FicWad

She wiped at her tears and tried her best to tell herself that all of this would be over soon. She winced as her fingers lightly touched to the bruise that was already forming on the side of her face. She didn't want to think of what had happened, didn't want to even believe that she was the one who it had happened to. She hadn't been through very much in her life outside of the depression that had crept up on her during her marriage. Now though she was in the very pit of terror and darkness. She was alone. She had disillusioned herself into believing that this was something that she had possibly wanted. This sort of escape that would lead her away from a life that she had never wanted. She had made herself believe that it wouldn't be this hard, this scary but now her eyes were opened and she knew that she was hopeless.

Before Sophia had left she had told Elena that tomorrow she would call Samuel again, telling him the price of the ransom. Elena feared that moment, knowing that Samuel had little reverence for Elena now and the possibility of him parting with his wealth was nearly hopeless. She tried to explain that to Sophia but of course it had fallen on deaf ears. Why wouldn't the DA have money enough to spare for his precious new bride? It made sense to her captors but it was impossible to Elena. She couldn't lie to herself, couldn't bear to carry Samuel's false love anymore. It was too much of a burden. If she died here at least she would die knowing the truth and knowing that every decision she had made was the wrong one.

Slowly she lifted herself up from the bed, climbing down and walked across the room into the bathroom. She glanced at herself in the mirror, the first time she had braved her own reflection since she had been taken.

She let out a gasp at what she saw. The broken skin that covered the left side of her face. She lightly touched her fingers to it, wincing again at the contact. Her head was pounding and her hands lightly shook. Her eyes were dampened by black circles, her lips had dried out. She was completely drained, that much was obvious by her appearance. Anyone could see it. What would Samuel think of her now? Where was the woman he had placed on his arm as his trophy?

She couldn't help the breath of a laugh that escaped her lips. She could only imagine Samuel paying the hefty ransom and then have her come home looking like this. A torn up mess. What anger would he show then? What disappointment?

She turned the tap of the sink on, letting cool water pour out. Carefully she wiped handfuls of water across her face, hissing at the pain the bruising caused.

The thoughts flashed through her mind of when Sophia had walked in here, standing over the bed where she had been sitting. She had flung insults at her, had asked her dozens and dozens of questions. Most of them regarded Samuel's earnings which Elena was as much in the dark about as they were. It had angered Sophia that Elena didn't have an answer for her. She had told Jared to go get her some paper and once he was gone she had demanded the answer out of Elena again. Elena had apologized for her lack of knowledge, had told her that she wasn't in anyway involved in the finances in her marriage but of course Sophia didn't believe that. She had let out a yell and with almost crazed eyes had moved towards the bed and slammed her across the face with the phone she had in her hand. It had hit Elena unaware and she fell back with shock. She wasn't prepared for when Sophia slammed the phone again in the same spot, the same question pouring from her lips. That was when Jared had rushed into the room, dropping what he was holding and grabbing for Sophia. She clawed at him angrily, managing another hit to Elena's face before he pulled her entirely off. He didn't say anything, he just pulled Sophia out and slammed the door shut. And that was the last bit of commotion since.

Elena felt alone now and she was glad for it. She didn't want to hear another thing about Samuel's money, didn't want to hear Sophia's shrill yell. She didn't even want to see that empathy filling Jared's eyes. She hated them all. She couldn't help it. The way it stormed through her like a violent surge of bile waiting to be spewed out. If she had the means she wasn't sure what she would do, how she would get out. There weren't many options available for her and she was so weak. She had never been strong. Perhaps overall she hated herself more. Hated herself for being weak enough to remain in chains. Hated herself for not listening to her family to begin with. She hated herself for losing herself in a marriage she never wanted.

Harshly she sucked in a breath, not wanting to cry again, and walked out of the bathroom. She tried at the door but it was locked, it didn't even budge when she slammed her shoulder against it, it only caused a harsh pain to ache through her arm. She tried pulling at the bars of the window but the iron wouldn't give way. With a final breath of exhaustion she dropped herself on the edge of the bed and simply stared out the window.

