Locked Away

Chapter 8: Revival

Collin's POV

I woke up with a throbbing headache in a room that was definitely not the basement. Where was I? Was I still in Ethan's house? Ansley. Where was Ansley? Was she ok? How long was I out?

All I remembered was being thrown down the stairs and seeing Ansley being pulled away from the top of the stairs.

I had to find Ansley. If Ethan even laid a harmful finger on her, I swore I would kill him.

I stood up, despite my headache, and walked to the door. Once the door was opened, I was greeted by a hallway that lead to what looked like a kitchen. Ethan's kitchen. I was still in his house.

I heard him whistling as he cooked what I assumed was breakfast. He sickened me. How could he be so happy when he had a man unconscious in some sort of bedroom and a little girl locked up downstairs? Well, hopefully she was still downstairs.

"Collin! You're awake!" He said when he spotted me.

"Ethan, tell me where Ansley is or I swear-" I wasn't in the mood for his stupid attempts at cheery conversation. I knew he hated me, and I hated him with every fiber of my being.

"Relax, relax. You had quite a hard fall," he said with an evil glint in his eye. We both knew it was no fall.

"Where is Ansley?" I asked, tired of talking to him and just wanting to see who I considered my little sister.

"Downstairs. Where else would she be?" He answered with a chuckle.  He grabbed my arm and pulled me over to the door of the basement. He opened it, and for one terrifying moment, I thought he was going to throw me down again. To my relief, he just shoved me through the doorway and slammed the door behind me.

"Collin? Is that you?" I heard Ansley's voice as she appeared at the bottom of the stairway.

"It's me," I answered as I started climbing down the stairs. She waited for me and hugged me when I met her at the bottom. I felt a sharp pain in my side and let out a small yelp.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot about the rib thing," she said.

"Rib thing?" I asked.

"Don't you remember? One of your ribs popped out of place when you hit the floor." Now that she mentioned it, I did start to faintly remember feeling an unusual pop when I landed on the hard basement floor.

"Oh, I remember now. How long was I out?"

"About three days."

"Three days?" How could it be that long? How did she even survive? Did Ethan abuse her? "What happened to you while I wasn't there?"

Just as I asked, the door opened. It was time for breakfast.

"I'll tell you later," she whispered as we headed to the spaces between our beds with our hands up.