Breaking Hope (Finding Sky edit)

Chapter 29

Restraints. That is what I was in when I started to wake again from David's gift – I was tied down with restraints. Even though moving my limbs felt heavy, and I couldn't really tell if I was moving in this situation but I could feel the heavy restraints that were tying my legs, arms, torso and head down to a padded table. Even though the table I was on did have the "padded" feel about them, it wasn't soft padding and felt more like someone got a table, covered it with Lego blocks, and then with a small layer of gravel, and then a wipe-clean surface on top.

Why was I restrained down? I tried to move my head, but sure enough could only tilt about three centimetres each way. I had little to no will to open my eyes or even proceed in a conversation with David Reed – why would I? He was a self-involved, pretentious arsehole who thinks kidnapping people and murdering people was normal because of their believes. He wanted to murder people just to get back for helping the Government and crime services to capture people such as himself. He had an incredulous desire for revenge, and could only fill said desire with the murder of innocent teenagers. If that didn't show him up as pathetic, I didn't know what did.

But I knew the situation I was in was perilous. I knew the truth; I had it ingrained into my mind. I had it in that waterproof safe at the bottom of the river in my brain. I knew that neither Oscar nor Matt would do any harm to me, and I knew that Ella was alive and wasn't even in hospital at this precise moment in time. I also knew I would never, ever, shoot someone with a gun. I couldn't do that – I was a feeble infrastructure of a girl and taking away someone's life would never be on my to-do list for a day. But I knew that if I was resisted Reed's attempts to rearrange my memories to make me think I am capable of murder, but not just any murder – the murder of my boyfriend and my Soulfinder, his brother and my best friend – I could end up like Lucy.

My mind strayed back to Lucy. I promised her I would get her out of this situation. She didn't deserve to live her life in constant fear, did she? She was only a few years older than me. Early twenties would be my best bet. She was young, innocent. She had been forced to be apart of Daddy's great empire far too young and whenever she disobeyed her father, he beat her. Her body was a canvas for the discoloured bruises brought on by the abuse. No one should go through that. I knew that if one thing would come out of this, it would be getting Lucy the help she needs and keeping Oscar, Matt and Ella safe. That's two things, though. The third would be trying to get myself out this predicament but my brain could not see a clear answer.

As I lay, seduce and with my eyes pressed shut as if they were in a clamp, I could hear the faint talking around me. David and Antonio were both in the room, and I could vaguely hear them finalising the plans before my mind was yet again assaulted with the images they were trying to spoon feed me. They wanted me to believe a lie that would never happen. The lie would have to be strong enough to surpass the evidence held against it, and I had to be singing the same old bitter tune for a good few years until I was "safe", back in the hold of Reed. I knew that if I ever came back, I would end up a carbon copy of Lucy – abused with no hope.

The plan they had formulated was simple and easy to follow, almost like a picture book for a two year old. When I was in Denver, Oscar said he would surprise me to dinner at the five star restaurants around the corner. Ella helped him plan it and keep it secret from me, so when Oscar "surprised" me, she carried on shopping with Lauren and Amy. However, Oscar never took me to this restaurant. Instead, he knocked me out with chloroform, and locked me in the boot of the car. I could feel the space, dark, damp, claustrophobic. There were a few things in the boot, such as jump leads, but nothing useful. After what felt like a life time, they let me out the car and into a cargo yard that had no one in it. It was completely abandoned and derelict. Oscar and Matt laughed at me – tormented even – my naivety, how stupid I am for even believing for a second that Oscar loved me it. They chanted it was a trick. Ella came in, laughing at my idioticness as well but brought a gun with her. She said the authorities were investigating, but they all got the all clear. I was left with no hope. So I grabbed the gun from Ella's waist belt, and without thinking about it shot Oscar and Matt in the chest, before shooting Ella. The police found me just in time, and I only shot Ella in the leg. We were all taken to hospital, but Oscar and Matt were declared dead. Ella was in a medical coma, but when she started to resurface she dislodged the tube down her throat and suffocated herself accidently. I explain to police I shot them all on self defence – they were holding me hostage, officer, this was the only way out – and they assured me it was fine. I did the right thing. But how could I ever return to the town where their family lives? They are all monstrous. Instead, a scholarship was offered to me in Music in Nevada, in the heart of David Reed's new hotel and casino complex, the Wooden Lock, and how could I ever say no? So I move back in here to start my new life away from the Williams.