Sinbound

One

There are many days when he is too drunk to remember locking the door before going out, days when I have the time to run. But I never do, I lack courage. What if he catches me? He will punish me twice as hard.

Not today.

I ran inside as soon as I heard the front door shut, I stole money from his cupboard, enough for me to buy food for 3 days. I shoved my only two dresses inside a backpack with the money and a few packets of food from the kitchen. I checked the window at front to confirm that he wasn't around to lock me back inside.

I fastened the shoe laces on the torn shoes that he had given me.

"Why do you even need shoes? You aren't going outside anytime soon, darling." he had said when I hesitantly asked him for a new pair.

I checked once again and slowly opened the front door and then the screen door. The fresh air hit my nostrils and a smile crept up on my face. It had been 13 days and 4 hours since he had last let me breath in fresh air by opening the window of my room for a few minutes before screwing it shut again. None of his neighbours even knew that he had me hostage inside his condo.

I lived in that hellhole for 3 years, yet, I didn't even look back as I ran away. I had always remembered the roads of this city, I had grown up here. I hadn't been outside in 3 whole years but I wasn't even looking where I was going, my feet carried me towards home. I ran as fast as I could but very soon I got tired.

I wasn't healthy, I was never given the proper amount of food that I required. He gave me just a measuring bowl for food and I wasn't supposed to eat in anything else, he checked the amount of food that I took in that bowl, stopped me when it went over the line. I was weak and boney, my ribs poked out and I had very little strength. The distance I managed to run was purely on adrenalin.

I stopped outside a fast food restaurant and ordered a large pizza. I stuttered while I ordered, I had stayed away from people for so long that I was having trouble talking to them. When my food arrived, I finished it in a few minutes, I didn't care if it was burning my tongue or it took a while to go down my dry throat, I stuffed my face and ate. I finished my food and paid for it from the money I stole.

It was basically my money because that bastard earned mostly because of me. He kept me inside, called people over to rape me and then took their money like I was a prostitute, I didn't even have strength to fight them off of me. To add to it, he took my naked pictures and sold them on the internet, at least I got him to cut out my face from them.

I walked a little more and borrowed a bicycle from a stand nearby. I rode the bike around familiar streets and finally reached my destination.

Home.

I walked up the stairs and rung the doorbell. He opened the door while talking to someone inside.

He looked at me and his eyes widened. In the next second, my twin brother shut the door in my face and I just stood there, confused. Then very slowly, he opened the door again.

"Paris, is that you?" he asked.

"Yes, brother. Now let me in."

"Oh my God. Are you sure you are not a ghost?" he asked again, a slight confusion in his voice.

"No, I am not a ghost Mike." I confirmed.

He stepped aside and I walked inside. Everything was the same, slightly messier but everything at its place, nothing had changed other than the people, my brother and me.

"How? What? Wha-" he asked.

"Do you have food?" I was hungry again and no one could blame me.

"Yes, just ordered Chinese, it will take some time. How are you alive?"