Amber Alert [Published - Sample only]

Chapter 3- "Why am I here?"

I was going to throw up, I had to hold it or I’d be forced to clean it up. Steve slammed the door shut as he left the house. Once the front door closed, I ran toward the bathroom and barely opened the toilet lid before I threw up. My eyes shut tight as my hands gripped around the toilet bowl. Images flashed in my mind rapidly, with controllable speed. I could see Andy's death, Steve taking me, his kisses, the pressure of his body against me and I could hear him calling me Kelly. My stomach retched and my head was almost in the bowl this time at the force.

It took a few minutes for my stomach to calm down. I tried to keep the images from my mind so that I could stop. I pictured anything else I could, pets,, my family, and even Garrett. Garrett was flashing into my mind more often the longer I sat there, filling me with guilt. Andy was dead because of me and here I am thinking about some other guy that I don't even know and won't help me escape. That's when the mental images of Steve hitting Garrett repeatedly came to mind. I felt another retch in my stomach as bent over again, the experience of had my knees weak and sent me crashing to the floor in a heap. Everything had finally caught up with me: his name, the rules, my morning, Andy's death, abuse and the kidnapping. It was all a lot to process and I couldn't handle it at all.

After an hour, I was able to leave the bathroom. Garrett hadn't left his room since Steve went to work, leaving me running though the house trying desperately to get out.  My footsteps echoed through the house, I was sure Garrett could hear me walking around from inside his room. All the doors were locked in place, except the front door and I couldn't force that one open even if Garrett did help me. The windows were all boarded shut, and it looked like every escape route I could think of was sealed them off. Maybe the same one’s the other girls used. Logical, smart and over powering, he definitely had done this before..

"Are you okay, whatever your name is?" Garrett asked from behind me. I jumped, he needed to stop coming up behind me, it was going to get old really quick. I turned to see Garrett with concern in his eyes as he looked upon my vibrating frame, but soon I noticed something else. He wasn't wearing a shirt.

My eyes landed  on the muscles he had. He must have spent his days here exercising, there was nothing else to do. I bit my lip as I felt a calming feeling come over me as Garrett stepped toward me. I realized that I wanted him to be close to me.. I saw his eyes change as he tilted his head in confusion like a puppy.

"Do I look okay? My name is Anna by the way," I said letting venom drip from my words. I hoped that my anger would scare him off so he'd get away from me and leave me alone. He wasn’t going to help me escape, if anything he was going to keep me here.

His eyes flickered, the concern gone, and fury taking its place. "Look I was just asking! I didn't do this to you!"

"You might as well have!" I retorted as my stomach clenched again. I raced back to the restroom, and threw up in the toilet again. Garrett took my hair as it started to fall out of my ponytail in clumps. He waited for me to stop before he dropped me hair and continued our argument where we left off.

"I haven't done anything to you but help!"

"You haven't helped me! Oh great, you washed dishes and asked if I was okay, what the hell does that do for me here?" I yelled at him. How could he think that was helping me? All he did was basically tell me I told you so!

"It's the only kindness you'll get here." His words, as truthful as they were, stung. Steve would be 'kind' if I behaved and followed the rules. It made me sick to think about the kindness I would receive from him, but Garrett had been nice, even went against Steve's rules.

"Why am I here?" I asked, trying to find answers and hopefully a solution.

"He wants the perfect family again. My mom died, and since then he has been trying to re-live it." He answered looking at me sadly. I must look awful puking all morning. I laughed at the thought, making him angry, "You think that's funny? My mother died and you think that's funny?"