𝐁𝐔𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐄

18

I'm slapped awake, and I immediately fall over out of something hard.

"I told you to tie her to the chair dummy. Father didn't teach you that?"

I open my eyes, but all I see is a thin dark fabric obstructing my vision. "Where am I?" I demand weakly, on my side, and in pain from the impact where I was already hurting.

"It's Amina and Ali. Remember? Your siblings?" a cheery voice tells me.

"Step-siblings," a gruff voice stiffly corrects.

"Sorry about all of this. Father just didn't want you to know where we're set up and whatnot," the blindfold is taken off of me and Amina holds it in her hand, eyes bright. "I never thought he'd let us see you again. I always wanted a sister."

"I always wanted a brother," Ali huffed, standing in a corner.

I look around the room, sitting up and inching back from them. The walls were stark white, everything was white. The singular chair was red, my ropes were dark brown and thick. The room was large, and a single window showed a bleak landscape, the source of light in here.

If I rushed towards it, how far would I fall? I wondered.

"I'm sure you're wondering why we had Ali kidnap you. Well...it wasn't particularly his choice, just so you know," Amina starts, clasping her hands together. She wore a floral blouse that extended to her torso, navy dress pants that hugged her perfectly and her hair was in an intricate style that mimicked something tribal.

"You say that like I want her to like me or something," Ali grumbles from his corner. He wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants, a colorblock letterman over his dark purple outfit. They were both dressed for a harsh winter, but in their own styles, so it seemed to me that we couldn't be in Oared or in Chiara anymore.

"Father wanted to meet with you."

"And he couldn't call, or-or text, or something like a normal dad would?" I demand.

Amina gives me a puzzled look, and I begin to wonder if either of us know what a normal father is.

"Again, he didn't want to reveal our location to you at this time. You have to earn his trust first-

"Wait, wait. Hollon. Untie me please," I laugh.

Amina hesistantly approaches, Ali not invested in us as he watches me carefully. She undoes my ropes and skitters backwards like I might attack her. I wonder if I should? I stand up slowly, stretching out my limbs and shaking off my aches.

"I don't owe that man any trust. He owes me," I state.

"Courtlynn, I," she glanced at Ali who was back to being bored, staring off into space, "we understand Court."

"You don't," I shake my head. I'm not about to go into this again with this girl. They haven't been through what I have. "Just...take me to him, so I can leave. Might as well face the bastard."

I see Ali send me a look, like I'm the only bastard in question here and I glare at him.

"Let's get you cleaned up first. What about that?" Amina suggests, hooking her arm into mine and leading me out of the room. Ali follows behind, his presence icky and dark, while Amina's seemed much lighter.

"This is just one of our many locations we rotate around. I like this house far better than the one in-

"Amina," Ali says sharply from behind us.

I nearly jump out of my skin as we both flip around.

"I wasn't gonna say nothinggg, Ali. Dang," she rolled her eyes. "She's our sister."