"Samantha wake up! Its already half past nine and your pancakes are getting cold." Samantha opened her eyes slightly soaking in the warm morning sun that radiated throughout her room. The smell of her mothers famous pancakes made her mouth water. She couldn't help but smile as the warm sunshine kissed her skin. She loved the summer heat and the bright sun which felt like freedom compared to the cold depressing gloominess of winter.

Winter always made her feel trapped. Everything was restricted from her clothing to the places she could go to, sometimes she wouldn't even be able to leave the house like a prisoner to the ghastly weather.

"Samantha wake up already!" She heard her mothers familiar warm voice bellow at her from downstairs. Although she hated her mothers roaring voice that nagged at her on most mornings, today her loud voice seemed extremely comforting like it had been missing for some time.

Samantha yawned loudly as she got out of her plush twin sized bed. She called to her mother saying she was coming down as she made her way to the bathroom. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she jogged towards her room door in a hurry to devour the delicious pancakes that were awaiting her.

She glanced at her room door in confusion. Wasn't it open before she went to the bathroom? She placed her hand on the smooth knob and turned it only to realize it was locked. "That's weird," she thought. She tried again and again with each attempt becoming more desperate than the next.

"Mom!" She called as her heart started beating faster. There was no reply. She screamed much louder this time and yet there was no reply. "What was happening? Where did her mother go?" Her whole body was shaking in panic as she fought to steady herself and then she heard a familiar voice say her name.

"Samantha, come to me. I'll keep you safe."

She turned around to see a tall dark haired man with his arms outstretched towards her. He wore a sinister grin on his face that seemed to contradict his words completely. His grey eyes danced in amusement at her frightened state. She backed up against the door until she had no where else to go.

Her mouth opened in shock as his hands seemed to elongate reaching towards her. It was the most frightening thing she had ever seen. She let out a blood curdling scream as his hands gripped her shoulders firmly and hugged herself tightly wishing she would just shrink or disappear.

"I'll never let you go Samantha, you are mine and I am yours," his words echoed throughout the room that was now filled with darkness instead of the warm sunlight that previously occupied the room.

Samantha woke up panting, totally drenched in sweat and realised she was having a nightmare. For a few seconds she felt relieved that it was just a nightmare but as she glanced around the all too familiar room she felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn't just a nightmare, it was her reality and the man in her dream was extremely real.

She ran towards the door in self denial as she turned the door knob vigorously secretly hoping that it would open but of course it didn't. She groaned in exasperation and punched the door in response. She hated it for being locked, she hated the table, the so called bathroom, the mattress, and everything else in the room but most of all she hated the tall, dark haired delinquent who had put her here in the first place.

Who was he? And what did he want with her? It couldn't be just a date that he wanted, she didn't believe that for a second. It just didn't seem logical that someone would do all this just to get a decent date out of her. The amount of trouble he would get into when he got caught. She assured herself that he would get caught eventually and she would be found safe and in one piece.

She barely had any energy left as she walked towards the table to drink some water. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had anything decent to eat and her stomach growled loudly signifying how hungry she was. In an attempt to distract herself from her hunger she decided to freshen up a bit.

Her whole face and body felt sticky from dried up sweat and tears. She was a right mess and she couldn't think straight in her current grotty state.

Hence, she brushed her teeth and washed her face with clear cold water from the tap and immediately felt refreshed. She then peeled off her clothes one by one while she let the basin fill with water keeping her towel in close range in case he were to come in. There was no clock in the room and she had no idea what time it was, he could come in at any moment and the last thing she wanted was for him to see her naked.

After her bath, Samantha combed her hair in front of the built in mirror and looked at herself feeling satisfied. She felt like herself again and it was a nice feeling.

Despite her hunger pangs, she could definitely think more clearly now. She remembered the door being left open yesterday for at least a few seconds as he placed the food on the table. That was her escape route. She would have to be extremely quick of course as the room was so small he could catch her in a few steps but it was the best bet she had so it was worth a try.

So she waited and waited behind the door until she heard footsteps outside and the shuffling of keys. She felt an adrenaline rush as the door opened and he took a step inside holding a tray of food. Instead of walking towards the table he stood with his back towards her looking around the room. Damn it.

