Stolen Love

Epilogue

Epilogue


It's been 9 months since the day I was taken.

For 6 of those, I was held captive by a man with the worst intentions. A man who believed he loved me, and wouldn't let me go.

He tried to ma me believe in the false illusion of a perfect life full of love that he created.

And I almost fell for it.

Until my dark knight, my hero, came riding in on his black beast. He took my world by surprise. He shall remain nameless.

We fought, we laughed, we cried, and we even found love. But he left just as fast as he came and now I don't know what to do.

I've been home 3 months, and- I crush the piece of paper up, then I toss it on the ground with the rest of my failed attempts.

"Forget it," I mutter. This is useless. My Mom wanted me to try and write my feelings down. She hoped it would make me the way I was before my abduction; happy, bright, and carefree.

It only makes it worse. I always refer to Matt as my dark knight
because I'm not supposed to talk about him, let alone think about him. It makes me feel a little less guilty not thinking of him with his name. This way I can create my own vision of Matt while not completely forgetting about him.

I wish I could be happy, or normal again, as my Mom calls it, I really do, but every time I try, I remember that being that young naive girl is what caught Chris's eye in the first place. It's impossible.

I think it makes it harder for me to move on. Doing this reminds me of everything I felt like the pain and fear, but when I try to tell myself that it wasn't that bad, I remember someone I'm supposed to forget.

Matt pops in to my mind when I hear the same motorcycle drive through town, or when I see a guy and girl running. Look, I'm thinking about him right now again. Stop it.

Back to the point, Mom is basically asking me to forget and move on. I can never forget, I know now that life isn't as fair as I once thought, half the time it sucks.

Moving on is really hard to do when my story still isn't finished yet. I open up my desk drawer and pull out the wedding ring that has plagued my dreams for months.

This doesn't belong to me. I don't want it. No one else knows I have it, they'd probably throw a fit if they did. This is why I can't continue, this ring is like tethering me down.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I say to myself as I grab a new piece of paper and write, There's something I have to do. I won't be back till late. -M

I slip the ring in to the pocket of my shorts and set the note down on the kitchen counter where someone should find it. I'd be so dead if they knew where I was going.

I grab my car keys and head out the door. I got my license as soon as I got back, no more walking alone for me. I'm always conscious when I walk outside, I sometimes feel paranoid that I'm being watched. That's impossible though, Chris and his family are in jail.

I start my car and pull out of the driveway before anyone notices. I drive on the road where it all started. Every time I see it, it's like I'm living the abduction all over again. I shiver.

The first month of being home was awful. It was almost as bad as being in the cabin with Chris. The media was everywhere.

I couldn't even be reunited with my mother without a camera in my face. On every news channel was the story of the Allen Family Scandal, that's what the media was calling all the kidnappings that took place throughout generations.

Reporters would talk about how sick and twisted it is how this went on right under our noses. They'd also speculate on the what they thought life was like living with them.

All of them were wrong. My favorite story was that they found several bones at the bottom of an imaginary lake at Chris's house. They're blowing this up and making stories to get better views, just like Matt said they would- Stop!

Anyways, that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was having to retell everything that happened to the cops. Then they made me do it again during Chris's trial. I never felt so alone in my life.

It was demeaning. Now when people look at me, it's with pity. I have little kids run up to me saying, "Are you the girl who was kidnapped to marry a guy?!" That's all I am to most people.

So many girls were taken. I think there were just under 40, and the ages range from 18, me being the youngest, to some women being close to 90. A depressing thought is that there are even more. It's to late for them though, they were taken so long ago that they passed of old age. They're families are long gone, just like the memories of them existing.

Ashley had a tearful family reunion with her little brother, parents, and grandparents. She was one of the luckier girls, she wasn't diagnosed with Stockholm Syndrome like so many others were. She still remembers who she is.

Olivia's parents died about two decades ago in a car accident. She was devastated at the news, but she was able to find her older sister. Even though most of her family is gone; her parents, her sons, her husband, she still has love. That's probably why her recovery has been so quick.

