PURPLE HEART - Soliders Of Fortune [BOOK TWO]

Chapter FOUR

Sunday 'Sunny' Santos

After washing away my ruined makeup, brushing out my tangled hair and changing into one of Max's oversized T-shirts, I pad out of the ensuite bathroom and perch gingerly upon the edge of the plush canopy bed..

Shivers course through my nerves like the residual shockwaves of an earthquake.. The apparent after effects of an insane day slowly setting in..

How the hell did I get to this place?

Reluctant to relax, I lay down on my side, curling up into a ball, but I know there is no way I will be able to sleep tonight..

My mind races at a million miles a minute, replaying the betrayal over and over again in my head.. I just can't stop thinking about Javier and how strange he had behaved earlier today.. And now I know why..

'Ay, Sunny, Imma' take you out tonight.. Somewhere flashy, Chika, go on and you put on something sexy for your Papi, huh?' He'd said.

Oh and of course, like a fool, I had practically jumped at the predatory offer, thinking that for once, just once, Javier would treat me the way he always promised he would..

What an idiot I am..

Instead he had put a dagger right through the heart that had loved him..

My aching heart..

How stupid I had been to believe he was at all sincere.. Time and time again Javier would let me down.. Yet time and time again I would fall for his lies..

For so long I thought I needed Javi.. I had become reliant on his command and afraid of a world without him.. For so long I had loved him, waiting for him to love me in return..

Now, I am beginning to see that those dreams of mine were delusions from the very start.. I was foolish for believing in a man like Javi..
Or maybe I am just crazy for believing in love at all..

The lump in my throat refuses to subside as the tides of sorrow climb my sinuses and spill from my eyes.. Wet, salty streaks stream down my cheeks to dampen the comforter beneath me.. My body shudders and jerks and soon the throws of hysteria have me in their hold.. I cry so hard that no sound comes out, only gasping breaths and pathetic hiccups accompany the torrential downpour of heartbreak..

....

Over an hour, one meltdown and a thousand silent tears later, I manage to curb my misery just long enough to notice as my stomach growls and rumbles.. The pangs of hunger driving through my middle to leave a vast vacant feeling, quickly reminding me of the missed meal I had been promised..

-gggrrrrrlllllll-

"You want to take me someplace nice, huh?" I mutter angrily to myself, my rage renewed.. "Yeah, this is super fucking nice, Javi, thanks a lot- tu puta madre!" (Motherfucker)

God.. I'm still so angry I could scream and I'm so starved that I feel sick..

Sitting up with a hesitant glance towards the door, I wonder if I should test the boundaries of my welcome in The Loan Shark's home..

Am I a guest? Or am I a prisoner?
Perhaps I am a hostage? Or am I more like a pet?
This place certainly feels like a cage.. Whatever label is put on it, the end result is the same.. I'm not allowed to leave..

But my captor had certainly behaved as though he'd wanted me to be comfortable.. In fact the very room I now occupy exceeds the comforts of any place I've ever stayed.. The carpet is plush and creamy beneath my feet and the scent of fresh linen tints the air.. The fair oak furniture is waxed and polished, and the bedside lamp casts a soothing orange glow..