𝐋𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐎𝐟 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 | 𝟏𝟖+

LILY

042. BONDS

Losing track of time and being stuck in this room felt like insanity in itself. It's cold and insanely stuffy, and I could've sworn I'd seen a pool of blood beside the bed. Despite the ambiance, Celeste gave me a run down on how things work here.

We're underground in a sizeable hotel-like building where money, drugs, women, and children are passed through continuously. The building has several levels.

The top level is the white room, where new girls get evaluated.

The second level is the green room, where cash is counted and washed.

The third level is the yellow room, where drugs are packed, checked, and distributed amounts buyers.

And then there's the last level. The red room.

Celeste says she's only seen it once but claims it's the worst room of them all. "Very rarely will you ever see the same girl come out more than once," she said, "they pump them with drugs and give them to clients for the evening, or...or for a very long time."

"So...how long have you been down here?" I ask, the cloud shadowing my thoughts thickening by the second. We had both huddled in the corner where the blind spot of the camera was. I felt restless, being shut in by the rigid walls of imprisonment.

"About four years, I think? I'm not entirely sure," she replies quietly, "you tend to lose time when you're down here."

I rub my aching arms. "You don't have to tell me twice."

"Had I known you'd come, I would've brought you a present. Here! Have this. I made it."

I gently grabbed the red string bracelet from her tiny hands, a rush of fresh tears built up. It reminded me of the bracelet I gave Royce. I caress it carefully, all too overwhelmed to look away.

"It's beautiful. Thank you."

She gave me a mega-watt smile and waved me off. "It's no biggie. We girls must stick together down here, even if we have no real chance of leaving."

I hold back a sad whimper and clench the bracelet in my hand. "Help me put it on?"

Her fingers were cold against the slightly warmer skin of my wrist; it tingled my veins and dripped to my toes. I observed them as if in slow motion, how her delicate hands tied the tail strings. A tear slipped silently, my eyes had caught the broken to almost missing nails gracing her fingers.

"I'm okay."

I glanced along her face, which was neutral but held a dimpled grimace.

"Besides, they stopped hurting a long time ago. I got used to it."

"Why did they do that?" I ask.

"To get back at me for being Royces' sister, to punish me. I don't know."

I shake my head. "You shouldn't have gotten used to any of this. You don't belong here."

She finishes off the small knot and shifts back into her place against the wall. "No one belongs here, but we don't get to make those choices. The higher-ups do. Is it fair? No, but do I find a way to survive and find loopholes to outrun these degenerate assholes? Hell yes."

I feel my face drop as I gnaw at my lip. "You're just like him," I whisper.

"My brother is a dick," she debunks the idea, shrugging,"but I love'em."

I chuckle. "How'd you learn to make this?"

"My mom was a seamstress and taught me to work with all kinds of fabrics and string. The yarn was my personal favorite, and I used to make mini animals. I happened to have a ball of string in my pocket before I was taken." Celeste rubs her arms with her hands before reaching behind her, where she pulls out a small crochet butterfly.

"Butterflies were my mom's favorite, and it was also my nickname," she says with an airy laugh and a smile.

"It's adorable. You'll have to make me one we leave."

She playfully salutes me and says in a mock British accent. "I solemnly swear."

Our laughs die off in the dark emptiness of the room. I glanced around us and felt like the walls and dark corners were speaking to me endlessly. Bombarding my need for a sane mind was definitely on their checklist. I look at the camera silently and notice the red light that's usually blinking has stopped. "Celeste, look."

She squints her eyes. "It must be midnight already," she turns to me, "at midnight, they turn off all the cameras expecting us to be asleep. It's so they can save power because the building is in a rural area away from the city."

"Why haven't you escaped? You obviously know your way around."

"Haven't had the right opportunity. Shifts between guards always change, too many were bustling around that could spot me. Plus I have someone special that I've met here and wouldn't dare leave them alone. Especially now with the upcoming auction. This place ups the security and keep us all in our rooms...you're chosen."

"Chosen?" I contemplate something. "Is there a security room?"

"Yeah, why?" She murmurs, playing with a small rock on the ground.

"If we can reach the security room, we can find a way out, perhaps a phone," I suggest, peering at her carefully, "and if we're lucky, we can tell your brother where we are."

Celeste nodded, but before she could respond, the sound of the door creaking open caused her the jump into the ceiling with my help, and just then, a guard walked through with a plate of food. Bread and soup. It looked fairly edible, but the thought of food made me nauseous in my current state.

He sets it down by the door without a word and locks it behind him when he leaves. I grabbed the bread and ate in small bites while sitting on the bed silently. But I didn't touch the soup. Not once.