“Maybe,” Poppy said and gave me another weak smile. Whatever, she didn’t have to believe me. I knew they wouldn’t just give up. I was not spending years down here like they had.
A creaking at the cellar door made my heart jump into my throat and my stomach turn. He was coming back. I listened hard but couldn’t hear anything until the slight squeak of the door handle. Why didn’t I hear him outside? The air left my lungs. I felt as if I’d been punched in the stomach. Soundproof. We couldn’t hear anything out there, and more important to him, no one could hear us in here.
Rose stood and walked to the bottom of the stairs to meet him. How could she stand to be anywhere near him? The sight of his adult-preppy appearance and smug face made me want to throw up.
“I’m ordering pizza for dinner,” he announced. “I think we all deserve a treat tonight, and we need to properly welcome Lily to the family.” My stomach turned again. He is actually insane and needs locking up. He turned to me and smiled. “Lily, we usually get two cheese, a pepperoni, and a barbecue chicken. Is that okay with you? I can order something else if you’d like?”
I stared at him in shock. Was he seriously discussing dinner right after he kidnapped me and pulled a knife on someone else? He was sick, evil, and twisted. I didn’t want to talk to him, ever. Poppy nudged me discreetly, prompting me to answer him. Taking a shaky breath, I gave in and replied, “T-that’s fine.”
He smiled, flashing his too-perfect white teeth. Everything about him looked flawless—his skin, his hair, his perfectly ironed clothes, his damn teeth. The phrase “wolf in sheep’s clothing” was made for him. “That’s perfect then. I knew you would fit in well. I’ll go and order now. It won’t be long.”
Without another word, he slowly walked back up the stairs.
The cellar door had been unlocked the whole time he was down here.
I watched him close the door and heard him lock it, angry with myself, as I’d missed the chance to escape. “W-what?” I mumbled. My eyes stung where I had been too stunned to blink. This was all a dream. It had to be. Things like this didn’t happen to me. They didn’t even happen to anyone I knew.
Poppy smiled. “It’s going to be okay.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The only way this could ever be okay would be if I got out before he laid a finger on me.
***
I woke up to someone lightly shaking my arm in an annoying way that I was so used to. I smiled and looked over, expecting Lewis to be grinning back at me. My heart sunk when I saw Rose’s long, dark brown hair and blue eyes. Oh God, how could I have fallen asleep?
Gasping in shock and at the realization that all this wasn’t just a horrible dream, I shoved myself back against the sofa, away from her.
“I’m sorry I scared you, Lily. Clover’s here with the pizza,” she whispered. “Come, sit with us.” I stopped breathing, my lungs felt like they had an elephant sitting on them. Could I sit with him and eat? Did I even have a choice? Rose put her hand on my shoulder and nudged me forward. “Here, you sit next to Poppy.” Did he even dictate where we sat?
I tensed as I sat down at the table. He was opposite me and sat there as if nothing was wrong at all. To him this was normal. He never mentioned kidnapping me. It was like to him, I had always been here. Like we really all were family. He really believed we were a family. How bloody delusional was he?
The table was covered in a bright white cotton tablecloth and a fresh vase of pink lilies. The pizza had been removed from the boxes and piled on two large serving dishes on either side of the flowers that I assumed were all for me and my new name.
“Please, help yourself,” he said, gesturing to the food with his hand. I’d rather die. He made it sound as if I had a choice, but the steely look in his cold eyes—and the flash of the knife he pulled from his pocket still fresh on my mind—told me I didn’t. He wanted us to eat as a family, and I knew what he was capable of if I refused.
I reached out and took the slice that was closest to me, quickly retracting my hand so I was as far away from him as possible. He gave me a warm smile, his eyes glowing now. I dropped my eyes to my plastic plate and nibbled at the edge of the pizza.
While Rose, Violet, and Poppy discussed what we would be cooking for dinner the rest of the week, I forced down a few bites in silence. The food felt alien in my stomach. I didn’t mind cheese pizza, but this tasted plastic, and I gagged every time I swallowed the mushed-up food.
Rose held her hand up, gaining my attention even though she wasn’t looking at me. “Oh, Clover, before I forget, we’re getting low on books again.”
He nodded his head once. “I’ll get you some more.”