Chapter 1 #2
“Okay.”
We’ve been living in the abandoned house for nearly a month now, and it hasn’t been so bad. We’ve fixed it up a bit, made it our own.
Silva says we can’t get too comfortable, and that eventually we’ll need to move on before whoever owns this place shows up. Until then, this is where we’ve made a home.
When I spot Silva grabbing her backpack, I put the book that I’m reading down and sit up on the couch. “Where are you going?”
“Into town. We’re running low on food.”
“I’m coming with you.” I go for my coat, but she grabs my arm.
“No. You’re staying here.”
“Silva!” I huff. “I love you, I do, but you're not my big sister, and you’re not responsible for me. We’re twins, equals. We protect each other. I hate it when you go into town alone, it’s not safe.”
“I don’t want to risk you,” she says, green eyes hard as emerald stones.
“And what? I should keep letting you go alone, so if something bad happens, it happens to you and not me?”
“Exactly.”
“You’re crazy, you know that?”
“Not the first time I’ve been told that.” She shrugs.
“I’m going. That's final.”
“Lexi, just stay here. I won’t be long.”
“No.” I shake my head, grabbing my coat. “I’m coming. And if you try to stop me, I’ll just follow you.”
“Fine,” she huffs. “But we’re in and out. No talking to people, and try not to look like we are hiding something.”
“That I can do.”
As soon as we step out into the cool winter breeze, I shiver and clamp my teeth together, not letting Silva see. I don’t need the I told you so she would no doubt give me.
Thankfully, we’re dressed for the weather, but the walk is brutal.
By the time we get into town and stop for a coffee and to warm up, my feet are frozen, and I regret coming.
Still, there was no way I was going to stay alone at the house again and worry for hours on end about whether my sister was going to make it back.
“Warm or iced coffee?” she asks me as I rub my hands together, blowing warm air on them.
“Warm, please.”
She huffs, a small smile curving her lips. “That's surprising. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you drink it warm.”
“Well, I think a day like today calls for it.”
She orders while I get us a table far away from everyone, but close to the cute little fireplace they have.
Once I start to warm up, I take a moment to look around. It’s mid-January in Washington, and the weather is awful. I hate snow, and so does my sister. It makes us both grumpy bitches. If we could hibernate and wake up in spring, we would.
We didn’t last past the first night with the no-lighting-a-fire rule. Unless we wanted to die, we needed the heat. Thankfully, we’re so far out in the middle of nowhere—it’s literally a damn two-hour walk—that no one has seemed to notice.
A few minutes later, Silva joins me, handing me my coffee. “Careful, it’s hot.”
“That’s fine, I’ll use it as a hand warmer for now,” I laugh.
We sit in silence, not wanting to have a conversation that would draw attention to ourselves. It’s kind of nice, though. The sound of people coming and going, the laughter and chatter of people around us.
By the time we’re done with our coffees, we’re warmed up enough to get going.
As we leave the coffee shop, I get a weird feeling like someone is watching us. Looking around, I try to see what it could be.
“What’s wrong?” Silva asks, sensing my unease.
“Nothing,” I murmur, my eyes going back to hers. “I just have a weird feeling.”
She looks around, on high alert. “Come on.” She takes my hand. “Let’s do our shopping and get back. It’s a long walk, and I want to get home before dark.”
Nodding, I follow her.
An hour later, we have everything we need.
Thankfully, the walk back isn’t as bad as earlier. It warmed up a bit, and the snow has stopped sprinkling down on us. The only downside is that the snow is turning to slush, and an hour into our walk back, my feet are wet.
“How much do you wish you stayed back?” Silva asks, grinning smugly over at me.
“Fuck you,” I huff, making her laugh. “Whatever.”
We chat about our plans and what we want to do next. Silva has been using the library computer to look for jobs that include room and board. There are a few options for live-in maids that we are hopeful for. She’s just making sure we can either work at the same place or within the same town.
We don’t have enough money to rent a place, so it’s the best plan we have.
Once we get back, we start a fire and hang our wet clothes up to dry. Silva makes us chicken soup, and honestly, it’s the best thing on a day like today.
When night comes, we cuddle up in bed like we do every night and fall asleep.
The next time I wake up, it’s to Silva shaking me awake. “Lexi!” she hisses in my ear.
