Swallowing down the anger, I turned back toward the clothes that Cain had left. I had to admit that I wasn’t sure what I was expecting, but fuzzy purple pajamas with little skulls on them were certainly not it. I didn’t know how the hell he expected me to put these on until I felt the velcro. He was diabolical. Who else got pajamas made with shackles in mind?

It was way too tempting not to put them on and stick my middle finger up at Cain and his ability to crawl into my brain. The material was soft under my hand as I ran it over the top.

What did this guy want with me? I mean, killing me seemed like the obvious answer, but did he always get his victims their favorite sleepwear? Did he always take the time to know what their favorite brand of toothpaste and shampoo were? Did he always turn his victims into glorified pets? The thought was unsettling, and a stab of jealousy sliced through me and was quickly followed by anger that made me want to hit myself.

I needed to find a way to get the upper hand. There had to be a way to make him trust me or let me go. It was just figuring out what the button was. As I turned to investigate the shower, I decided to play his game for now until I could figure a way out of this place and how to get away from Cain. There was no way I was going to end up as his next art piece displayed on the side of the road. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and this definitely qualified as desperate.

“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.”

“You make me happy when skies are gray.”

“You’ll never know, dear, how much I love you.”

“Please don’t take my sunshine away.”

Would this song never end?

I stopped counting after the hundredth time it played. I was trying to decide how much time had passed, but it was impossible without a window or a clock. Cain somehow snuck in when I was sleeping, which was creepy all on its own, but then he’d leave things as if they were little gifts. He always left food and water for a couple of meals, a fresh set of towels, and sleep clothes. Then he was gone again. I never saw him or heard him. It was like he was a ghost. No matter how hard I tried to keep my eyes open, they would grow heavy, and the last thing I’d see was the red floating goop in the lava lamp as the lyrics continued.

“I’ll always love you and make you happy,”

“If you will only say the same.”

“But if you leave me and love another,”

“You’ll regret it all someday.”