I Am Keeley

Chapter 26: Let the Games Begin

Things are about to pick up... are you ready?
Also, sensitive topics in this chapter.

Keeley's POV

How long had I been here? Weeks? Months? I didn't know. What I did know, was pain.

I was losing this fight. I no longer could stand well on my own nor could I lift my arms above my shoulders. Breathing, to me, was like inhaling thousands of bees that stung my lungs, and each breath came harder than the last. Any muscle I had was gone. My bones were beginning to poke out at odd angles, whether that was because they were broken or because I was malnourished, I didn't know.

I had become immune to the smell that rolled off me like waves. My blood was painted across my limbs, the floors, and the walls. Combined with the lack of food, I had no idea how I was still alive at this point.

I had told myself I would keep fighting, to not let Adrik win, but as time drug on, I had a harder time remembering the promise I had made however long ago.

The searing pain of my face was lessening as I laid my head against the cool concrete, but the relief was short-lived as the door to my cell swung open. The fluorescent lights from the hallway spilled into the room and burned my eyes. 

"Let me tell you something, Keeley," his bitter voice began. I used to love it when he said my name, when it would roll so effortlessly off his tongue and fill me with warmth and comfort. Though, he no longer had that effect on me. Fear. Fear was all I felt when I heard his sour voice or the loud thumping of his shoes. 

"I'm done trying to play nice. I'm tired of not getting the answers I need. We're going to try something new."

I had become accustomed to the different tones of his voice. I could tell when he was blinded by anger, when he was undoubtedly hurt, and when he simply just didn't know what to do. But this, his tone managed to send chills down my already frigid body. It was laced with his frustration, but also with a sense of contentment. Almost as if he was enjoying what was about to happen.

A group of six men came in carrying a large tub. I kept my eyes on them as Adrik hauled my body up from the floor and drug me over to what I now saw was a basin filled with water. It splashed over the sides as the men sat it down, and I could feel my body tensing up on its own accord. 

Adrik held me with one arm across my chest, tugging me to him, and the other around the front of my waist. I could do nothing as I stared at the dark pool. He wouldn't... would he?

His nose ran down the side of my face and back up till his lips stopped at my ear.

"You've always proven to be a smart little girl, Kitten. You know where this is going. Tell me what I want to know and I'll save you." 

His harsh whisper did nothing but send fear wracking its way through my body. I shook at the thought of all the air leaving my lungs and feeling myself lose the battle.

I would never get to see Brady laughing again as we snuck into the kitchen and made sundaes at one AM. I'd never see Dylan overcome his addiction and be happy. I would never get the chance to reconcile with my shit family. But mostly, I would never get to experience the wind in my hair or the sand in between my toes again. I would never experience watching the leaves change colors in the fall or the flowers bloom in spring. I would never get to see the sunset one last time. 

Tears have not come easily to me in, what I think has been, a few weeks. My body has built a tolerance to the pain, but the thought of never getting to experience living life again? It fucking broke me.