6

Abby sits down in the room, thankful that he had left her feet untied so that she can move around if she needs to. She would have gotten up and wondered around to familiarize herself with her surroundings, but there does not appear to be much to look at in the sparcely furnished room.

Gabe has only been gone for about five minutes at most and already Abby misses his company. It is lonely down in the basement. Lonely and cold. It is also a little creepy, if she is being honest. Abby had never been in a basement before but she had watched a horror movie about one, that she was now unfortunately recalling in great detail. The only movie he can recall having actually gotten to watch and it comes back to bite her in the ass, making her scared of her situation. 

When she hears a long creaking sound echo around her, she starts to breath heavy with unease. The sound of rustling comes closer and she is practically hyperventilating, until she hears the muttered curse words accompany it. “Damn it. Stupid fucking mattress.”

Mattress?

When Abby looks up, sure enough, Gabe is wrestling a mattress down the stairs all on his own. Judging by his curses, the mattress appears to be winning whatever battle they are in. It takes him another two minutes to get it down the stairs and to get it placed in the center of the room. He lets it fall to the ground with a soft thud, as he grunts in annoyance. He takes a moment to wrestle a yellow and white checked sheet on to the mattress, before he heads back up the stairs without saying a single word to her.

When he comes back down a few minutes later, he has an armful of pillows and blankets. “Hopefully this will be more comfortable for you than sleeping on the cold, hard ground.”

“Oh, it will be, I am sure.” Abby tells him. Moving over slowly, she approaches the bed and  carefully lowers herself down on it, immediately loving the soft surface beneath her.

Her back and the rest of her body hurts from sleeping on the cement. Her bottom is cold and sore just from sitting there for the few minutes it took him to carry down the bed. She is cold and uncomfortable, this dress not really practical for having slept in or for trying to move around, without the use of her hands. She really wishes she had something else to put on.

“What?”

Abby looks up when Gabe speaks and stares at him. Only then does she realizes that she was thinking out loud and that he had heard her. “Sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud. I was just thinking. I sometimes talk aloud when I think. It's weird. You just have to ignore it."

“You want something to put on..? Like clothes?”

“No, no. You do not have to worry about that. I was just thinking that this dress is not very practical to try and sleep in. It is actually pretty uncomfortable.” Abby tells him and he nods, looking the stiff fabric over with a frown.

“Give me a few minutes. I will be right back.”

Running up the stairs once again, he disappears. He is gone for a long while this time. She is laying down on the bed, under a blanket with her head cradled in a soft, fluffy pillow when she hears his footsteps on the top of the stairs.

When he skips down the stairs to stop in the basement, he looks at her for a moment, She would have sit up to greet him, but it is hard to do with her hands tied. Getting laid down and covered up with her hands bound had been enough of a challenge for her. She doesn't want to roll around and flop like a fish on dry land in front of him, so she just stays where she is.

He comes over to squat on his haunches beside of her. He has a pile of clothes in his arms. “Here you go. I got you a couple of different things.”

He goes to hand her the stack but when she reaches up with her bound hands, he frowns, seeing the problem. He throws the clothes on the bed and looks at her. “Uh, do you mind if I-” He gestures to her body with an uncomfortable wave of his hand- “touch you-? To help you sit up!”

Abby could almost smile about his discomfort, if she were not so nervous about having his hands on her body once more. She enjoys his touch far more than she should and she doesn't understand why. But she does know that she does not want him to notice it. Yet, she does want to sit up and see what he brought for her. He is being so kind to her. She has to return the favor and be gracious for everything he has given her.

“Yes, please. I would love it if you could help me to sit up. It is not easy moving around without the proper use of your hands.” Abby tells him, giving him a friendly smile, which he returns.

Abby notices for the first time just how incredibly handsome he is. He has reddish brown hair, green eyes and just the slightest hint of a beard. Abby loves facial hair on a man and when it is red, she is learning that she likes that even more. At least, when it comes to Gabe, she does. He has a strong jaw and a short, thin nose. His smile displays his perfectly even, movie star quality teeth.

Abby wonders absently is he had to have braces to get teeth that straight. Her teeth where nice when she was a kid, but she had one that was slightly crooked and another that was a bit longer than the others. Her father spent thousands of dollars, having her go through painful experiences, just to give her perfectly even teeth. He even paid to have her teeth capped when he thought that they weren't white enough.

“I imagine that it is. I am so sorry for all of this.” Gabe speaks and she looks at him, surprised by the apology.

Her immediate response would have been 'oh, it's not your fault' and she almost said it automatically. It actually is his fault. He and his friends had kidnapped her. They are holding her here against her will. That is why her hands are tied. So, to say that it is not his fault would be a lie. The thought is enough to wipe the smile from her face. She can't tell him that it is fine or that she understands, or even accepts his apology, for that matter. She simply nods at his words.

“Here.” Sliding a hand beneath her shoulders and placing the other on her side, he tugs gently until she is sitting up, propped against the pillows. Thankfully he pushed the bed against a wall, so the wall supports the pillows, which in turn supports her.

Gabe places the pile of clothes in her lap and she looks through them. There is a pair of women's blue jeans and a white, button up floral blouse that looks to be around her size. A woman's dress sweater dress and a pair of pink pants with a stretchy waist band and a soft material. They look really comfortable. There are a couple of men's shirts, which she assumes are his and two pair of his sleep pants.

“I know that it isn't much, but I figured it is something, at least. It probably beats wearing the same uncomfortable dress over and over.” Gabe tells her. 

“It does, thank you. Um, and I guess, thank your girlfriend for me, for the clothes as well. Or not, if she does't know about me, then um, don't, I guess.” Abby blushes, after stumbling over her words and making a fool of herself.

“I, um-”

“Nevermind. Moving on. Thank you so much for the clothes.” Abby chooses the pink pants and one of his tee shirts to put on. She wants to be comfortable for the moment, rather than stylish, so she saves the outfits for another time. She has no idea what they plan to do with her or how long she will be here, but judging by the amount of clothes and the bed, she would guess for a while.

Suddenly a thought hits her and her stomach drops. Nausea rolls over her and she shivers from the cold. “Are you going to kill me?”

“What?” Gabe explodes, surprised by her words. Is it because he is worried she will give him trouble or because he is offended by the thought? “No! Abby, no. No one is going to kill you.”

Gabe lays his hand on her face gently, turning her head to face him. “Listen to me. No one is going to hurt you in any way. I promise. You will be okay.”

“But I am-”

“Shh..” Gabe smiles at her gently, his hand still cupping her cheek. He leans forward until there noses are almost touching. “I know that this situation is fucked up, but I promise you. You will be fine. No one is going to harm you in any way. If I could get you out of this situation, I would-” Gabe stops talking and Abby is left to wonder about what he meant by his words.

He said no one was going to hurt her. That he would protect her. If he kidnapped her, why would he be worried about her safety now? But the soft touch of his hand and his expressively kind eyes are saying something deeper to her and she is goring more and more confused.

She has no idea what is happening to her or what will happen in the future.

She just knows that she is far too interested in Gabe. Hearing him say that he will protect her from any harm is a promise that she wishes she could hold him to. Forever.