I glanced up at him for a moment before dropping my eyes to my plate once again.There’s no way he knows.He would have said something.
“Never mind.” I shook my head dismissively.
“You have a boyfriend? And let me guess, he isn’t a fan of you hanging out here?”
“What? No!” The unexpected question and subsequent statement caused me to look up. “There’s no one like that in my life.”
He gave me a one shoulder shrug before stuffing his mouth with another bite. When he’d finished swallowing, he added, “I’d understand if that were the case. You have a life, Jude. I’ll be okay.”
“It’s not that at all.”If only things could be that simple.
“Have you even dated? I mean, you seem pretty put together and all that now.”
I muttered something Zeek, thankfully, didn’t catch before clearing my thoughts. “I can’t date. And even if I could, no one would want me anyway.” To say nothing of the fact that my heart was already tied to someone else.“But that’s not what I was referring to. Zeek, have you heard how you were rescued?”
He squinted at me for a moment, then shook his head. “The only thing I know is that I was. I wasn’t exactlywellat the time of my rescue.”
“You don’t have to pretend with me, Zeek. Tell me.”
Zeek sighed. “I was pretty bad off, Jude. I was in and out of consciousness when the Feds found me. Then, I was in the hospital for about a week. After that, I stayed with my parents until their constant worry began to grate on my nerves. I ended up buying a small camper so that I could live in their backyard. Figured it would make things easier because I’d have my own space and they’d still be able to keep an eye on me. A short while later, I got this place and I’ve been here ever since. Of course, in the midst of all that, I went to few therapy sessions here and there. All of them ended poorly––as I already alluded to. One night, I was desperate and took a trip to the local kink club. It seemed to help turn my brain off, so I started going once or twice each month. And now, here I am.”
“You never once wondered how you were found?”
“I never really cared too much, honestly.” He paused, keeping his eyes on mine. “But I have a sneaking suspicion that you’re about to enlighten me.”
“I escaped, Zeek. I know my captor’s name,” I grumbled, giving him a tight smile. “I….” I paused, unsure how to tell him.
“I’m glad you did,” Zeek whispered. “And I’m glad you’re here now. But I won’t force you to relive everything you went through after you were taken from our cell. The important thing is that you’re alive.”
“You need to know.” I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, hoping to calm my already racing heart. “I should probably start at the beginning, though.”
I sat up straight as I took another deep breath in, slowly letting it out. I only hoped I could hold it together long enough to finish before breaking down like I’d done the last time. Other than the cops–who, thankfully, allowed me to write everything down as opposed to saying it out loud–my therapist was the only one who knew the whole story.
If I wanted to keep Zeek in my life, he needed to know what happened. He had every right to know. And, truth be told, I owed it to him. Whether he knew it or not.
“Hey, Jude,” Zeek whispered, his voice low.
When I managed to refocus my attention, I was shocked to find him kneeling in front of me. I’d been so lost in thought that I hadn’t even heard him move.
“You don’t need to tell me today. I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”
I gave him a small watery smile. There was just something about this man that made me see things in life differently. “How are you still single?” The words slipped out before I could stop them. “Sorry,” I muttered in embarrassment. “Don’t answer that.”
He laughed lightly as he motioned to his entire being. “I have issues, as you could probably tell.”
“Anyhow,” I shook the thoughts from my head as I prepared to relive some of the horrors I’d faced all those years ago.
Zeek shook his head, holding out a hand for me to take. “Not in here. Let’s go sit in the living room.”
Allowing Zeek to help me up, I followed him, my hand still in his. Once we reached the couch, he pulled me down so that I was sitting across his lap, his arms securely wrapped around my waist. It was so comfortable, as if we’d sat like this a million times before.
“Okay, now you can tell me whatever it is you wanted to tell me.”
“I don’t have to….”
Zeek simply lifted a brow.
“Okay, so that day when we were separated?” He nodded, his face paling slightly at the memory. “I was sold to an older guy. Likesuperold. Gray hair and all. Anyhow, after being dropped off to him at some underground parking garage, which wasn’t all that far away from where we were being held….” I went on to tell Zeek how the man preferred boys. Especially me.
