Chained

Chapter 11

Noah continued to visit me every day for the next two weeks. He brought me food and tended my wounds. I grew stronger each day and my wounds were almost healed. Max would come every day and beat me up. After two or three strikes I pretended to pass out and then he would leave. I waited every day until Noah arrived. I didn't care about the pain or the scars anymore. I just wanted to see him. He would give me food and then we would end up talking and till morning. I couldn't wait a day without seeing him.

One day I was waiting by the cell door when I heard the keys rattling and the doorknob turned. Within a second Noah came in and locked the door from the inside.

"Hey Lilly" He said smiling at me.

"Hey Noah" I said embracing him.

He took out a pie and a packet of milk from his bag and handed them to me. I was astonished that he was able to steal food in such good condition.

I took the wrapper off the pie and ate it while taking small sips of the milk.

"How is Emily?" I asked him. Noah has been giving me daily updates about Emily and I felt happy to hear that she was safe.

"She looks like she's all right. I saw her washing Max's clothes by the tank today. She smiles with me every time she sees me now. I told her that you were locked up but not of the physical damage done to you. She thinks that they are only starving you but is thankful that I'm looking out for you." He said smiling.

"Not only Emily, but I'm thankful that you are here too" I said.

"Lilly I brought u a present." He said. "It's nothing fancy but, I think that you will like it"

"What is it Noah?" I asked excitedly.

He took out a basin and two large bottles of water. He poured the water into the basin and handed me a sponge along with some soap. "I thought since your wounds were healing and you look much better now, you would probably like to have a bath"

My eyes watered. I haven't even washed my face since the last time me and Em had our monthly shower. "Thanks so much Noah" I said kissing him on the cheek. What did I do to deserve someone like him?

"I will go and be back in an hour" He said "Enjoy"

As soon as he was gone, I stripped my clothes and dipped the sponge in the water. I squeezed the water all over my body with the sponge and put on soap. I scrubbed my body as hard as I possibly could, going gentle on my cuts. After feeling satisfied, I dipped my head in the basin and washed my hair. I continued to pour water all over my body with the sponge until I felt clean. Then with the remaining water, I washed my dress and wore it again. There was just a bit of water remaining in the basin which I put on the floor to get rid the small of vomit.

After a while I heard a soft tap on the door. "Are you dressed?" Noah asked.

"Yes" I giggled "You can come in now"

He came in and locked the door. "Woah you look a lot better Lilly"

"I feel a lot better" I said.

He took my hands in his and took out the ointment out of his pocket.

"Your wounds are almost healed now" He said putting the ointment on my cuts.

"Yeah I have this great friend who helped me recover" I said smiling.

"Anything for you Lilly" He said.

His words made me realize how amazing he really was. He was risking his own life to help me when he got nothing in return. I hugged him hard. But as I was pulling away from him, he pulled me in towards him and kissed me. Then, he quickly broke the kiss and started to apologize.

"I'm so sorry Lilly. I don't know why I did that. I was so stupid" He continued to mumble.

"Noah its fine. I'm not mad" I said holding his hand "It's just that it took me by surprise. That's all."

"Lilly I've been wanting to say this to you for a while. But I didn't know how. That day when I saw your friend get beaten up because of me and saw how frightened you looked, I felt so sorry for you. That's why I called you up to my room to apologize. Then you told me how much you hated the officers so I didn't want to say anything. After spending time with you, I started to care for you so much. I wanted to protect you and make you feel safe"

"What do you mean your room Noah? And why would you care that I hated the officers? You hate them too" I said.

And then it hit me. Noah looking extremely healthy, His unlimited access to food, His clothes looking clean and fresh every day, the fact that only I was pardoned when Em and I both had been assigned to Max. "Noah are you ......are you the Colonel?

Noah looked at me with sad eyes. "Yes Lilly. I am. And I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you for so long" He said.

"You mean you are one of them?" I asked moving away from him.

"Lilly I was born here. I had no choice." He said looking down

"Yeah but how come you were promoted to colonel when all the officers who were here since their childhood are just soldiers. You must have done something terrible to gain Max's trust to put you in such a high rank" I said looking at him in disgust.

"No Lilly I promise you it's not like that. Everything I told you about hating them is true." He said "I was helpless."

"Did you feel helpless when you had Emily beaten up that day Noah?" I scowled.

"I said I was sorry multiple times Lilly. I even apologized twice to Emily, what else do you want me to do?"

"Please leave. Just when I started to think you were an innocent caught up in all this shit just because you were born here" I said

"I am an innocent Lilly" He said clenching his fists.

"Then answer my question Noah. Why did Max give you such a high rank such as colonel?"

"Because I'm his son Lilly." He said looking me straight in the eyes.