Page 44

A knock sounds at my door, and my eyes dart right toward it.
“Rae? Hey, it’s Kayce.” He quiets for a moment, and I can hear him shuffling behind the door. “Uh, listen. Don’t listen to Cam. He’s a dick.”
No shit. Way to point out the obvious.
“Look, I know you may not want to come out right now, but the food is in the fridge for you when you get hungry.” I hear him let out a sigh. “If you need me, I’ll be around. But don’t feel like you have to hide because Cam is a miserable bastard, okay? Just, I’m around, Rae.” With that, I hear him shuffle away.
Curling into my pillow, I let out a sigh. My body is fighting me on the one thing it needs. Sleep. Maybe I’m being overly dramatic because of my lack of rest and sleep. But the problem still remains that the moment I close my eyes, vivid dreams take over. Some of them so horrid that fear chokes the life out of me.
But eventually, your body shuts down. Eventually, it just can’t sustain itself awake anymore. And as much as I want to keep my eyes open, at some point my body wins out, and my exhaustion takes over.
Everything in me hurts. My stomach is eating itself at this point. I can’t remember when they last fed me. Hell, I don’t even know how long I’ve been in this cement hell.
They stripped me of my clothes and chained me to the floor. The cement is freezing. My body is in a constant state of shivering. I can hear the teeth clattering of the other girls around me. That is when they aren’t crying, screaming, or pleading for their life.
Parts of my body burn from the pain I’ve been subjected to. How did I end up in this predicament? I was out with Becca. Wewere at the karaoke bar, singing. I close my eyes tightly, trying to picture that night, however long ago it was.
We had the night off work, so of course we needed a girls’ night out. Becca and I had just gotten to the bar and ordered our first drink.
My mind shuts down as a sharp pain radiates throughout my stomach. I cry out in pain from the stabbing feeling. My breaths shorten as I grit my teeth.
Footsteps echo somewhere in the darkness. I don’t know how many people are coming toward the cages, but it’s more than one. Laughter from the shadows rings out, and a shiver runs down my spine.
It’s never a good thing when they come for a visit.
“Ah, here’s the one I wanted to show you. She’s feisty,” the shadow says.
“Oh, I love feisty. I love to break them,” a voice I have never heard before says as he steps closer to the bars. “I can break her in an hour.”
The shadow laughs, “Good luck. We have been trying to for a while now.”
“Fuck you, you bastards,” I spit.
“See what I mean?”
“Oh, perfect. I’ll take her,” the creeper states.
“No! No! Leave me alone! I just want to go home! Please! Just let me go!” Tears roll down my face. My heart beats wildly out of my chest. Fear courses through my veins.
“Raelyn! Raelyn, wake up!” a voice stirs me from the nightmare, and I let out a scream. “Relax, it’s me. It’s Drew.”
My eyes suddenly focus on the man in front of me. I try to catch my breath, but my lungs feel like there is cement in them.
“Hey, hey, look at me.” Drew’s voice is almost a whisper. “Focus on me.”
My eyes meet his, and instantly, I feel more grounded. While my heart still feels ready to explode, I am starting to become calmer. I slowly try to breathe in time with his breaths.
“There you go, that’s it.” He runs his hand down the side of my face, and I lean into it instinctively.
His touch soothes me. Calms me. Until the images of my nightmare come back into focus.
My breath hitches, and he stops mid caress. “Talk to me, Rae.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. My skin is crawling, and I can still feel the concrete touching my skin. “I-It was so cold.” I lick my lips, remembering how thirsty I was.
“Wait, you remembered something?” Drew’s eyes widen.
I slowly nod. “I know it was a nightmare, but I remember it now. I remember the cement, the metal chains. I remember being naked and cold. There are still pieces missing, but I remember that much.”