He walked out on her. I was just over a year old, and he just walked out on her. He keeps blaming her, saying she's the one that fucked up, but I know that's a lie.
This was revenge. This was his way of 'getting back' at her. If he couldn't be happy, neither could she. So when she started seeing this new guy, he devised a plan.
Being that I didn't know this man was my father, he used that to his advantage. He tricked me, made me run away from my mother at the park that day. He claimed he was my Uncle Jim, and that my mom had asked him to pick me up.
I was reluctant at first. I wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to go. I mean, my mother was sitting right there on the bench. I could see her. She was talking to one of her friends about Mom-Stuff, I guess. But if she was right there, why would she have sent someone else to get me?
‘Uncle Jim’ swore she did. He promised he would take me to a candy store. The little idiot I was, I took his word for it and walked around to the back of the car. He held the door open for me, and pushed a button on the side. It was the child-lock, used to make sure kids couldn't open the door from the inside.
Then he shut my door and climbed into the drivers seat. He buckled himself in and moved the gear shift into reverse. He turned around and gave me this big fake smile. I smiled back, not thinking anything of it.
The car began moving forward, and I heard him ask "Are you ready?"
I laughed, and then began questioning him on what I would be able to buy at the store. Then I began telling him all about how my mother would never let me eat certain candies. He put his finger over his mouth, and made eye contact with me through the rearview mirror. "Shhh. What your mother doesn't know won't kill you." he said, winking at me. We began to giggle about it.
We drove past my mother, who was still sitting on the bench talking to her friend. I waved at her, but she couldn't see me. Then she stood up and had this panicked look on her face. She was circling the playground, shouting something. Looking back, I’m assuming she was shouting my name. She couldn’t find me and she was worried. Hell, I don’t blame her. I would’ve done the same if my kid mysteriously vanished at the park.
I had never imagined that being the last time I’d ever see my mother, and I know that she never imagined that being the last time she’d ever see me. I just want to see her again, give her a big hug.
I sat in the back of his car, waiting to get to the candy shop. But something was wrong. I knew where the candy store was, and I had a feeling that that wasn’t where we were going. The car ride was taking too long, longer than it should have. I wound up falling asleep, which might not have been the best idea.
When the car abruptly stopped, I woke up. We weren't near any candy stores, but we were instead parked in a driveway of a house.
He picked me up, covering my mouth with his large hand. I tried to scream, but he just pushed his hand harder into my face. No one could hear my muffled screams, but that didn't stop me. I started to swing my arms in an attempt to try and punch him, but he wouldn't let go. It was no use, he was much stronger than I was.
He tightened his grip around my stomach, making it harder for me to breath. My screams stopped and I began having this crazy coughing fit, which made it hurt worse.
Then came the sound of jingling of keys, followed by the squeaking of an opening door. Work boots along the wooden floor made his footsteps louder. Then I heard him kick the door and it slammed shut behind us.
That was the last time I had ever seen the outside world.
~~~
So now there's this new girl in the picture. Her name is Vanessa. For whatever reason, she decided she wanted to go out with this insane man I was forced to call my father. The first time we met her was actually pretty funny. It went like this:
Keith (because I hate to call my father by his real name) came home one day. You could tell because his work boots made his foot steps extremely loud, especially from down in the basement where you could hear everything that was going on upstairs. But then, there were these footsteps that sounded unfamiliar. I recognized the sound, they were heels. My mother used to wear them all the time. I wonder if she still does...
"What a lovely home you have here" a female voice said.
"Why thank you" Keith responded.
Boots moved, followed by Heels.
But then Heels stopped.
"And this is my-" Keith began to say, but stopped halfway through realizing Heels wasn't following him. "Is everything okay?"
"You have kids?" Heels asked.
How did she figure it out?
There was a long pause.
"I could have sworn I told you that." Keith said nervously, as if he were trying to cover up the fact that he has two kids trapped down in his basement.
"Well you didn't." Heels said, sounding somewhat angered.
"Well, in that case. Yes, I do have kids. Two of them to be exact."
"Where are they?" Heels asked.
"I actually don't know right now." Keith said, followed by a nervous laugh.
Heels began to move again, though very slow, the same way lions do just before they attack. "You mean to tell me you don't know where your kids are?"
Yell something. Anything. Let her know you're here.
"Well you see-" Keith began to say, though it was interrupted by me shouting "Get him!"
"What was that?" Heels asked.
"Well, I guess I found Adeline. She's down in the basement. And I'm guessing Anna is with her. She hardly ever leaves Adeline's side."
Well that wasn't necessarily a lie.
"The basement? Why would they be down there?" Heels asked in a concerned voice.
Is she catching on? Does she know he's a kidnapper? Has she figured it out yet?
"Well I moved all Anna's toys and Adeline's video games down there. I figured it's a good way to keep toys off of the living room floor. And now if they want to have friends over, they have this cool little hang out spot. You know what I mean?" Keith explained.
