Finding Amber (Book 5) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 4

Amber

It’s lonely here, and I’m hungry again. It’s been two days since I last drank, and in two more, I’ll be back in the state I was in. After that, death. I don’t think my captor is coming back anytime soon. I’ve gone through every phase of the grieving process, and I’m now at acceptance. This is my fate. I’m going to die here, soulless and alone. I lay on the floor, staring up at the stars. I wish I lived more. Spent more time having fun and less time preparing for a life I didn’t get to live. I hope Celeste is safe, and she knows how much I love her.
A memory forms in my mind that makes me sad. I’m in the kitchen with mom, and we’re baking chocolate chip cookies. I’m small, maybe three or four, and I’m missing Celeste. Me and mom are laughing because I’ve snuck another bite of raw dough after she’s told me no. I ask if Celeste can come home and help bake the cookies. It had been a couple of weeks since she was sent away. All laughter stops, and mom becomes distant. She never got mad until I mentioned Celeste. I was angry, so angry. Now I wonder if it was guilt that tore her up. Did she feel guilty for sending her daughter away? Did she regret it? The more I fought them, the angrier they got. Why couldn’t they pick up the phone? A couple of words would have changed everything.
I’ll never know. If I regret anything, I regret the person I became. A quiet pushover who kept the peace, sacrificing her happiness to make everyone around her comfortable. I should have spoken up. The worst thing I did was stay quiet. I’m as much to blame as my parents.
The rhino is back. I get up and move to the glass, welcoming its company. Now that I know this dome is impenetrable, I no longer fear the deformed creature. It stares at me, sitting in front of the glass. I think it’s partially blind because it never looks directly at me. I think He’s alone too and maybe that’s why he enjoys my company. We have something in common. I lean against the glass, and the rhino does too. He sits with me for hours before leaving. When he’s gone, I feel lonely again. It’s silly, I know, but it’s all I have.
The sun will come up soon, and my thoughts turn angry. I wish I could just be done with it. As the days pass, my living feels more like a curse than anything. I don’t want to escape anymore, I just want to stop existing. Movement catches my eye. I crawl to the glass, thinking the rhino has come back. I gasp. It’s not the rhino I see. It’s a man!
He has a tanned complexion and light silvery eyes with the blackest hair I’ve ever seen. It tied back level with his wide shoulders. He looks to be in his mid-thirties. The crinkles near his eyes and stubble on his chin take away from his sharp features, making him appear rugged. My eyes trail down his body. The effect he has is. Overwhelming, the man is massive; easily double my size. His white shirt is unbuttoned, and his chest is visible. I think of Fabio on the cover of all those romance novels I used to read growing up and giggle at the likeliness. Maybe he’s older than I realize. My eye catches on his leg. The fabric is torn, and it looks like something took a bite out of his calve. 
He’s looking right at me. I bang on the glass, yelling for help, but he walks right on by like he doesn’t even see me. Immediately stopping, I shrink back. It all comes together. He’s my next torturer. Why else would he ignore me? Mica treats me like I don’t exist, too. I settle in my corner. Why did I go and say this is hell? I should know better by now; things can always be worse.