FicWad

"Paulina, honey," came her mother's voice as she gently pushed open the door. "Your father's here."

"Dad?" Paulina snapped out of her reverie. Her chest had ached with worry since Dr. Coker had left. Why had she been abandoned? Where were Frank, and Bob, and Mikey, and Ray, and even Gerard? Why had they left her? Why didn't they want her anymore? Had she done something wrong? Had she, Paulina, single-handedly ruined their experiment, somehow? Her fingers traced her lower lip, mimicking an action that Frank was fond of doing, and had done just before the last time he’d kissed her. Oh, that kiss…Paulina revisited that kiss with every blink, breath, and beat of her body.

"Pauly," said her father, sitting on the edge of the bed and grabbing his daughter's hand. His face was so familiar, so recognizable. There were new lines on his forehead. It seemed that he’d managed to age ten years in only six months. "How's my little birdy?" Paulina just tried to smile, although it wasn't working out very well. Guilt mingled with her intense need to be left alone, even by the parents that she hadn’t seen in so long.

"Paulina," Mrs. James said quietly, smoothing her hands over the bed sheets. "Honey, I know it's going to be hard, but could you please tell us what happened? You can't imagine how worried we've been, honey. After a while, the police said--well, you can imagine, can't you? You were gone for so long, and...we didn't know what to think." The guilt took over, and Paulina wished even more dearly that she could be left alone with her own thoughts.

"Mom." Paulina placed her hand over her mother's, feeling impossibly guilty for making her parents worry like this. "I'm here. I'm fine. I love you guys so much. I'm so sorry for putting you through this. You don't have to worry anymore." If only they’d leave…

"It's not your fault, honey. You are not to blame. The people or person that took you are to blame. Honey, if we're going to find them, you need to tell us what happened."

Paulina's pulse quickened. Catch them? If they caught them, they'd go to jail, and Paulina would never see them again. She couldn't be with Frank if he was behind bars. He couldn’t hold her in his soft, strong way, or brush his thumb along her lower lip, or breathe that he loved her if she could only see him through a plastic window, talking to him over a phone in a prison. She wanted to find him, but she didn’t want him caught.

However, she nodded and swallowed thickly. Her stomach churned, and Paulina wished desperately that she had one or even all of the guys there to tell her what to do and say; they would know exactly what to do. Unlike Paulina.

"First, how many were there?"

Five. "I--I don't remember..."

"Men or women?"

Men. Five men that Paulina had grown so comfortable with and dependent on that every breath she took out of their presence felt forbidden and punishable. "I--both." Paulina knew she should have been telling her parents the truth, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She just couldn't.

The mother and father exchanged looks. "Paulina," began Mr. James. "The doctors want to give you a...test."

“Another sanity test?" Paulina's eyes widened, before once more remembering that she could now ask questions. She’d never ask another question again to be back in her room--no. To be back in Frank’s room, his arms around her waist, his lips on her forehead, reassuring.

“No, honey, a different kind of test." Paulina's mother tightened her grip on the girl's hand. "A...it's a test to see if you've had...sex in the last forty eight hours." Paulina stiffened.

“What for?" Chills ran up and down her spine. Whatever it was for, it couldn’t mean good things.

“Well, honey, if you were raped, they can find out who did it from DNA that might still be in your body, and they'll be that much closer to finding the people who did this to you."

The last forty eight hours...Frank's DNA could still be inside her, possibly. In fact, it was very likely, as she hadn't showered that night afterwards, or the next morning. She unwittingly clamped her legs shut, trying to preserve the last bit of him she had inside her. They wouldn’t take him away from her, not what little she had left.

“No," Paulina said coldly. She dropped her parents' hands and gripped the sheets tightly. "Nothing like that happened." The parents exchanged another glance.

“Paulina," Mrs. James said softly. "You can't be sure. This could help to--"

“I said no," Paulina repeated. "I'm of sound mind and sanity; I don't want one because I don't need one."