We'll sometimes exchange letters, yes, I said letters. She doesn't understand how to use a cellphone or a computer. Of course she wouldn't, she didn't even know they existed. She's trying to catch up with technology, but it's a slow process.

My phone gets a text just as I get to a stop sign. "Want to catch a movie or something?" It says from Ryan.

I put it back in the cup holder without replying. I stay stopped at the stop sign for a while needing time to think. Ryan and I have been going out for the past three weeks.

He's been extremely patient and we haven't done anything farther than a hug. He thinks I'm still traumatized from Chris, I'm not.

I could kiss anyone, or I should say someone. Only one person, but he doesn't want me.

Ugh! Why can't I just wake up one morning and just forget about Matt? It'd make things so much easier, so much happier. Stupid Matt! This is not better for me, it's worse. It hurts, it hurts so much. It's more painful than breaking my leg, because having your heartbroken stays with you forever.

I'm hoping that someday soon I'll get over him. I'll fall in love with Ryan and we'll live happily ever after. Get married, have kids, and never look back on these past few months.

But happily ever afters don't exist. I feel so lost right now, it's like I'm getting deeper and deeper in to an endless maze. What am I doing? I don't even know what I want to do with my life anymore.

Nothing is simple for me. I sigh and the get on the highway. This will be a long drive.

* * * *
3 hours later, I arrive in the town where the prison is. It's a nice town, not many cars are driving around. The motorcycle that's been following me since I left home stops at the cafe.

I'm always aware of these types of things now. It's a relief when the driver walks inside. I was about to have a anxiety attack. Why would someone drive 3 hours for a cafe? I shake it off, it's probably just paranoia.

I pull in to the prison. It takes me a few minutes to build up the courage to get out of the car, and walk to the doors of the prison.

Just give him the ring, leave, and then you're done with him forever. I keep telling myself this, but I still feel small and afraid. I don't know why, he's the one locked up behind bars.

The lady at the front desk smiles softly when she sees me, "I'm Hilary," she says shaking my hand. I explain to her that we talked yesterday on the phone, "Are you sure you want to do this, Morgan?" She asks. Her hair is light brown and she looks to be in her thirties. No one knows about this, it's a private meeting.

"I wish I didn't have to," I say honestly, "But I just can't move on without doing this."

She looks me I over, "You seem like a smart young lady, so if you feel you need to do this, I believe you." She gets up and walks over to me. "Just be careful though. All he ever talks about it wanting to see you, so he may be unstable when he first sees you. Are you sure you want a private meeting with him?"

The ring grows heavy in my pocket, this is going to be miserable. "Yes," I say quietly, "it's best this way."

She nods, makes a quick call, and then leads me down a hall. We pass a few guards every now and then, they acknowledge us with nods.

Finally, Hilary stops by a door, "Right through here. When you want out, knock and I'll get you quick, ok?"

I nod, "If you feel in danger or you're about to break down, you tell me. I don't want you being hurt." She opens the door, and I step in.

It's a small basic room. Grey walls, grey tiled floors, and a table with two chairs sits in the middle. A guy is sitting with his back to me in one. His hair is a little shorter than when I last saw him and he's wearing a dark grey jumpsuit. He turns around to face me. Chris's bright blue eyes stun me like they always do.

His miserable face changes to one of joy in the blink of an eye. "Morgan?"

I stay quiet until I sit down in the chair across from him. I look away from his eyes, "Hey Chris," I say shyly.

"I've been needing to talk to you," he starts. "You know I didn't mean what I said, right?" He sounds desperate, "I would never hurt you, no matter what. I just got so caught up in what was happening, I couldn't control myself."

Its weird to listen to him talk about what he feels towards me again. I have to get used to his illusion. "You know I love you." Silence. "Morgan, are you alright?"

