I hate her. I could never hate her. Farren loves with her whole being, and until my father cast his shadow over her with his narrow-minded disgust, she used to shine so brightly it was nearly blinding. Now her eyes are dull, like low hanging dark gray clouds that signal an oncoming storm. Piece by piece, Father is slowly deconstructing everything she is and remodeling her into what he believes she should be. I let her think I don’t love her because I don’t know how else to protect her.
If I thought my father would touch Farren sexually, I’d have burst into her room the moment he entered it. It kills me to leave her at his mercy, but I can use his distraction against him. My father is only intent on keeping the young woman trapped downstairs alive so he can continue to brutalize and rape her while cruelly torturing my sister. I’m surprised she hasn’t died from starvation already with the meager rations he allows her. It will be easier to give the poor girl something extra to eat and drink while he’s occupied upstairs with Farren.
Glancing up at the stairs and trying in vain not to think about what might be happening in my sister’s room right now, I quickly prepare a light meal and make my way to the basement. Heaving out a sigh, I open the door, and flicking the light on, I walk down the stairs, carrying a bottle of water and two ziplocks: one containing sandwiches and the other holding apple slices.
I cross the basement and head for the cage, gritting my teeth together at the now familiar sight of the bars and the young woman imprisoned behind them. I stop short when I see her sleeping face and the surprising lack of bare skin on display. I don’t need to ask where she got the blanket, and my lips twist up faintly in recognition. Farren gave it to her.
How my sister managed to sneak down here with the blanket and avoid getting caught will forever elude me. I’m surprised she risked our father’s wrath by interfering, although I can understand the reason for her kindness. I’m sure she feels responsible for what’s happening down here, but it’s not her fault. She’s not to blame and never will be. She didn’t ask for this any more than the woman sleeping in front of me did. Guilt burns like acid in my stomach because even though I know the combination to the lock and could easily set her free, I won’t risk my sister’s life.
I whisper so quietly it’s no louder than a breath, “I’m sorry.”
I don’t know if she hears me or simply senses she’s no longer alone, but her eyes fly open, locking with mine before widening in horror. She sits bolt upright, bunching the blanket in her fists like I’m going to steal it away from her. The woman doesn’t speak to me, and while I should know better than to try and engage her in conversation, I still talk to her.
“I’m not going to take it from you. Farren gave it to you, didn’t she?”
She looks at me like I’m just another beast in this house here to hurt her. I hate that I’m a monster of my father’s making. Her eyebrows pull together with worry, and her gaze flicks behind me, no doubt searching to see if my father or Farren are coming down for another lesson.
“It’s okay. My father’s upstairs with Farren. They’re doing...homework,” I manage to grit out between my teeth as I recollect the moans I heard before I came down here, pouring into my ears like water and drowning me.
I shake my head to clear my thoughts and move over to the cage door. I carefully input the code 8347, and pressing the button on the padlock, I release the shackle and remove it. All the while I keep watch to make sure she doesn’t try to break out. Father would sooner kill her than let her escape and bring the cops down on us for kidnap, imprisonment, and rape. Not that we wouldn’t deserve it, and more, for what’s been done to her.
I know for a fact that by the time the police arrived, it would be too late. He’d kill this woman and Farren to make me suffer, and then finish me off for allowing the woman to escape in the first place. He’s a ruthless, merciless bastard, who cares more about the