Ms. Calloway (Book 2 in the For Better Or Worse Trilogy)

Chapter 2

     Hours pass differently in a room with no windows and no clocks. There's no way to tell when day changes to night and night changes to day. For the first day, I depend on the meals that Cam brings me to tell me the time of day. Like James said, he brought me breakfast, lunch and dinner. Unlike James, this man is more of the silent type. There's nothing charming or alluring about him. He's all business. If only I knew what the business was.

     Night must have changed to day because eventually sleep swallowed me whole. By the time I woke up, the door was creaking open. Instead of revealing the bush of bright red curls that sat upon Cam's head, I'm met with the shine of James's shaven head. Like yesterday, he holds a tray of breakfast types of food such as waffles, strawberries, scrambled eggs, and a milkshake. Someone was trying to bribe me. Unlike the last time James saw me, I'm not scrambling up the side of the bed in fear. Instead, I stand from the bed with my arms crossed and a look that I hope screams I'm not taking his shit today. I will not spend another night in this makeshift prison.

     "Well, goodmorning, sunshine. Turn that frown upside down, sweetheart. Don't you see that I've brought some waffles? No one has ever pouted over a plate of waffles." Shutting the door behind him, he inches in further with a little more hesitation than last time. It's like he's walked into the lion's den. He doesn't know how I'll react. Good. I want him to be unsure of what will happen next. I want him to feel a quarter of the fear I've felt since first waking up in this room. "Are you going to stand there all day, or are you going to eat? Oh, wait, maybe you'll even toss it across the room again. However, I'd recommend otherwise. Cam does not look good in an apron and Maia won't lift a finger in the kitchen." He sets the tray on the bed, but this time he doesn't try to make himself comfortable. This isn't like yesterday. There's no confusion on how this conversation will go. Yesterday, there was hope for a better day. Perhaps we could have come to an agreement. Today, one will have to give in and it won't be me.

     "How do you think I would have reacted, James? Really. How did you think I would feel when I woke up and found myself in a strange place?" There was no beating around the bush. Even in this situation, I can't help my curiosity. Beyond the hysteria that is bubbling in my core about being kidnapped, there is a burning curiosity in the back of my head. Why am I here? What is it that he really wants from Roman? Why does he think Roman will come racing back here for me, when he left in the first place because of me? Clearly, Roman isn't just a book publisher. He's not some everyday business man. After more recent events, he's not even a good person. Still, I don't understand the rift between the two. I want to know. I need to know.

     "I thought you'd be understandably afraid, but once you saw me, I expected you to feel relieved. After all, we did share dinner together, Sawyer. You really think I would have done all that just to hurt you?"

     "Yes." Even though we shared a dinner, this man is still a stranger to me. I don't know what he's capable of. Thankfully, he doesn't know what I'm capable of either.

     "Fair enough. You haven't been part of our world for very long. Hell, you're still in the dark. All I can do is give you my word. You will not be harmed. Not by me. Not by Cam. Not by Maia."

     "Is that supposed to make a difference? Look around. This isn't the image of safety."

     Something about these words tickled James enough to make him break into a deep belly laugh. Shaking his head, he licked at his bottom lip. A twinkle of amusement shone in his brown eyes. I didn't like it. "What would you know about safety? Compared to the company you've kept for the last couple months, this is the safest you've been."

     "What the hell are you talking about?" The curiosity in my tone of voice quickly diminished, replaced by defensiveness.

     "You have quite literally been in the lion's den for months with your eyes closed. It was only a matter of time until you got a limb or two ripped off. Do you really think that Berkshire was safe? Even now? Even after knowing what he did to his wife and child?" Word after word, he inched closer and closer. There was a new kind of anger in his eyes. It almost looked like I offended him somehow. "And what? You think the Berkshire family is your picture perfect family that you see on covers of magazines? Come on, Sawyer. I thought you were smarter than that. Can't you see it? They were wolves in sheeps clothing the entire time. You're lucky you didn't end up dead." His face is inches from mine. I should move back, but I'm frozen in place out of fear and confusion. Was I really in danger this entire time? Had I been completely blind to it all because of my feelings for Roman? It's not like James had lied to me before. Actually, thinking about it now, he has only told me the truth since meeting him. Can I say the same about Roman? "Don't question me, especially when your taste is already questionable. I think I'm done here." As if he released a heavy weight on his chest, he breaks the intense state between us and turns for the door. He might be right. Maybe I couldn't tell the good from the bad, but I know for a fact that this situation that he has put me in doesn't make him morally right.

     Fight or flight takes over once more, but this time my body reacts with fight. The second he opens the door, I grab the tray of food from the bed and smash it across his head. James stumbles to the side from surprise, holding his head. A part of me hesitates, desperately wanting to apologize and make sure he's not too hurt, but that part quickly dies when I realize this might be my only chance to get out. Like a bat out of hell, I ran out of the room as fast as possible. I have no idea where I am. What's left? What's right? Where's up? Where's down? The tight hall is dark with thin walls that looked like they were just built days ago. Down the hall, there's only one way to go and it's left. Instantly, I'm met with old wooden stairs that look like they'll snap at any second. I quickly agree that it's worth the risk. Taking two steps at a time, I rush upstairs and towards my freedom. I can almost taste the cold air of freedom on my tongue. Almost. Upstairs I find that I've been held in an abandoned warehouse that's slowly being dominated by an abundance of foliage. The sunrays that rain down from the glasspanes and the puddles of water are probably the cause of their life. My eyes darted from graffitied walls to fallen rocks, looking for any way out. Before I find the exit, the sound of a rock hitting a puddle draws my attention. Maia and Cam. I move fast and quietly through the warehouse, over the puddles, and behind a hill of stone and rock. Falling to my knees, my chest rises and falls from the adrenaline pumping through me. My freedom is so close. I won't give it up without a fight. My fingers wrap around the jagged edges of a rock, gripping so hard that I can feel the sharp parts digging in the palm of my hand.

     Footsteps echo throughout the warehouse with each step. The sound grows louder as the owner of said footsteps come closer. Suddenly, a shout bounces off the white brick walls, bursting over the footsteps and dripping water in the distance. "She got out! Sawyer, got out! Find her!" James.

     "How the fuck did she get out?!" Cam. That has to be Cam. His voice is much gentler than I expected, even when shouting and cursing.

     "Doesn't matter. Find her before she gets out. She's gotta be around here somewhere." I have to get out of here. Now. As soon as that thought comes to mind, my hair is taken by the handful and I'm yanked to my feet.

     "This is why you don't leave little boys in charge. They can't do shit right." A painful scream erupts from my lips as the taller woman drags me across the warehouse. "How the hell did she get out? Did this little thing really take you out, James? Because that's pathetic. Even for you." While the woman is distracted by her nagging on the two men, I throw my hand back to introduce the rock and her skull. Caught by surprise, she releases me and holds her head. "You little bitch!" She screams.

     Once she loses her grip on my hair, my body lunges forward in hopes I can dodge the men waiting to catch me. It's gonna be difficult, but it's my only way out. I barely sidestep James's advances, but very quickly fall into Cam's line of sight. Inches away, I attempt to leap to the left, but I don't get very far because the man twice my size hits me in the head with the butt of his gun. The freedom the light above offered, the taste of fresh air that danced across my taste buds, the feeling of relief that tingles in my very toes, died and were consumed by the darkness that swallowed me whole. 

What are your thoughts on the introduction of these new characters? Are you excited to get to know them further?

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