Bittersweet Agony

Chapter 3

I can't be sure how long it was until someone entered the room again, but I know it felt like hours. I sat there dejectedly in that chair, awaiting who even knows what, for a man that I'd never met but already decided I hated. Luckily, the heat kicked back in and I had started to thaw. By the time the next man came in, I could already feel most of my fingers and toes again.

"Let's go, Miss Nazzari." He said, and that's when I noticed it was Freckles from the night I was picked up. He unlocked the chains bolting me to the chair and ultimately, the ground, and I noticed he had a bandage on his right upper arm, and I realized he must've been the one who got shot the previous night.

"Where are we going?" I asked curiously. "To your new room." He answered plainly. "I'm Ellis, by the way." He said, turning his head to speak but continuing walking.

"Adelina Nazzari. But I'm sure you already knew that."

"Oh yes, I know who you are, Adelina." He said with a chuckle, and I got an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach that I've made a horrible decision already.

"Well, here we are." He said, gesturing to a large wooden door.

I hadn't noticed while we were walking how large this place really was. The hall we stood in seemed to go on forever, with at least three other doors on each side of the hall.

How many people live here? I thought.

The door was opened for me by Ellis, and I entered obediently. "There should be some clothes in the closet over there for you," he pointed to a door in the room.

They have women's clothes just sitting in their guest bedroom closet...?

"Dinner is at 7:00, don't be late. You should sleep." He suggested. I answered with a curt nod, and closed the door.

Dinner? How long was I kept in that room? It was barely midnight when they found me.

The first thing I did was go to the closet to find some clothes. I pulled out the first thing I found, which only happened to be a tank top and a pair of pajama shorts. Not my first choice, but I could find something better suited to my tastes later. I needed to shower first.

My eyes searched the room quickly, hoping to have a personal bathroom to myself, but I was disappointed when I found none. I wasn't in the mood to go snooping just yet, despite my disgust with the caked on blood and grime from the past day, so I decided to stay put until dinner.

I found a clock on a table beside the bed, which was enormous and looked more comfortable than anything I've ever laid on. The clock read 6:38, so I had a few minutes to kill.

Taking a moment to rest, I changed quickly and laid myself down gently on the bed as to not injure myself worse than I already was. Carefully avoiding touching anything with my wounded arm, I curled on my side as I waited for dinner.

*~*

"Nazzari! This is your final warning before I come in there. Open the fucking door, Adelina!" The all too familiar voice of Blake Knight rang through the room and I jumped from the bed, looking at the clock and realizing I must've fallen asleep. It was 7:08.

Deciding to be a pest as usual, instead of opening the door, I stood directly in front of it and cooed "who is it?"

The door flew open and in came a smoldering Blake. I simply stood there with a proud smirk, staring him down. "Which part of 'obey the rules' are you having trouble understanding?" He spat. "The part where you're satisfied." I smiled innocently.

In an instant, he grabbed me by a full handful of hair and pulled me along behind him, not bothering to attempt easing his grip even after I obediently followed.