"Ha", I chuckled, thinking this must be a nightmare or my brain playing tricks on me. My stepdad is a kind, gentle man. Even though I barely know him, I believe he could never do this to me, especially when he is married to my mother. He loves her too much, enough not to hurt her, and we both know that if my mom finds out about this, it could end their relationship.
"I don't believe it," I said, trying to convince myself, but Logan's words made me face the harsh truth.
"You've been kidnapped, Stephanie!" Logan made it clear to me, and that's when the reality finally sank in.
"No, no, no, please let me go! I need to find my mom!" I screamed, pulling as hard as I could against the cuffs, but it only tightened its grips and dug deeper into my skin.
I groaned, frustrated and shocked that my stepfather could do this to me. "What? What do you want from me? Why have you kidnapped me?" I demanded, desperate for a reasonable explanation. He didn't respond and just kept staring at me while I struggled against the restraints.
Finally, he spoke up, "I can't tell," Logan said, and I knew he was lying. He brought me here so he should know.
"What? Tell me the truth Logan! Why the hell am I here? Why have you brought me here?" I asked, my voice laced with desperation as I gaped at him, but he said nothing.
"Logan, please let me go! I promise I won't tell my mom or anyone else you brought me here. Please. I swear to God, if you let me go, no one will hear about this." I pleaded, trying to reason with him, but his expression remained indifferent and untamed, showing his complete lack of concern or remorse on his face.
Logan stepped forward, his hand reaching for my face. "You look so much like her," he said, his hand stroking my hair, but I jerked my face away from him, repulsed by his touch.
"What did you do to me, Logan?" I demanded, my anger flaring as my body numbed from the rush of adrenaline.
"I haven't done anything," Logan said calmly. "Yet," he added, his voice carrying a menacing implication that he had far more sinister plans in mind for me.
I pulled against the handcuffs, the only thing preventing me from escaping his disgusting touch, the only barrier stopping me from striking his deceitfully charming face. The leash holding me captive took their vengeance by creating deeper gashes across my right wrist. I hissed as it bits into my skin.
“It's of no use. You'll only hurt yourself if you keep doing that” Logan said with concern evident in his voice. He wanted me to stop resisting, but I refused to comply easily.
Adding to all of this, I screamed at the top of my lungs, "Get your f*****g hands off me!! Get away from me!!!" which caused Logan to release his grip on my face and move away from me.
“You'll pay for this!” I threatened, thrashing on the bed and jerking my wrists against the handcuffs, with the rage replacing my exhaustion. I struggled against the bonds, tugging at them, desperate to attack him for what he had done to me.
"This is an abandoned building; if you scream, no one will hear you. It would only attract perverts and criminals, and trust me, you wouldn’t want those creeps here with their hands and d***s roaming all over you," Logan warned, his words frightening me. I felt sickened by how disgusting and disturbing it sounded.
Reluctantly, I yielded to his words and stopped screaming, feeling exhausted and breathing heavily from my earlier outburst.
"You must be hungry after the unexpected trip here. Make yourself comfortable while I go get you something to eat," Logan said, giving me a peck on the forehead before leaving the room.
"I need to get out of here, one way or another, before he can get back and do anything else to me," I thought, my heart racing with fear.
A few minutes later, the door opened, and my breath quickened. I was extremely scared as I saw Logan come in with a silver tray holding fruit, cheese, crackers, and a glass of water.
Logan approached and placed the tray on the nearby table. I flinched slightly. I was still trying to get used to being alone with him around me.
"Calm down, I won't hurt you, not yet," he said and it was then that I realised how hard I had been breathing. I had to practise freaking breathing techniques to get it under control.
I shouldn't be scared of him, and panicking shouldn't be my first reaction that I should be focusing on.
"You need to eat so you'll be prepared for whatever is to come," Logan said, and I had a sinking feeling this meant he planned to torture me. He brought me here to do just that in secret.
"I need to get out of here," was the thought that kept repeating in my head.