‘’Lucy…Oh sweet Lucy, it’ll be okay....’’ his hushed whispers flooded the room as his crooked fingers stroked the whimpering girl’s cheek. False promises, slithering into her ears, like vicious vipers.
‘’Why did you try to run, Lucy?’’
His fingers tightened around her wrist and she flinched away. Lucy knew what was coming next.
‘’You love me don’t you? Do you love me Lucy!? LUCY! I’M TALKING TO YOU, LUCY! Oh God…It’s ‘cuz I’m ugly isn’t it!?
‘’No, no!’’ A voice squeaked out, somehow trying to appease him, trying to stop him. Her whimpers filled the room, along with the sound of his fists hitting her sensitive flesh. Her cries got louder as he hit harder.
‘’THEN WHY LUCY!? WHY!!!??!?? I love you...Oh God I love you….’’ The blows slowed, tears falling down his face. ‘’Don’t try to run, Lucy, I love you.’’
He sobbed, clenching the abused and frightened girl tight, tears streamed down both their faces as she embraced him. Because through all the abuse, the kidnapping…she had come to be used to him, to need him. She had come to love him. And as Lucy stroked his hair and rocked him like he was an overgrown child, she smiled, because honestly, she didn’t know what she would do without him.

Lucy woke to a dark empty room, nothing unusual. She looked around at the familiar room, the ratty mattress she was sitting on was on the left side, there was a wooden door leading to an old bathroom with a shower, toilet and a mirror and…well that’s it... the walls were white and empty and the door was made of steel. Lucy knew he didn’t want her to escape, so she smiled because she knew he cared. She limped to the bathroom, blinking back tears as she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She took the time to look in the full length mirror, examining her new bruises. He hadn’t hit her in a while. She ran her finger along her face, she wasn’t too bad. He had done worse. She slipped off her shirt and shorts, gently brushing her fingers over the bruises that seemed to make up her body. Her usually pale white skin was pink and purple, swollen in some places. She frowned as she noticed something else unpleasant; she could easily trace her ribs. Her long hair was no longer shiny, it was ugly and dull. The brown looking like dirt and her natural red highlights were barely visible. She took off the rest of the clothes and stepped in the shower.
No wonder he hits me, she thought as she turned the water on, I’m UGLY!
She quickly finished washing herself and stepped outside, grabbing a towel and sitting on her bed, quietly waiting for him to bring her a change of clothes. She hummed softly, absently rubbing a particularly large bruise on her arm and noticed something disturbing about the room.
There are no windows.
Of course not, stupid, He doesn’t want you to escape! One of her personalities growled at her, unhappy about their failed escape. Lucy is special you see, Lucy has multiple personalities. Most of the times, she can keep them locked up, or even ignore them, but sometimes…they take control.
YOU IDIOT! WHY ARE YOU NOT TRYING TO ESCAPE!? YOU’RE PLANNING ON JUST SITTING HERE LIKE HIS LITTLE PET AND WAIT TILL HE BRINGS YOU A TREAT!? DISGUSTING!
Be reasonable, she has no clothes. Reason said.
But I don’t want to ever go... Love whispered.
Lucy was sitting down, freshly changed, in the living room. On the outside she was calm and composed but on the inside, she was excited to be out of her room.
WONDERFUL! NOW YOU NEARLY PISS YOURSELF LIKE AN OVER EXCITED PUPPY JUST BECAUSE YOU GOT TO SIT ON THE COUCH, BOO HOO!
It’s an improvement…… But Reason agreed.
She ignored the voices, choosing instead to look at Aiden. She smiled at him but he didn’t smile back. It’s okay though, she’s beneath him, nothing compared to him, and she deserves it.
This is disgusting…
It’s love…
I’m not so sure anymore….
She shifted, the voices making her uncomfortable.
What?
Lucy, this isn’t love.
Her world stopped.
Love is beautiful, love doesn’t hurt you physically, love gives you butterflies, love makes you HAPPY.
He lied to you.
Lucy’s eyes narrowed and her posture shifted, her muscles tensed.
Aiden noticed.
‘’Lucy?’’
‘’LUCY ISN’T HERE ANYMORE.’’
‘’What!?’’ He stood, panicking and quickly realized what was going on. He stepped backwards, shaking but trying to maintain composure. ‘’Lucy, quit being stupid!’’
‘’ARE YOU STUPID!? Lucy isn’t here ANYMORE’’
That night she hit him, she slashed at him with her nails. She dug her fingers into his eyes and she tore at him. At one point he had tried to crawl in the kitchen to reach a phone. She had grabbed a nearby knife and in a rage slammed it in his hand. His fingers centimeters away from the phone. So close, yet so far away. She had torn the knife away and pushed him to the ground. And she had stabbed him. Digging her knife repeatedly in his chest she had yelled. His blood sprayed the walls and her face, tainting her child like features and giving her a twisted appearance.


Next thing she knew, Lucy was being dragged away, wrapped in a blanket, everything was going by so fast, she couldn’t focus, there were sirens and ambulances and people were yelling. A stretcher covered by a white sheet was rolled into an ambulance. There was red on the sheet. She looked at her hands and realized that the red liquid was on her too. It was sticky. Someone handed her over to a happy crying couple. She was being hugged, but she couldn’t respond. She was numb. She vaguely recognized the woman’s face but couldn’t seem to put a name to it. She tried to ask someone, anyone, what was going on but she couldn’t. She was a shell. She caught some random words but couldn’t seem to make sense of the, people kept whispering things like mental disorder and kidnapping. She didn’t understand. She understood the meanings but not their importance. She understood, but she had no feelings to connect with the words. Everything drifted by and she just went along.


4 years later, Lucy had regained some normalcy in her life, no more voices, and no kidnappings. Everyone seemed to think she was fine. And she would have agreed. Everything was going perfectly fine, she got good grades, she had a boyfriend, a family. She was happy. Until one day she heard it...like a soft whisper, blown in her direction by the breeze…his voice…
‘’Lucy…I’m waiting.’’