The Missing

13. Sixteen

Jenna's POV

So after what feels like an eternity of being here he brings me a T.V. and now I know the date. Its January 7 now. My birthday has passed a few days ago. I had my sixteenth birthday in this house instead of spending it with my family. Now that I have the T.V. though all I do is watch it. The T.V. is one of those old ones that have a box in the back of it. I watch the same thing everyday just to pass my time and to keep up on the outside world. I seldom watch things other than the news. The news of me and Taylor is no longer on the news, it's as if everyone forgot that were missing. 

On my sixteenth birthday I imagined myself getting a car not being kept in a secret basement where I'm not allowed to talk. I don't cry anymore because I can't bring myself to cry. I have to keep myself alive. I can't live in this sorrow, I have to have hope that I will go home.

I wish I could've prevented this from happening, but this was the last thing on my mind at the time. I feel so bad for doing this to me and Taylor. I don't even know how she is anymore of if she is even alive. I will find out eventually though, I'm pretty sure. I've changed so much since I got here too. Now I am very skinny. I used to have curves, but now that is all gone. I find myself quite ugly now. John makes me put on dresses and makeup so I will 'look prettier.' He hates me. I don't even know why he took me and Taylor, but who would know why their life was destroyed.

I think back to when I was a little kid. I had everything I'd ever need, then everything changed. Taylor was getting bullied and harassed at school so we moved about 3 times. I had no friends. I miss the friends that I did have. I was actually popular in my last school. I seen myself fitting in here, but of corse that had to be taken away from me. Everything good comes to an end for me. We used to live in Canada, it was bad there with the bullies. They would beat you up at recess and things like that. So we moved down into Michigan and just kept moving farther and farther away from everything that we knew.

I remember my first big loss in my family. My aunt got into a crash and lost her five year old son. It was four years ago and she hasn't had another kid since. It was really hard on my family. This is now probably the biggest loss for me and my family. For me it is the loss of freedom and for them it's the loss of knowing how we are.

John came in and yelled at me for a few minutes and hit me a few times then he talked to me normally. He raped me then he left. I escape into another world so I don't feel anything. I don't cry anymore, well I try not to cry.

I start praying everyday before I sleep that God will send someone to help me, but it never comes true. Maybe this is just beyond his control.  He can't help everyone, can he?

I lay on the floor with my blanket and pillow and just watch the T.V. until I fall asleep. 

I wake up to the sound of crying. It's not Taylor though. This confuses me. I go over to the door and press my ear to it. I hear someone sobbing. I look under the door to see nothing, but the empty room. "Hello?" I whisper loudly, but there isn't an answer. I am quiet for a while after that until I hear the crying stop. "Hey." I say a little bit louder. 

"Hello?" I hear someone say quietly, it's a girl. There's someone else here!