(Blood and Bone, #2) Sin and Swoon(24)

She shakes her head slowly. “I don’t think we have ever met. I’d remember.”

I shrug. “What does he do with us here?”

A single tear slips down her cheek, washing away filth and leaving an even whiter streak of skin that glows in the muted light. “He will bathe you, show you how much he loves you.” She cringes. “Then he bathes you again and puts you back in the cell. Sometimes he makes us put on dresses and dance with him. Other times, when he thinks one of us has misbehaved or we’ve talked too much, he beats one of the girls, and we all have to hear it.” Her expression tightens a slight bit. “Try not to be that girl.”

I close the fridge and let the darkness rush back in. I don’t want her to see me lose my self-control. Even if it is a useless cry for help, I make it as silent as I can.





9. Handsome Prince Nutbag




I am still sore and frightened I have a UTI. I had one when I was a young teenager, and now it feels as though I have another. Being locked away and abused randomly has damaged more than my spirit. We sit in the dark and wait for him to pick us, frightened by either outcome. The suspense of possibly being chosen each time he enters the dungeon is horrifying, but it is nothing compared to the moment his fingers clasp the lock on your door. In the silent suspense, the sound of your lock clicking can drive you to madness.

Today it was my lock, my madness.

I blink away the remains of the drugs he filled me with. He does it every time he takes us out of our cage. I sit up and find my way to the fridge. It helps metabolize the drugs if we eat straight away.

The girl in the room next to mine stands at the crack in the corner of our shared wall that we have picked at, making it a little bigger day by day. Her face is odd, almost like she’s Asian, but I can tell she isn’t. She’s pretty, though I suspect we are all pretty in one way or another. I swear I have seen her before, though—as if she’s been my best friend or something so close I can’t help but know her better than I know myself.

“So he gave you the spiel about being a cop or whatever? That you were in danger?”

I nod, eating the packet of cheese I’ve just grabbed from the fridge. It’s not the best cheese, but after a while you get used to it. The fridge is loaded with healthy food. Sometimes I just want a piece of chocolate.

“The worst part for me is I nearly got away. He tried his bullshit, and I tried to run, but he caught me and knocked me out. A lady saw me trying to get away. I just remember how wide her eyes went when she saw him hit me. It was the last thing I saw.”

I pick at the cheese with my newly cleaned hands and nod. “I was an idiotic fool. I fell for his story right away. I liked him.” It makes me feel dirty now. The feel of his breath is like poisonous vapors. His skin is sandpaper against mine, stripping and sanding away the layers of dignity and respect. Even boundaries I worked my whole life putting up are knocked down.

“We were all idiots. And we are paying for our sins now.”

I give her a look. “I don’t think any of us ever did a single thing to deserve this. I know we didn’t.”

She shrugs, leaning against the wall. I can barely make out her shoulders through the thin crack. “One day we will be out of here, and it will all be a bad dream. A nightmare we share.”

A slow and bitter grin slides across my lips. “We can all do a talk show about how we’re survivors.”

She parts her lips to speak, but there is a noise we don’t expect, not so soon. He has only just left me. My insides twist and turn. Jane reaches a hand out to me. I close the door to the fridge so the light dies. I jump up and grip her fingers. “It’s okay, Ash. Be strong and remember the smell of your mother and the feel of rain on your face.” She says the thing I have told her that I miss the most. I was so tired of the rain that never seemed to end this year, and yet I would die happy if I felt it on my face again.

Tears stream on my cheeks as we hear the outer door open followed by his footsteps, bold and purposeful footsteps. They stomp across the gravel floor of the main hallway, taunting us as they pass the horse stalls, each filled with girls of every flavor.

We have discussed it once. Calling out what we look like in turn. Some are blonde and others are brunettes and one girl is a redhead. All Caucasian, which we know is most likely because Rory is a Caucasian. We all weigh around 120 pounds and are all about five foot five. Here in the dark we are all unnaturally pale.

He has a type, and we are it.

Now we sit in the darkness, each waiting for the sound of our doorknob and lock to click, each silently praying it is not our turn. We betray those girls closest to us, wishing horrors upon them instead of ourselves. When it comes down to it, human nature means we will all betray one another to survive. It’s the basest instinct we have, survival.