Arina

Chapter Three

The sound of movements could be heard. It was Natalie. Immediately, Arina suspected she was up to something due to her threat the night before, but she was mistaken when she saw Natalie wrapping her coat tight around herself innocently.

                “Where are you going?” Arina’s voice was muffled by her pillow; she hadn’t managed to move her head from off her pillow yet, still partly in the state of sleeping. The room was dark; there were no lights on in the entire building. The pitch black sky outside indicated the time of day; it was early morning. Though in the winter, even it being early morning didn’t mean there’d be any light.

                “It’s me round today. I wish it wasn’t so darn cold,” Natalie said through cold lips. To Arina, she didn’t seem like she was holding any grudges towards her and for that, Arina was grateful.

                “What’s a round?”

                “You sure do ask a lot of questions, little ‘un. You never told me, how old are yous?” Arina couldn’t understand why Natalie took such an interest in her.

                “I’m thirteen. It's my birthday soon, so I'll be fourteen.”

                “Ah- thirteen. I remember I was brought here at that age too. I was so darn stupid; I hadn’t a clue in the world what this place was but I di’nt have a choice, you see…” Natalie’s voice trailed off as she began reminiscing.

                “My step-dad brought me here!” Arina exclaimed, as if it were something to be proud of. Natalie scoffed.

                “Shows how much he cares about yous! Still, you shouldn’t take having family for granted.”

Arina didn’t know how to reply because she didn’t know what the girl meant. How was she taking her family for granted?

The door banged.

                “Natalie, come on!”

It wasn’t Mustafa; it was that man that had taken Arina out of the car.

                “Ah, that’s D. I’ll be off then. I’ll see yous later. Remember, I meant what I said yesterday. One more thing, little ‘un and you’re dead. I’m giving yous the benefit of the doubt by not already making your life hell, so don’t cross with me.” Her voice turned aggressive.

                “Will you hurry up?! I’m going to tell Mustafa otherwise that you’re taking ages!” D called from behind the door.

                “Well, see yous! You should be getting up now anyway. Mustafa will be coming round. Go brush up in the bathroom.” And with that, she had left the room.

“Mustafa will be coming round”? What did she mean? Whenever Arina heard his name, a shiver ran up her spine. It wasn’t that he had done anything particularly evil to her yet, it was just his mere presence that frightened her.

She got up out of her bed and sat up. She’d need to fix up, she gathered. She wondered whether she’d be getting new clothes. The only clothes she currently owned were the ones on her back.

Placing her cold feet on the ground, she suddenly thought of her step-father. What would he be doing right now? Was he thinking of her? Arina began to feel an ache in her heart. She missed him so deeply.

The door sounded with a bang again.

                “Girls!”

Arina quickly jumped forward and opened the door. She didn’t want to anger the person on the other side.