Chapter 25

Chapter Twenty-Five

OLIVIA

I wake up and everything is black.

Where am I? What's going on?

I clutch my face, pushing away a throbbing sensation in my forehead, right between my eyes. How did I get here? The last thing I remember is…

Hop in the car. Just for a few minutes.

No. No, he didn't. He wouldn't.

Oh my God. I think I'm going to be sick.

I retch but my stomach is empty and nothing comes out. I swallow, doubled over on the ground. I blink a few times, trying to adjust to the blackness, hoping the world will jump into some sort of focus, but it doesn't happen.

I can't even see my hand in front of my face. I can't see where I am or one foot in front of me.

Why can't I see?

Oh my God, have I gone blind?

But no. When I look up, there's a tiny slice of light in the distance. There is nothing wrong with my eyes. There is simply no light wherever I am.

My head is swimming, which makes it that much harder to get my bearings. The ground is moist and grainy. Dirt? It's so hard to tell. I sit up and reach out into the distance, feeling for something—anything. My fingers finally touch something solid. It's the same consistency as the ground. Also dirt.

I think I'm in a hole.

Oh God. Oh God. I'm in a hole. I'm in a hole in the ground.

My fingers start to tingle as my panic mounts. I'm not claustrophobic, but it feels like… like I've been buried alive. One minute I was kissing Liam, one of the best moments of my life, and now I wake up here.

Why?

I've got to get out of here. There must be a way out. There's got to be.

There is that slice of light above me—a way out. If I could reach it, maybe I could climb out. I get to my feet, but that's when I become aware of another sensation. Pain . Agonizing, brutal pain in my left ankle. So severe that I immediately collapse back down into the dirt.

What is wrong with me?

I pull up the leg of my jeans to feel my left ankle. It's swollen. Really swollen. And warm. And even touching it gently sets off a wave of unbearable pain. My guess is when I was thrown into this hole, the fall broke my ankle. Or at least, hurt it really badly.

So I can't put weight on my ankle. But I can still try to stand. This time I put my weight against the dirt wall, which collapses slightly under the pressure. It still hurts like hell, but I manage to get to my feet. Or at least, my foot. I stretch out my arm, feeling for something above that I can grab onto.

My fingers fall short.

I can't reach it.

Oh my God, I'm trapped here.

When he put me down here, he knew what he was doing. He knew it would be hard to escape. My only chance is if somebody comes to rescue me.

"Help!" I scream at the top of my lungs. "Help! Help me! I'm trapped!"

Nothing.

I scream until my voice is hoarse and my throat is raw. But I hear nothing. No footsteps. No sound. God knows where I am. Out in the wilderness? Below his soundproof basement?

But it's clear nobody is coming for me anytime soon. Not here.

I collapse against the dirt wall. My throat is parched. I don't remember when I last had anything to drink or eat. A day? If he's planning on trapping me here, will he at least give me something to drink? He will, won't he? Otherwise, I'll die, and I'll be no good to him for whatever he wants.

I hope he brings me food. What will I do if he doesn't?

He hasn't raped me. Even though there's a gap in my memory, somehow I feel certain of this. If he had, I would know it. Right? I'm still a virgin, so I'm sure I'd feel sore if he had done that to me. That's what Madison said, anyway. My jeans are still buttoned and zipped, and nothing is ripped or torn. I'm intact, except for my damn ankle.

God, why didn't I listen to Madison when she warned me about Liam?

Maybe he left me some water. Maybe there's a whole thermos of it somewhere. I need to feel around this space and get my bearings. If there's any chance of trying to escape from here, I've got to figure out what I'm dealing with. After all, women escape from being kidnapped all the time. I've read articles about it. They use their moxie or intelligence or whatever, and they find a way out.

Or else they don't. And years later, their body is discovered half-buried in the woods by some hikers.

Oh my God, I'm going to be sick again.

I double over, retching on the dirt ground. Once again, nothing comes up. I retch hard enough that tears fill my eyes. And then before I know it, the tears are streaming down my cheeks.

I'm trapped here. He trapped me.

I want to go home. I want my mom.

Please…