Viktor(12)

So I decide to follow him up the stairs. We go into a different corridor than the one where the man disappeared.

“What’s your name?” the man asks after a while.

“Alexis.”

“Beautiful name,” he muses, glancing over his shoulder with a smile on his face. “You can call me Winston. I’ll show you to your room.”

“My room?”

“You didn’t think I’d let you sleep on the couch, now did you?” He winks, as if he’s forgotten I’m a prisoner in this house. But I have to admit, I am surprised.

“You know … Viktor isn’t cruel. I know he seems like it from the way he acts, but there’s more to him than meets the eye.”

“Yet he’s still taking me as his prisoner.” I sigh.

“He just doesn’t know how to act … normal.”

“Yeah, I got that already. Is that why he hides behind a mask?”

The man hesitates for a moment. “Ah … Viktor is … shy.”

“Shy?” I muffle a laugh. “Yeah, right.” What a lame excuse.

“He isn’t used to having people in his house. Actually, he’s not used to seeing people at all. Except for me, of course.”

“Does he ever go out or anything?”

“He used to … but not anymore.”

I wonder how long it’s been.

And I wonder why.

But I don’t ask … He won’t answer anything with the truth anyway, so what’s the point? It’s not as if he’s going to tell me his entire history and give me the key to his soul. No, that would make escaping way too easy, and he knows it.

The man glances at me from time to time, but I just look away. I don’t want to talk to him or anyone else in this house. Especially not when it’s still so fresh.

A few lights hanging from the wall guide our way as we walk through the pitch-black house. It makes me shiver just looking around. It’s so dark and … depressing.

Thunder interrupts my train of thought, and the old man stops in front of a door. “This is it.”

He turns the key in the lock and opens it. It leads to a bedroom, which is bigger than the home I share with Alisha. My eyes can’t get enough of looking around as we walk inside. To the left is a closet and a small sink sits in the corner. In the middle is a queen-size bed with a nightstand on either side of it.

“It’s so … big,” I mutter.

“There are some clothes in the closet that you can wear if you’d like. See if anything fits. It’s all yours for as long as you stay here.”

“Clothes? How?”

“Oh, Viktor just wanted to be prepared in case someone stayed over… not that anyone ever did.” He clears his throat.

As I turn around, I notice he’s walking out the door again. “How long will I have to stay here?” I ask.

He sighs and looks at me over his shoulder. “I can’t say. It’s not up to me, unfortunately. If it were, you wouldn’t be in this position in the first place.”

“And why isn’t it up to you? Can’t you let me out?”

“I’m not the owner of this house.”

“But you know what he’s doing is wrong.”

“I know … but please don’t ask me.” He turns his back toward me. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

“Wait, what?” But before I get the chance to ask any more questions, he’s already walked out of the door and closed it behind him.

A lock clicks into place.

I immediately go to the door and bang on it. “Hey, you can’t lock me in here.”

“I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do. Viktor wants you here, and you made the deal. You have to stay here.”

“Unlock the door. Now!” I shout.

“I can’t. I’m sorry. You’ll have to speak with him in the morning. Good night, miss.”

His footsteps die out slowly as I bang on the door—desperate to get out, desperate to be free, even if only a little. This room … At first, it was beautiful until I realized it was nothing more than a pretty prison.

After a while, I realize it’s no use, and I push myself away from the door and run toward the window. But no matter how much I jerk, it’s firmly jammed in place. Locked in on all sides … If this isn’t hell, I don’t know what is.





***





Viktor





I stare at the glass shard in my hand. When lightning strikes, the flash lets me see the beast behind the mask. It serves as a reminder of who I really am.

She’s so fucking beautiful … and she refused to follow the rules. Her resistance as I grabbed her was intoxicating, so much so that it made me want her more. No one has ever defied me like that. Not when I held them like that, with my fingers wrapped around their throat. But her eyes … her eyes told me everything I needed to know. She’s fearless. And it gives me hope.