by J. P.
“Prisoner?” Luke asks.
He must be joking around. He’s such an asshole. I smirk as I pull away from him and meet his eyes. The second I see his face, my stomach drops.
“This has been fun and all, but I really need to get back to work,” Luke says, his evil smirk staying glued to his lips.
I pull away from him as if he were on fire. I jump off of him and scramble off of the bed. The past few minutes replay in my head and an embarrassed blush burns my cheeks as I try to keep my heart from shattering.
Luke studies me for a few moments. “Oh, you thought…” he trails off before he starts laughing. “Sorry, babe. I told you, you’re not my type.” He stands and struts away from me before he disappears into his room.
Immediately, my skin crawls. I stare at his door for a while, waiting for him to come out and apologize, telling me this whole joke has gone too far. I don’t know why I can’t get it through my head that he’s not joking. This is real. He’s evil. Why didn’t I push him away? There was something about him that was so genuine. It was like he was the Luke I knew back in Laguna Beach.
This is it. I have to accept it. The Luke I knew was never real.
8
I jump out of bed when I hear a pounding at the door. Luke runs to get it as he motions for me to stay back.
“Finally. How heavy of a sleeper are you?” Olivia asks as she walks into the room.
“What the hell, Olivia?” Luke snaps.
“You have to be downstairs in ten minutes. Trish and Tate are going to arrive any minute.” Olivia looks around Luke and spots me. “Hey, Nina.”
Luke scowls at her. “Okay, I’ll be down in a second,” he says as he opens the door for her to leave.
“What about her?” Olivia asks as she juts her chin in my direction.
“She’ll stay here,” Luke says.
“With no guard?”
“She’ll be fine. I’ll lock the door. Only you and I have keys to the room.”
She shrugs before she leaves the apartment.
I climb back into bed as Luke hurries to change. I check the clock, and it’s only seven in the morning. I might as well sleep for a little longer since I’m going to be here for a while, alone. I shut my eyes as I pull the covers back up to my chin. I hear Luke’s door shut, and then the door to the apartment slams.
I close my eyes again and try to fall asleep, but I can’t. I get up suddenly and start pacing around the room. I feel like I’m going crazy. Something about all of this isn’t making sense. Luke is telling me he feels one way, but I don’t think it’s true, and Olivia is weirdly on my side.
I take advantage of my time alone, and I search the entire apartment for a way out.
I spot the window and slowly make my way over to it before I place my hands on the cool glass. I’m about to try and push it open when I notice a small, white rectangle to the right. It’s probably an alarm. What good is escaping if they will hear me trying to leave and bring me right back? I’ll have to find another way.
I’ve checked my room, the bathroom, the closet, and the sitting room, but I haven’t found anything. I stand in front of the door to Luke’s room, the last place I have to look. I swing the door open and step inside.
It looks just as empty as the first time I saw it two days ago. His sheets are crumpled from when he slept in them, but besides that, the room is tidy. I look under his bed and find nothing of importance. The small closet further in the room doesn’t provide any help. I recognize some of the articles of clothing inside like Luke’s leather jacket, his hoodie from the night he told me he loved me, his ripped jeans. I frown when his scent fills my nose. I slam the closet door shut and move on.
I reach the side table and pull the drawer open. The only things inside are a comb, a platinum band that looks like it’s a ring, and a wooden stake. I debate taking the stake, but he would know it’s missing. It’s good to know that it’s here.
I sigh in frustration as I fall onto the floor dramatically. I realize that while I’ve been in this room, I stopped searching for a way out and started looking for clues to figure out what happened to Luke. I tip my head back, suddenly exhausted, and accidentally hit the back of my head on the bed. I curse as I hear something fall to the floor. I sit up straight, startled, and I turn around to find something shiny under his bed.
I reach down and take the gold chain from the floor. I gasp when I recognize that it’s my necklace with the letter “N” stamped into a gold circle. I haven’t seen this since we fled Termin. I was wearing it when Ethan took us to the warehouse. Once we escaped, I put it on my side table in Laguna Beach and never picked it back up again.
