Must Read: CONTROLLED - Season 1 - Episode 17

7 years ago

Must Read: CONTROLLED - Season 1 - Episode 17

Sophia:
I bolted upright when I heard a loud bark
ringing through my ears. My side throbbed
painfully, causing me to gasp sharply. I held my
hand on my stomach and gazed around the
room, taking in full view of what was
happening. Kodiak was standing at the foot of
my bed, growling and baring his teeth at Ricky,
who held a rope between his hands. Naomi was
growling as well, but stayed on my legs
protectively. When Ricky saw I was awake, he
sighed in frustration.
Blinking sleep out of my eyes, I glared at him.
“What are you doing?” I asked, beginning to
tremble. Suddenly I was afraid all over again. I
didn’t feel as brave as I did the night before.
The look on Ricky’s face was frantic, and I saw
desperation in his eyes.
“It’s time to go, Sophie,” he said, edging toward
Kodiak. “We need to leave. And they aren’t
coming with us.”
“Don’t hurt them,” I whispered, trying to get up
on my knees. I wrapped my arm around Kodiak
and rested my other hand on Naomi’s back.
The growling got softer, but they were still in
their protective state.

“Of course I’m not going to hurt them, Sophie,”
he said, lowering the rope a bit. Then he added,
“Well, not much.” Then he lunged towards
Kodiak, surprising both of us. He wrapped the
rope around Kodiak’s neck and pulled, dragging
him off of the bed. I screamed, reaching for
him. Naomi was on all fours now, jumping off
the bed. I watched in horror as Ricky pulled
Kodiak over to my bathroom and shove him in.
Kodiak was yelping, then began to choke,
knowing the rope was too tight around his
neck. Naomi went after Ricky, but he grabbed
her and threw her on top of Kodiak.
I scrambled off of the bed and ignored the
agonizing pain in my side. Getting a running
start, I jumped on top of Ricky, causing him to
stumble. He quickly realized it was me and
threw me off. The wind was knocked out of me
as I hit the ground hard. I was pulled back up
and he threw me over his shoulder. I kicked and
screamed, but he didn’t let go. Barking and
scratching came from the other side of the
bathroom door.

“I can’t wait any longer. It’s time to go, Sophie,”
he said, walking towards the door.
“No, let me go!” I screamed, trying to escape
from his gasp. He held onto me tighter going
down the stairs. I was suddenly on the couch,
gasping in pain. When I looked back up he was
nowhere in sight. I took the chance and
scrambled off of the couch, tripping over one of
the legs to the coffee table in the process. I fell,
hitting the carpet, but quickly recovered. I ran
to the bottom of the stairs, but felt agonizing
pain as I was pulled back by my hair.
Falling backwards, I hit a hard-rock chest. When
I looked up, I saw Ricky smirking down at me.
“Don’t even think about it,” he said. I twisted in
his grasp, digging my nails into his wrist and
drawing blood. He just laughed wildly and
pulled me closer to him. He acted like I was a
piece of paper, holding my tightly against him.

No matter how much I struggled, he just held
onto me as if I was nothing. “I love it when you
struggle, Sophie.”
I tensed and stopped struggling. He’d never said
something like that to me before. I felt the
tears at the edges of my eyes. “Just let me go,”
I begged. “Please, you’re hurting me.”
He tensed up for a second, then all of a sudden
he let go and I was on the floor. He knelt down
and put his arms underneath my legs, and one
arm around my waist. He picked me up from
the floor and set me on the couch. When I
looked up at him again, his eyes were sad, and
I could see a tear fall down his cheek.

“I’m sorry, Sophie. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Forcing myself, I slowly picked up my hand and
placed it on his cheek. He widened his eyes a
bit, almost surprised. When his eyes softened,
he placed his hand gently on my cheek and I
fought the urge to pull away. The faint barks
and yelps of Naomi and Kodiak came from
upstairs. He leaned in, but I pulled away, not
looking at him. There was no way I could kiss
him after what he just did. Calm him down, yes.
Kiss him? No.

“Would you like to take something with you?” he
asked. I looked up at him, surprised how
sincere his voice sounded. Nodding, I got up
from the couch and slowly walked towards the
stairs. He grabbed my arm and guided me up
the stairs and into my room. He let go, but
stayed by the door. I fought the urge to run
towards the bathroom door, but I knew he
would make it there before I did.
Walking over to my bed-side table, I opened the
tiny drawer and pulled out a folded up photo. I
stuck it into my pocket, hoping he didn’t see. I
closed the drawer and turned back to Ricky. He
raised his eyebrows slightly, and I nodded
slowly. Motioning for me to come to him, I
edged towards the door cautiously. He grabbed
my arm again and led me downstairs.

“Everything we need is already going to be
there, including clothes,” he said, pulling me to
the front door. He let me go for a brief second,
reaching into the kitchen for keys, then held my
arm again, unlocking the front door. He leaned
over my shoulder and whispered into my ear, “If
you try anything, I’m going to do something
we’ll both regret. I suggest staying quiet.”
I nodded slightly then opened the door. He
pushed me out, closing the door behind him. It
was pitch black, despite the flickering lamp
posts down in the courtyard. I heard the quiet
sound of the water dribbling down the sides of
the fountain, and the chirps of crickets in the
distance. There was a cold breeze blowing,
making me shiver. I was still in my pale pink
tank top and flannel pants.

Without looking at him, I said, “I could’ve at
least gotten dressed first.”
He ignored me, guiding me down the stairs and
into the courtyard. We walked out of the
courtyard and into the parking lot. The asphalt
was cold on my bare feet, making me shiver
more. He led me to the far end of the parking
lot, and I gasped when I realized the car he was
taking me to.
It was the same black SUV from a year ago.
He didn’t seem to notice my surprise; he just
opened the door to the SUV and helped me
inside. Making sure I was okay, he closed the
door and ran over to the driver’s side. He
opened the door and climbed in, then closed his
door. He paused and looked over at me, raising
an eyebrow.
“What?” I whispered.
“Seatbelt, Sophie.”
Oh. I felt like an idiot. Reaching up, I grabbed
the seatbelt and slid it across my body, clicking
it in place. He finally started the car and drove
out of the apartment complex parking lot.
~
Eight hours later we were passing through
Georgia. It was silent the whole time, and every
once in a while I would doze off, but then wake
right back up when Ricky stroked my arm.

I was determined not to fall asleep, because
every time he touched me I had to fight the
urge to just give it all up and jump out of the
car.

I gave him a questioning look when he got off
on one of the exits from the highway. Minutes
later we were in a gas station parking lot. No
one was there, seeing as how it was almost six
o’clock in the morning. In the distance, the sun
was beginning to rise slowly. Through the glass
windows of inside the gas station, I saw a guy
wearing a red vest behind the counter. He
looked a few years younger than me, and I
could tell he was dozing off sitting at the
counter.

“Sophie.”

I jumped when Ricky appeared at my window.

He opened the door and leaned in, putting his
lips inches from my ear.

“I trust you won’t make a scene,” he said. I
looked down when he put something hard and
papery in my hand. I looked down to see a roll
of twenty dollar bills. I looked back up, but he
spoke before I could ask him anything. “Pay for
the gas, and whatever else you want. I’ll be
watching you.”