Read Between The Lines

Chapter 1:

Ellie's POV:

It's been 2 years since I've seen my family.
It's been 2 years since I've seen sunlight.
It's been 2 years since I've been home.
It's been 2 years since I've been free.

"El El!", I heard the voice of a small child invading my dreams. I knew who it was the moment her voice begun to utter a single word. "Morning cutie pie" I exclaimed as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

   I heard the faint whispers of the little girl as she quietly woke the others. Almost all of us were up and dressed when the floorboards above us begun creaking.

Before I opened my mouth, the little girl climbed back under the covers and closed her eyes in the bed. Gabby was already in the kitchen preparing breakfast when we woke. She has a hard time sleeping at night.

"Morning El" Gabby groaned as I walked toward the stove, where she worked at preparing pancakes and eggs. "Long night Gab?" I asked, already knowing the answer. She nodded and flipped the last pancake onto the plate.

"Good morning babies!" My mother said as she leaned over to kiss my brother and I on the forehead. "Morning mom", Teddy and I greeted her in unison. "What's for breakfast today mommy?" I asked, curiously. "Whatever you want Ellie" she answered, a smile plastered on her face.

"She's all set" Kelly said as she closed the door to the bedroom. We all moved quickly and quietly, like a dance. Every morning the events were predictable.

Gabby will send the baby into the bedroom a few minutes before she is done preparing breakfast. We always had pancakes and eggs, that's what Nicholas liked. The girls and I would set the table and brush our teeth, expecting the arrival of a man at the crack of dawn.

He is coming, I thought to myself. It's ok Ellie, just be good... Be good and everything will be ok. No matter how many days I've been trapped here, my heart leaps out of my chest the second the first floor board announces my captors arrival.

Kelly was the first to take her seat at the table. I followed her to my seat, and then Gabby joined us. We always sit in the seats Nicholas assigned us to, we were given a seat the morning we arrived.

          "Time to get up baby", I heard my mother whisper as she nudged my body several times in the hopes that I wouldn't argue with her, begging for a mere five minutes.
    
     My mothers voice quickly morphed into another, a more seductive masculine bellow I recognized as my boyfriend Christopher's. "Up baby" he pleaded, while caressing my cheek and pecking me on the lips.

     As quickly as he came, he was gone and another, irritating version of myself barked, "GET UP". Halfway into the order she was clearly shoving at me I realized it was my sister.

     Yet again her voice slipped away and was replaced by a strangers. An intruder invading the parade of loved ones working tirelessly to wake up my mind. The unfamiliar utterance filled with worry, sadness, and a bit of compassion invaded my skull, forcing me to crack open an eye. Determined to put a face to the vocalization, I did.
         
The tiny slit I allowed myself to peek through forced me to notice the young girls poking at me,  slicing off my newly polished fingernails. Reaching over me, smearing off my pink bubble gum lipgloss.

     They moved swiftly and confidently, like they had prepared others like they were preparing me. "Gimme that" snorted another stranger, as she grabbed the nail clippers from a smaller, younger girl. The tiny girl seemed to be the newest of the group. I would later discover her name was Rose. The newbie curled up in a corner and closed her eyes as the others worked around her.

"Happy birthday" belted a crowed of my family and friends. They blew horns and smiled, cheering.

     My head hurts, I placed one hand on top of my head and realized It was hair sprayed and pinned up elegantly. Taking it all in I looked down. A dress, then I realized. It was my sweet 16.

     Interrupted by a blunt stomp on my right foot, I sat myself up and forced a smile on my face. Gabby followed my lead and properly positioned herself in her seat.

Rose ran to her seat and sat up straight. She panted, obviously relieved, she made it just in time.

My heart skipped a beat the second I heard the latches to the door begin to unlock. Following the clinking metal sound came the predictable door slam and footsteps.

"Good morning ladies, hungry?" The man asked, a bit of condescension in his voice. The girls and I smiled, knowing it didn't matter if we were hungry or not, we had to eat.

Nicholas pulled out his chair, at the head of the rectangular table, and sat down. He scoped out the room, checking for any unusual or out of place objects, or people. We all knew what he would ask. "Hanna, where is she? Still asleep?" He mumbled, pouring syrup on top of his pancake. "Yes Nicholas, she is still asleep." We answered in unison.

"Well, let's eat then" he smiled, attempting to cover his disappointment by shoving a fork full of eggs into his mouth. The four of us picked up our utensils and obeyed.

There were three others besides Rose, who worked for what seemed like an eternity cleaning and dressing me. As soon as they finished the girls packed up their supplies and exited the room, which I realized now was full of beds.
         
I think I'm in shock! My brain tells my body to move but my body ignores the demands. It worked, for a while at least.

"Ellie, have you read any interesting books lately?" Nicholas asked, making conversation. It's okay Ellie, breath! "Uuhm... No" I whispered, attempting to steer clear of any real conversation with the man.

Nicholas's face curled up a bit, then he forced a smile on his face. I knew he knew I didn't want to talk. He turned to Kelly, "what about you!" He asked.

I must have drifted off again because when I regained consciousness I was dressed in an entirely new outfit. I looked around the room, squinting through the darkness. It must have been night time because various girls laid asleep in single beds set against the walls.

     Without another thought I begun to panic. I felt my blood pressure increase, my lips begin to quiver, and my eyes filling with liquid, causing my vision to blurry.  Streams of salty tears rolled off my cheeks, pooling at the carpet beside the bed.

     Its just a dream I thought to myself, pinching at my wrists. At least that's what I thought.