"So, listen. I think we should have a date night. I got a couple of discs from the Redbox, you can pick which ones we actually watch. I'll order some delivery. Does that sound like fun?" His grin was infectious.

A whisper-thin smile danced across her lips. She nodded and relaxed, leaning against the large white tiles of the wall.

His grin grew more serious, but his tone stayed warm.

"Why do you sit in this corner all the time?" A look of concern crossed his face, and he looked at the pristine clean space around them.

She stiffened at his question, and her eyes began to water.

"Oh, baby, baby, don't get upset. It's okay, shhhh." He moved to hug her, and she slowly relaxed in his arms. Tears began to coat her face and soak his shoulder. While she didn't return his embrace, she didn't struggle or try to get away.

He gently rocked her, and she cried.

"Everything's fine, sweetie. Everything's going to be fine. It's just us now, I'm home, we can be together. Let's just try to forget about what happened down here last week."

That's as close as he got to actually talking about the other girl who used to live in the basement with her. After she was taken away, he cleaned the empty chains, using the morgue table in the center of the room as a washtable. The smell of bleach and Lysol still lingered.

Ever since then, this corner became her safe space. Or rather, it was the safest space the meter long length of chain would allow her to find.

He held her, and she wept to disguise the shudders of revulsion and self-loathing; God help her, but she was looking forward to Date Night.