I watched in awe as the sunlight somehow managed to illuminate Samantha's bare back even though the curtains were closed. Although the light was dim it gave an almost ethereal glow to her skin and long dark hair that cascaded in waves all over her back and pillow.

I pinched myself just to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Last night had been perfect maybe even the best night we've had together. I don't know how it happened but Samantha was finally warming up to me and in more ways than one. I felt my body heat up just thinking about the way last night ended.

We almost had sex. But when I felt her body tense up when I pulled her panties down I knew she wasn't ready. It took all my will and self restraint to stop at that moment but for her it was worth it. I could tell she was grateful, her eyes said it all. So instead we fell asleep in each other's arm which was just as perfect despite the fact that it ached to long for her this much.

I looked at her heaving body, stared as her back moved in synchronicity with her breathing. Her skin looked so smooth, so inviting I wanted to run my hands all over it. She was still fast asleep so I didn't want to wake her. I looked back up at the bare ceiling wondering what we could do today. I didn't have to go to work so we could spend the whole day together.

A buzz in the drawer beside my bed made me jump slightly. I'd forgotten that my phone was in there. Who could be texting me this early in the morning?

I briefly glanced at Samantha checking if she was still asleep and then unlocked the drawer and took out my phone to check. I was stunned to see at least five messages, all from Olivia. How the hell did she get my number? And why on earth would she be texting me of all people?

Curiosity ate at me as I read each of them one by one.

Hey Jerry, what are you doing? Or should I say who are you doing? Haha

Too busy you cant reply a single text?

You weren't too busy when you uploaded a video of me on the fucking internet!

Why aren't you answering? You used to answer my texts immediately.

You know what. Fuck you Jerry. I hate you.

I miss you Jerry. Ever since we met, all I can think about is you. Please call me, I can't take you ignoring me.

I smirked to myself. I always loved it when she drunk texted. Finally the tables were turned and she was pining for me. That cheating whore deserved it. I contemplated replying and stringing her along for while just for the taste of sweet revenge. But then I thought of Samantha and realised I shouldn't even be wasting my time on this piece of garbage. One text should do it.

We were over a long time ago Olivia. Get over it and don't text me again. Thanks for giving me the chance to do so much better.

"I thought phones weren't allowed while we're supposed to be dating. Isn't that one of the main reasons why you brought me here?"

I jumped in shock when I realised she was awake. Damn it, I was so engrossed with my ex's messages and my own thoughts that I hadn't realised she had been watching me.

I stared at her face trying to read her thoughts. She didn't look angry or happy, just a blank, unreadable expression which made me a bit nervous. How could I have been so stupid to break my own rules in front of her?

"Erm sorry it was something urgent about work,"I lied not as smoothly as I would've liked. I quickly put my phone away and pulled her towards me pecking her lightly on the lips. She didn't kiss me back.

"Do you always smile when you get texts from work?" She didn't look mad but her eyes challenged me as she gazed me expectantly.

"I was smiling? That's funny, I didn't realise I was. Must be because of last night." I wrapped my arms around her possessively, paranoia eating me up as I feared she would slip away.

She resisted at first but I held on stubbornly so she finally gave up and buried her face in the crook of my neck.

"You're lying," she whispered with a sadness that broke my heart. I hated myself for making her feel this way not to mention Olivia for texting me in the first place.

"I'm not. I'm sorry Samantha, it won't happen again." I stroked her hair gently, my hands getting tangled in her luscious locks.

She simply nodded her head against me, her breath causing my skin to tingle. "I wan't to freshen up," she said.

"Okay, I'll take you back downstairs then," I whispered longingly into her hair.

After a quick shower, I prepared some breakfast for the both of us and made my way downstairs to her room. She was already seated at the table waiting for me.

We spent the rest of the day in her room making idle talk and listening to the radio. The whole time I felt like I was walking on eggshells because she was more quiet than usual. I knew she was upset and I had to be extra careful not to cause any trouble so at one point I gave up talking and watched her as she read her book.

"Do you know what this is about?" she asked me suddenly out of the blue.

I glanced at the paperback cover noticing the name Ivan Pavlov. I remembered her asking me to buy this book for her but I had forgotten to read it myself.

Noticing my blank look she continued speaking. "It's about conditioning someone to something. This man rings a bell whenever he gave a dog food. After a while, the dog started salivating every time it heard the bell ring regardless if there was food or not."

"Okay," I said cautiously not knowing where this was going.

She stood up in frustration and paced the room. "I'm the dog and you're the damn bell! You keep me here away from everyone and everything and you bring me food and you're the only person I see. And now all I want is you're company!"

Not really surprised by her outburst I made my way to her and embraced her tightly when I noticed she was on the verge of tears.

"I've been conditioned," she cried into my chest.

"This is different Samantha, you can't compare us to some experiment. I have feelings for you and I know you feel the same way too. That can't be extrapolated or tabulated into some data," I reasoned with her.

