then.”
On that note, he hits Smith with a cocky wink, spins on his heels, then stalks away.
18
Roxanne
“Are you okay?”
I drift my eyes from the only window in a room to my questioner. I’m not surprised when I discover the kind eyes of Audrey glancing down at me. Not only has she checked up on me multiple times today, she has a very faint voice. Even if we were the only two people in a soundproof room, I’d struggle to hear her.
I don’t know if her quiet stems from the other forty or so women crammed into the room with us treating her like a lecher or because her daughter isn’t held in the same room as her.
From what I gathered from the women with broken English, Fien lives downstairs. I could be wrong, but I’m reasonably sure her living arrangements aren’t recent. They kept saying ‘no’ while wiggling their fingers at Audrey. Although the rest of their sentences weren’t in English, I have a feeling Audrey understood them. Anytime they guide me away from her, she cowers instead of standing up for herself.
I’m a bit disappointed her personality doesn’t match her fiery hair coloring.
Redheads are usually hot-tempered. Audrey is as timid as they come.
When the worry in Audrey’s eyes doubles, it dawns on me that I didn’t answer her question. “Yeah. I’m okay. A little tender, but nothing I can’t handle.”
It seems as if a band is stretched across my mid-section, constantly tugging and pulling on my insides, but I can’t help but wonder if that’s because I can’t sit still. I’ve clawed at the deadbolt on the only door in and out of this room, endeavored to pull up the hardwood floors that are stronger than they look, and have been working on the nails hammered into the window to keep it shut.
The women captive with me find my endeavor to escape amusing. I’m not sure how to respond to their smiles. I’m annoyed by their lack of assistance, but I also understand it. Perhaps they tried as hard as I did their first few days here and soon learned their efforts were a woeful waste of time. I’ve only been going at it for a couple of hours, and I already feel my optimism dithering.
The concern in Audrey’s eyes shift to remorse before she asks, “Have you had any more bleeding?”
Her question is sincere, but it still stabs a knife into my chest. I’ve always believed you live the best life by leaving the past in the past. That’s a little hard to do when I’m continuously reminded about what I’ve lost.
With words alluding me, I shake my head. Bar the initial big bleed I had overnight, I’ve only detected the occasional smear of blood while using the bucket in the corner of the room. The brown-tinged byproduct had me hopeful my baby stood a chance, but Audrey quickly snuffed out that flare of optimism. She wasn’t cruel. She just knows how these things operate since she’s been here so long.
In a way, her bluntness could be seen as a godsend. If I were still pregnant, the goon who tortured me yesterday wouldn’t have left me alone today. He only has because he knows what my heart is trying to deny. I lost any chance of filling the memories Dimitri missed with Fien.
“You should eat something,” Audrey whispers just as the group of women mending loose hems notice she’s speaking to me. “You need to keep your strength up,” she adds while slowly sinking into the corner she’s been stationed at all day. “For when Dimitri comes, you need to be strong.”
She glances at me as if Dimitri’s sanity hinges more on me surviving this ordeal than her. Her gawk isn’t callous. It’s almost hopeful, which is odd considering it was her husband’s unborn child they stole from me.
My focus shifts from striving to work out Audrey’s peculiar personality when Fenna, the woman who hid me yesterday afternoon, runs her hand down my forearm. “Okay?” She nudges her head to Audrey. “She… no.”
“Know or no?” I ask when her accented words sound more like a question than a statement.
When she peers at me lost, I try another angle. “Me and you…” I gesture my hand between us, “… are friends. We like each other.”
“Like. Yes.” Her smile is bright enough to make me forget the horrible things she’s been through. It’s too beautiful for such a dark, horrid world. “I like...”
My heart warms when she touches my chest,