firmly.

"Yes, Robert," she said in a soft voice, sounding grateful. He turned and walked out to get ready to run, refusing to think about her.

A few days later, the weather finally cleared, and Robert was able to see the sun for the first time since he'd been kidnapped. There were just a few wispy clouds to interrupt the deep blue of the sky. The air was quiet, leaving the water looking like sparkling glass and it was closer to a blue color, rather than the unrelenting grey he'd seen every day since he'd arrived. He went out on the balcony a few times, just to feel the sun on his face. It was so cold, he didn't last more than a quarter hour before his teeth were chattering and he had to go back inside to thaw out, but it still lifted his spirits.

That evening when the girl came to get him to cook dinner, Robert was walking out of his room to go to the kitchen when he happened to glance out the French doors. The sun was setting and it stopped him in his tracks. The clouds had increased and were puffy, with the setting sun turning them a brilliant orange and crimson. He couldn't help walking to the doors to look. After a few moments, he noticed the girl on his right and when he glanced at her, she seemed as transfixed as he was, with a look of wonder on her face. He looked back at the sky, trying to ignore the fact she was watching the sunset too. After a few moments, he heard her say quietly, "It's so beautiful." He kept quiet.

They watched the sun dip down until it was nearly below the horizon and the clouds suddenly added yellow and pink to the orange and crimson. He heard her say a little breathlessly, "Look at the colors!" but he didn't say anything. What he'd been thinking at that moment was that all it took was two weeks without access to any video of any kind, and now he was reduced to watching a sunset like it was the greatest thing he'd ever seen. It was pathetic.

When the sun was nearly below the horizon, he was trying to decide if he should go to back to his room. He really didn't want to be standing there, having a 'moment' with the girl, but she interrupted his thoughts, saying quietly, "Robert, keep your eyes on the sun. Try not to blink." He couldn't help following her instructions, willing his eyes to stay open. A few seconds later, at the point when the sun finally disappeared below the ocean, he saw a green glow on the horizon that lasted just a second. He didn't know what he'd just seen, but it was amazing.

"Did you see that?" she said excitedly and when he looked at her, she was looking at him with a huge smile on her face. He'd never seen her smile before. He nodded at her feeling dazed. He was still overwhelmed by seeing the green glow, and it must have lowered his defenses somehow because he couldn't help noticing how her smile had completely transformed her face, lighting it up. She turned back to the window and he had to force himself to look away from her. He was angry with himself for letting her get to him like that.

As he continued to watch the changing colors of the clouds and water, trying to forget how her face looked, he noticed something on the horizon in the distance to the left of where the sun had just set. He'd never seen it before and he wondered if the stillness of the air had made the horizon especially clear. The more he looked at it, the more he thought it looked like a bit of land.

It dawned on him what he might be looking at and he asked with astonishment, "Is that – is that an island?"

"I think so," she whispered, making him look at her suddenly, pushing his hair out of his eyes to see her better. Her face had a set expression as she looked at the sky, instead of the look of wonder he'd seen just a moment ago.

As he looked at her, wondering why she'd decided finally to admit the truth about something that gave away their location, she stared steadily ahead and said in her normal soft voice, "I love the pinks," as if to let him know she wasn't going to talk about it further.

He looked at the bit of land as the light faded, and felt a grim satisfaction. He had another piece of the puzzle that would help him figure out where they'd taken him. That smug bastard was going to get caught.

After a few more minutes, the girl said, "We should go cook dinner," and he followed her to the kitchen. They were mostly silent as they cooked and ate, not talking about what they'd just seen.

That night after she woke him with her screams, and he was waiting to fall back asleep, he wondered if maybe she'd admitted to the island because it was physically, undeniably there. When he'd asked her about being in the States, it was something she could still deny and he couldn't prove she was lying. That must be it, he thought as he slipped out of consciousness.

*******

Okay, how many of you thought Robert was busting out of prison?  Sorry, you were fooled for a second but it was a great start to this rather short chapter.  As you can see, Robert's getting more comfortable with Georgie, more used to living with her.  What will happen next?  Read to find out!

Thanks so much for reading!  Please post a comment and let me know how you feel about the story so far.