*Two days later*

Emily fidgeted as she stared at her cell phone, after trying to call Victoria for the third time that day. It still went straight to voicemail, just like it had happened the day before. At first she didn’t care, maybe her cell phone battery was dead, but now Emily felt like something was wrong.
She dialed Victoria’s number once again but the answer was the same. She didn’t have another way to reach her and felt like she was wasting time by sitting there and waiting.
Emily opened the first drawer from her desk and grabbed the folded paper. As she read once again the article about Zacky’s past, she knew she couldn’t wait anymore.
She needed to go to the police.

Victoria tried to open every window she could find, her heart pounding on her chest as she ran from room to room. She ran upstairs, climbing the stairs two steps at each time. She wouldn’t mind jumping from the first floor, if that meant that she would escape him.
But, like every window on the ground floor, the ones on the first floor were also locked. Unlike the house, they seemed new and had a locking device that could only be opened with a key.

“Victoria, I’m home!” The words made her stop in the middle of the stairs.
Shit, he had arrived earlier than she expected. “Where are you?” She heard the front door being locked and fear crawled down her spine. He didn’t allow her to go upstairs alone.

“Victoria?” The sound of her voice was now threatening. “Why aren’t you in the kitchen?”

She climbed down the stairs as quietly as she could and entered the living room. It was small and the flooring was old, but it had been painted recently.
Weirdly, there was no tv. As a matter of fact, Victoria had now realized that she had never seen a computer or laptop inside that house, nor even a cell phone or a landline phone, nothing that she could use to get help.
She searched around the room, trying to find a place to hide, but apart from a sofa, a coffee table and a floor lamp, the room was rather empty. She glanced at the door that led to the dining room and then back at the one that led to the hallway. By this time Zacky already knew that she was hiding from him, which just gave her another reason not to get caught.
Victoria didn’t want him to hurt her like he had done the day before, when she had tried to hit him with a table lamp during the night. As a result, she had to sleep the rest of the night with both hands chained to the bed.
The bed they shared.
Victoria took in a deep breath, her lips starting to tremble. She didn’t want to spend another night inside that bedroom, knowing that he was right next to her, feeling her breathing and every movement she made. Every second she had spent in that bed with him had seemed like an eternity, always praying for not to feel his touch and flinching every time he moved.
She looked inside the dining room and slowly entered it. The smell of fresh paint was still present in it.

“Victoria?” She heard Zacky’s footsteps getting closer and wiped her eyes. “Victoria?” His voice was now near the door that led to the dining room.
With one quick turn of her feet, Victoria lunged towards the hallway, but her hip collided with a small corner table, making the empty vase that was on top of it crash to the floor. Fuck.

“Victoria?” He dropped his voice a notch. “Sweetheart, is that you?” She knew he was smiling by the way his voice sounded; he was actually amused by all that.
The wood floor creaked under his feet and Zacky stopped.

Victoria jumped over the shattered vase and crossed the hallway, entering the kitchen. Tension rippled through his body as the sound of whistling approached. “I’m going to find you.” Zacky sang. “Come out, come out, wherever you are…”

Victoria looked around the kitchen, her eyes sweeping every inch of the counter top. She had to find something to use against him. She tried to open a drawer but it didn’t budge. Where the hell did he keep the knives?
Her heart pounded so hard that she feared he could hear it. Suddenly the whistling stopped. Victoria snatched the first thing on her sight, hiding then behind the counter island.

The house sunk into a sullen silence. Victoria closed her eyes, holding a glass jug in a white-knuckle grip. She drew in a breath, forcing her lungs to accept it. Sheer will was the only thing that kept her from falling apart.

“I won.” She heard his sibilant voice. In one fluid move, she jumped, screamed and dropped the jug. The sound of glass breaking made her teeter.
Lightning-quick reflexes sent his hands shooting up to Victoria’s throat. Running away from him had been stupid. Illogical. Zacky tightened his hold, chocking the breath. “You cannot beat me. You cannot stop me. No one can.”

Victoria clawed at the hands around her throat. “Let me go.” The words were a faint whisper.

“Say it. Say that you can’t stop me.” He squeezed his fingers, bending cartilage and bone to the verge of breaking. “Say it.”

Victoria twisted her neck, trying to break free. Her lungs screamed for air. “I… I can’t stop you.” Her vision was getting blurry.

In a boisterous movement, he released her neck. Instantly Victoria sucked in air, her hands holding the edge of the counter top, her fingers furling and unfurling as if grasping for a life line.

“What should I do to you?” He said out loud, rubbing his hand over his jaw. She didn’t speak, her mind clearly trying to regroup.
A grim determination deepened the lines on his face. “I didn’t want to, but I’ll have to punish you for this.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, completely drained.

“I could be kind to you, but your behavior leaves me no alternative.” Zacky clutched her arm and pulled her out of the kitchen.

“Please, don’t hurt me!” Her eyes filled. “I won’t try to escape again!”
He shoved her upstairs, making her stumble on a step. She cried harder as they approached the bedroom door, but to her surprised they didn’t enter it. Instead he led her towards one of the other two doors that were on the first floor, two rooms where she had never been before.

He took a set of keys from his pocket and opened the big heavy lock with one of them, making the chain drop free and clang against the door. The door revealed what it seemed to be some sort of storage room and, without another single word, Zacky tossed her inside. She fell on her knees and hands, her back facing him and her eyes closed. The door slammed shut and Victoria dived into darkness.

Notes

I was supposed to post this chapter last night, but I got home really late and didn't feel like doing it... But here it is now!
Thanks for leaving such nice comments, I really appreciate your feedback :)