Watch Me ✔️

Chapter 15

I was pushed gently down onto something soft, my face still stinging from being pushed onto the concrete earlier. I felt a hand and my blindfold was removed. I was in a small cabin sitting awkwardly on a couch with my stalker looking at me with a smile on her face.

She looked more disheveled than I remembered her. Her hair was shoulder-length and a chocolate brown color. Her eyes matched her hair perfectly and they looked at me with a wildness in them. She was skinnier than before and had prominent scars on her wrists.

"I'm so glad you're here." She said. She touched my face again and stroked my cheek, "We should clean you up."

I looked around the room, the front door had an inside lock closed with a padlock needing a key. My eyes traveled towards a jingling sound and saw the keys dangling from my stalkers jeans. She was in the small kitchenette, pulling a first aid kit from a cabinet. I saw a clock up on the wall, the time was nearly 6:30am, we had been driving for about 10 hours.

She walked back over while dragging a kitchen chair in front of me and sitting down. I readjusted myself to a more comfortable position and tried to ignore the aching of my arms that were still behind my back.

"If you behave, I'll reward you with taking off the tape." She said as she pulled out some things from the first aid kit. She wiped my face softly and stared a little making me squirm in my seat.

"I've missed seeing your face up close. Seeing you from your YouTube channel just wasn't enough." She said. Then she traced her fingers along my jaw and up the side of my face. Her eyes were bright and curious, and they scared me. She was as unpredictable as always.

"Are you hungry? I know how much you love coffee, should I make us some?" She asked. A memory came forward in my mind of us together years ago in a cabin similar to this one getting up early and drinking coffee to the sunrise. She must be trying to recreate those moments.

"I bought your favorite brand." She said while moving about. I surveyed the cabin more taking in all the little details. There were small metal rings bolted to different surfaces around the cabin, I wondered what they could be for. The windows were all shut and I imagined she had bolted those somehow too.

"Promise me you'll be good." She said right behind me, I jumped at her voice being so close, then nodded. I heard a jingle and the cuffs on my right wrists fell free.

"Follow me over to the table." She said, coming around the front, her hand holding the free cuff and tugging me forward. I sat down at one of the chairs and watched as she took the cuff and attached it to a bolt in the table, effectively locking me in place. I checked the table and it was secured to the ground just like the other furniture in the cabin.

She then reached up and pulled the tape off my face way too slowly making me cringe. I coughed a few times adjusting to breathing normally.

She gave me my cup of coffee then went back to pour herself a cup and stayed leaning against the counter. She was just far away enough that if I was able to throw my hot coffee on her, I still wouldn't be able to reach the keys hanging on her jeans.

"Thank you." I started, my voice cracking, "For the coffee."

"You are very welcome babe." She said with a smile. I looked down at it and wondered if she did anything to it. She was drinking her own, so I doubted it, but she was staring at me and I felt like I had to drink it.

I took a small sip and was thankful she had gotten me my favorite kind. It was a brand that Harper had gotten me hooked on within the last year that was only available at a few local places. It confirmed for me that she had been in my apartment and looked through my things.

"Michelle?" I asked, "I'm so glad to be here with you, but what about my cat?"

"Biscuit? Well, I sent Mallory a message as you asking her to take her in for a few weeks while you went away to clear your head." My heart stopped. If Mallory thought I was gone, could no one be looking for me? Could she tell the police that and they would drop my case? I was truly on my own, I had to be the one who got out of this myself.

"Thank you for doing that." I said, feeling sick to my stomach. "What happened to Bridget?"

"She was a liability, it happens." Michelle said with a shrug, "Why all the questions babe, can't we just enjoy our time together in the cabin?"

"Yes, sorry, of course we can. I remember our first trip to one just like this." I said, trying to connect to her again. My mind was racing at her comment. How much time was she planning to spend here, was she going to hurt me, was there an end game?

"Me too, I know how much you love the mountains, I wanted to recreate those magical moments. I even got a giant fluffy blanket and plenty of firewood." She said, looking over at the fireplace. I took another sip of my coffee and tried to think how to answer her. I wanted more answers, but I didn't want to push her too far.

"I have missed you so much. Finding you again on YouTube was the best thing to ever happen to me. By the time I was let out of the hospital you were gone." She said, moving closer to me. One more step and I could throw my coffee on her and possibly reach the keys.

"What happened to you Michelle? After, umm the incident, I never heard from you again." I said, feeling cautious about my word choice.

"The incident?" She said, she took a step back and there was anger on her face, "You left me! I was alone, abandoned, there was no other choice." She grabbed her coffee mug and threw it onto the floor, shattering everywhere. I yelled softly in surprise and lifted my feet, but the bottom of my dress was soaked with coffee.

She stared at the mess she made for minutes, until finally she shook her head and seemed to snap out of it. She grabbed a paper towel and starting wiping up the mess. Then she suddenly looked up at me and said, "If you leave me again I'll have no reason to live. I'll just have to end it for both of us."

I felt a pit in my stomach. She was saying if I tried to leave she'd kill her and me. Trying to reason with her wasn't working, my only hope was to get us back to a crowded place where I could get away or call for help.