The night was disappearing, a violet veil blanketed the sky as the sun began to take shape. She was so tired but the dull ache in her head wouldn't let sleep take over. She could only guess that her face was swollen by now and that she looked even more horrible than before. She laid back, closing her eyes and tried to will herself to sleep.

Her thin sleep was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling out of the houses driveway. She shot up rushed to the window and glanced down. There was a hope inside that they both had left and she could somehow manage some sort of escape but when she glanced down she saw Jared standing out on the lawn. His head was lowered, his pulled back hair a slight mess and the black shirt he wore quite big on his slender frame.

She sat back on the bed, resting her head against the wall and closed her eyes. She just needed some time alone, needed it to find a way out of this place, out of this situation. The thin sleep returned until the door opened quietly. Her eyes slid open and they met his immediately.

He was holding a bowl in one hand and a glass in the other. The smell of it caused her stomach to ache as she sat forward and looked up at him pleadingly. He breathed out a sigh as he came closer to the bed, sitting down on the edge and handing the bowl to her. He kept the glass in his hands.

She ate the oatmeal quickly before setting the bowl down and reaching for the glass of water he held. Before she even realized it she was done and had set the dishes down on the ground. She looked at him then, noticing that his eyes had barely left her face the whole time. She tucked her hair back and felt the weight of his gaze somehow overwhelming her.

"I don't know what to tell you." He suddenly said. What was that in his voice? Shame? Regret? Sympathy? Whatever it was she nearly cringed hearing it.

"Don't." She simply said before looking away.

He nodded, sighed and pushed his hand back through his hair.

it was silent for a moment until she glanced back up at him. His brows were lightly furrowed, his hair had fallen in wisps on his forehead and his lips were firmly pressed together.

"Am I going to die?" She asked softly, worried at the answer he would give her or worse the one he couldn't bring himself to give her.

He looked at her with a bit of shock in the blue of his eyes as if the thought had never crossed his mind before. "We just want the money." He tried to assure her but when his eyes caught sight of the swollen side of her face again it seemed to rip that assurance away.

She didn't make a response, unable to to face the uncertainty he gave her in his reaction. The fear swelled up inside of her, taking the place of the hate that she had filled herself with the night before.

Quite suddenly he reached over and unlocked the chain from her ankle. He took hold of her hand and lifted her carefully to her feet.

"Why don't you let me go?" She cried out, the tears finally spilling from her eyes.

He lifted his hands and gently supped her face. He stared deeply into her eyes. His eyes glanced about every feature of her face before homing them to her gaze again. His breath washed over her skin, the warmth of him being close to her surprised her. For all the hate she had felt last night she felt helpless to the way he managed to overwhelm her.

"You aren't going to die." He said with finality. "I won't allow it." He said it with all the assurance he hadn't been able to muster before.

"What about Sophia?" She asked, her voice just barely above a whisper.

At the mention of Sophia's name he dropped his hands and took a single step back. "Somethings just have to be done." He said. The words both pained him and assured him. She wasn't sure of his motives but there was anger flashing in his eyes whenever this whole thing was mentioned. He had reasons, he had hate.

She had nothing else to do but accept that and lower her gaze. She tucked her hair behind her ear and parted her lips to let out a long held breath.

His fingers whispered over the bruise on the side of her face causing her eyes to shoot to his with surprise. "I'm sorry." Was all he said before he took her hand in his again and led her out of the room.

She followed behind him, the skin of his hand warm in hers. His fingers tightened around her hand and again something he did left her with surprise. She wasn't sure what this was, what was happening. Why suddenly there was a feeling of relief whenever she was around him. Why there was no longer hate searing her mind whenever she looked into his eyes. She suddenly had the urge to know him, to know his reasons and to hear him say the words to her that she longed to hear. You're free.