Forever Yours

Chapter 15

The sound of the water dripping from the leaking ceiling echoed off the damp walls of the cold room. The rough rope dug into my wrists and ankles, sure to leave unfading scars. The sound of glass shattering woke me up from my half-dazed state. I looked up to see a buff guy looming over me, a wicked smirk on his face.

"She's awake," he called out. "What should I do?"

"Leave us," said an oddly familiar voice from the door at the far end of the room. A tall figure marched up to us, the footsteps echoing through the room. A chill ran down my spine, making me shudder. A few seconds later, I could see his shoes in front of my eyes. I slowly looked up and squinted through my disoriented vision. Slowly, my vision cleared and I finally saw the face of the person standing in front of me. For a moment, relief and hope filled me, and I smiled up at him thinking that he had come to rescue me. But all hope soon vanished when his lips turned up in a cruel sneer, and his eyes turned dark.

"Leave," he barked at the person standing next to us. The person quietly obeyed and walked away, leaving us alone in the dimly lit room. The door clicked shut and then there were two. We stared at each other, me at him with utter horror and disgust and him at me with pure malice.

"Time to play now, Hails," he nudged my ankle with his foot before kicking me in the side and making me curl with pain on the wet floor. He crouched down in front of me and gripped my chin roughly, forcing me to look at him.

"Why are you doing this?" I looked at him, hurt and confused by his actions. "You are my brother's best friend," I said, trying to make sense of his actions. He said nothing and instead rolled his eyes, smirking.

"I was never his 'friend', Hails" he scoffed. "He was just a toy to get me closer to you, the one I really want."

"What do you mean?" I whispered, scared. I didn't like the predatory look in his eyes.

"You may not remember me, but I remember you clearly - the daughter of the man who ruined my family. Well, it's my turn to return the favour now," he sneered.

"I- I don't understand. You were there for me when I needed you. You were my friend, Derek." I whimpered.

"Well, not anymore Hails," he said and brought down his hand, punching me unconscious.

---

I woke up in a cold sweat, breathing hard. Just then my alarm rang and I turned it off before taking a deep breath and getting up. That was a horrible nightmare. It was horrifyingly vivid – each detail exactly as it had happened. I could still feel the cold, damp wind of the underground basement I had been trapped in for four days. I shivered at the mere memory of him mentioning my dad. That was a topic I had sworn to not bring up ever again.

A knock at my door brought me out of my thoughts.

"Yes?" I called out and opened the door.

"Get ready and come downstairs," my mom smiled at me.

"Okay I'll be there in a few minutes," I smiled back. She turned around to leave but suddenly faced me again.

"Happy birthday, sweetie," she said and kissed my forehead. I hugged her and thanked her. "I'll be waiting downstairs." With that, she turned on her heels and went downstairs.

Forty five minutes later I was walking down the staircase to the kitchen where everyone was gathered. I entered and was immediately swept into a bear hug by my dad. I laughed and hugged him back.

"Happy birthday, honey," He said and planted a loud kiss on my cheek. "You look pretty."

"Thanks dad," I laughed and pulled out of the hug. I had decided upon a simple black high-waist jeans paired with a white crop top and black leather jacket, black boots completing the look. I looked badass, not kidding.