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"Church?" Paulina asked, bewildered.

For the first time that morning, Gerard grinned his insane, crazy smirk that Paulina had associated with him since meeting him in the basement. Either he was waking up, or he suddenly remembered what he was doing, Paulina didn't know, but the man that she had first met in the dungeon was back, and standing in front of her.

"You don't ask questions, my dear."

Gerard moved steadily forward, slowly reaching out his hand to brush Paulina's porcelain-white cheek softly. Suddenly, grin still in place, he gripped the back of her neck and threw her roughly, so roughly that she went stumbling toward the bed a few feet away. Paulina saw that she was heading for the bed frame, but she could do nothing to stop it. Her face smashed painfully into the wooden edge of the frame, a loud crack resonating through the room.

"Oh, fuck," Gerard said with a smile tickling the corners of his mouth. "Here, take the towel, now." He handed Paulina the damp towel to stem the flow of blood that was pouring from her nose. "Don't waste all your pretty, ruby blood on the dress, darling." The sticky, red liquid was coating the bottom-half of Paulina's freshly-washed face. She tried to stop it up, but it wouldn't clot, and her nose was stinging painfully. Was it broken?

"Here, let me see it now. Oh, there it is...Oh, isn't that so pretty? Paulina, I wish I had a mirror so that you could see how lovely you look with all your crimson-red blood staining your perfect, white face." His thumb traced a clean path through the congealed goo, the corners of Gerard's lips turning up maniacally at the sight of it. "Such a pity I have to wash it off. I'm sure the minister wouldn't appreciate it nearly as much as I do. Such a pity," he repeated, shaking his head and clicking his tongue as he wiped the blood away. "Ah! Now, look at that! Not even broken." Gerard dragged his index finger down the bridge of Paulina's fully-intact nose. "Lovely, just like always."

Paulina sniffed, her eyes burning with tears. The fact that her nose wasn't broken was a small consolation, if any at all. She had never been able to stand the sight of blood, especially her own. The experience of seeing the sticky, red mess coat her skin was nearly traumatizing. The mere feel of the crimson cream on her face and neck made every nerve in her body crawl.

"Come, come. You have somewhere to go today, Paulina." You? Gerard hadn't said "we." Had he meant that Paulina would be going to church alone? How? Gerard slid his hand into Paulina's, slipping his fingers between hers and leading her out into the hallway.

Now that she examined her new "home," Paulina saw that she was imprisoned in a very large, grandiose house. Bigger than her parents' house, which was quite an achievement in itself. It also seemed to be very old, though well-made. The walls were bare, save for torches every ten feet, or so. Yes, Paulina decided. It was definitely a very, very old house.

"Oh, Mikey," Gerard called jovially as the two padded down the hall. When he received no answer, he spoke again, though not really louder, or with any different inflection in his voice. "Dear, dear little brother, don't tell me you forgot." Little brother? Paulina's mind reeled. Were they actually related? They bore absolutely no resemblance to each other. Maybe Gerard was just being...insane, again.

"Gerard, how could I forget?" Mikey stepped out of a room just as they were passing it. He looked very different from last night. His glasses were gone, and his hair was combed. His demeanor was stiff and his posture formal. He was wearing a light blue button-up tucked into a pair of khaki pants. His shoes were the shiny, black, formal kind. All in all, he looked like a good little church boy. Which was probably the point, Paulina thought to herself.

"Well, it's about time, princess." Gerard smirked.

"You may be my older brother, Gerard, but that doesn't mean I couldn't kick your ass." Mikey stepped forward, holding his arm out for Paulina to take. She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow, hesitantly.

"Oh, yeah," Gerard said, laughing and ruffling Mikey's hair. "I think I'd pay to see that. Anyway, have a lovely time. I think I'll go back to sleep." With that, Gerard turned on his heel and headed back the way they'd come.

"I hope you like cathedrals," Mikey said dryly, beginning to lead Paulina towards a long, winding flight of stairs. "Alley-oop," he said as he suddenly pushed Paulina down the stairs ahead of himself. She lost her balance, tripping over her own legs and tumbling down the steps to the landing. Mikey clicked his tongue. "A word of advice, Paulina," he said as he descended the stairs to her. He picked her up and set her lightly on her feet. "Learn to break the fall." With that, he pushed her again, sending her flying once more. Having been anticipating it that time, Paulina was able to throw her hands out, stopping herself from rolling down the stairs. She stood, shakily, and heard Mikey speak from behind her. "Well, at least we know you're not completely incapable of learning from past experiences," he told her. His voice stopped moving towards her, as though he'd stopped a couple of steps above her. "Another hint: perhaps, if you stay far enough ahead of me, I won't be able to reach you to push you again, Paulina."