I struggle to hold back tears. This reminds me so much of those months. Deep breaths, I tell myself. "I'm not mad at you," he says trying to cheer me up. He's so oblivious, "It's only 10 years, 5 for good behavior-"

"Stop," I finally say quietly while looking in to his eyes.

"What's wrong?" He asks confused. He reaches across the table to touch me, but I flinch away. Last time he touched me, he was dragging me through the forest, hurting me along the way. Chris pulls his hand back, "I didn't mean to hurt you. I love you-"

He stops when I drop the engagement ring on the table. He looks at it funny, I slide it to him. "It's yours," I say, "Take it."

"What? No, it belongs to you-"

"No it doesn't! It belongs to the person who loves you back, not me."

"But I love you..."

I sigh putting my head in my hands. This is why I didn't want to do this, he makes it so hard. A tear escapes and falls down my face. Why does it have to be so hard to move on?

"Listen to me," I say softly. His eyes are so full of hurt and confusion that it hurts for me to look at them. "I- I was confused at the time, hurt even. Chris, I don't love you. I never have, and never will."

He looks down, his lip trembling. "You made a promise though," he says quietly while gently picking up the ring.

It hurts me to do this to someone, but it's best for Chris to. Who knows, it may even help him out in the long run. "What promise?"

"The wedding day. When you said I do, you made a promise to love me forever, no matter what." He sounds defeated.

I don't tell him I had to do it because of Jonathan. That would hurt him more than necessary and I don't want that.

Even though he held me captive for months, and hurt me, I don't want to hurt him. I'm not unkind, he's already broken enough. Words leave my mouth, but they aren't mine. They're Matt's words. "Some promises are meant to be broken." Some promises are meant to be broken, I repeat in my head.

Just then, it's like a window opens inside of me and I can finally see. Chris isn't the only reason that I can't move on... "I'm sorry Chris, but I have to go," I say standing.

"When will I see you again?" He asks sounding dead.

"It's time for you to move on too," I say. "This will be the last time you ever see me."

He looks up when I say that. This is the first time I have ever seen him cry. "Morgan- please don't," his voice shakes.

"I'm sorry," I struggle to say. I walk to the door and knock on it. Suddenly, my upper arm is being held in a tight grip.

"Don't you walk out that door," he says tears streaming down his face. "You can't get away from me."

"I already am," I say calmly. "I never was yours to start with." He lets go of me, stunned, just as Hilary opens the door.

I bolt out the door, "Thanks Hilary, but there's something I have to do!" I shout as I'm running down the hall and out the building. Hilary looks at me surprised and watches as I go. People gave me strange looks, but I don't care.

A haunting shout echoes through the halls, "I will find you! And you will be mine!" I ignore Chris's threat. He won't find me, and I won't ever be his.

I bypass my car in the parking lot and run for the town. A new feeling is inside of me. I feel free, and for the first time in a long time, I'm not lost.

I know exactly where I'm going.

Everything is so clear to me now. The feeling of being watched that has been haunting me for the past months isn't paranoia, I was being watched, more like, protected.

I run in-between crowds of people as they stop and stare at the crazy girl running through the streets of town. Especially when she is coming from the direction of the prison.

I was followed here, by a man on a motorcycle. A dark knight on his black beast.

I get to the cafe just as he walks out. I slap him with as much strength I can muster, and almost break down. He looks stunned from the slap, but even more when I hug him. "You stupid, annoying, big-headed, jerk," I say trying not to cry. I can't believe how blind I've been.

Matt holds me tight. "Call me whatever you want," he says, "I'm not letting you go ever again." He wraps his warm arms around me in a loving embrace. I won't let go either, I just got him back.

People are probably staring, but let them. I don't care what anyone thinks about me anymore. "How did you know it was me?" He asks.

"Someone once told me, that some promises are made to be broken," I say just before I kiss him. I've never felt so complete, so safe.

"It's about time," he laughs, his big brown eyes looking in to mine. Then he leans down and kisses me again.