Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Poppy shake her head. “No.” Of course not. We were literally cut off from absolutely everything and everyone. We completely depended on him. I wished I had never gone out that night. I should have listened to Lewis and my family’s worries and let one of them take me. Every time one of them went on about it not being safe to walk alone at night, I would brush it off or tell them to stop being stupid. Looking back, I wanted to punch myself at how cocky I was about it. I felt invincible because I was na?ve enough to think bad things only happen to other people.
“We need to start dinner,” Rose said and switched the TV off after a while. “Do you want to help, Lily?” Summer.
Did I have a choice? “Sure.” What else was there to do to pass the time? It was better than sitting down thinking all the time. Although I did like thinking of my family because it took me away from here, I needed to stop sometimes and do something that would distract from how much I missed them. I would give absolutely anything just to talk to them.
“What do you want me to do?” I asked. They had already gotten everything out and were filling two pans with water. They all worked perfectly together. It looked like they were colleagues in a restaurant kitchen.
“Would you peel the carrots and potatoes?” Poppy handed me the peeler, which was plastic apart from the blade in the middle. It didn’t look particularly sharp, but it was a possibility. Could it do enough damage, though? Knowing I was probably being watched by one or both of them, I looked away from the peeler and grabbed a potato.
“Do you think we’ll ever get out of here?” I asked as I peeled.
Rose sighed and it wasn’t in sadness; it was a frustrated sigh. Frustrated with me? “No.”
“Do you want to?”
“Violet, can you get me an oven dish, please?” Rose asked, completely ignoring my question.
That’s a no then. I felt so sorry for her. He had really screwed with her mind. Rose shoved the chicken in the oven dish and put it in the oven. She was pretending she hadn’t heard me, but I knew she would be thinking about it. How could she not? Did she know she was brainwashed?
I’d finished peeling and chopping, so I chucked the potatoes and carrots in the water and turned the electric stovetop on. That was officially the most cooking I’d ever done. Mum would be shocked and proud at the same time; she might even check my forehead to see if I was ill.
The atmosphere had changed; you could cut it with a knife and I knew it was because of my question. They kept their heads down and concentrated on what they were doing. Someone had to say it, though. Rose needed to realize, or re-realize, what he was doing was wrong.
Staring at the water in the pan slowly start to bubble, I shook my head. I had just helped make him dinner. I had never even made Lewis dinner before. I smiled at the memory of the one and only time I had offered. He laughed and made a joke about not wanting to be poisoned. I was notoriously bad at cooking.
The time Clover would be back was getting close. I could tell by the way they fussed around, double-checking everything was clean and tidy. My heart beat faster in anticipation. I didn’t want him down here, but I almost wanted him to walk through the door so I wouldn’t be so on edge waiting for it.
I debated whether I could pretend to be ill, but I didn’t want him to check up on me. Just eat dinner and keep to yourself until he leaves. This was something I would have to do twice a day on weekdays and three times a day on weekends until I was found.
Finally, that sound I had so quickly come to dread echoed through the room—the cellar door unlocking. My hands trembled and my heart leaped into my mouth. Violet gave me a quick smile, telling me it’d be fine. It wouldn’t.
“Good evening, Flowers,” he said and gave us a charming, this is all totally normal smile. That was how he got away with it. He looked so friendly you just instantly trusted him—unless you were down here, of course.
“Good evening,” they replied in unison. I busied myself with draining the vegetables while making sure I kept an eye on exactly where he was.
“Is it almost ready?”
“Yes, just serving now,” Poppy replied.
I carried two plates over, leaving them to sort out the rest. Rose carried his with a big smile on her face; she probably liked bringing her psycho his dinner.
“Let’s eat then,” he said cheerfully and tucked into the huge roast dinner.
I forced a bite down, desperate not to draw attention to myself by not eating, but every mouthful made my stomach churn. I kept my eyes on my plate, pretending to eat. All I wanted to do was to fade into the background and not catch his attention. I couldn’t relax while he was in the room; my tense body ached.
“How was your day, Clover?” Rose asked.
“Very good so far, thank you. I got a lot done. What about you?”
“Good. We’ve watched a few great movies.” What else are we going to do?
He nodded once. “Well, let me know when you’re ready for more.”
“We will. Thank you.” I wondered if Rose realized she spoke just like him whenever he was down here. They were so formal and polite to each other. It was eerie. “We were wondering if we could have more dress patterns. We’d quite like to make a few summer dresses.” My head snapped up immediately. They made clothes? You needed scissors to cut fabric. A plan formed in my head straight away. How poetic would it be if he died the same way as he’d killed—a stab wound?