Page 90 of Searching for Bristol
Lance gestured to the room, and Bristol obediently looked around in horror. He was right. She saw a pillow that she’d last seen on her couch back in Kingsport. A picture of her mom and her from Christmas a few years ago. A mug from her kitchen cabinet with the image of a wildflower.
In the corner of the room was a small table that held plastic containers filled with some of the beads and other materials she used to make jewelry. She’d last seen those in her house as well, when she’d been there with Rocky. She’d decided not to bring them to Fallport because she’d already packed enough materials for the short term.
Tears leaked nonstop from Bristol’s eyes. It was bad enough she’d been kidnapped from Rocky’s apartment by someone she kind of knew, and her leg was bashed in so she couldn’t walk. To know Lance had violated her private space back in Kingsport was almost too much.
“Don’t cry,” Lance said, sounding agitated.
Bristol turned to look at him. His face was red, and he was frowning at her.
“Don’t cry!” he repeated, more forcefully this time. “You should behappy. You love me! We’re meant to be together. I have so many things you made at my house. You made them forme!”
Bristol held her breath. She was scared—so damn scared. Lance was completely unhinged. If he’d ordered things from her store, she certainly didn’t remember.
She was breathing way too fast, but if she was going to survive this, she needed to make Lance think she was glad to be here. She couldn’t fight him. He was bigger and stronger, and with her leg hurting like it was, she couldn’t exactly walk out of here.
Bristol thought back to a true-crime show she’d seen once. There were five or six young women who’d been kidnapped and held for long periods of time. Some of them had been held for years. The thought of being with this man for a day, let alone forever, made Bristol want to cry once more, but she did her best to keep all her innermost thoughts off her face.
In the show, the women talked about how they’d befriended their captors. How they remained compliant and did everything asked of them. The interviewer had asked if they’d ever wanted to fight. The response from every single woman was that ofcoursethey did, but they instinctively knew if they’d tried, he would have killed them.
Bristol hadn’t really understood at the time. She’d thought to herself that if someone ever did that to her, she’d fight like hell. She’dnevergive in. Never let a kidnapper think for a second that she was all right with what they’d done.
But lying there, vulnerable, chained to the bed, her leg throbbing and her head pounding from whatever he’d used to knock her out, Bristol got it.
Her only goal was to survive. And if that meant being docile and not letting this man know how much she hated him and how badly she wanted to get away, so be it.
Rocky would find her. He had to. She just had to be smart and stay alive until then. Just like she’d done back in the forest. She’d done what was necessary in order to survive until he came for her. She hadn’t known he was looking, of course, but now, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that Rocky and his friends—hell, the entire town of Fallport—would turn over every rock and look under every bush to find her.
A small voice in the back of her head warned that looking under rocks and bushes wasn’t going to cut it, but she shoved that thought away. She needed to stay positive.
“I’m glad you liked the things I made for you,” Bristol said tentatively.
It was the right thing to say. Lance beamed. “I loved them. Ever since I saw one of your designs, I knew. You were mine. I moved to Kingsport to be near you, and I knew it was only a matter of time before you felt our connection like I did. We were meant to be together. I love you, poppet.”
Bristol smiled. It was strained, but she did her best as she wiped the tears off her cheeks. He’d moved to Kingsport because she was there? How long had he been watching her? She didn’t even want to think about it. She took a deep breath. “Where are we?”
“In my apartment.”
She blinked in surprise. “We are?”
“Uh-huh. But don’t worry, they aren’t going to find you. No way. I made the room soundproof. The walls here are way too thin. They’d hear you for sure if I didn’t.”
Looking around, Bristol realized why it was so dark. He’d tacked blankets to the walls and over the window. She wasn’t sure how many there were, but it looked like enough to at least muffle any noises that might come from the room.
It took everything she had to smile at Lance. “Smart,” she said softly.
“I know. We’re right under his nose and he won’t ever realize,” Lance crowed. “We’ll stay here for a while, until they stop looking for you. Then I’ll take you home, tomyhome, where you belong, and we’ll live happily ever after. You’ll make your windows for me, and I’ll love you, and we’ll never need anyone but each other.”
Bristol’s blood ran cold. If Lance took her away from Fallport, the chances of anyone ever finding her would be slim to none.
“I’m sorry about your leg,” Lance said again, frowning. “I wasn’t going to hurt you, but when I was taking off the cast, I got to thinking that you might try to leave me. I couldn’t have that. Before I knew what I was doing, I was hitting you with a hammer. I thought it would be better if I did it while you were sleeping, so you couldn’t feel it.”
Bristol wanted to throw up. No wonder her leg hurt so badly. He’d hit her with ahammer? She gave him what she hoped was a pitiful look. “It really hurts.”
But instead of Lance being worried or doing something to stop the bleeding, he shrugged. “I know, but now you can’t leave me,” he said, as nonchalantly as if he was talking about what was for dinner.
As she stared at the man sitting next to her, Bristol realized he was more than just delusional. Something else was seriously wrong with him…and she’d have to tread carefully.
He wouldn’t be able to stay with her every minute of every day. She’d find a way to get out of this room. If she could get to the door and get outside, she’d be free.
