Burning Your Lies (King and Queen Duet #2)

3

Savannah

It’s been six weeks since my imprisonment. Six weeks of being pumped with enough drugs to fry my brain. I am in a constant state of emptiness. It feels like my head is hollow and everything I once felt and knew has all vanished. All I recall is that night.

The police said Xavier didn’t wish to press charges for kidnapping Elise. Why would he need to do that when he’s already made me his prisoner? Only Xavier has visited me. Nobody else; not Mia, Jordan, or Huxley. That could only mean one thing: they believed his lies.

“Savannah. It’s time for your one-to-one session with Dr Cooper.”

I don’t want to go, yet I mindlessly follow the nurse through the building that is now my home. She knocks on the door for me and only leaves once I am seated on the chair. I look around the room that is painstakingly white. Just like that house. And like that house, everything is in its place.

“How are you, Savannah?”

I’m dead.

“I understand this is a big change, but this is the best place for you. We are here to help you.”

I don’t need help. I’m not crazy.

“Have you made any friends?”

I already have friends. Friends that haven’t come to see me. Friends that believe his lies.

“I understand you’re starting group therapy next week. That might be a good chance for you to make some friends. It would certainly help you find a sense of normalcy here.”

Friends only let you down.

“You’ve been in a silent state since being admitted here.”

He frowns.

“What are you afraid to say out loud?”

He won.

And I lost.

I lost it all.

I pretend to sleep when the night nurse comes to check on me. When my door shuts, I’m alone again. Within the room, there is a single bed, a stiff reading chair, and a securely fastened drawer attached to the wall. The door far to the left leads to the bathroom, also serving as a wet room. The windows don’t open wide enough to let real air into the room. The pale blue walls are making me feel sick, but I never leave their confines.

A single tear drops to my pillow as I think about my mum. Who’s checking on her? Is she okay? Is she wondering why I’ve abandoned her? Does she think the bad men have taken me?

And then there is Elise. In a desperate attempt to escape Xavier’s clutches, we both remain chained to him. I wonder if she desperately craves the comfort of my arms, as I crave her warmth. I clench my trembling fists, nails digging into my palms, as I bite down on my lip to stifle the scream rising in my throat. I would give anything to be with her.

The pain in my breasts has finally stopped. Those first few weeks, I experienced the agony of producing milk and having no baby to feed. Those days I cried from the physical pain.

But not tonight.

Tonight I silently cry for all I had and all he stole.