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view. I dropped the pad of paper. I watched as he pulled out a needle. Emily started to panic; her soundless cry was painful to watch. He gripped her arm and roughly shoved the needle into her skin.
    I held the table as Lasko turned to the camera and smiled. He leaned in and held her limp face and kissed her lips. She tried to move, but the drugs started to take effect. He walked his fingers into her tank top and gently felt her breast for a moment. Then, with a grin at me, he slowly walked back upstairs with the dog behind him.
    I sucked in a sharp breath. “I’m going to kill this son of a bitch very slowly.”
    ***
    Day 4 In The Basement
     

Emily
     
    I turned up the radio and grinned at Dad. He turned to me and belted the words loudly. He pointed to me while he drummed on the steering wheel.
    I chimed in at my part and grinned again when he lit up at the sound of my voice. My dad was my biggest fan.
    We both busted into the words as the rain poured down and we drove along the freeway. It wasn’t that busy, and we made good time.
    I fingered the sparkly bow that Shawna had made for my horse to wear in the parade.
    “You hungry?” Dad asked as he slipped his belt off and reached for the top of the cooler. He flipped it open and handed me an apple and dropped one on his lap for himself. The wipers madly swept the windshield clear as headlights flooded our car and blinded us momentarily.
    Everything happened so slowly, frame by frame. I didn’t feel the impact, only heard it. Dad reached for my hand as we flipped in the air. My juice floated around me like we were in space and there was no gravity. The crunch of the roof as it met the ground was deafening; it knocked the wind out of me. I watched as my father’s head slammed forward and hit the windshield. He lay crumpled. It took me a minute to realize my legs were pinned. The dashboard and my seat held me hostage in this nightmare.
    “Daddy?” I choked out to get his attention. He didn’t move. “Dad!” I tried again. “Please say something!” I freed my arm from the tangled mess around me. I reached out to stretch as far as I could. My fingers felt his wrist, and I waited and waited desperately in search for the ‘tick.’ I had had first aid training in school but…no pulse.
    “Daddy!” I started to panic as tears ran into my hair. “No, no, no, oh no.” I wiggled, clawed at whatever, trying to break free. I felt so cold and alone.
     
    A jolt pulled me back. I opened my eyes and saw Lasko in front of me. He held an empty bucket. I was soaked and frozen to the bone. I shook my head and tried to make sense of where I was. He reached down and grabbed another bucket and splashed it in my face. I gasped as the icy water bit at my skin.
    The rag stopped my mouth from closing. Water rushed down my throat, and I started to choke. He watched me cough for a moment. Then, to my surprise, he ripped off the rag. I leaned forward to catch my breath, sounding like a smoker in the middle of an asthma attack.
    He stepped back, then pressed a button on the keyboard. He leaned over and whispered, “You look good wet.”
    I looked up at him in shakes from the cold. The only warmth I felt was my breath that passed my lips in hard puffs.
    “What do you plan to do with me?” I cried, terrified. Then the chime of his clock went off. One, two, three, four. Four o’clock, what? Morning or night? The drugs confused me.
    His face suddenly softened. “Oh, it will be all right.” Then he shook his head and sent me a mean look. “Now,” he cleared his throat, “you need to be punished for your actions, Emily. I have rules. You’re new, so I understand there’s a learning curve, but that doesn’t excuse your earlier behavior. I need to wash out that pretty little mouth of yours.”
    He picked up a towel, then wrapped it over my head and started to pour water over me. The material latched to my face like a second skin. It sealed my passages and sent fear through me. I