Pinky Promise

Sixteen

Audrey's POV

It's over. All of it. My life before this place is lost and there's no way for me to ever get it back.

I was being sold. I was going to be turned over to the equivalent of a slave owner and used as a toy. That's all I am anymore anyways. A toy. An object.

I am nothing.

The cuffs cut into my wrists as they did every time I moved my arms; but this time I let them. I didn't move slowly or try to salvage what was left of the raw, infected flesh covering my arms. I relished the feeling of sharp metal cutting off the circulation and tearing through what remained.

Nate told me I would be leaving this place in a few weeks. I would be shipped out of hell into a place that could very well be much, much worse. After being here for months, I was finally getting out--only to be enslaved to someone forever.

But that was days ago.

It's been days since I talked to Nate. Days since I saw McCarther...since I ate...since I had water...water...

I needed water. My lips were dry and cracked, and my throat was sore. Every breath I took stung and I felt my insides drying out while I shriveled away. The perpetual drip in the far end of my cell tortured me as a small puddle formed underneath the bars.

The dank room smelled awful, although it was probably me. Of course what kidnappers would let their victim shower? Not mine. My hair was oily and plastered to the side of my face. My skin was almost black with the dirt and grime covering me. I had sores all over me from sitting in the same position too long and my wrists hadn't healed since the cuffs broke the skin.

Despite being in this warehouse that must have reached over one hundred degrees during the day, I was cold. I was shivering to the point where the metal chains rattled with my shaking body. I felt sick; like I had a fever. If I was lucky maybe it would put me out of my misery before I was sold.

I sat against the wall like I had for the past few days, staring at the floor in front of me. The lightbulb hanging from the ceiling had began flickering a few days ago and the light it produced went from a bright white light to a dull orange glow. It barely lit up the cage I was locked in and I couldn't even make out the other side of the room anymore. The open and slamming of the metal door was all that alerted me to someone else entering the room. I listened to their quick footsteps headed in my direction.

"Audrey?" I heard. I slowly lifted my head and my eyes met with Nate's. "Hey, they told me to bring something in for you. You've been really quiet...I was starting to think they starved you." He said. I felt anger rise in me. He waited a moment for my reaction but I said nothing. "It's just the usual, bread and rice. I can get you some water too." He continued, unlocking the cell door. He brought in the bowl and a cup of water and held it out to me. I just stared at him, not moving. Nate cocked his head. "Aren't you going to eat?" He asked.

"Days." I said in a raspy voice. "It's been days." Nate looked completely lost. "You left me here...to starve." I whispered. I barely had enough strength to speak at all. But finally Nate looked as if he understood. He sighed and dropped his head a little.

"Oh, yeah, sorry about that. I've been busy." He said simply. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Busy?" I asked. He nodded. "Busy." I scoffed and leaned my head back against the wall. "Yeah, I'm sure you were too busy to throw me a piece of bread. A grain of rice maybe? No, you don't have time for that." I said bitterly.

"Audrey I'm sor--"

"You left me here to die!" I snapped, cutting off any weak apology he was about to try. I watched him as he let his jaw hang open looking for something to say. "Forget it." I said quietly, looking away. I heard Nate set the food and water down beside me and stand up. I avoided his gaze as he locked the door.

"I'm doing everything I can, Audrey." Nate said softly. I looked up at him as he turned and walked away, disappearing in the dark room. His footsteps echoed and the door slammed, leaving me alone again.

Alex's POV

My head was pounding as the alcohol from the night before ravaged my system. The couch felt like needles underneath me as I moved. I groaned at the buzzing phone, telling me I had messages. Why do people have to talk to me so early in the morning? I pushed myself up into a sitting position and pried my eyes open. A bright light filled the room, pouring in through the window. Great, I slept late again.

I ignored the text messages and went right for my lap top which was sitting on the coffee table in front of me. I opened it up and waited for it to turn on. I could see my reflection in the dark screen; my hair was a mess and my eyes were red. I hadn't shaved or showered in days and I looked horrible. Every minute of the day was spent on this couch. I had to find her. I had to find my beautiful girl.

Finally the screen lit up and I logged in. Username: Alex01 Password: IloveAudrey16 I sighed at the thought of her. She's been gone months and I couldn't even think straight. All I wanted was her back in my arms.

For weeks I had been monitoring social media. Every day I went through every site I could think of, googling her name, anything that could help me find her. The hashtag #FindAudrey was trending for a few weeks straight, but now it was starting to die down. People lost interest. Audrey became just another unfortunate face on the side of milk cartons.

Not for me, though. No, for me Audrey was everything. She was the only thing that mattered. I wanted to find her. I needed to find her.

I did the usual rounds; Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. But everything came up short like always. How were we ever going to get her back?

Frustrated, I pushed my lap top off of me and stood up, running my fingers through my hair. I paced around the hotel room wishing something would just go right.

"Gaaahhhh!" I yelled into the air. I slammed my hands down on the back of the couch, seething in anger. I was about to smash the lamp on the floor when my lap top made the email notification sound. I knew I shouldn't get my hopes up, but I did. I ran back around the couch and opened the email. It was from someone not in my contacts and there was no subject to the email. I opened it and what I read had me speechless.

I can help you get Audrey back.