Amber Alert (Amber Alert Series Book 1) (5 page)

"There's a point to this, I swear," he said putting his hands in the air as a gesture of surrender.

"Please get to it," I stated with an icy tone that made him shiver.

"The point is when Dad came home, he caught us in the act." I felt fear shoot through me. I had seen how his dad had overreacted to Garrett simply touching my hand. Seeing them together must have sent him into a frenzy.

"What did he do?"

"He was furious. He tossed her out of the house, and threw her out into the woods. He beat me for two days straight, with little to no sleep in between, while he gave her a chance to hide. She didn't know where to go, she got lost the first day and Dad found her two days later day and dragged her back."

I swallowed as I pictured Garrett getting beaten repeatedly. I felt sick, I wanted to do anything to keep him safe and take his pain for him. It wasn't fair for him to be beaten, he was as much of a victim as we were.

"For the next whole day he took his anger out on her. I will never be able to get her screams out of my mind. He forced her to stay for another two months, never leaving us except for work and he'd chain her to his bed and lock the door behind him. When he found out she was pregnant..." He paused for a moment and then let the sentence fall. He never finished it.

"That's what the chains are from. That's why you are only his and his alone. That's what happened to my back. All those girls you saw on the wall were beaten, tortured, and imprisoned here. That's what you have to look forward to and nothing else, but death."

There was the sudden sound of tires on gravel causing Garrett to jump slightly. He put his hands under me, one on my back and one under my knees, and lifted me as if I weighted nothing. Without a word he started running back up the stairs without blindfolding me so I wouldn’t know where his hiding spot was.

"Where are we going Garrett?"

"We have to get out of here before he realizes you're gone!"

Chapter 5

"Don't say anything! I don't want him to hear us and then rush inside. So please be quiet and we will both survive today," he whispered to me urgently as he raced up the stairs.

Garrett was so terrified that he didn't care that I was able to see where his hiding place was. It was probably the one place he found solace in this house and now I had ruined it for him. I felt horrible for that, and even worse for the growing pain in my back and head from my fall.

As Garrett carried me up the stairs, I realized that we must be far away from a road because I hadn't heard any other sounds until the tires hit the gravel right next to the house. That just emphasized the rows of trees that I had watched pass by on my trip here. We were in the middle of nowhere, away from main roads, people and towns.

I could hear the car shut off, then Steve's footsteps on the gravel outside of the house as we breached a small opening that opened into the kitchen. How did this get here? Why is there a bunker underneath the kitchen counter? Garrett set me in a chair as he sealed the entrance, making it invisible at a glance, to anyone who didn't know it was there. That explains why I didn't see it before.

Garrett turned on his heel and pulled me out of my seat as Steve's footsteps got closer. I could sense Garrett's fear as Steve started turning the doorknob of the front door. We were going to get caught and we’d both be dead.

Garrett slowed his pace as he got to the stairs, knowing they creaked under any pressure. I heard him take a deep breath to relax himself and then he looked pleadingly into my eyes, begging me to stay quiet as he started to walk up the stairs. The stairs seemed to extend forever as we slowly walked up them, trying to get out of sight before Steve got in.

We were half way up the stairs when there was a sudden pounding on the door, like someone was trying to force their way in. Garrett saw my expression change; I was hoping someone had found me, but he killed those hopes quickly. "Move faster Garrett!" I whispered as I pushed myself into him. I needed the comfort he gave me as the pounding on the front door got more forceful. God, I hope there are people looking for me.

"I'm trying!" he whispered urgently so his voice wouldn't alert Steve. There was another loud thud on the door as Steve slammed his body into the door again.

"We can't be seen together. We have to split up," I said as we made it back to the main room upstairs. Garrett set me down carefully on the couch and gave me a look of sorrow before he spoke.

"Do you think I don't know that?" he asked with pain and annoyance dancing in his eyes. It looked as if I was tearing his heart out.

Garrett lightly ran his fingers down my cheek as tears started to escape from my eyes. He placed his hands around my face, cupping my face perfectly in his rough hands. I could see the pain in his eyes, even at such a small action. It made me wonder if he could see the small spark of hope in my eyes that he gave me.