Luke having my necklace could mean a lot of things. He could be using it as a trophy, but if that were the case, why would he be hiding it? Why not put it on display where everyone can see his achievements. He’s going to be angry if he knows that I know about it, but I don’t care. Let’s test again exactly what Luke will do if he gets angry. I clasp the necklace around my neck, feeling defiant, and I shut his door behind me.
I look around the apartment, suddenly buzzing with energy. Now what do I do? I grab Pride and Prejudice off the shelf and fall back onto my bed. I read for a while, take a shower, reorganize the closet, and when I look at the clock again, it’s only noon. Just as I am about to reorganize the closet again, my door opens.
“Hey, Nina,” Olivia says as she struts into the room. “Ready to train?”
I perk up, glad that I’m not entertaining myself anymore, but immediately deflate at the thought of training. “I kind of suck at it.”
“No, you don’t. Everyone is bad at first.”
“Really?” I ask.
Olivia opens her mouth and then shakes her head. “No, you do kind of suck.” She plasters a smile on her face. “But it’s okay, I’m going to train you on how to be better. Go change, hurry up.”
I walk back into the sitting area two minutes later, and Olivia is nowhere to be found. “Olivia?” I ask into the empty room. I tune into the sounds of the apartment, and I hear her heartbeat coming from Luke’s room.
I know what she’s trying to do. Going on the offense didn’t work well for me yesterday, so now she’s going to force me to defend myself. She’s pretty smart.
Slowly, I make my way towards Luke’s room, my heart pounding in my chest, and open the door. I know that walking into the room will put me at a disadvantage because she could be anywhere in the room, but I don’t really know if I have any other options.
As soon as I slip into the room, I feel her hand wrap around my neck from the right, and she pulls me backward, my head slamming onto the floor.
I know my head is bleeding, but I ignore it for now. I look around, thinking about what to do when I see her ankles. I grab them and pull. I hear her butt hit the floor, and she kicks at my hands, trying to get her ankles free. I don’t let go as I slide her across the floor, release her ankles and scurry out of the room. I shut the door behind me, but Olivia kicks the door down, pieces of wood scattering all over the floor.
I stare at her in shock for a moment but quickly refocus as she runs after me. I move to the right and stick my heel out, hoping to trip her, but she sees my trick as she elbows me hard in my side and grabs my wrist, twisting my arm so that it sits at an unnatural angle. I hear it crack, but Olivia doesn’t stop. I spin the other half of my body back around to untangle my arm and punch her in the jaw at the same time. Immediately, guilt floods my stomach. I don’t know what came over me.
“I’m so—” I start to apologize when she lunges at me, and we both tumble to the floor. Olivia’s knees press down on my arms, making me immobile. I try to squirm while she lifts her plastic stake up.
“You’re going to die if you don’t get out of this. Is that all you’ve got?” she asks me as she brings the stake down in slow motion.
I think about what dying would mean. I would have to leave this world with so many things unfinished. I can’t die right now, even if it
isn’t real.
I use all my energy to throw the right side of my body over, and Oliva falls off of me. I reach for her arms and pin her to the floor.
“That was good,” she says with a bright smile. “Let’s take a break.”
I release her as we both try to catch our breath.
“You have good instincts, you’re just too scared to act on them. What are you so afraid of?” Olivia asks.
“I don’t like fighting,” I tell her with a shrug.
“My father killed your mother. He tortures you and your family. You guys could be living a normal life right now if it wasn’t for him and his followers. You’re telling me you don’t want to hurt him?”
I think about her question for a while. “It just seems silly. It’s like a never-ending cycle of violence.” I shake my head as I think. “I want him in a cell where he can rot and never do this to another family again.”
