“You don’t have to be so shy, Lily. We’re a family. Why don’t you put those in water now?” He frowned and his eyes darkened. “I don’t want them to die.” The other girls looked away quickly and sat down. What was that about? They were acting weirder. Did it mean something?
So I wouldn’t make him angry, I grabbed the empty vase and filled it with water. It was made from thin plastic but was a very good glass imitation. Unless you held it, you would never tell. I threw them in the vase and placed it between the weltering red poppies, bright violets, and white roses. Why flowers? I wanted to know everything about him so I could use something to get out, but at the same time I wanted to know nothing.
I sat in the seat I was in yesterday—opposite him. Every muscle in my body ached where I’d been tensing up. The physical pain was actually welcome; it was almost a distraction from what was happening.
“Let’s eat then,” Violet said.
The fried food did nothing to settle my stomach. I wanted to puke. I could feel his eyes on me, studying me. Deciding something? If he wanted to keep me or not? I nibbled on a piece of toast, feeling the most self-conscious I ever had. Why wouldn’t he look away?
My mind quickly flicked back to Lewis. Concentrating on him took me away for a minute. I wondered what he was doing. Usually he would still be asleep, but I doubt he would be now. My parents always sat around drinking endless cups of coffee on weekend mornings before they did anything. Would they have made a thermos up while they searched for me? I hoped so, because Mum felt awful if she hadn’t had her caffeine fix and was super snappy.
“Lily?” someone called, snapping me out of my daydreaming. He, Rose, Violet, and Poppy were all staring at me, and now I couldn’t read any of their expressions.
“Sorry,” I whispered and moved my food around on the plate to look like I was doing something with it. Did they want something, or was it just because I was in my own world? They went back to their food.
“So, Clover, what have you got planned for today?” Rose asked as if this was a normal situation. Like he was going to reply “bit of kidnapping, maybe a murder or two, the usual.” How could she even ask him things like that so casually? I wasn’t even sure if she was afraid of him anymore.
He smiled at her, almost lovingly. “After I’ve caught up with a few things for work, I’ll be going out.” He worked? Well, of course he did; he must have to work to support five people. He didn’t seem like a particularly social person, though. Where would he be going out?
“Why don’t you tell Lily about your job? She looks a little confused,” Rose suggested.
Here goes. Pretend it’s not real and he’s talking about a film. As much as I wanted to shut off and go back home in my head, I needed every piece of information I could get.
His eyes flicked to me and he smiled. I tried not to turn my nose up in disgust. He looked warm and friendly. It was hard to believe he was the same man who kidnapped me and stabbed a woman to death just yesterday. If I passed him on the street, I wouldn’t look at him twice, but I wouldn’t be cautious around him either. He just looked so normal.
“I’m an accountant for a law firm in town.” I managed to swallow the laughter that threatened to burst out. He worked for a lawyer. How ironic. The other side of him—his job—it all seemed so normal. No one would guess that this well-dressed, polite accountant led a secret sadistic second life. He must sit at his desk every day, chat with his coworkers, and do his job, then go home to the women in his cellar.
“You should eat now, Lily. We don’t want you getting any slimmer.” He stared at me for a second, daring me to disobey him.
Gulping the fear away, I cut off a small piece of egg and popped it in my mouth. I didn’t want to make him angry like Violet did, so I forced the food down and prayed I wouldn’t be sick. I wanted to lose weight to piss him off, but I wouldn’t. The food slid down my throat making me gag. Chew.
“Right, Flowers, I need to leave for work. Have a good day and I’ll see you for dinner. Roast chicken tonight, Rose.”
“Yes, Clover,” she said and nodded her head.
He stood up and kissed Poppy, Violet, and Rose on the cheek. Please not me. My heart was beating out of my chest. “Good-bye, Lily.” He walked up the stairs, and I breathed a big sigh of relief. What was I going to do when he eventually tried to kiss me like that?
“Come on, Lewis,” I muttered. He always made things better, whether it was bringing me my favorite food when I didn’t feel well, helping me study for exams I was convinced I would fail, or having a word with Henry if he said something out of line. I knew it was too much to expect him to fix this too, but I couldn’t help it.
Poppy arched her eyebrow. “How long have you been together?”
“Just over a year and a half, but I liked him for ages before that.”