Paulina took this to heart and began taking the steps two-at-a-time. A few times, her feet got tangled up in themselves and she almost tripped, but Paulina was able to catch herself and keep going. Finally, after many winding flights if stairs, Paulina made it to the ground floor, and there she waited for Mikey.

"Another improvement," he said when he reached her. "Perhaps all hope for you is not lost, after all." He, once again, offered his arm, which Paulina took. He led her into a very large kitchen, in which was a table, upon which was a bowl with something steaming inside.

"Sit," he instructed when they reached the table. "Eat." Paulina looked down. She didn't dare refuse this time, for fear that Frank would emerge out of nowhere, once again. And, this time, he might not be kind enough to ask again. She picked up the spoon and took a small bit of the porridge-looking substance. After blowing on it, she took a bite. It didn't taste like porridge or oatmeal, but whatever it was, it warmed her from the inside out. Paulina ate more.

After a few minutes, her stomach began to feel upset. Paulina's forehead was beaded with sweat, and she set the spoon in the bowl. She swallowed thickly, knowing that the contents of her stomach would soon become the contents of the bowl, once more, if she didn't get to a bathroom. Mikey grabbed Paulina around the shoulders, helping her stand and get to the kitchen sink, where she heaved all the food that she had eaten this morning and the night before.

"Oh, Ray," he called out beyond the uninhabited kitchen. "Did you sprinkle ammonia in the cream of wheat, again?"

"Oops," came Ray's voice from another room. "I knew I did something wrong."

"So forgetful," Mikey said, shaking his head and tsk-ing. "Such a waste." He poured the rest of the cream of wheat down the sink, rinsing it away, along with Paulina's upheaval. He crossed to the refrigerator and pulled a carton of milk out, along with a glass, and poured some. He handed his hostage the cup. Paulina took it hesitantly, sniffing it and examining the liquid for discoloration. She found none. She gingerly took a sip, waiting for a moment to see if anything happened. Nothing. She took a longer sip. No repercussions thus far. She drained the glass before setting it down on the table.

"Finished?" Paulina nodded. "Alright, let's go." Instead of walking out of the kitchen, however, Mikey took a long black scarf from his pocket and beckoned to Paulina, who hesitated. "Come, no time for your dawdling." Paulina approached him. "Turn." For a split-second, Paulina saw the black scarf descend on her face, and then...nothing. Her vision was completely obstructed, and she could see nothing through the fabric over her eyes. "Alright," she heard Mikey say. She felt an arm slide around her waist and pull her to walk forward.

Mikey led her through doorways that Paulina could feel, over different flooring, and, finally, she heard a door open. As she was being led forward, Paulina felt her nose connect painfully with a very hard object. This time, it was a doorframe. There was no crack of bone, and Paulina couldn't feel any blood dripping, so that was good. It was, however, very painful, and Paulina's nose was stinging harshly.

"Oops," Mikey said apathetically. He led her through the door this time, and outside. For the first time in five days, Paulina was breathing in fresh air, and feeling the outdoors on her skin. It was very refreshing, and almost comforting.

"Duck." She felt Mikey place his hand on her head and push down, causing her to hunch so she could be urged into a car. She heard a car door slam, and then another, keys in an ignition, and the turn of said keys. Paulina felt the car rev up, back out of a very long driveway, and pull off down a gravel road.

"Paulina," came Mikey's stern voice. "Biting one's nails is truly one of the most unattractive habits one can pick up. If you're going to be playing my wife, I can't be completely disgusted by everything you do. So, for your sake and mine, please stop." Paulina slowly took her hand away from her mouth, frowning slightly.

"I didn't know we'd be pretending to be married," she said quietly, glancing in the general direction she thought Mikey was in. The blindfold still obscured her vision, making her world black.

"Well, now you know. And," he added, coming to a stop. "I hope I don't have to tell you that if you speak one word of our...situation, I have no choice but to take you back home and kill you." Paulina was so taken aback by his bluntness that she nearly gasped. "So, let this be your motto: do not speak unless you know that Mikey has approved it."