"Samantha?" he called in a timid voice.

It was only a matter of seconds before he would turn around and see her but there wasn't enough space for her to slip past him to go outside. Samantha decided it was now or never and she had to think fast if she ever wanted to make it out of here.

She used all the energy she could muster and pushed him away from the door. The combination of her adrenaline rush and sudden surge in energy sent him crashing onto the floor with the food on the tray splaying everywhere.

Samantha didn't waste a second, she darted out of the room feeling a surge of hope. She was now in a much smaller room with a ladder at the other end. She couldn't help but look behind her as she ran up the ladder.Thankfully, there was no sight of him yet.

As she reached the top of the ladder, she noticed the ceiling was some sort of trap door and she tried to pry it open but it didn't budge. "No no no this can't be happening," she cried aloud as her body started shaking in panic. She pulled and pulled at the door using the little amount of energy she had left but it was of no use. It was obvious he had locked it and that she had clearly underestimated him.

The room suddenly darkened as a shadow appeared on the walls around her. It reminded her of the darkness in her nightmare. Her chest felt heavy with dread when she turned around to see him standing at the doorway. He was silent as he stood there staring at her and then he shifted his body sideways as a gesture for her to go back into the room.

There was nothing else she could do, so Samantha walked cautiously passed him, staring at him the whole time in case he might attack her but he didn't.

She expected him to hit her or something after the stunt she just pulled but to her surprise he didn't. He just looked at her as he composed himself but she could see the anger in his eyes. It was as if he was restraining himself from hurting her, Samantha couldn't understand why but she was grateful for it.

"Why did you do that?" he asked with a hurt expression. He locked the door and bent down to clear the mess on the floor.

She couldn't answer him. At that point she felt numb with regret partly because of her failed attempt and a small part felt guilty after seeing his response. Why did she feel guilty? She wanted to smack herself for feeling the way she did but the way he was acting made her feel like she was the bad guy here.

It was so confusing the way he behaved. He was her captor but he behaved like he was here to serve her and that she was the one controlling his emotions. He acted so helpless that sometimes she forgot it was actually him who put her here. She just couldn't understand him and it made her want to dissect his brain and study how it worked.

A mixture of resentment and pity flooded through her as she stared at him cleaning the floor on his knees. "This creature needed psychiatric help badly," she thought. She cursed at herself as she bent down and helped him clean the mess she'd made.

He'd made pasta today and by the looks of it would've tasted quite decent if she hadn't ruined dinner. She could feel the acid churning in her empty stomach as she held a string of pasta in her hand. Saliva pooled in her mouth as she looked at it and was extremely tempted to stuff it in her mouth but he took it from her and placed it onto the tray.

"I worked hard on that," he sighed as he looked at her sadly. "Looks like both of us will be sleeping on an empty stomach tonight."

"I'm sorry," Samantha whispered. She couldn't bear the thought of going to bed hungry for yet another night "Don't you have any leftovers?" she asked hopefully, letting the hunger get the better of her.

He looked surprised at her sudden change in demeanour. In fact he looked slightly pleased that she was asking something of him. She could see the corners of his mouth tilt upwards slightly and it made her regret asking him but then again she didn't have a choice.

"Actually come to think of it, I think there is but its not much. We'd have to share," he smiled at her shyly which made her want to throw up.

After what seemed like forever he came back with a small plate of pasta. One plate.

To her relief he sat opposite her instead of next to her and allowed her to eat her share before he ate his. It wasn't enough to satisfy her hunger but there was at least something in her stomach now which gave her a vague sense of comfort.

He lingered for awhile once he'd finished his food. He gazed at her expectantly hoping for some sort of conversation but she didn't want to give him what he wanted. Instead she mumbled a thank you and lay down on her mattress with her back towards him.

"Goodnight Samantha. See you tomorrow," he said, the longing clear in his voice.

Samantha cringed at the thought of seeing him again. She needed to focus on something else, someone else and that's when her thoughts shifted to Ben. Her heart ached as she thought of him. What was he doing now? Was he looking for her? Was he thinking about her this very moment?

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