Then…
I slowly stood up and started limping towards the bathroom, realizing that it was almost noon and I hadn't made lunch yet. I stared up towards the corner of the room and directly at the camera before closing myself in the room. If I wasn't eating by noon, I would be punished.
That was one of the major rules of the house. Everything had to be on a specific schedule or else I would be punished.
Awake and dressed by seven, eat breakfast with Nathaniel at seven-fifteen, wish Nathaniel goodbye at eight, clean up breakfast at five past eight, make sure room is picked up by eight-thirty, relax and either read or watch television until lunch, eat lunch by noon, clean up kitchen after eating, clean up the house until four, start dinner at four, dinner on table by five-thirty, clean up kitchen, watch television or read until bed, shower by ten, and bed by eleven.
Every day was the same routine. Every day was exactly the same as long as I did what I was told. I had no idea how long I have been here. While I had access to the television and cable, he had child locks on everything that included news about the outside, I wasn't allowed to watch it without him here so he had the power to restrict what I was allowed to see, most of which had to do with my disappearance.
Time flew throughout the rest of the day and I was just setting the table for dinner when Nathaniel walked into the house. He smiled at me when he saw me putting the homemade alfredo out onto two plates.
"Hello, Doll. I brought you some new books," he said and I rushed to grab them. There were more of the actual reading books, but a few of the ones in the stack were books that I would use for school. "Starting tomorrow, Doll, you'll be on a new schedule which will include school work. I will start marking pages and chapters in each of these for you to do each day. Anything you require extra help on will be something you ask after dinner, when I will check that you did your work. Do you understand, Doll?"
"Yes, Nathaniel," I replied, not even thinking about it now and it still left a vile taste in my mouth every time I responded with his name. I quickly went and organized them onto the shelf in the living room before rushing back to see Nathaniel has already served us both and was waiting for me at the table.
I sit silently and look down at my food, waiting for him to do his nightly prayers. Once he was done, I looked back up at him, waiting for my permission to eat. He nodded and I quietly started eating whatever my stomach would accept. If I was going to escape, I would need to eat and gain up strength.
As he finished, I was quick to finish soon after him. I had learned my lesson of eating quickly or not getting to eat enough.
"Tonight, you don't have to leave during the news. I feel you're mature enough to handle it today, Doll."
I felt my eyes grow as he got up to let me clean up. I felt a bit of relief flood me. He was giving me more freedoms? Like getting to do more school and watching the news? Something felt off, but I pushed it away and continued with cleaning up and finished just as the news started.
"The search for Rosalie Collins has been abruptly ended this morning with police announcing the case to have become cold. With no new leads, the police have stated that they will not close the cold case, but will not continue to actively search for the girl. Police have now announced that they are no longer holding onto hope she is alive and have announced they will continue the search for her body starting next month. Today marks sixty-three days after her disappearance."
Now…
Silently, I watch my mother's room light as it flickers. Her door is cracked slightly, listening for me to sneak out of my room. Most likely, Oliver told her about the race tonight, that's dangerous for me. I can hear the hushed conversation as she speaks to Joshua.
Everything about this screams danger until the clock strikes 7:30 when she and Joshua walked out, dressed for the formal dinner they're having with their friends downstairs. I watched her move towards my door and quickly shut my eyes and curled up further into the soft duvet. I heard her footsteps creep closer and felt the gentle hand move a strand of my hair away from my face where she inspected my tattoo.
"Oh, my precious baby Rose," I hear her whisper, followed quickly by a kiss to my forehead.
"How is she?" Joshua's voice rings from the doorway, quiet but very even.
"Looks like she fell asleep early again, at least she ate something," she replied before pulling my blankets up just enough to reach my bottom lip. I faked a sleepy sigh as I snuggled further into the bed.
Just as quickly as they had come, they left, shutting my door softly behind them.
Just outside the door, one more statement softly made its way into the room: "At least we know she's not going to the race tonight."
I sat up quietly in bed, listening for the sounds of laughter below me before I smiled. I jumped up as quickly as I could when it echoed through the house. As silently as I could, I made my way towards the window and opened it. Quickly, I threw my boots, beanie, and purse on and stepped onto the roof beneath me. The lights of the dining room below my feet were on the lawn just a few feet down. No one was in there yet so I jumped off the roof and hit just underneath the window.
I heard a door above me open and a shadow dance around the dining room. Shit, this was earlier than usual. I held my breath and the silhouette of my mother appeared just above me.
"What is it, darling?" Joshua asked her before I saw him walk up behind her.
"Just a feeling that Rosalie was there, I just had to check before I could settle down with the guests," she replied. I saw her turn and heard the sound of a kiss above me and resisted the urge to gag.
"If she was, we would hear her or see her, I promise she'll be safe tonight, my darling. She knows what her consequence is if she sneaks out to another race."
"Yes, but she is my daughter. She is too smart for her own good and could definitely do it if she set her mind to it. She loves Delo, and I promise you that even if she gets put into the dorms, she will always find a way."
He hummed. "That may be true, but if anyone from Riloner recognizes her, especially as a racer, she's in for a whole new experience of pressure."
With that, they finally went back into the hall where the twinkling of laughter was heard. I let out a breath as I took off across the yard.