“What’s going on?” I groan, rubbing my eyes.
Her hand covers my mouth, and my body goes still. “Be quiet,” she hisses. “Someone is in the house.”
My eyes widen, fear spiking through me.
The sound of whispers and footsteps getting closer has me whimpering, pure terror taking over.
“We need to get out of here. Now.”
I nod, and Silva removes her hand. She carefully goes to the window and looks outside. “Fuck,” she whispers and comes back. “I can’t see anything. I don’t know who, or how many people are here.”
“Do you think it’s the owners?”
She shakes her head. She’s trying to stay calm, but I can see the fear in her eyes mirroring mine. “I don’t think they would decide to come back in the middle of the night.”
“Do you think it’s them?” I swallow hard, thinking of my foster brothers.
“I don’t know,” Silva says, voice shaky.
She goes to the door and grabs the bat we have leaning against it. “We have to go out the window,” she says.
Nodding, I get out of bed, and we both put on our snow gear.
I guess it wasn’t a stupid idea when Silva suggested we have it close by just in case.
My hands are shaking, and I’m trying not to cry or puke, but it’s hard when I’m so damn afraid.
Just as we’re done getting our gear on, the door bursts open. I can’t help the scream, my eyes going to the door. Three men loom in the doorway. Not our foster brothers.
“Look. We’re sorry if this is your house,” I sob out. “We didn’t mean any harm.”
“Lexi, shut up.” Silva stands in front of me. “Go. Now,” she hisses.
My eyes snap to the window. I run and try to push it open, but it doesn’t budge. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I look down and let out a sob. It’s nailed shut. Fucking nailed shut.
“Silva,” her name comes out as a broken sob.
“Come with us,” one of the guys demands. “And no one gets hurt.”
“Fuck that!” Silva sneers, swinging the bat as he lunges for her. She manages to get a few hits in, but he grabs her when she goes for the third hit.
“Let her go!” I scream, grabbing whatever I can get my hands on, throwing it at the men fighting with her.
There's no point. The other two men rush in and grab me. I kick and scream, as does Silva. I bite and curse until I feel something sharp prick my neck, and then everything goes black.
I awake with a gasp, shooting up into a seated position. My stomach rolls, my head pounds, and everything spins. Groaning, I place my face in my hands, giving myself a moment for the world to come to a stop before I open my eyes.
“Lexi!” Silva’s voice has me looking up, eyes blurry. “You’re awake.”
“What's going on?” I ask, feeling woozy, like I’m drunk. “Where are we?”
“Fuckers drugged us!” Silva growls. “I’m gonna kill them. I’m going to kill all of them!”
“I’d advise against trying that,” a feminine voice sounds nearby.
“Who are you?” Silva demands. “And where are we?”
“You are at the Henderson Estate. This will be your new home.”
“What the fuck do you mean new home?” Silva shouts. “You can’t do this. You can’t keep us. This is kidnapping! When the police find out, you’re all going to be in trouble.”
“And who will call the police?” this woman asks.
I still can’t see her, but I can just make out her body shape.
“You have no friends and no family. You two are all alone.” She sighs sadly.
“But no worries. You two are safe now, and we are your new family. You will be well cared for here, and you will become the perfect Omegas. When the time comes, you will never want for anything in life.”
“You’re crazy. You all are crazy! What is this place?” Silva asks.
“It’s a place that will teach you to be the perfect Omega,” she repeats like some damn robot. “By the time you leave, you will be exactly what your Alpha wants and needs.”
“W-what?” she stutters as this woman's words sink in.
“You are now the property of Gideon. We will care for you and teach you the ways. When you turn twenty-one, you will be matched with your perfect Alpha.”
“You mean sold,” Silva laughs, but it sounds a little manic. “We’ve been kidnapped and sex trafficked.” She begins to laugh harder and harder. “Holy fuck. Oh my god, Holy fuck.”
My head spins, and my stomach turns as Silva’s words replay in my head over and over and again.
We’ve been kidnapped. We’re being held until they choose to sell us.
As the world goes black again, I wish we had never left the foster home. I’d rather be raped by them than be imprisoned against our will.
At least then, we could have gone to the cops and had them arrested.
Here, we hold no power. We’re the forgotten. No one is coming for us, because the only people who care about us are... well, us.