Captured by Him

Chapter 2

Picture of Artemis above

One month later...

I awake to the sound of knocking on my bedroom door. I pretend that I don't hear it, wanting to sleep all day.

"Artemis..." My door creaks open and I hear my mother cooing at me. "Artemis, sweetie. You need to get up."

I respond with a groan earning a chuckle from my mother. "Big days ahead! Up and at 'em!"

I hear the door close lightly and I decide to get up. I groan thinking about the days ahead.

Tomorrow is the day. The day I choose. So that means today is my last day with my family. I'm going to miss them so much.

I haven't even decided what I will choose yet. I've had a whole month to think about it, yet I'm still torn. I'm too worried that once I make a decision I'll regret it. But, my family seems to believe that there is no wrong decision.

Both of my parents chose to let the government choose their job. They said that they were both perfectly happy with their choices. It is how they met.

With a sigh I pry myself from my comfy bed and walk out of my room. I quickly take a shower and put on my everyday wear. Basically it's just some worn out jeans and a long sleeved henley. I through my long, blonde hair into a ponytail and head out towards the kitchen.

As I walk in I see my dad sitting at the table talking with Emy. I walk over and hug him good morning.

"Mornin', pumpkin." He says with a small smile. We all know what tomorrow is, but act like everything is normal.

I sit next to Emy and my mom places a bowl of oatmeal in front of me. I nod a quick thank you. We all eat in a peaceful silence.

"I'm going to miss you, Artemis." Emy all of a sudden says. I look over at my little sister and see her big, brown eyes peer up at me. Her eyes are watery and I can tell that she's about to cry.

I scoot my chair back a little so I can fit her in my lap. I scoop her up as silent tears run down her face.

"I won't be gone forever, Emy." I explain to her. But, I think she knows that I'm lying. She sniffs and her little arms hold me toghter; my words have no effect. Instead I just hug her tightly telling her over and over that I love her.

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"I'm going out." I say to no one in particular. I grab my boots and lace them up and quickly throw on my jacket.

I open the creaky door and step into the frigid air. I know I should be spending my last full day with my family, but I really need some alone time. After that episode with Emy, I locked myself in the bathroom and cried.

I'm usually a tough girl and don't ever cry, but these past few days have been hard. Knowing that leaving your family forever is inevitable, makes it even harder.

I don't have any friends, so I won't miss anyone else. Kids around my age usually hate me for some particular reason.

Maybe it's because of my sarcasm or snarkiness. I've never been all that friendly; whenever I joke around people take it too seriously. I gave up trying to make friends a long time ago.

While walking I spot Harvey's and make a beeline towards the little pub. Only older teenagers and a couple adults hang around here. I usually come for a drink and a quick chat with the owner, Harvey, when I feel down.

Today is one of those days, and I'll probably be drinking more than one glass.

Walking into the old, rickety pub I spot a couple people I know that are my age. I roll my eyes as I realize who they are. I pray that they don't see me, and thankfully, they don't.