She looked up at me, her gaze boring into mine. "I do have feelings for you, I just don't know if it is real."

"It is real," I smiled trying hard not to show how ecstatic I was with her confession. I took this opportunity to kiss her. This time she kissed me back and I carried her bridal style to her bed where we lay down embracing each other.

"Take me out then," she said as she pulled away from me.

"To my room?"

"No, outside of your house. Lets go on a proper date to a movie or the beach. Anywhere but here."

"Samantha, you know I can't do that. You're considered a missing person here."

She shifted away from me now and my chest felt heavy with dread knowing where this conversation was going.

"But you said so yourself, they think I ran away. So they'll think I came back."

I rubbed my temples as my head started to throb. Did she honestly think it would be that easy?

"I won't tell on you I promise," she said taking my hand in hers. "At least then we could be free from all these restrictions. And we could do what ever we liked. Together."

"They won't believe you, they'll force it out of you one way or another."

"Okay then lets run away together," she said enthusiastically. "We'll move to some small town together, settle down maybe even start a family one day." She shifted closer to me now and rested her head on my shoulder.

I knew what she was doing and I didn't like it. Why couldn't she just be happy here with me? Why complicated things?

I stood up and walked to the table, my knuckles turned white as I held the chair a little too tightly.

"We can't Samantha. Not yet."

"You mean not yet or never?" she asked me coldly as she stood up to face up. "You're never going to let me out, are you? What am I to you, someone you can come home and have you're fun with while you're busy texting and meeting others outside!"

"You're more than that to me Samantha, you know that."

"Then prove it you fucking liar," she bellowed as she punched me in the chest. "Prove it my releasing me you coward!"

It didn't hurt as much as her accusations and I held her hands now as she struggled against me. My mind was all over the place wondering how it came to this and then I remembered Olivia and her texts. It was all her fault.

"I can't," I said weakly.

"I hate you, I can't believe I almost made love to you. You're a pathetic excuse of a human," she said and I released her in shock stunned by her words. She backed away from me until her back hit the wall. "You don't want to date me, you just want me to rot in here and die with you."

Words could not describe how I felt at that moment. A whirlwind of emotions engulfed me, shock, pain, anger, sadness. I couldn't decide. Instead I bunched my hands into fists and chose to hold it all in.

Suddenly my door remote buzzed in my pocket indicating someone was at my front door. Now panic started settling into the mixture. What the fuck was happening? Who could that be? The remote continued buzzing as the person rang the door bell incessantly. Not wanting to seem suspicious I ignored Samantha who was staring at me from her bed and left the room.

In my haste to answer the door I realised I left the trap door unlocked. Never mind her door was locked. I locked the basement door just in case and rushed to the door. When I opened it I was shocked to see a very drunk Olivia struggling to stand straight.

"Jerryyy," she slurred clearly drunk out of her wits. "You look different, you look kinda hot actually. She giggled like a school girl.

"Olivia I'm busy, I can't talk right now," I answered impatiently.

"But you used to lo-love me! And now you're too busy for me?" she half-screamed.

Not wanting to attract any unwanted attention I quickly pulled her inside and locked the door.

"What the hell do you want?" I asked as calmly as I could despite the exorbitant amount of anger that was building up within.

"I made a mistake Jerry, I want you bacckk," she wailed as she collapsed on my couch. Everything about her, from her unkempt appearance to the way she slurred just put me off her, the whole scene was downright grotesque. I wondered how to get rid of her.

***

Samantha just stared at the door wondering what the hell just happened. Why did he just leave her like that? He seemed so distracted when he left. Was he going to meet the person he had been texting? Did that mean they were upstairs right now?

She walked to the door and turned the knob expecting it to be locked but instead it opened. Her hands shivered as she felt a surge of adrenaline through her veins. For the first time in all the times she had hopefully turned that knob, the door was unlocked.

Hoping that the trapdoor was unlocked she skipped up the ladder, her heart beating faster every minute. She held her breath in anticipation as she lifted the trapdoor and her heart skipped a beat when the trap door lifted.

Not wasting another minute she ran through the basement and reached the door to his living room. She turned the doorknob violently but this time it didn't budge.

"Damn it," she cursed and then she heard voices on the other side. It sounded like a woman talking but whatever the case there was someone else there which meant she was one step closer to freedom.

So instead Samantha banged as hard as she could on the door before her and screamed as loud as she could.

"HELP!! HELP me!!! He kidnapped me and is keeping me downstairs!!! Help me! Call the police!!!," she screamed over and over again until her throat was sore. She placed her ear against the door but the living room was now dead silent.

***

My whole body froze as I heard Samantha's voice coming from the basement. If I could hear her words clearly then I was sure Olivia could. I looked at her and saw her staring at me all wide eyed.

She looked at me with her face plastered in shock and then she spoke. "What the-?" She tried to get up but she fell back down again. "Did you seriously kidnap someone Jerry?"

Uh-oh someone's in trouble. If you like what you've read please vote/comment/share. Thank you. :) :) :)