Part one in the series 'You'.
Esmeray Stark. Known to be kind, smart, and straightforward was found 2 years later after reported missing. She was alive but scared. She was the shell of the person she used to be.
Silas Sinclair is the classic "fuck o...
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Esmeray's POV:
Most of the girls that were kidnapped have been reunited. There were two girls that hadn't gone home yet, though. Mr. Hot told me that one of the girls is going to be picked up today. But the last girl is an orphan so she doesn't have anywhere to go. I'm surprised she hasn't been kicked out yet from the way Mr. Hot is.
He seems so cold and cruel.
I sighed before I walked to my room to change out of my pyjamas. After digging around the huge closet, I found black jeans and a grey, off the shoulder knit sweater, which I paired with some white Adidas shoes.
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My hair was all frizzy, so I had to use a hair straightener to tame it. Once, I had a quick once-over what I was wearing even though I wasn't trying to impress anybody but myself.
I knocked on one of the girls' doors and stepped back when a brown haired, tanned girl, who I learnt was named Louisiana, opened the door and peeked her head out.
"Hello?" She muttered, looking at me in confusion.
I took a deep breath, feeling the nerves eat at me. I didn't know if she'd like me or not. None of the other girls did when I was still there. I realised how awkward it was with me just staring at her in silence.
"Hi, um, my name is Esmeray," I said awkwardly. I'm never this awkward.
"Oh, I'm Louisiana. Nice to meet you," she smiled, opening the door wider.
I smiled back at her. "Nice to meet you too. How are you settling in? Is everything ok?" I asked, eager to make her feel as comfortable as possible.
"Everything is great, this house is huge! But why do so many people live here?" She questioned.
As if I know the answer. I assumed it was something to do with the mafia.
"I don't really know, I've only been here for a month. I was the only girl who escaped out of 17 others," I recalled.
Her eyes widened. "You were also a hostage?" She asked quietly.
Yeah, and a pet, I thought to myself, but it wasn't something I was proud of, so I didn't mention it.
I nodded at her. "Want to have breakfast downstairs? The men have most likely already had theirs," I said, taking a step back for her to follow. She hesitated before nodding.
I was wrong. The men were still eating. Louisiana didn't hesitate to sit down, though. I sat next to her, and we began to pile food onto our plates. Some of the guys stared at us, probably shocked that we weren't eating in our rooms like all of the girls did.
Louisiana ignored them, and I just raised a brow at them, making them look away in embarrassment of getting caught.
A chair at the other end of the room could be heard getting pulled back and then scooted forward. I looked up from my food and looked at the source of the noise to see Mr. Hot sitting at the end of the table.
I watched as he grabbed two perfect looking pancakes and placed them onto his plate before he grabbed the fresh lemon juice and sugar, putting it on his pancakes before putting them back. He picked up his knife and fork but hesitated before he looked up. I immediately looked away, feeling embarrassed for being caught staring. Slowly, I looked back at him to see him smirking as he ate.
•••
Me and Louisiana decided to walk around the gardens and explore. I hadn't been able to explore much because I had basically barricaded myself in my room, refusing any type of human contact. I've never really been the social butterfly. Most of the people around me were men in their thirties, so they weren't really that interesting.
"What type of flower is this?" I asked Louisiana, holding up a flower that looks like a little bouquet of blue. Louisiana knew a lot about flowers. She said her parents used to own a small florist shop before they passed.
"Those would be Hydrangeas," she stated as we continued to walk along. We were making ourselves a bouquet of our favourite flowers in this garden. There were so many.
I laughed as she wrinkled her nose when a fly began to fly in her face. She swatted at it before the fly flew away. She playfully glared at me, making me glare back.
"So how long were you in that warehouse?" I asked carefully. She froze a little but regained her composure.
"I was taken maybe a year ago, and I had been in that warehouse for 3 months," she said, shrugging. We stopped by the water fountain and sat down on the bench. "What about you?" She asked, facing me.
I sucked in a breath, thinking. How long was I kidnapped for? Did the police ever get called?
"Two years. I was sold three years ago to a man who later sold me to Sebastian," I answered. It was weird how smoothly his name came from my mouth. Of course, I sneered a little when I said his name, but I didn't wince. I wasn't afraid.
Louisiana looked at me curiously. I knew what she was thinking. I knew the look of confusion that flickered in her eyes.
"I was put through human trafficking by another mafia," I explained further. Her mouth formed an 'oh' shape before she tore her gaze away from me and stared at the fountain instead.
"They stole from me. They stole a year of my life. They stole my innocence. And they stole my freedom," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. "What kind of person does that?" She asked, now staring at me. I pulled her in for a hug, letting her sob onto my shoulder.
"They stole a part of everyone, Louisiana. Some even stole lives. We need to be thankful that we get the chance to start over," I consoled as I smoothed down her hair. She sniffed as she drew herself away from me.
"Thank you," she said, giving me a weak smile, one which I return.