"How--I mean...I don't know that I'll know when you approve of anything I need to say."

"When in doubt," Mikey told her, opening her car door and helping her out. "Say nothing." he removed the black scarf tied around the girl's face. Paulina blinked, looking up at the looming cathedral that stood immensely before her. It was...intimidating, to say the least.

"M-Mikey," she stuttered, terrified of what she was about to say. "I need to ask a question. Just one," she assured.

"Go ahead. I may or may not punish you for it, but give it a shot." He stopped walking and faced Paulina, raising his eyebrows inquisitively.

"What if my picture was on the news, or something? I mean, I could get recognized." She said this very quickly, wanting to just get it over with. She wasn't sure why she was so frightened of being found out. Shouldn't she want to be recognized and rescued? Wasn't this the golden opportunity for her to get back to her life, and her family, and just...a sense of normalcy? Paulina was confused even further when she could have sworn that she'd seen the faintest glimmer of a smile on Mikey's usually-blank face.

"Don't you think I thought of that, honey?" Nothing more was offered in the way of explanation, and Paulina didn't question it further. She just slid her hand into the crook of Mikey's elbow, allowing herself to be led into the church. They took seats in the pews, toward the center of the hall. The priest was already up on the stage, ready to begin the sermon.

For two hours, Mikey and Paulina sat stiffly in their seats, staring up at the front of the church hall, listening to what the priest had to say about the word of God. The hours passed by, and, soon enough, it was over. The couple stood, looking around. They gathered in the lobby with the many other church-goers. Mikey seemed to be waiting for something. There were so many people around. Paulina was squirming about at Mikey's side, terribly nervous that someone, anyone, was going to recognize her.

"Do stop being so skittish, dear. I told you, there's nothing you can warn me about that I haven't thought of, already. So, please stop jumping around." Mikey said in a normal tone, as though he weren't even frightened of people hearing. "Remember," he added. He placed his finger in the center of Paulina's lips, reminding her to remain silent at most, if not all, times.

"Hello, don't think we've seen you here before." A man of about forty, along with a woman that was obviously his wife, approached the couple. Mikey turned towards the pair, his entire body language changed. If you were just basing it on looks, he appeared to be a very friendly, easy-going young man.

"Yeah, we just moved into town about a month ago, and we've just now gotten settled to the point of making it to church. My name is Ryan Miller, and this is my wife, Allison." Mikey held out his hand to be shaken, what seemed like a genuine smile on his face. One arm was looped loosely around Paulina's waist, holding her close.

"Nice to meet you both," said the man. He was tall, with graying brown hair and kind, brown eyes. "I'm Jim Robinson, and this is Mary. She's my gal," he said, planting a kiss on his wife's cheek.

"Nice to meet you, Ryan, Allison," said Mary, shaking both their hands and smiling warmly.

"Allison, unfortunately, isn't feeling so well, today," Mikey told them. "She's lost her voice and been rendered completely speechless. I just wish she were feeling better so we could meet everyone at our new church. Feeling any better, honey?" he asked, looking down at Paulina. She didn't know what to do, so she smiled weakly and shrugged, finally deciding to shake her head. For effect, she rubbed her throat and frowned sadly. Mikey leaned down and kissed her temple lightly, rubbing her shoulder.

"If you don't mind my saying so, you two look awfully young to be married," Mary said, looking from one to the other. Mikey laughed, nodding.

"We get that a lot. But I'm actually twenty-five, and Allison is twenty-three."

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry! You must think I'm incredibly rude!" Mary exclaimed.

"It's fine, really. An honest mistake. We both do look very young, we know. So, how do you like this church?" Mikey started the conversation, and, for the next hour, Paulina and Mikey met most, if not all, the people of the congregation. Except they were introduced as Ryan and Allison Miller.


Hey, kids. Sorry about the long wait, I got my dates mixed up concerning when I last updated certain stories. So, this was originally two chapters, both of which were very short. I decided to mesh them together into one extra-long chapter, since you guys deserve it. I think almost every chapter has a 5 rating? Awesome. That makes me very happy. Thanks, again, to those of you who read, rate, and subscribe with every new chapter I post. Stay tuned for the next one in a few days. OverAndOutxx