Pack

Chapter Three

I woke up in bed. Rolling over, I looked for my alarm clock, but it wasn't there.

This wasn't my room.

And I wasn't alone.

Two men slept side-by-side on the floor. Jace and two others lay curled up sleeping sideways on a pull-out sofa. Jonathan slept in one of the two queen sized beds alone. They'd put me in the other, wedged between Scout and Dean.

Hotel room. Well, better than a cave.

I sat up. Wiggling out of my cave quilt, I inched myself to the foot of the bed. Dean cracked an eye open, watching, but made no move to stop me. I slid off the bed and hobbled around the two men sleeping on the floor, heading straight for the bathroom.

I closed the door and locked it behind me. After flipping on the lights, I stared at myself in the large mirror. I hadn't seen my reflection in days. I barely recognize the girl staring back at me. My hair had turned into a stringy matted mess. Dull and lifeless gray eyes stared back at me. Smears of dried dirt ran across my face and down my throat. Bloody cuts caked with mud, marked my palms. I pulled Jace's shirt and my underwear off and stared at my naked body in the mirror. Bruises formed in places I couldn't remember hurting. Large angry scabs covered my knees. Dried blood crusted around the cuts and left a trail of red streaking down my legs.

With a sigh, I turned on the facets. After washing my underwear in the sink, I hung it on the towel rack to dry. I slurped down some water straight from the tap and rinsed my mouth out. After grabbing all the mini hotel samples, I lined them up on the bathtub edge prepared to use every last drop.

While I waited for the shower to warm up, I carefully removed the bandage from my foot. A vibrant collage of deep purple, blue and black covered my ankle. I closed my eyes at the sight of it. That would screw my chance of escape.

I stepped into the shower and  immediately got to scrubbing every inch of my body, trying to clean the last few days away. Once the bottles were empty, I hung my head, allowing the water to pour down over me. Sucking in shallow breaths, I attempted to keep the tears away.

My ankle started to throb from the pressure of standing on it. I grabbed the wall and carefully sat down in the tub, curling my knees to my chest. I closed my eyes. Even though Jonathan claimed he didn't want to hurt me, he'd put me through more pain since meeting him then I'd experienced in my entire life.

Tears started to spill down my cheeks. I never cried, not since childhood. I preferred suppressing my emotions and taking them out on work or exercise, but I was breaking apart. Sitting in the tub with my arms wrapped around my knees, I let the emotions loose.

I hated Jonathan. I hated him for ripping me away from my life. I hated him for not letting me go home. I hated him for lying. But most of all, I hated him for making me feel weak. I cried until the tears disappeared, turning into pitiful sobs.

Sucking in a fortifying breath, I stood to turn off the shower. I stepped out and grabbed a towel, drying myself off. I used the hotel hair dyer to remove as much dampness from my hair without making the tangles worse, before drying my underwear. I slipped them back on along with Jace's black shirt.

Placing my hand on the door handle, I inhaled a deep breath. I held it in and closed my eyes. I was strong. I could make it through this. I needed to stay calm and think clearly. No more crying. No more feeling sorry for myself. I would survive this and see my family again. Releasing my breath, I opened the door.

I took a small step out of the bathroom and all nine heads snapped up to look at me. They watched me with a mixture of curiosity and amazement. The fact they didn't look at me with scorn and disgust didn't ease my anxiety any though. Perhaps I'd overrated bravery. I could just hide in the tub.