Chapter 30

Jayde

I open the door curious as to what is behind it since Max has yet to give me a tour. I’ll explore that later I think to myself.

I go to the bedroom and get dressed. Max comes in and does the same. Then he pulls me close and kisses me deeply. Breaking the kiss, he says we should get some lunch.

We head to the kitchen. Max starts making lunch. I watch as he works. He really is a gorgeous man and a fabulous cook. It’s a shame that he is a controlling, manipulative, abusive asshole. At least he seems to be in a better mood today.

“So what do you want to do for the rest of today?” He asks.
“Maybe we could explore the area some more.” I reply.
“That sounds like a great idea.” He says as he flips the chicken.

We talk some more about hiking and about my birthday wishes. Then he walks over and kisses me before going back to cooking.

Max finishes lunch and we sit at the table to eat. He made chicken with a bolognese sauce, some mixed vegetables, and garlic bread. It tastes amazing. I don’t know if I will ever get enough of his cooking.

“We will go hiking a little later, I need to make a quick trip to the store. I forgot to grab something.” He tells me.
“Okay.” I take another bite of the chicken and moan.
“Keep moaning like that and I might forget the store and take you to bed instead.” He says teasingly.
“I can’t help it, this is so good.” I moan again as I swallow another bite.

We finish eating and I go sit on the couch as he gets ready to leave. I turn on the tv and put Netflix on. Before I can decide on what to watch, Max comes over, pulls me up, and kisses me again.

“I’ll be back soon. Don’t go wandering off without me.”
“Not planning to. I’ll just watch some tv until you get back.”
“Good girl, I love you.” He says as he heads out the door.

I go back to Netflix, looking for something to watch. I settle on After. I’ve already seen it, but I really like it so I’ll watch it again. Maybe I can get Max to watch it with me when he gets back. I’ll watch something else for now. I scroll through the list of movies and then the tv shows. I decide to watch Wednesday. I like the Addams Family movies so why not.

When the first episode is done, Max still isn’t back. I decide to give myself a tour of the cabin. I start opening doors and looking into the rooms. I find another bathroom, three more bedrooms, and what appears to be an office. He must come out here to work sometimes. Then I remember the door in the master bathroom. The one that leads to a basement. I go to it. I hesitate before opening the door. Do I really want to go down there? My curiosity gets the better of me and I head down the basement stairs.

I find a light switch at the bottom of the stairs and flip it on. The light reveals a creepy looking basement. There are many strange paintings. Maybe they are old movie props or something. I look at each of them carefully so as not to disturb their resting places. I move into another room and find strange instruments, whether they are sex toys or torture devices I do not know. I examine each one trying to figure out what they are used for. I decide they must be sex toys, I know how much Max loves to use toys during sex, so that has to be what they are for. I see another door in the corner of the room. I open it. There is another office here. I see a wall full of photos and walk over to it. I gasp in horror. The photos are all of me. Everywhere I have been and all the people I have interacted with are on this wall. Starting with the day I met Max. And ending with my motorcycle ride with Adam. Oh, no! He knows about me and Adam.

I look at more of the photos. He knows Grace and I met as well. He knows that everyday after physical therapy I went to Adam’s house. Does he know I tried to poison him? I fall to the floor. He brought me here to kill me, didn’t he? I begin to spiral. How could I have been so dumb? I take my phone out of my pocket. I click on Adam’s number and try to call him. No service. Shit. I can’t call anyone. Which means I’m out here all alone with no one to help me.

The door to the basement slams shut. I run to and up the stairs. The door is locked. No, no, no, no! This can’t be happening. I sit on the top step, head in my hands.

“I know you are down there, baby girl. And I know what you found.” His voice muffled through the closed door.
“Let me out, please!” I beg.
“I can’t do that right now.”
“Why not? Are you going to kill me?” I begin to cry.
“Don’t cry, please,” he begs of me. But I can’t help it. “I’m not going to kill you. I love you too much. It’s why I brought you out here. Don’t you see?”
“See what. You trapped me in your basement.” I cry.
“I told you no one else was allowed to touch you. You are mine! I brought you out here to show you that.”
“Please, let me out. We can talk about this.”
“We’ll talk about it when you are less hysterical.” And I hear him walk away.

I get up and walk down the stairs. There has to be something I can use to get out of here. I start looking. Maybe one of the sex or torture toys will help open the door. I go to them and begin looking at them again. Nothing will work. I look around the basement hoping to find a tool box or something that will help me escape. I go back into the small office and look there. Nothing. This is hopeless. I am helpless. I only hope that Amara called Adam. Maybe Adam knows where this cabin is. Maybe, hopefully, he will save me.

I sit in the chair at the desk. I pray that I will be saved. Then I start going through all the stuff Max has about me. He has information about my childhood, my parents, everything there is to know about me is here. He must have hired a private investigator in order to get all this information. But why? Couldn’t he have just asked me about my past? He could have asked me a lot of questions and I would have answered him honestly. I have nothing to hide, except for Adam, Graham, and Grace.

He says he loves me. He has said it many times. But if he truly loves me then why lock me in the basement? If he truly loves me, he would let me out, right? I wipe the tears from my face on my sleeve. But I can’t stop crying. This is a nightmare. I don’t know what Tara and Amara saw in him. Yes, he is a good-looking man. Yes, he has a great job and excellent contacts. Yes, he is an amazing cook. But that is not all he is. He is controlling and manipulative. He threatened Amara’s life, the only reason I am with him in the first place. Doesn’t he see what he is? I guess he doesn’t because he thinks this is love, after all.