Amber
Even if I'd been dreading what was coming, a tiny part of me had been excited to get even the tiniest glimpse of the outside, see the sky or feel the breeze. But how stupid I was. He didn't give me that chance and it was naive of me to even think it was possible.
---
"Ready princess?"
My mom used to call me that and he uses it to taunt me.
"Yes, sir." I hardly ever speak, only whisper and I hate the fact that my voice sounds so small, so weak. I take a step foward but he gets in front of me and he lets out a laugh.
"You are an idiot. Did you think you're walking out of here?" Suddenly I feel a sharp pain in my neck. I see the needle in his hand as he throws it on the floor.
"As a parting gift I'll give you some advice. Never forget that you are stupid . You aren't worth a thing. You are a whore. You are disgusting and no one will ever want you. You think I don' t know that you actually believe someone will love you someday? I can hear you when you talk to yourself. You always made me laugh with all that shit. Stop dreaming kid, you're damaged goods. I owned you and now someone else does. Get it into your head that this is what you're meant for. The sooner you accept it, the easier it'll be."
With those being the last words I hear I watch as my surroundings fade and I'm enveloped by darkness.
---
Here I am after God knows how long, sitting in this pitch-black room. At least my last prison had a tiny lightbulb that gave me some light but this place is absolutely void of any. There is no crevice, no small hole to know what's happening outside. How long had I been unconscious? Where am I? Am I going to be left to rot here? No. That would be too easy. Someone bought me, which means they have a purpose for me. I try my best to stand but I feel incredibly weak, so instead I try my luck at freeing my hands from the rope around them but it's no use. All I can do is sit and wait just like I've always done.
I sit for what seems to be an eternity. When you are surrounded by nothing but darkness and silence you get lost in time. I am completely isolated and I know that if I don't die first, I am definitely going to lose whatever sanity I still have left. I had never felt so alone or desperate before. With each passing second my worries continue to grow. I can feel the tears welling up and this time I don't even try to stop it. I don't care anymore. They flow and I let out all of my frustration. I let out the sadness caused by the years of abuse I had been holding in. I don't know for sure how long I cry but I eventually begin to calm down. After the tears finally stop, I begin to feel tired. I've been trying to stay awake so they don't catch me by surprise but I can't anymore. I do my best to fight it but in the end, sleep wins.
---
A sudden flash of bright light makes me open my eyes abruptly, the intensity of it immediately making me shut them again.
"Hello Amber. I'm so happy your daddy finally accepted my offer." I don't even need to see who it is. I recognize that voice.
"You are so beautiful. Don't look so scared sunshine, I promise you'll like it." I still keep my eyes shut but I hear him come closer.
"Your daddy told me to not hit you because you were weak, so today I won't. This is just a preview. When you recover we'll have some real fun." The memories race through my mind. No. Please, no. I look up only to confirm it's exactly who I thought. I watch the man who had been my father's newest client.
"I told you we'd have fun. Now you're mine and I can do whatever I damn well please. We're doing things my way now." He grabs my arm and pulls me up. I can finally see my surroundings. My eyes wander throughout the room. It's...empty?
"Turn around sunshine, so you can see the fun we're going to have." Oh my god. I feel my knees go weak and almost completely fail me as soon as I see what's waiting for me.
"Please, no. Don't hurt me. Please. No, no,no." Tears begin to stream down my face. I feel a slap that forces me out of my panic.
"Don't disrespect me bitch. We're going to have fun and you will enjoy it." He is an extremely large man which allows him to pick me up with ease. He begins to carry me to the wall and with each step I feel my nervousness grow. On that wall there are chains with cuffs attached to them. One of them is meant for my hands and the other is meant for my legs. On either side of the chains there are many terrifying objects meant to hurt whoever is unlucky enough to be brought in. The wall is stained with so much blood. I'm not the first person to be in here and I don't think the others have actually made it out alive.
"You're going to be working for me now. But I always have fun with my favorites before letting others touch them." He unties my hands only to chain me to the wall. He starts ripping off my clothes and then begins searching through his tools. I'm so scared. I've been through so much pain but I know even before it starts, that no past experience compares to whatever is about to happen.
---
I open my eyes and take in my new surroundings. I manage to see that I am in a type of cell. Everything hurts so much and all I can manage to do is bring my knees up and begin sobbing. This is the worst I've ever gone through. Never had I felt so humiliated, so exposed, so dirty, so...broken. I flinch when I feel a hand on my back, as a result I quickly shrink as much as I can.
