New to the Family

Exit

Author's note: A short update, but I wanted to get one out. Happy Hallowe'en!!

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I was out of Jared's sight while he was in the bathroom. I held my burning arm against my chest. I tiptoed out of the bedroom. The wooden floor creaked with every step that I took. I ran down the hallway, the stairs, and into the kitchen.

There was a door there.

Why did I not run to it sooner? Why did I not try to escape when it was Lindsay and I in the kitchen? Jared was going to torture me through these "punishments".

I ran into the kitchen, and saw the door. I grabbed the handle, but it was stuck. I pushed and pulled on the door with my good hand, but it did not move. They somehow locked the door from the inside. I cursed under my breath as I continued to pull on the handle.

I yelped when a hand touched my shoulder. I spun around, and pressed my back against the door. Lindsay was standing there with her hand over her heart. She acted like my sudden move scared her.

"How do I get out of here?" I asked.

"You can't," she said. "Leah, it is too dangerous out there for you."

I reached forward and grabbed Lindsay's shoulders. She tensed under my grip. My heart was pounding as I looked over my shoulder at the door.

"Lindsay, you have to get me out of here," I said. "I don't know what kind of brainwashing they did to you girls, but it is safe out there. I have a family looking for me. I can't stay here. Your son, he hurt me. I can't stay here. He's going to kill me."

"Jared, would never kill you," she said.

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders to try and shake me off of her. She took a step backward, and I fell onto my knees. My breathing was ragged as I tried to stop myself from crying. My grip had slipped down to her wrists.

"Please, please," I begged. "You need to open that door."

"Leah, I can't," she said. "I don't have a key."

"You need to get us out of here. Lindsay, you don't want to be here. They've kidnapped us."

Lindsay's jaw dropped and she shook her head. She twisted and pulled her wrists, but I did not let go of her.

"Jared!" she called out.

"No, please don't!" I yelled.

The stairs creaked, and I looked over to see Jared walking into the kitchen. He raised an eyebrow when he saw us, and the corner of his lips lifted into a smile.

"Leah, what's going on?" he asked. The hint of amusement behind his voice was nauseating.

"She was asking about the door," Lindsay said.

Jared nodded his head as he walked toward us. I squeezed my eyes shut, and I was shocked not to feel the tears rolling down my face. I must have cried myself dry. Jared's rough hands covered my wrists.

"Let go of Mom," Jared said.

He yanked my hands off of Lindsay. I hissed in pain as his fingers brushed over the gauze. Jared bent down, and wrapped his arms around my waist. He pulled me up onto my feet, and into his chest. I swung my hand out and punched him in the chest. Jared chuckled as he pulled me in tighter to his body.

"You're a bit of a fighter," he said. "It's adorable."

"Get off me!" I yelled.

I ripped Jared's arms off of my waist. I spun on my heels, and started running. I only got a few steps away before all of the air was knocked out of me. Jared shot out his arm, and stopped me. I screamed, and Jared's free hand covered my mouth.

Lindsay's eyes were wide as she watched us from the other side of the kitchen. She picked at the hem of her shirt as she tried to look away from us. I kicked my leg back to try and get Jared off of me.

"Do you want me to get the drugs?" Lindsay asked.

"No," Jared said. "I can't sedate her. Dad said we are going to have our wedding tonight."

My screams were muffled by Jared's hand. I shook my head, but his hand did not move. I kicked my leg back again, and hit his shin. He gasped out in pain. His hand came off of my mouth, and his hand went down onto my hip. He spun me around, and lifted me up. He tossed me over his shoulder. I pounded my fists into his back.

"Let me go!" I screamed.

"Sorry, Mom," Jared said to Lindsay. "We'll try to keep it quiet."

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I guess we'll get the house ready."

Jared turned, and I bobbed as he walked toward the staircase. I continued to punch in to his back, and kicked my legs. I screamed, and the warm tears were rolling down my cheeks. I struggled to breathe as Jared's shoulder dug into my stomach with every step that he took. He walked down the hallway, and then kicked the bedroom door open.

"Put me down!" I screamed.

"Okay," he said.

He grabbed my hips and threw me down onto the bed. I pushed myself back, but he grabbed my ankle and pulled me down. Jared held my wrists with his hand and pinned them down onto the mattress. He opened the drawer of the nightstand, and searched through it. He pulled out a rope, and I was hit by a wall of nausea. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from being sick.

I thrashed around and cried out as he tied my hands to the headboard. He somehow managed to tie a knot with one hand as he held my hands in place with the other hand. A crease was formed between his eyebrows as he focused, but he still managed to restrain me with ease.

This was definitely not the first time he has had to restrain someone.

"Please." My vision was blurry because of my tears. "Please, don't do this."

"Do what?" he asked.

"We can't get married."

Jared's fingers ran across my cheeks and wiped off my tears. I flinched, and rolled my head to the side. He grabbed my chin, and turned my head so that I was facing him.

"Leah, we have to," he said. "It's part of our tradition. I am always going to love and protect you. You need me to take care of you. I am going to take care of you and our children. I know this is all scary now, but you'll see that this is what you want soon."

I pulled my wrists down, and the rope burned into my skin. My shoulders ached from the awkward angle that Jared tied my hands. He cupped my face in his hands, and a smile spread across his lips.

"I love you," he said.

"I hate you," I said.

Pain exploded across my face, and my eyes burned with more tears. My nose ached. I blinked away the tears to see Jared's hand was balled up into a fist. A warm liquid trickled down onto my top lip. The metallic taste of blood seeped into my mouth.

"You better learn to appreciate me," he said. "I am doing a lot to protect you, and you're being disrespectful. Everyone outside wants to hurt you, and we're keeping you safe in here."

"You're crazy," I said.

Jared raised his fist again. I squeezed my eyes shut, and my body tensed as I braced myself for his blow.

He let out a deep breath. I peered open with one eye to see Jared running his hand through his hair. He got up off of the side of the bed.

"Leah, I never want to hurt you," he said. "I need you to listen to me so that I do not have to punish you."

"You're sick," I said. "You are all sick. You need help."

Jared shook his head. I held my breath when he reached over my body. He grabbed his faded baseball cap off of the other side of the bed. He put it on, and walked toward the bedroom door. He stopped, and looked over his shoulder.

"You've ruined our time together," he said. "I'll see you at our wedding."