That was a good cover up, Keith. I'll give you that.
"That's smart, actually. I like that." Heels said.
"Why, thank you. They love it down there."
"Would you mind if I went and saw them?" she asked in a "Pleasepleasepleaseplease?" kind of voice.
Again, another long pause.
Think fast. Think fast.
The boots started walking across the floor towards the basement door.
He's going to do it. He's going to let her down here.
"I'll get them." Keith said. Then the basement door opened. "Adeline! Anna! Come up here! I have a surprise for you!" His voice was much sweeter than it normally was when he was telling me to come upstairs.
"One sec!" I shouted.
Think fast.
Anna was sitting down on her bed, looking down and holding her teddy bear tight. I sat down next to her and rubbed her back. "Don't you worry. We'll get out. I have an idea. But I'm going to need your help."
She looked up.
"Get your brush. I'll get my makeup."
She just looked at me.
"C'mon. Go!"
Anna got up and ran over to the nightstand she had near her bed and pulled out her hair brush. I pulled my makeup kit out from under my bed. Keith got it for me, which made no sense to me. It's not like I was ever going to go anywhere.
We both ran over to her bed.
I took a mirror out of the kit and handed it to her. Then I picked up her brush and began teasing her hair, trying to make it as messy as possible. Anna held up the mirror and looked at her hair.
"What are you doing?" she asked curiously, following that with a bunch of "ow"s.
"Trust me on this." I said, smiling at Anna in the mirror. She half smiled back, unsure of my plan.
Then came the makeup. I took various shades of dark colors and blended them under her eyes to make her look tired. Then I took her arm and made what looked like a bruise out of the same dark colors, then adding a yellowish green color around it.
"Are you coming?" Keith asked impatiently.
"Let me finish this level!" I answered back, playing along with Keith's whole video-game cover up.
I asked Anna to hold the mirror up facing me so I could do the same thing to myself.
I figured if we looked a mess, Heels would be concerned and go straight to the police or something.
Meanwhile, Heels and Keith were small-talking about the weather and Heels' little shit dog, Izzy, while they waited for Anna and I to get upstairs.
Keith then again asked if I was done my game. I looked at Anna and, in a whispered voice, asked if she was ready. She nodded her head at me, and I said "Follow my lead. Only speak when spoken to. Got it?" She nodded her head at me again. Now, raising my voice at Keith, I shouted "We're coming!"
I went first, Anna following right behind me. My heart started beating fast, and it only got faster with every step I took, and that staircase seemed endless. If my heart were to beat any faster, I swore it would explode. Maybe I would die before I got to the top. Then I wouldn't have to worry about him hurting me anymore.
But Anna.
And then, there we were, at the top of the stairs.
Heels gasped, covering her mouth with her hands.
I bent down next to Anna, and then I smiled and waved at her, and when she looked over in Keith's direction, her hand still over her mouth, I raised my eyebrows at him in a way that said "Busted."
I'm so going to pay for that later.
Keith was mad. No. More than mad. He was furious. Is there even a word that means 'beyond furious'? Because if there is, that's what I would use to describe Keith's reaction to our little getup.
"Is this how you treat your kids?!" Heels began asking Keith, her voice raised.
"Vanessa, listen. I-" Keith began to explain.
"Vanessa?" I asked, pretending to play stupid, though I knew who she was, being that she was the only female in the house aside from Anna and I.
Everything stopped for a minute. It got so quiet, you could hear the ticking of the kitchen clock. Then Vanessa bent down in front of Anna and I. She pushed hair out of my face and tucked it behind my ear.
I really got to look at her face now. She was beautiful. She looked like someone that belonged on the cover of a Covergirl magazine. Her hair was black, coming just below her shoulders. It was parted down the middle, making the loose curls in her hair look just that much better. She wore this goldish colored eyeshadow, and her eyelid was lined with a charcoal colored eyeliner that was winged upward. Her blue eyes really popped under the makeup. To top it all off, she sported this shade of red lipstick that only pale people like her could pull off.
She then picked up my arm and looked at the fake bruise I had on my arm.
Vanessa stood up and whipped herself around in Keith's direction, raising her hand as if she were getting ready to yell at Keith.
"I'm Adeline." I said, putting my arm out in hopes she would stop yelling at Keith and shake my hand. As much as I wanted Keith to get caught for kidnapping two kids, I felt bad for what I had done to Anna and myself.
Vanessa dropped her hand, and turned towards Anna and I, just looking back and forth between the two of us. When she didn't shake my hand, I pulled my arm back in, then put it out again. She caught on this time and shook my hand.
I looked down at myself, then at Anna, then Keith, then Vanessa, then back down at myself. Then I stood up. "I need to shower."
Vanessa just continued to stare.
"I haven't showered in like three days. Keith here bought me this new video game, and I just haven't been able to put it down."
Vanessa opened her mouth like she was going to say something, but then she closed her mouth without saying a word..