The mother stared at her for a moment, before sighing and standing, motioning for her husband to do the same. "I think you just need some time to yourself, honey. It's late, and we could all use some sleep. We'll be back in the morning, dear." Paulina nodded. "Love you."

"Love you, birdy."

Paulina waved to both her parents as they left, glad to be alone once more. Relief flooded her veins, helping Paulina to exhale the tight knot from her stomach. It returned a moment later, worse, and the heaviness in her heart and chest just deepened. She buried her face in Algernon's fur, remembering how she'd always craved alone time back at the mansion. How stupid she'd been.

"Mikey, please leave me alone." Paulina sighed and lowered her book, glaring at the man standing in her doorway, interrupting her valued solitary time; it wasn't something she got a lot of in that house.

"Mikey, please leave me alone," he mocked, plucking the book out of her hands and throwing it at Al, who was hiding in the corner; he always did that when Mikey was in the room.

"Don't mind the mean man, Algernon," Paulina told her pet, whilst glaring at Mikey. "I don't suppose you came in here just to terrorize my rabbit."

"Unfortunately, no. I came to get you. Come downstairs." Mikey grabbed Paulina's arm and dragged her out the door and down the stairs.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. Let go, already!" Paulina wrenched her arm out of the man's grip.

"We're getting food," he told her as though she'd asked.

"We never all go out together." Paulina stopped at the door, adjusting the knot on the blindfold Mikey had tied.

"Well, tonight we're all hungry. That okay with you, Princess?"

"I suppose so, knave," she said, grabbing Mikey's hand so he could lead her to the car.

"Oh, just get in." Mikey ducked Paulina's head for her and pushed her into the backseat.

The restaurant they ended up at was very upscale, not surprising to Paulina. It had been apparent from the beginning that these men had more than enough money for themselves.

"Order some kind of protein, or you won't eat for a week," Bob murmured to Paulina as he held the door open for her. She sighed and shrugged. They were seated in a large booth, Paulina snugly sat between Frank and Mikey. She always felt so small at tables like this.

"Order, Paulina," Bob snapped, Paulina looking up from her menu, which she’d been staring at for the past ten minutes. She wasn’t hungry at all, but that would hardly factor into how the situation would play out. Bob’s eyebrow was raised, as though daring her to order anything but meat.

"I'll have the filet mignon," Paulina told the waitress.

"And how would you like that cooked?"

Paulina thought. Might as well go all out. It wasn't like they could do anything to her while at the restaurant. "Rare. As rare as you can get it. Bloody." She attracted strange looks from her companions, but ignored them.

When the food arrived, Paulina unwrapped her silverware and set them on the table, folding her napkin neatly in her lap.

"Are you planning on eating?" Mikey asked her after a few minutes of Paulina just glancing around at everyone else as they ate.

"I was only told to order," she told him airily.

"Eat."

"It's dangerous to consume raw meat. What if I get food poisoning? Are you going to take me to a doctor, or let me die?" Paulina stuck her nose in the air, feeling a bit proud at having outsmarted her captors. Hospitals were out of the questions, as Paulina’s dental records and blood workings were probably at every hospital in the country, and they most certainly did not need a dead body on their hands. They were felons, not murderers.

"Let you die. Eat." So much for that. Paulina sighed and picked up her cutlery. It had been worth a shot, at least. Paulina thought while she prepared to cut her meat. She set her silverware beside her plate once more.

“I can’t cut it. It’s too tough. Send it back.”

“Fine. I’ll send it back and pray to your God that someone pisses in it.” Mikey tossed his napkin onto the table. Frank stopped him from flagging down the waitress.

“Don’t bother; she’s just being difficult. What happens if I try to do it for you, and the meat cuts like butter, Paulina?” The girl looked down at the table and shrugged. She hated being caught by Frank. “Tell me, Paulina: what happens if I can cut the meat?” His voice was quiet, but that, by no measure, meant he was calm. In fact, it meant that he was storing this moment away in his memory for a punishment the moment they walked through their front door. His fingers caught her under the chin, tipping Paulina’s guilty face up towards his own. “Nothing?” She shook her head. “I’m not happy with that. What…happens…then?”

