Metamorphosis (Breaking Free, book 2)

Chapter 3-Rosy

"Hey Carrots, c' mere" A man across the room jeered, his face putrid and coated in a layer of sweat and dripping with beer. I glared at the wall in front of me, pretending I hadn't heard what he had said. Pretending I was somewhere light and sweet-smelling filled with laughter and happiness and not this dump truck of a place.

I wished that the chipped and peeling paint would spontaneously burst into flames, and I glared at it as if my eyes would do just that. The man coughed and yelled something at me again. Something smokey filled my lungs. Darting my head up I stared at the smoking wall in shock before it disappeared as fast as it had arrived. My eyes widened before I shook my head. It was just wishful thinking.

Glancing down to the floor, I let out a heavy sigh I wish that it would've actually burned. The shackles that bound my hands to my ankles jingled loudly as I walked over to the man and a couple of them guffawed at my walk of shame. Sticking out my upper lip, I faced the man in front of me. They weren't better than me. Not in their miserable drunken state, and not ever. The entire room smelled like puke and booze and urine. None of them were better than me. Not a single one.

I stood in front of the man who had called my name. I think his name was Heath. He smiled a toothy grin at me and reached out, pulling a strand of my hair. Wincing, I glared at the wall above him. He wasn't better than me. He could treat me like this all he wanted, but one day I would get him back. One day I would watch this whole place burn with him inside and he would regret ever touching me.

"What do ya' say we get out of here?" He slurred, yanking down on my hair again. Fury boiled in my stomach and every fiber of my being wanted to reach out and slap him across the face. I would relish in the sting of my palm against his cheek for a split second before they threw me to the wolves. A shudder ran down my spine at the thought of those yellow eyes and cracked hands.

No, I decided. I wouldn't slap him. Not today. I felt the lustful stares of the men around me, and I could practically hear them licking their lips. Not here. But one day I would get them all and they would regret the day they ever touched me.

"We could have some fun, me and you," He said, his voice low and gruff. I continued to glare at the wall. Something dark came over his face, and with a sudden jerk, he yanked my chin down to look at me. "You ain't nothin' special. You wanna go to the wolves, girly?" He hissed, spittle flying off the edge of his lip. I shook my head, an undignified whimper crawling up my throat. like a switch had flipped, he smiled at me, letting go of my chin.

"Go get more booze," He said, his voice sickly sweet. Letting out a breath I didn't know I had been holding, I wandered off in search of the kitchen.

The men laughed and reached for me as I passed, one man reaching out and grabbing my ass. Whipping around to face him, I fixed him with a venomous glare and spit in his face. The man's eyes widened and turned dark, his face turning sour as he wiped the spit from his face. With a shock of realization, I recognized this man. I recognized his dark eyes and hair, his pale white scar on his chin, and the unhinged madness hidden just behind his eyes.

"Murderer," I hissed. The man narrowed his eyes, and I shivered. I remembered when there was a nest of snakes behind my house and Milo, Cooper and I had all resigned ourselves to be the heroes of the community and kill them.

We had sauntered up to the nest, a bunch of twelve-year-olds who believed that they were the most important people ever, with long, wooden baseball bats in tow. When we struck the nest, our bats broke against the ground, leaving all three of us to deal with the angry nest of snakes coming our way. All three of us had landed ourselves in the emergency room, and I could still remember the stinging pain and the look in those snake's eyes to this day. It was the same look that man had, and I knew without a doubt that pain would follow.