"Thank you, Keith, by the way. I never got a chance to properly thank you."
Keith looked at Vanessa, as if she were supposed to give him permission to talk. Then he turned to me, "You're welcome." he said. It sounded more like a question than anything, but no one said anything about it.
"And..." Vanessa paused, then looked in Anna's direction, "Who is this?"
I turned back to Anna and nodded my head, letting her know that it was okay to speak. "I'm Anna." she said, hiding behind me.
"She's a bit shy." I reassured Vanessa.
"I can see that." Vanessa said with a kind of laugh to her voice.
"Anna's a sweetheart though. I love her." I looked down at Anna and smiled, "She's been with me in the basement the past couple days watching me play my game. You like watching me play my games, don't you Anna?" She nodded her head at me. "I should probably bathe myself. And Anna too. Are you staying for dinner?" I asked Vanessa.
She turned back to Keith. "Dinner?"
Keith zoned out for a minute, then when he came back, he said "Dinner? Yeah. Dinner. Dinner sounds good."
"So I'll get us cleaned up and I'll make sure we're down in time for dinner."
Anna and I waved to Vanessa as we went up the stairs, and I turned on the shower and we both washed ourselves. Anna asked me all of these questions about Vanessa, and I wasn't sure how to answer. Because, just like Anna, I knew nothing about Vanessa.
I made sure to run into what would be our bedroom (if we didn't, ya know, live in the basement or anything) and grab some comfy jeans and long sleeve shirts to cover up the fact that the bruises on our arms were just fake. Keith kept some emergency clothes in a dresser upstairs in case something like this ever came up. Smart man, he is.
We came downstairs and were welcomed to the smell of garlic bread and spaghetti sauce. Anna smiled at me and began jumping around me shouting "Pasta! Pasta! Pasta!"
"There you girls are. I was getting worried." Vanessa said, emerging from the kitchen.
Now you're worried? You weren't worried before when these two crazy homeless looking kids come out of the basement? You get worried over a six year old and her eighteen year old sister showering for twenty minutes? Get your priorities straight, lady.
"Here we are." I said, putting one arm above my head, the other out in front of me in a "ta-da!" motion.
"Girls? Is that you?" Keith shouted from the kitchen.
"Yes, Keith. It's us." I responded.
"You're just in time! Could you girls please set the table?"
"Sure thing." I said the way a teenager who doesn't want to do chores would say.
I put my hand on Anna's shoulder and walked her to the dining room, Vanessa following us into the room. I pointed to the ground, telling Anna to stay there while I went to the kitchen to get eating utensils.
Keith was at the sink washing a few cups for dinner, then turned around when he heard the floor creak. He gave me a dirty look, then turned back to the sink to finish what he was doing. Keith mumbled something under his breath.
I got what I walked into the kitchen for and headed back to the dining room, where Vanessa was talking to Anna.
Oh no.
I dropped the silverware onto the counter and hurried over to Anna. "You want to help?"
Vanessa looked at me, then smiled. "I was just talking to her about you."
"Is that so?" I asked. I looked over at Anna and walked behind her, nudging her until she moved, then walked her over to the forks and plates, keeping an eye on Vanessa.
Now, it wasn't that I didn't like this woman. She was very pretty, and she seemed nice. But you've gotta understand, I've been trapped in this house for twelve years. I haven't seen the outside world since I was six years old. And now suddenly this stranger comes into the picture. It was frightening for me. Let alone little Anna. I knew nothing about this woman, who knows what she could do. Then again, I am a victim of kidnapping, so it's not like whatever she could do to me would be much worse.
"Dinner... Is served." Keith announced. He entered the room carrying a big dish of spaghetti in his hands, and a towel-covered plate barely balancing between his elbow. Vanessa broke eye contact with me and rushed over to Keith, grabbing the plate and placing it on the table. She took the seat closest to Keith, and I decided to sit across from her, that way I could watch her every move.
That was weird. Sitting at the table, eating a dinner Keith actually put effort into making, this strange woman who was welcomed into the house. Trying to tell this woman about my life both inside and outside the house just made things that much weirder. What do you even say? Oh yeah, I was kidnapped at six years old and I live in Keith's basement and this whole dinner thing is just a cover up?
Vanessa tried talking to Anna and I. Worried that Anna would accidentally say the wrong thing, I did most of the talking.
"School?" She'd ask.
"Home schooled" I'd say.
"Hobbies?"
"Mainly reading"
"Sports?"
"Not athletic"
"Friends?"
"Prefer to be alone"
I made answers short and simple, that way I didn't have to go into explanation about anything.
After dinner, I decided that I didn't want to stick around for anymore questions, so I announced that Anna and I were going to go upstairs so we could go to bed early. That actually meant hiding out in the fake bedroom until Vanessa left.
So we said bye to Vanessa, and marched ourselves upstairs, where we sat in silence until we heard her announce her departure.
~~~
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