Painful Reminders

Chapter Thirteen: Acts of Protest

"She did what?"

Andrea winced, looking back toward Amya's door as though she were hoping it would swing open on cue. "She seems to have barricaded herself in somehow. We can't get it open."

Of course. Moving past her, and toward the door in question; the knob turned, but the door wouldn't open. Damn that woman. "Amya!" I called out with no attempt to mask the anger. "Whatever you've done, undo it immediately."

"No," came her muffled reply.

Clenching my jaw, I stepped back and glared at the door. "You can't stay in there forever, Amya. You'll starve."

"I'll risk it."

"What do we do?" Andrea asked, coming up beside me. "It's a wonder none of our guests have noticed yet, but if we attempt to break through her door, it'll be hard to miss."

"Leave her in there."

"But—"

"Leave her," I repeated, loud enough for her to hear me through the door. "She'll have to come out eventually."

Her reply could be heard immediately, "Don't bet on it."

***

I found two granola bars, a jar of peanuts, and a can of ravioli in one of my desk drawers, three breath mints in my favorite hoodie pocket, and a handful of peach rings as well as a half-eaten bag of gummy worms in my dresser. It was hardly a feast, but anything was better than nothing. Piling all of it onto the seat of my computer chair, I sank back onto the edge of my mattress and studied it all consideringly. Who knew how long all of this would have to last me? I'd need to be stingy with my portioning.

Grabbing myself a handful of peanuts with a resigned sigh, I leaned to the left, stretching out my free hand toward my pile of books. Picking one at random, I opened it to the first page and settled in to pass the time. It felt as though time stood still in this windowless room from hell. My laptop sat open on the floor several feet away from me, plugged into the wall with the login screening staring back at me. I had no internet connection, so at present, it was simply being used as an overpriced clock. It showed 4:23 in the morning as the current time. Would they all be going to bed around this time?

It's not like it mattered; I still didn't have the code for the front door and Cassian would've undoubtedly planned for another escape attempt if I were to take the door off the hinges for the second time. Staying stuck in this room was the best place to be for the time being. Settling in, I focused on the book in my hands, tossing a few more of the peanuts into my mouth, and began to read.

I barely lasted forty-five minutes before the book I'd grabbed was tossed aside and restlessness began to fully take hold. With my hands on either side of my head, I held myself in a handstand using the wall to keep myself from flipping backward and stared at the chaotic state of my current bedroom. Maybe I could guess the front door passcode. Whatever it was had six digits when he'd typed it in the other night, and if I could just figure out which numbers he pressed, I'd at least be able to narrow down the number of possible codes, right? In the espionage movies, they'd use some powder and a blacklight, but I didn't exactly have a spy kit on me, did I?

Kicking back off of the wall, I tumbled forward and moved back into a sitting position, pulling my knees up and resting my chin on them, and staring consideringly at the wall. It was entirely possible boredom would get me before starvation did at this rate. Looking down at my bare feet, I wiggled my toes consideringly and glanced thoughtfully back at where my desk sat, pushed up against the rest of the furniture. Getting to my feet, I walked over to it, digging through one of the drawers until I found a bottle of nail polish. Painting my nails is as good of a distraction as any I suppose.