Olivia tips her head to the side as she thinks. “It’s a nice thought. If that’s what you want, I hope you get it. The thing is, though, that’s not really how this works. The people that are holding you captive don’t want to talk to you, they want to kill you. You need to be more aggressive when training, so when they come at you, you don’t freeze. Next time, no holding back. Deal?” She holds her hand out to me.
I think about what she just said, and I guess it makes a lot of sense. “Deal,” I say as I shake her hand.
After she releases my hand, she starts moving her arms, legs, and head, checking for anything broken, I assume. “I don’t think anything of mine is broken, but I definitely broke your elbow.” She takes my arm in her hands and frowns. “How fast can you heal?”
I remember what Luke and my dad told me about not telling people that I’m a fast healer. “I don’t know,” I say with a shrug, feigning innocence.
“Okay,” Olivia says as she gives me a funny look. “It didn’t heal properly, so we’re going to have to break it again, and then you have to hold your arm like this, so it heals the right way.” She bends her elbow at a right angle.
“What? I didn’t know that was a thing.”
“Some bones are like that,” she says with a shrug as she takes my arm in her hands. “This shouldn’t hurt, but sorry if it does.” She snaps my elbow as if it were a twig. I don’t feel any pain, but I feel the impact which causes me to wince. “Are you okay?” Olivia asks as she bends my broken arm and takes my other arm, silently telling me to hold it there.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Good. Now let me see your head, I think it was bleeding, and judging by the smell in here, it still is.” She stands behind me, and I feel her fingers moving across the back of my head. “Shit,” I hear her say under her breath. “Okay, don’t tell Luke.”
“Don’t tell me what?” Luke asks as he walks into the room.
“Shit,” Olivia repeats.
Luke’s eyes graze over me, and his face hardens. “Olivia, what did I tell you? You were not to harm the prisoner.”
“A little roughing up will do her good,” she says as she sashays back in front of me. “C’mon, prisoner. We never got to do our strength training. Let’s do some leg lifts.”
“Olivia—”
“Luke, you need to chill out.” Olivia rolls her eyes as she looks back over to me. “Watch out for that elbow, though. Keep holding it the right way, so it doesn’t heal all weird.”
“You should go.” Luke crosses his arms over his chest as he stares at her.
“You should go. Tate likes you more anyways. You should go spend time with our darling little sister,” Olivia snaps.
“Olivia—”
“Luke, you’re pissing me off.” She turns away from him and looks back at me. “Alright, leg lifts.”
I lie on the floor while I lift my legs up, and Olivia holds my ankles. She pushes my legs down to the floor, and I stop them before they hit the tile and lift them back up again. I hug both arms into my chest so that my elbow heals correctly.
“Once you get stronger, you’ll be unstoppable,” Olivia tells me. She’s seemed to have cooled off.
Luke sits on the couch, watching us as he scowls.
“You should’ve seen her, Luke. She’s a natural.”
“Olivia,” Luke hisses. He points to the air with his finger. “If you want to go against Dad’s orders, fine, but leave me out of it.”
“He’s not listening to the mics. Not when Tate and Trish are in town,” Olivia says as she pushes my ankles down again.
Mics? Ethan has been listening to us?
“How long are they staying for?” Olivia asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I’m not sure,” Luke answers. “I think they’re having some banquet thing tonight to welcome them home.”
“Gross.” Olivia rolls her eyes. “I’ll pass. You go on behalf of both of us, and I’ll babysit Nina.”
“Olivia, you know he’s going to make you go.” Luke gives her a look.
“I’d like to see him try.” Olivia pushes my legs extra hard. “Sorry, Nina.”
“It’s okay,” I say as I hoist my legs back up, my abdominal muscles starting to ache.
“You’re just going to make him angry,” Luke warns.
“I’m not afraid of him,” she scoffs.
“Sure.” Luke rolls his eyes.
“In case you forgot, I’m the one that’s been stuck here all these years while you’ve been out playing double agent.” She shoves my legs away from her as she glares at her brother.
