"Your coffee and sandwich." I placed the plate in front of him on the table.

"Thank you," Emery said, shyly grabbing a cup from my hands. I saw him savour the hot drink without actually taking his first sip. His features softened as he stared down at the steaming cup. I watched him for a second too long, analysing and trying to read what thoughts could be running through his mind. He did not complain or seem repelled by the food. Even though he didn't finish the baguette, I was glad he ate anything.

I stayed on the sofa watching breakfast TV, and everything seemed calm despite the dark cloud waiting to be brushed in conversation. That could be the reason why no one had said anything yet. Disturbing this silence at eight in the morning would be wrong- and frankly, I feel that Emery would appreciate a peaceful breakfast. Jasper stood up first, pulling on my blanket, letting chill air swim underneath and startling both of us, especially Emery, with all the commotion.

"I need to get ready for work." He declared it to no one in particular. Then he focused on Emery. "I hope you will feel at home. You can stay here as long as you need. I don't have any problem with that."

"Thank you, but I hope I won't overstay." Emery looked briefly at me and back at Jasper, who walked to his room while waving off whatever Emery said to him. Slightly confused by Jasper's odd behaviour, Emery chuckled lightly to himself.

"You can take a seat here." I patted the space next to me. "It's more comfortable to watch TV."

"Sure." His lips formed a brief smile while standing up, pushing the chair to the table, and slowly walking to the seat beside me, leaning on soft cushions. Lifting the corner, I offered him a side of my blanket, still warm from Jasper's body heat. He accepted it immediately, making me feel bad because I realised it was chilly in the flat from the night. I wouldn't be surprised if he has been cold. Jasper and I didn't like to sleep in high temperatures.

I suppose I should ask Emery if that was okay with him before lowering the temperature.

"Thank you for helping me. I know I said it, but I want to be sure you know how grateful I am." That was the opening that I needed.

"That's fine. I don't mind helping you and having you with us if that means you are safe. The only thing I wish to understand is what happened to you? But I don't want to pressure you if you are not ready to speak about it." We sat with the space of an arm from eachother. Emery sighed deeply, expression as if recalling painful memories, which he probably did. Lifting his right leg on the sofa, he fidgeted to face me, covering himself with the blanket up to his neck, forming a shield between us. I mirrored his position with a blanket loosely on my legs.

"It's okay. My stepmother... She repeatedly accused me of things I never did to her. My father travels a lot for work. I'm 24. I live with my parents just because it is convenient, but for some reason, she thinks I want to kill her... It's ridiculous to think about it. And frustrating. Like, why would I? Ahh." He made a loud exhale. "One day, I went to sleep, and the next day I woke up in a house full of strangers. She must have drug me because I didn't feel anything. These people weren't bad and tried to be nice to me to some extent, but they didn't believe me. They just told me that Morgan- my stepmother, will get help for me, and soon I'll get better." He paused. "There were children in this house, but they usually kept them away from me. One day their little daughter came to me and asked me to help her with the phone, so I logged in quickly to Instagram and sent a message to Cornelia, hoping they wouldn't notice. Thankfully they didn't. The window in my room faced the street, and the window in the room- next to my room was open. That's why I managed to sneak out when I saw your car."

"Wow, that's very impressive. I mean that you got out of there by yourself." I was astonished. Here I was, panicking at the thought of crime happening near me, and he managed to plan a whole escape route. 

I saw Jasper sneaking out through the front door, trying to stay quiet. Probably he didn't want to disturb us when Emery shared his story.

"I couldn't have done this without you two. They weren't kidnappers. It's not like they locked me in the house and didn't let me walk around. I guess they only tried to keep an eye on me. Either way, it was terrifying. I had no idea if Corn knew I was missing. If you noticed or anyone else, and if someone would show up at some point. I thought I'd be looking out that window for much longer, but you came the same day." His voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, and I watched him look away. He seemed so broken and upset. I wanted to comfort him but didn't know how to do it. "I was so confused. I didn't know where I was, who these people were and whether I could escape. I mean, I didn't have a phone or money." He covered his face with his palms in frustration, but I didn't know what to say, so I decided to share something random.

"Cornelia knows you well. I wanted to call the police, but she insisted on getting you out first." I chuckled to myself, feeling embarrassed. Emery noticed this, smiling gently at me. He wore a soft expression when he talked about her.

"We have known each other our whole lives. I would go as far as calling Cornelia- my sister." He seemed to relax while thinking of her. The lines on his forehead softened, making him look gentle and at peace, leaving a trace of gloom. 

"That's nice." I nodded.

"Do you have any siblings?" He asked.

"Yes, my older brother. He is abroad at university now. Doing his PhD." I didn't want to talk about my family too much. Usually, I cut the topic off pretty quickly, but somewhat I couldn't do it with Emery.

"That's cool. Which country?"

"France." I smiled, looking down, trying to mask how uncomfortable the topic was to me.

"Lovely country." He paused, making me look back at him. "Well... I don't really know what to do from now. I should call my father first. Then maybe the police."

His hand moved to grab a phone. "Ah, I don't have it." 

"You can borrow mine if you know his number." I passed him my phone without waiting for his response. His face resembled lost emotions from earlier when he stepped into our living room.

"Do you want me to leave and give you some space?" I was about to get up. 

"No, I think I need some moral support." He laughed nervously. "Even if they didn't treat me poorly and didn't do anything physical to me. Still, it's just... I don't want to be alone now, you know."

I nodded, sinking back into the pillows. With how calm and composed Emery looked, I forgot that he was assaulted and abducted. Even if there are no physical scars as a proof, there must be mental damage done. Only time will tell to what extent.

"Hi, dad." I heard Emery saying, and I did my best to focus on the TV show on the screen in front of me and not listen. I felt like I was attending to his privacy uninvited, even if he asked me to stay, knowing I could.

"No! That's not... Yes. Yes, I understand, but trust me, only this time, please trust me!" I saw Emery almost shaking with such a devastating expression on his face. His posture slowly began to close, with his head drooping and arms curling up to his chest. Whatever he heard his father saying, it couldn't be any good.

"Okay, bye."

He sighed heavily, his breath laboured. I looked at him, not knowing what to say. What words were appropriate for this? I started regretting letting Jasper leave. He would know how to carry this conversation. 

"Um, I guess it didn't go well?" I mumbled.

"You can say that." He sat down with his knees raised and his head resting on them. I didn't think too long, pulling the blanket off my lap and wrapping it around his shoulders. I was hoping he would feel safer, even if a little.

"Thank you." He whispered. "Um, it's not like he's on her side. He hadn't noticed that I was missing because it had only been a few days, and he wasn't home as expected. My stepmother didn't tell him anything. Now... I'm calling him, saying I got kidnapped, but I'm fine now. Of course, he would be confused. That's why I think I'll go to the police. To conduct a proper investigation."

"Maybe he will see that I'm serious if I do. They must question that family, no? Do you think that they will make me crazy?" As he said that, I saw fear in his eyes.

"What? No, no way. Other than what she says, there is no evidence whatsoever. You cannot make someone mentally ill based on one person's opinion." I spent a couple of hours with him, and so far, besides a brave young man who dealt with something terrible, I couldn't see any trace of someone troubled. Also, him- faking it all... it just didn't add up.

"I hope you are right." He said sadly.

"Don't worry. You are not alone in this." I reassured him. And I meant it. I won't leave him to deal with this all by himself, and I'm sure neither Cornelia.