“Whatever you want,” she murmured grumpily. She regretted even doing this.

“That’s right. Now, let’s find out…” With that, Frank picked up Paulina’s discarded cutlery and cut her meat easily, dicing it into tiny bits that were manageable even for Paulina, who was as picky an eater as they came. “Hmm…Look at that, honey…It cuts fine…Have a bite?” He speared a chunk of meat on the end of the fork and held it up to Paulina, who swallowed thickly and shook her head.

“I--I don’t--” Frank cut her off, mid-sentence, shock on his face.

“What am I thinking? You can’t eat this.” Paulina knew better than to feel relief at this new development; on the contrary, the pit of her stomach fell terribly wondering what else he could possibly have up his sleeve. From his coat pocket, Frank removed a small vial full of slightly foggy liquid, which he shook out all over Paulina’s food, including the piece that was still on the fork. “Did you know,” he began, corking the vial and replacing it in his pocket. “That the smallest doses of potassium cyanide can be irreversibly fatal within forty-five minutes of administering?” Paulina shook her head, eyeing her now-poisoned meat. “And did you know that even non-lethal doses can still cause weakness, dizziness, headaches, loss of consciousness, not to mention countless other unpleasant things that would be inappropriate to mention over dinner?” Again, Paulina did not know this. “Well,” Frank said with a little chuckle, lifting the fork to Paulina’s lips once more. “You’re going to find out.”

An hour later, as they were walking from the car into the house, Paulina stumbled, her knees giving out beneath her weight. Someone caught her under the arms and propped her back up. She fell again, her ankles twisting beneath her. Paulina felt as though her muscles were giving out, giving up. Her head lolled to the side, and her head began to get fuzzy. The blindfold around her eyes was suddenly very warm and itchy, and Paulina absently tugged at the material. She felt herself being lifted from the ground and carried inside. Once up the stairs and in a room, Paulina felt herself being lowered onto her bed and the blindfold being removed. Two Franks stood before her, smirking at her situation. They swam in her vision and Paulina groaned, clutching at her pounding head.

“How do you feel, honey?” he asked patronizingly. Paulina just groaned again and curled into herself, wrapping her arms around her shins. “Not good,” he concluded. “Now,” he said, sitting on the edge of Paulina’s bed and brushing her hair away from her face. “Are you ever going to try pulling a stunt like you just pulled in the restaurant ever again?” Paulina shook her head, groaning dolefully at the sharp stabs ripping through her abdomen.

“Need to--to--” Paulina began to wretch, heaving forward, unable to stand. Frank chuckled and carried her out of her room and into the bathroom, dropping her into the empty tub, where she spilled the poisoned contents of her stomach. Sweat beaded out all over her body, mingling with splashes of puke and undigested steak bits. “It hurts so bad, Frank,” she moaned, unable to resist as he began to strip her of her clothing and run the bathwater.

“I know, baby, I know. But now you know you’re not going to do that anymore, right, kitten?” Paulina nodded. Frank helped her sit up so that she was leaning back against the tiled shower wall. Spasms knocked her knees together forcefully, and the world began to fade from her vision.

“I just…want to be alone…” she whimpered softly.

“Oh, sugar,” Frank said, chuckling again. His voice was very foggy, very far away. “You’re never alone here.”

Paulina shuddered at the memory. Reaching her hand up to her cheek, she realized that the moments of nostalgia had sent silent tears running down her face. She swallowed thickly. Was it really all over?



Quick update, long chapter. I'm quite happy with how this one turned out, actually, and in such a short time. I had this half-done when I got back, and I just finished it in the last hour. It was enjoyable. Chapters like this remind me why I love writing this story, and why I started it in the first place. In fact, I think you should all praise my good behavior with this chapter by commenting, rating, and subscribing. I think these flashbacks will be recurring things for the next few chapters, since it's a great way to put in some little vignettes that I couldn't write in before she got released, and it will grant more insight into the story. Anyway, go do what you guys do best. I'm gonna start on another chapter. OverAndOutxx