“Chill, Olivia. If you want to get out of here, just leave.”
Tears spring up in Olivia’s eyes as she wipes them away. “You’re being a dick. I’m so over this version of you.”
Luke glares at her, and they stare at each other for a long time, as if they were having a private conversation.
Without even thinking about it, I push myself up into a seated position on the floor.
Olivia’s eyes snap over to me, and she furrows her brow. “What the hell?”
Just like that, all the tension disappears from the room.
Olivia rushes over to me and starts to bend my elbow for me, feeling to see if everything is working correctly. “Wow, your healing is no joke.” She glances at Luke, who’s scowling at both of us. “Do yourself a favor. Don’t tell my dad.”
“He might already know now since you’re saying all of this in a room with mics,” Luke reminds her.
“I told you, he’s not listening.” She smirks at him. “Especially since I disconnected the mics after the first day she was here.”
Luke’s jaw drops, and a few seconds later, he starts laughing. “That’s a good one. Why wouldn’t you tell me sooner?”
“Because I’m mad at you.” She stands and then holds her hand out to help me up as Luke continues to laugh. “Seriously, though, you’re becoming a dick. It’s getting hard to tell what’s real and what’s not.”
Luke looks like he might explode. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you don’t.” Olivia rolls her eyes before she turns to me. “You should go hit the showers before we have to leave for the party.”
“She’s not coming,” Luke argues.
“I’m ignoring you from now on,” Olivia says as she makes her way to the door.
I leave the room before I get in the middle of one of their fights and take my second shower of the day. I throw on a pair of leggings and a sweater, my new usual outfit. I keep my “N” necklace hidden in my underwear drawer, where I stashed it before when I changed into workout gear. I don’t want to play that card just yet. I return to the sitting room thirty minutes later and find Luke sitting on the couch.
“Ethan is expecting you downstairs. Let’s go.” He doesn’t wait for me before he walks out of the room.
9
Unlike last time when everyone’s heads turned, nobody seems to notice as Luke and I make our way through the room. After walking about five feet, Olivia walks over to us.
“Ta
ke her,” Luke says as he glances at me like I’m disgusting.
Olivia takes my arm and leads me off to the side of the room to the same wooden chair that I sat in last time. She gently pushes me down and takes my arms behind my back. She ties them and then makes her way back around to face me.
“Good job. Keep looking down. No one is even looking at you,” Olivia says to me.
“Olivia!”
“I jinxed us,” Olivia says with a sigh.
My head snaps up at the juvenile voice, and I feel my brow furrow as I notice the young girl walking towards us. She can’t be older than three years old.
“Hi Tate,” Olivia says in a dull voice.
The girl stares at me with her crystal blue eyes. “Who’s that?”
“No one. Run along.” Olivia places her hand on Tate’s back and tries to guide her away, but Tate doesn’t budge.
“I’m Tate.” The girl takes a step forward, towards me and Olivia jumps in front of us.
“Tate, go find Luke.”
I watch as Tate’s shoulder sag. “Fine.” She disappears into the room as Olivia sighs in relief.
“That could’ve been a nightmare. If my dad saw you with Tate, he would’ve had a cow.”
I half-listen to her as I look around the room now. They’re eating “half-breeds” as they call them. Us. I’m one of them. I turn away and spot the werewolf leaning against the wall again. His eyes meet mine, and he scowls at me before he turns away.
“And this…” I hear Ethan’s voice and turn to my left, where I see him walking over with a woman on his arm. “Is my latest achievement. This is Nina Blair, daughter of Aaron Blair.”
“The Aaron Blair?” the woman asks as her eyes widen.
“That’s right, my dear. I have finally done it. I’ve captured the daughter of my greatest enemy.” Ethan looks at me and smiles, but it looks like more of a snarl.
“Isn’t Marcy technically your greatest enemy?” Olivia asks.
“Hush you. You’ve been getting on my last nerve,” Ethan snaps at her.