Anna, why are you doing this to yourself?
I couldn’t place it, but there was a familiar spark, and suddenly I felt as if I owed Andy an apology

"Hey, hey look at me," Garrett whispered as I threw myself into his chest and hugged him to me tightly. I could hear his heart rate pick up as he pushed me away gently and looked me in the eyes with pain and sorrow shadowing his fears. "I need you to be strong."

"I can't..." I sobbed loudly, unable to control myself through the tears.

"Shh, please be quiet," Garrett said letting the fear take over his face and actions as he slapped his hand over my mouth momentarily. "Please be quiet. Just tell me about you, that will calm you down. Let's start with your name, you know mine, but I don't know yours." He said in a panicked frenzy.

"It's Anna, you already knew that!" I choked out as another loud bang came to my ears. I felt my chest heave as another strong fear started to strangle my heart.

"Shh, it's okay. I'll protect you as best as I can," Garrett said hugging me to him again momentarily.

"You sound like Andy."

"Who's Andy?" He asked as I sobbed forcefully, pressing myself against him tighter. I listened to his heartbeat and counted them as I tried to calm myself down enough to answer him.

"He's my boyfriend." I heard Garrett groan slightly as he held me tighter to him. "Steve killed him because he tried to protect me and stop Steve from taking me." I cried as the door finally burst open down stairs sending Garrett as far away from me as possible.

"I'm sorry, I will see you again really soon. I'm sorry that I can't stay with you. Please, just get into your room, look sick. He always takes it easy on girls when they are sick," Garrett instructed with a serious tone, but a torn expression on his face. He couldn't decide whether to stay with me or hide from his father.

"Kelly, I'm home!" Steve called from down stairs as the door slammed shut to seal it back into place. Garrett made a split second decision when he heard his father call up to me. He ran toward me and lifted me off the sofa and quickly put me in my room on the bed.

"Look sick. I promise, it will make it easier." He flicked his eyes between the stairs where his father would be coming up any second and me. Garrett was afraid to take his eyes off me.

When he finally turned to leave I called out, "Don't leave me alone with him."

"You have to stay quiet. Remember my rules as well as your own. This is hard for me too," he admitted as his light brown eyes widened with sorrow. I knew he had rules that he had to follow too, but I couldn't let him just leave me. What was I going to do without his help? I didn't know what to do. I couldn't remember any of my rules, what was I going to do?

"Please don't leave me.”

"I have to." He grimaced slightly as he held his hands toward me to tell me to stay in bed. He tried to hide it as he went to his room, but I could see the pain he was going through leaving me alone. Before he shut the door he looked back at me, "I'm sorry."

I sat, stunned silent for a moment and tried to remain calm, but when I heard footsteps walking up the wooden stairs I couldn’t. The clunk of boots hitting the hardwood floors sent me into a terrified panic. I quickly laid down on the bed and tried to look sick. Each step gave me a new surge of fear, making my heartbeat quicken, tears race down my cheeks, and memories of Steve's advances toward me.

"Kelly, I'm home." He repeated from outside my door sounding angry about my lack of response.

Was I supposed to answer that? What was I supposed to say? I gripped on to the bed sheets and prayed silently that Garrett would think of something to save me. He said he would protect me, but what about now? Where was he when I needed him the most?

"Kelly, I'm home!" Steve called a little louder as he banged on my door. My confusion doubled, what was he expecting me to say? If I said the wrong thing would he hurt me? If I didn't answer would it be worse?

 "Welcome home?" I asked more than stated, unsure if that was what he wanted me to say.

 "Kelly, you know when I come home you meet me at the door!" He roared as he burst through the door and caused it to slam on the wall behind it.

I coughed, "I'm sorry. I just don't feel well."

"Are you okay honey?" Steve asked, suddenly concerned for my health. My stomach clenched as he walked in and sat on the edge of my bed. He lightly laid his hand on my forehead to check for a temperature. "You're hot, Kelly, and not in the way I like."

"I'm sorry?"

"It's not your fault. We can't control when we get sick. How about I make you some chicken noodle soup and get you a warm blanket?" He asked politely, as if he genuinely cared about how I was feeling.

