Hope «h.s.»

Thirty-Nine.

Chapter 39:
*warning: sensitive subjects*

I woke up to a loud bang.

"Wake up," said a woman. My head sprung forward and my eyes were wide open. My neck felt like it had been hanging off a bridge the whole night. It was a very unpleasant feeling.

I realized it was the woman from before. She had something in her hands behind her back. I froze. She was extremely pretty but not the friendliest the first time I met her, so I tensed as she approached.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Her voice was surprisingly gentle. "I brought you some breakfast. Terrance told us not to feed you until he got some answers out of you, but you've been here for almost three days and when I saw that you fell asleep, I noticed your cheeks are starting to sink in and they are loosing their color." She pressed the back of her hand to my forehead. "And you're hot. I'm not supposed to be nice to you, but I-I can't help it."

She set a paper plate on my lap and went around the chair to untie my hands. "It's not the best quality since Wanda is cooking today. All I could get you was some eggs, a biscuit and water. Eat fast."

"Thank you," I smiled and picked up the biscuit. It tasted so good. I had not realized how parched and hungry I was until I took my first bite.

I thanked her again when I finished my meal.

"Hopefully I can sneak you in something for dinner," she said while retying my wrists. "I'm so sorry they are treating you this way because of your father."

I half-smiled. I had no idea why she was apologizing for something out of her control. "It's not your fault. It's Terrance's fault."

"Yeah. I thought he was a good guy when I first met him long ago—better than my husband—but I was wrong, so wrong, and now I'm stuck here."

"I'm sorry," I frowned. I wish I could help her but I was the one tied to the chair and not her.

"It's not your fault. It's Terrance's fault," she said and I smiled.

She stood up and almost walked out of the spotlight.

"What's your name?" I asked. I thought that if I could get out of here alive, I would help her get out of here too.

"It's not important," she said and hesitantly looked back at me. "Goodbye Piper."

"Wait!" I yelled, but she was gone and out of my sight.

•••

Staying in this chair all day was some kind of torture. I was going insane with the spotlight shining down on me but also not being able to see three yards in front of me.

I tried to sleep but whenever I laid my head back, the light shone through my eyelids making it very difficult. My hips where starting to strain from all the sitting. The ropes were painfully rubbing against my skin.

It seemed like a nice time to disappear. For a while, I wish I disappeared into thin air. I tried shouting but no one answered. I assumed it was nighttime. But who was I to know?

The generous lady without a name never came back. My stomach alerted me after four hours of her nonexistent arrival.

I let my mind wonder to her story, why she hadn't wanted me to know her name. She was beautiful like I'd imagine my mother would be at that age. She had smooth skin and dark silky hair.

•••

My head shot up when I heard a faint squeaky sound come from the darkness. Light footsteps were present also as if they were trying not to be caught.