Thursday? March 3rd (Present)
I stood in front of the bathroom mirror applying concealer to my black eye. The bruise on my arm was fading quickly, and you could barely notice it anymore; there was just a light yellow mark left. Clover was getting worse. His mind was always somewhere elsewhere, and his hollow eyes were even more emotionless than ever. Something was weighing heavily on his mind, and I wasn’t sure what. With him, it could have been anything. I hoped it was because the police were getting closer to finding me—finding us. I clung to that with everything I had.
My hopes of being found increased as his nervousness increased. I wanted nothing more than to feel safe in one of my dad’s hugs, to smell my mum’s sweet perfume, to hear Lewis tell me he loved me, and even to hear Henry yell at me because I was annoying him.
I turned my head so I couldn’t see myself anymore and walked back into the room. Rose, Poppy, and Violet sat on the sofa reading books. “You okay?” Rose asked, putting her book down and standing up to look at my eye.
Not really. “Yeah, it’s a lot better today.”
She gave me a sympathetic smile and pulled me down on the sofa. It was a tight squeeze with all four of us, but it made me feel safe. He hadn’t been down for dinner, and it was now half past eight at night. His dinner sat in the cold oven, waiting to be reheated if he made an appearance.
Rose looked up at the clock. “Where is he?” she muttered to herself.
“Maybe he’s not coming,” I said and prayed I was right.
She frowned. “I’m going to clean the kitchen.” Keeping busy was what took her mind off things. I could always tell when something was weighing on her mind because she would clean and then reclean. Poppy got up to help like she always did now. Violet turned to me and mouthed “bedroom.” She wanted to talk in private.
I followed her and we sat down on her bed. “Something’s going on. What if something’s happened to him?” Her eyes widened in horror. “Shit, Lily, what if he’s dead?”
If he was dead, we were screwed. I hated him more than anything, but we relied on him. “I don’t think anything’s happened,” I replied. “He probably just forgot to tell us he had something else to do, that’s all.” I sounded calm and convincing when inside I was terrified of the thought of something happening and us dying down here. “Maybe he’s polishing his crazy of the year trophy,” I joked, trying to lighten the mood.
“But…” She shook her head.
“Violet, don’t panic. He’s only missed dinner.”
“He was distracted at breakfast.” That’s because he’s a sick psycho. “Lily, something is wrong.”
I nodded. “I know, but we need to stay calm, okay?” She took a deep breath. A few months ago, it was me panicking and Poppy and Rose trying to calm me down. “Whatever’s going on, we’ll be all right.”
“If he’s gone crazy…”
I snorted. “If?” Violet half smiled, not allowing herself to laugh. “The crazier he gets, the better for us.”
“How’s that?”
“He might start making mistakes.” She nodded, and I smiled. “See? We’ll be fine. Now don’t say too much to Rose or Poppy. If he’s losing it even more than usual, then we have a chance.”
“To bash his head in?” Violet asked.
Whoa, okay. “Um, if we have to, I guess.” She was deadly serious; her expression showed no emotion. Could I kill someone? The thought made me sick, but if it was a matter of life or death, I think I could. Him I could.
“Wanna watch The Notebook?” I asked her, trying to change the subject. It was Violet’s favorite movie, and I hoped it would take her mind off everything. I think I knew it word for word now.
She nodded her head, smiling a sad smile. “Yeah, sure.” I stood up to go back in the other room when she grabbed my wrist. “Do you think Lewis is still looking for you?”
Her question surprised me. “I hope not,” I replied.
“But you love him.”
“I do, and that’s why I hope not.” She looked at me as if I was crazy. I wasn’t crazy. I loved him. He couldn’t be happy if he was still searching for me. Deep down, I had a feeling he was, though. I knew I would if it were the other way around. I walked out of the bedroom so she couldn’t ask anything else. I didn’t want to talk about it.
Rose and Poppy were wiping down the counter—a sparkling clean counter. I was about to ask if they wanted to watch the movie too when the cellar door unlocked. I stood still and my heart took off in a sprint. He was late. What did it mean that he was here now?