"That would be great," I said in shock as he got up from my bed without making any advances toward me and walked to the door. He was going to leave and allow me to be alone.

"I want you to get well as soon as possible."

"Why?" I asked, unable to help myself from asking the question.

"So I can welcome you home the proper way," he said with a tingle of laughter as he gave me a smile and walked out of the room.

What the hell did he mean? As he walked away, I had a feeling that I didn't want to be welcomed home. Something told me that it wouldn't be in my favor. It was ghost quiet in the house other than for Steve's movements. He didn't have to worry about making sound; it was Garrett and I that had to worry. We couldn't get caught or we’d be punished.

There was a squeak as Garrett stepped into the threshold of the room. His presence brought me a sense of relief for a moment before I caught a look at his expression. His face was ashen, pale and seemed as if he was on the verge of tears. He couldn't find the words to speak and it was obvious that he was pleading with me to understand what he was trying to say.

"What's wrong?" I whispered, trying not to attract any attention to us while Steve was downstairs. Garrett didn't answer for a while, he just stood stunned in the spot with fear and sorrow in his eyes. I could see that he was trying to shake away the emotion but he couldn't.

"Garrett, what's wrong?"

"You don't get it do you?" he asked, breaking the silence with a low sorrowful voice.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused by his question.

"It will be really bad at first, I won't lie to you. Every girl has agreed that it's really difficult at first, but it will get easier," Garrett suddenly blurted out as he took two big steps to be by the side of my bed. He was biting his lip as he took a moment to think, and his hands were trembling.

"What are you talking about?" His fear was making me hyperventilate with anxiety. What was going to happen to me? What was going to be bad? How was it going to get easier?

"You're going to be welcomed home," he stated, repeating the phrase that his father had just used, but I still didn't understand what he meant.

"What does that even mean, Garrett?"

"It means you'll be made his. I'm sorry Anna, but I can't stop him and sadly, I can't protect you. I can only give you advice, and that's just to pretend he's someone else. It got a lot of girls through it, constantly, and depending on how often it happened they learned to just accept it."

"Accept what, Garrett? You're not answering the question," I almost yelled by accident as anger built up in me.

"I can't. It's too bad to describe. It's hard for me, but definitely harder for you. I won't even try to say it's not."

"Garrett, answer the question! You’re not making any sense!"

"He's going to rape you. He'll make you a nice dinner, like a date he had with my mom when they were younger, and then he'll take you to the back room. He's going to do it to you a lot while you're here, and if you fight it will just happen more. He will try to relive his life with my mom with you, and I'm sorry I won't be able to help you," he said sadly, letting a single tears slide down his cheek.

My stomach retched again, at the grotesque mental image Garrett had just painted into my mind. I hadn't even thought of that as a possibility of what would happen to me here. Why didn’t my parents tell me this could happen if I wasn’t careful? It wouldn’t have been a comfortable conversation, but I wish I could have known and maybe been more prepared.

"Why not, why can't you help me?" I asked through tears.

"I will be locked in my room, or a different room, but I will be out of reach and I won't be able to help you. I'm sorry."

"When will this happen?"

"When you're at your weakest," he said sadly as he took my hand in his. I threw him a confused look, and then he elaborated on his previous sentence. "Tonight, after you've been physically sick."

"Why did you tell me to pretend to be sick then?" I asked, ripping my hand from his and pulling away from him.

"Because he takes pity on you when you’re sick, trust me this will be a lot easier. He'll let you go to bed alone, in here, leave you alone the next morning. It will be a better experience, just trust me, most of the girls agreed it was better," Garrett explained, but I couldn't understand. He just set me up to be taken advantage of by a psychopath and he knew it. I couldn't decide whether or not to be angry, because from what he had told me, I knew it would have happened eventually.

"Most?"

"Some didn't make it long enough to find out," Garrett said as he took my face in his hands and tried to get me to look in his eyes.

I felt tears start streaming down my face, my breath got short and wheezy, and it was difficult to control. Garrett wrapped his arms around me and hugged me tight, and for a moment I even forgot the horror I was in. I forgot the pain and suffering I was about to endure, that is until Steve called me down for dinner.

"Kelly, I have dinner ready. Come on down and we can make this a special night."