"Hey, I'm not going to hurt you." Is that... a woman's voice? I turn my head so quickly I actually hurt my neck but it doesn't matter because for the first time ever since my mother was murdered I finally get to see another female face and for the first time, someone other than my mom sounds like they genuinely care for me. Once I'm facing her I manage to look into her eyes that reflect sadness and pain. The way she's looking at me tells me she went through the same thing I just did. She has neither said nor done anything else but with just her presence I feel infinitely better.
"Honey, what's your name?" I hesitate for a moment because I'm not really sure I remember what my name is. Although, I have a name swimming in my mind that sounds right.
"A-Amber." I curse myself for sounding so weak.
"That's a beautiful name. It describes your eyes perfectly." My eyes? I can't really say I know what they look like. I haven't been allowed a mirror since I can remember and I don't have any clear memories of my face. Even if I did, I've changed a lot since then.
"It does?" I look at her with questioning eyes and genuine curiosity. She nods in response.
"Mhm. I'm Emily by the way." She offers me a warm smile which pushes me over the edge and causes me to start crying all over again.
"Honey, I'm sorry. I know it was horrible but..."I shake my head and cut her off.
"It was awful, the worst I've ever gone through but that isn't why I'm crying. It's just... Forget it,it's stupid." I look away. I am pathetic.
"What is it Amber? I promise I won't judge you." I debate on whether I should explain things to her or not. She seems nice but how can I trust her? In the end my craving for normal human interaction wins.
"It's just that, it's been such a long time since anyone has ever been so kind to me." I start sobbing.
"No one has even smiled at me in so many years." The tears keep falling as she puts her arms around me, embracing my huddled body.
"Shh honey. It's ok." I feel a tear fall on my arm but I'm sure it isn't mine. I hear a small sob come from her mouth and I hug her back.
"I know what it feels like to suffer and I feel horrible to know that whatever you've gone through your entire life is far worse. I just can't imagine what you had to live." We stay in each other's arms for a few minutes before I manage to calm down and then we let go.
"Emily, how long have you been here?" She sits up straight at my question.
"I'm not sure, we can't really keep track of time here but if I had to guess I would say almost the same time as you, maybe a couple of days before. I estimate that I woke up in this cell about a day or two ago. I was alone until they came and put you in here with me. I'm sorry you have to be here but... you have no idea how happy I am to not be alone. I know it's horrible..." I shake my head and interrupt her.
"What's horrible is being here but we're in the same position. Don't worry, you didn't cause this and I am grateful to not have to be alone anymore." I try my best to smile at her. I don't really remember how to but I believe it worked though because she smiles back. Since we have a lot of time to spend she begins telling me about herself. She was abducted while she had gone out for her daily morning jog. She's only 19 years old, about to go to college. She lived with her parents and her younger sister Maya. I can see the sadness in her eyes when she talks about them, but I can also tell that their memory gives her some sort of comfort.
"Wait Emily, so you just got here right?" She seems surprised at my abruptness but she quickly recovers.
"Yeah, about a few days, maybe a week has passed. Why?" She looks at me with utter confusion.
"Emily, what year is it?" I look at her in anticipation.
"2017. Why?" She raises an eyebrow and her confusion deepens.
I can't answer her immediately because of the shock. Ever since my mother was killed I haven't had any way of knowing how much time had passed. It had been ten years. If I was 9 at that moment, that means I was now 18 years old.
"What month is it?" She hesitates before answering yet another strange question. Well, strange to her.
"February. Seriously Amber, what is this about?"
I finally knew how much time had passed, I finally knew my age. I remember the last New Year's celebration before my mother's execution. 2007. That running year was 2007. I also remember my mother being excited for my upcoming birthday a few days before he killed her. It was in September. A week away. I think...it was September...23rd? Yes! I'm overjoyed. My name is Amber, I am 18 years old. I was born on September 23rd. Now, all I need to know is my last name.
"Amber!" I jump and recoil. I feel a gentle hand on my arm and I flinch. Relax. It's just Emily. I look up and see her concern.
"I'm sorry." I nod at her apology.
"It's just, you just spaced out. What happened?" I take a deep breath while looking at the ground. I finally look up at her once more, feeling brave.
"I...Do you really want to know what happened to me before I got here?" She hesitates slightly before softly nodding.
"Ok... This going to be long. And Emily, please don't judge me."