Silence

Chapter 7

"Where did we leave off?" I ask.

"You said that the girls were sold off if they weren't picked." Officer Sims leans forward in his chair. "You said that you knew that because of Jay. What did you mean by that?"

"It was my," I stop to think of when exactly it was. It was so long ago, but I still remember what happened that day clearly. "It was my 13th Pickday. Jay picked me as usual." Shaking my head, I whisper, "I was so stupid to question him." My whole face aches when I think of questioning Jay.

"You're not stupid, Molly."

I jump a little; I forgot he was there. "No. I'm not." I agree, smiling sadly. "That's what makes it stupid that I questioned him." Taking a deep breath, I tell him the story of my 13th Pickday and the last Pickday for many other girls. 

"That one." Jay says with a smirk like he does every Pickday so far.

"That one again?" Eli glances over at Jay with a questioning look. "Are you sure you don't want a new one? You're the only one without one this week, you can swap with someone."

Jay leans over to whisper something in Eli's ear. He doesn't even bother to look away from me.

I was never any good at reading lips and I can't hear what he's saying from across the room.

Nodding, Eli says, "That can be arranged, I suppose." He sweeps his hand towards me with a smile. "Enjoy."

Jay confidently walks over to me as I cower beneath his sinister smirk.

"Now that everyone has their girl picked out, we can get started." Eli steps down from the podium with the other men right behind him. "If you were not picked, please follow me." He starts to walk to the far end of the room and most girls turn to follow him with looks of relief on their faces. Other girls, the older ones, start to cry and scream. They even try to struggle as the guys round them up.

"Aren't you going to help them?" I ask Jay.

Every Pickday, all the guys take the time to round up the ones who aren't picked before going off with their girls. Sometimes the newer girls try to blend in in an attempt to get out of being one of the picked, but it's also each guys job to make sure that the girl they picked doesn't get mixed in with the crowd. If they lose their girl, they don't get to pick another one. The new girls experiencing their first Pickday are easy to keep track of since they all get chained to the wall before the actual picking takes place. Since I'm the only girl who isn't new that got picked today, the guys are able to focus on getting the other girls out of here. 

Jay usually helps the guys move the girls while I stand against the wall obediently, but today he just glares down at me. "I've been excused for today."

"Why? Did you do something wrong? Besides the obvious." I say, unable to contain my smart mouth. My remark is met with a swift backhand across the face. I've received many of these since coming here. Though I have corrected the way I act, I'm still having trouble controlling my words. Thankfully, I am starting to slowly learn to watch what I say.

"Don't talk back to me, Bitch." he growls. 

"I'm sorry, Jay." I whisper, looking down at my feet. 

He is silent and just looks at me for a minute before finally saying, "Let's go."

Not even bothering to look up, I start walking in the direction of Jay's room.

"Not that way." he says as he grabs my arm to stop me. "This way."

I look at him confused as he points in the direction of the door Eli went through, which is currently clogged with people. It's not unusual for Jay to want to skip the buffet and go straight to his room, but he's never taken me this way before. "Why?" I ask. A Spark of hope ignites in my chest. "You don't want to pick me?" I ask in a hopeful tone, thinking he may have changed his mind.

Jay raises an eyebrow. "Do you not want me to pick you?"

With the pain still fresh on my cheek, I don't dare answer him. 

He smiles. "You don't want me to pick you do you?" He chuckles at my silence. "You're lucky I've picked you." he says, putting emphasis on 'lucky'. He smirks and looks me up and down. "Yes. A very lucky girl." Gripping my arm harder, he starts pulling me to the door. 

By now, everyone is already through the door, so we are able to walk straight in. We step inside the long, narrow room and see all the girls each with a hand cuffed to a pipe along the wall. All the guys have already left leaving Eli alone to deal with the girls.

Eli is uncuffing one of the girls that is closest to the door on the other side of the room. "What took you so long, Jay?" he says as we walk up to him.

"She decided to mouth off, but she's learning quickly." Jay responds like I'm not even there. 

"Okay. Well, I've already arranged a table right out front for you guys." He grabs the now uncuffed girl and starts dragging her towards the door. She doesn't even try to struggle; she just looks defeated. 

We follow them through the door. This room is much smaller and has a curtain hanging along one wall. Across from us is another door which Jay leads me through quickly. Before the door closes behind us, I see Eli pulling the clothes off of the poor girl who doesn't fight him. 

I realize she must be one of the older girls. She obviously knows what's coming. 

Didn't realize it's been so long since I've updated this. I'm so sorry. My life has been complicated for a while. I hope to be able to update more often now. I also hope you are enjoying the book. Don't be afraid to ask me anything! Happy Reading!