Kidnapped

Bad temper

When put in situations like that you adapt quite quickly to the new way of living. James and I learned that Denim Guy had a bad temper and that he wanted to beat us up whenever he felt cranky. There was nothing we could do about it really and since we were so weak, we couldn´t fight against it. Eventually it didn´t even hurt anymore. I learned to turn off the pain only to feel it afterwards.

There was no way for us to tell what time it was and it was hard to keep track of the days. Once in a while they brought down food for us, but never enough. It was a way for them to keep us from escaping I guess.

The nights where very cold. I was grateful for the thin blanket and James´s warm body next to mine every night. Once, when I woke up, we were laying facing each other with our foreheads pressed together. He looked so cute when he was sleeping I almost started to giggle.

It was amazing how much I laughed considering the curcumstances. It was all thanks to James. He was such a wonderful person and he was so good at making me forget all the horrible things we were going through. He told me about his acting career and how it was like to be famous and I told him about my life back home in Sweden.

"Jonas is my twinbrother" I told him after he had asked me about my family. "We had an older brother as well, but he died when we were only four years old. His name was Martin. I don´t really remember him."

"And what happened to Jonas?" James asked and startled me. I hadn´t told him about the accident. How could he know? He smiled when he saw my troubled face. "You talk in your sleep, sweetness."

Oh, damn, that´s embarrassing! I wondered what else he had heard me say in my sleep. Something about him? Not that I had been dreaming about him ... Oh well, maybe just a little.

"Jonas and I was home alone one day", I said with a deep sigh. We were just ten. Suddenly we decided to bake a cake or something for mom and dad. Something went wrong and the kitchen caught fire ...We ran out and called for help, but then Jonas ran back inside again. He wanted to get the pictures out ... our family albums. The pictures of Martin. I waited, but he didn´t come back out. Eventually I too ran back inside. It was so hot in there and smoke everywhere. I found Jonas in the livingroom. He had got stuck under a bookshelf. I don´t know how, but I managed to drag him out of there, but ... the smoke had blinded him. He managed to get the fotoalbum out, but he never got to see the pictures again. When he woke up in the hospital he was so scared. He was clutching my hand so hard, like he was holding on to his own life. I promised him that we would go through it together. That I would never leave him."

It was amazing how easy it was to talk to James. I had never told anyone that before. Of course people knew that my brother was blind, but no one else knew that the fire had been our fault. And no one knew about the promise I had made him at the hospital.

James looked at me all serious and understanding. He smiled weakly at me and took a hold of my hand. It felt nice. His hand was warm.

"I never understood what you said, I guess you were speaking Swedish, but I could hear you scream his name", James told me with that almost-smile. "I just knew that he meant a lot to you."

I just nodded and smiled back. "We´ve always been a team, him and I. He´s my brother, my best friend ... he means everything to me. I know I shouldn´t have left him in Sweden in the first place, but he insisted. Now I might not come back at all ..."

James took a hold of my chin and gently forced me to look in to his eyes. Those perfect, green eyes. "Don´t feel guilty about this Amanda", he told me with a stern but sweet expression. "It´s not your fault that you got kidnapped. You will return to your brother if you can. I´m sure he´ll be just fine up until then though, so don´t worry about him. You´ve got enough to worry about right here."

I leaned in and huged him tightly. At first he seemed surprised but then he put his arms around me and huged me back. He smelled wonderful, exept for the dirt and sweat, of course. I felt so safe in his arms. "Thank you, James", I whispered in his ear. "I´m so happy that I have you. You´re so easy to talk to."

One day I was in a crappy mood. I was hungry, I hadn´t showered for God knows how long, and my stomach hurt. Besides, my long, curly hair was starting to get on my nerves. I´m the kind of girl who always wear a ponytail to keep the hair out of my face. I have no idea what happened to my hairband though. My guess was that Denim Guy had taken it. Fucking Denim Guy!

James chuckled as I irritated pushed the hair out of my face for the twntieth time that day. I gave him a murderous look but he just winked at me.

"Just stop, James", I said seriously. "I´m afraid I might hurt someone, and you´re the only one here ..."

He just laughed with his head thrown back and I couldn´t help but to smile back at him. "I think I could take you down if I needed to sweetness", he said with a smirk.

Right then the door opened over our heads and we both moved over and sat down on the bed. I´d like to say that I had gotten used to their little visits, but every time I heard the door open my heart started pounding like crazy.

It was Denim Guy and that sweet guy with the red hair. I had grown to like him since he was the one who brought us food most of the time. He looked uncomfortable, while Denim Guy had an evil smirk on his face. I wondered what he was about to do, since it almost always ended with that I woke up with new bruises the next day.

"We just thought we should tell you that we just recieved a check on one hundred thousan dollars", Denim Guy said with that ugly smirk on his face. Fucking show off!

We didn´t say anything. The guy with the red hair almost looked ashamed as he was standing there next to Denim Guy. He wouldn´t look at us at all. I felt sorry for him. It seemed like he didn´t really want to be a part of our kidnapping.

"Is there something you need now, while I´m down here?" Denim Guy asked with a smile.

I should have stayed quiet, but my big mouth have always been a problem. "Yes, a hairband or something to keep the hair out of my face would be great", I said before I could stop myself.

Denim Guy´s eyes turned even blacker as he looked down at me. That guy seriously had a problem with his temper. Ginger Guy seemed to hold his breath and next to me James was shaking his head. Without a word Denim Guy stormed up the stairs and was gone. Before we had a chance to realx though, he was back and pulled me off the bed with rough hands. I screamed as he grabbed a hold of my hair and dragged me across the floor.

James watched, horror struck, but unable to do anything about what was happening. Ginger Guy was standing in his way.

"You won´t need a fucking hairband if you don´t have any hair", he whispered in my ear and I could hear the sound of an electric razor.