The sound of rapid hammering filled my head, stirring me awake. I forced my tired eyes open and glanced around the room in search of the culprit. Bubba stood by the wall with a mallet in his hand. His back muscles flexed visibly through his shirt as he hammered each nail into the wall, boarding up the window I had discovered earlier...or was it yesterday? I have no idea how long I've been asleep.

My hands felt around on the bed in search of the shears I'd discovered. Tossing the pillows aside and digging through the blankets, I frantically searched for my weapon only to find that it was missing. 

I glanced back toward Bubba who still didn't realize I was awake and spotted the silver metal handle of the scissors poking out from his back pocket.

Aw crap. Yup, he's definitely angry with me. How could he not be, h found the scissors! I have to play this right. Make amends for what I did and regain his trust. That's the only way I'll make it out of here alive.

An old saying came to mind, one my grandmother taught me: 'You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar', and that's just what I'll have to do. Be as sweet as honey because being snarky and disrespectful is only gonna get me one thing; killed.

I sat up in bed and stretched my stiff muscles. Running my fingers through my hair, I smoothed out the frizzy mess and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, trying my best to look half-way decent.

"Good morning," I croak, my voice still groggy with sleep.

He paused mid-swing and craned his neck to look at me. His eyes narrowed into a menacing glare.

Okay, that proves he's mad, considering he's usually thrilled when I even so much as acknowledge him.

He ignored me and went back to his work, pulling a nail out the pocket of his apron and hammering it into the board.

I climbed to my feet and sauntered toward him. The smooth concrete floor was cold beneath my bare feet making me wish I had my favorite pair of fuzzy socks on.

Standing beside him, I leaned back against the wall. "I, um, want to apologize for last night." 

He didn't pay me any attention, just went on with his work. I sighed and gently touched his shoulder. His shirt was drenched in sweat. He must have just come in from the outside. 

"My behavior was completely uncalled for, I know that."

He flinched at my touch before shrugging my hand off. I slipped underneath his arm and stood in front of him where he had no choice but to look at me. His arms flanked either side of my head. Raising my fingers to his face, I rested my palm against the cheek of his mask. The texture made me cringe and want to recoil, but I put on a brave face and smiled sweetly. His eyes widen as he drops his arms to his side.

"I'm so sorry for hurting you and calling you and your family crazy. I was upset and frightened, and I didn't mean those things I said." I blurted out as nicely as I possibly could.

He stood as still as a statue for what felt like an eternity. I tried to read his expression with what tiny bit of his face I could see through his mask, but it was nearly impossible to know what waa going through his mind. He raised his hand up to my face. I braced myself so I wouldn't show any trace of fear. He ran his fingers across my cheek and down my neck, the calloused pads played across my collarbone. 

"Do you forgive me?" I said, brushing my fingers over the palm of my hand twice to sign the word.

He watched my hands as I exaggerated the movement for him again and softly repeated the word "forgive".

"Forgive." he drew his hand off of my body and copied my movement. His lips mouthed the words as he signed, "I Forgive You." 

He tucked his mallet into his apron pocket before wrapping his arm around my waist and his other in the crook of my knees, lifting me from the floor into his arms bridal style. 

I shrieked and clung to his shoulders, unsure of why I was being picked up. He chuckled and bounces me up and down. I couldn't help but laugh too and bury my face in his shirt. The smell of his sweat and the outdoors saturated his clothes, filling my nostrils.

Carrying me back to the bed, he dropped to his knees setting me down in front of him. He held a single finger in the air and rummaged around in his pocket retrieving something wrapped in a checkered cloth napkin.

He unfolded the flaps revealing a flakey golden biscuit that he must've been saving for later. My mouth began watering the instant I caught sight of the food. I had forgotten how hungry I actually was until then, and the growl coming from my stomach could testify to that.

Breaking a small piece off, he held it in front of my face. I reached up to take the piece from him, but he grabbed my wrist and pulled my hand away, shaking his head back and forth.

His thumb grazed my chin, gently pulling my lips apart before he popped the piece of bread in my mouth. It was the first bit of food I had in days, and I savored it. Who knew when the next time I would get to eat would be.

He broke off another piece and insisted on hand feeding me each bite until it was gone. Kinda strange, but I was starving and at that point, I'd do just about anything to satisfy the burning in my stomach.

"Thank you," I said, dusting the crumbs from my lips.

He stopped playing with my hair long enough to sign the word "Welcome."

He rose to his feet and strode over to the metal table where he patched up my hand yesterday. A leather duffle bag that I hadn't noticed before sat on top of it. He grabbed its handles then walked back, plopping down in bed beside me. The more I looked at the bag the more it started to look familiar. 

He held up four fingers then pointed to me as he sat the bag between us. I take it he means to say "for you". I'll have to work with him on that.

"Wait a second, this is mine! Oh my gosh! You found my bag!"

He unzipped the top and pulled it open. I couldn't help but be ecstatic at the sight of my things. It was all I had left to remind me of my life before.

I watched as he began pulling different articles of my clothing out inspecting each one meticulously. I could hardly wait to change out of these clothes I'd been wearing for Lord knows how long.

He pulled out a glossy tin heart and inspected it over. I don't remember putting that in there. Where did it even come from? A small folded card slipped out from beneath the white satin ribbon tied around the tin and fell on the bed between us. I snatched it up before Bubba noticed. Opening the card, I found a handwritten note scrawled across the inside.

" Roses are red,

Violets are blue,

I'll never love someone

the way I love you...

Yeah, I know it's corny, but it took me hours to come up with it. Happy Valentine's day, Tills! I love you more than you'll ever know! - Matt"

A smile spread across my face. I wanted to laugh and I wanted to cry and I wanted to scream all at the same time. Matt must've been going to surprise me with this for Valentine's Day. I sniveled and fought back the tears stinging at my eyes. Now was not the time to break down and bawl.

I looked up to find Bubba holding a pair of my underwear and curiously peering through the delicate lace netting. I could feel the blood rush to my face and my cheeks turning red as I quickly snatched them away from him, hiding them behind my back along with the card.

Lord knows what's going through his mind right now. Even though he looks frightening on the outside, on the inside he's such a typical boy. You'd think he'd never seen a pair of panties before.

The last thing he pulled from the bag was my well-loved copy of Dracula by Bram Stoker. There's no telling how many times I've read through that book and the wear and tear on the spine and cover prove it.

" This is one of my favorite books ever," I stated, watching him flip through the pages stopping only to look at the simple illustrations that seldom appeared throughout the book.

"Do you like to read?"

The smile slipped from his lips and his expression dulled. He hung his head and shook it from side to side.

"Oh...can you not read? " I asked even though I already knew he probably couldn't.

He turned his head to the side to avoid my gaze. His fingers plucked at the buttons on his shirt.

"That's okay," I said, trying to console him. "I can teach you if you like. Just like I'm teaching you sign language, and in the meantime, I can read to you. "

He raised his head, a smile creeping across his face. He shoved the book into my hands and made an 'uh-huh' sound.

I scooted back against the wall and patted a spot on the bed beside me which he slid into. I leaned into him just as he did me, and laid my head against his shoulder before flipping the book open and finding the first chapter for us to begin with.