Redemption (The Restoration Series Book 1) by Christina Simpson Page B
Authors: Christina Simpson
Ads: Link
Jared’s words rang out in my head as I stared wordlessly at the gaping hole in the sheet rock. I knew what he meant. I couldn’t either.
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
PRESENT DAY
(Unknown Location)
NOVA
My eyes were heavy as I came to, unsure how long I had been in darkness. My legs were throbbing with sharp pain and I reached down, fingertips brushing soft white medical wrapping covering each thigh. I pulled the blanket closer to me and tucked it under my chin as I tried to force myself back to the darkness once again.
Before I fell deeper into the abyss of nothing, my door was pushed open and in walked Demon. As I winced in fear, he grinned and moved to the foot of my bed.
“Are you done fighting?” He questioned me, crossing his thick hairy arms across his chest. All I could do was nod. As much as I was terrified of everything going on, at least I wasn’t dead, a state in which I now knew could be at any moment.
“Stand up. It’s time to get ready for the day.”
How I managed to push myself up onto my aching legs, I’ll never know. But somehow, faced with the choice of moving or being punished, I chose the lesser of two evils. He slid the rusty chains around my hands but left my feet free this time. He moved outside my chamber door and waited for me to follow and join the line of girls waiting to be led into the cold bathing room. As soon as all the girls were out, Demon turned and walked out the end of the hallway and led us through as we had done the day before.
We entered into the tiled room, its bright lights on, and were instructed to stand underneath the overhead showers. This time, no one fought or hesitated. We kept our eyes down and followed instructions. I instinctively moved closer to where Evie was standing.
She noticed my bandages and winced as they soaked through to my skin. We gripped our hands together and stood under the steady stream of water, helping each other rinse our hair and scrub the dirt from our bodies.
“I’m sorry, Nova.” She whispered as a tear slid down her face. I glanced up into her wet violet eyes and grimaced at the shame I knew she felt.
“It’s not your fault.” My fingers tightly grasped hers and I leaned into her for support.
“Yes. It is. If I hadn’t…”
I put my hand up to her lips to silence her. “No. Nothing you could have done could have ever predicted this.” Letting her see the sincerity in my eyes, I held her gaze until she understood.
She nodded and turned her back so I could scrub the dark stains marring her skin. She trembled under my fingers and I tried to soothe her as much as I could. This would be the only time I got to see her today.
“Thanks for asking the doctor to tell me you were okay last night. I was really worried.”
“I was hoping he’d be able to get to you. He didn’t try to touch me, Nova. I don’t think he is like the rest of them.”
“Maybe not, but he’s still working for them, knowing what’s happening here. It still makes him just as guilty.”
“I guess.” She sighed and shuffled out of the water stream. We pulled our simple cotton gowns over our heads, tying the straps on our shoulders for each other. The old woman walked in once again and handed out small sandwiches for each of us. We took them and ate them greedily. They didn’t feed us much food. Just enough to keep us from starving, I assume. They wouldn’t make any money if we were dead.
We shuffled back to our rooms, keeping our eyes glued to the floor in front of us. We each stood by our chamber doors, waiting for our keepers to let us back inside. Demon walked slowly down the hall. After letting Brooke into her room next to me, he turned and unlocked my door, pushing it open and waiting for me to shuffle inside.
“Hands.”
I lifted them up and waited for him to remove the chains. He did so, and I stayed silent as he stepped out the door, slamming it closed behind him and turning the lock. I
Chapter 5
Chapter 5
PRESENT DAY
(Unknown Location)
NOVA
My eyes were heavy as I came to, unsure how long I had been in darkness. My legs were throbbing with sharp pain and I reached down, fingertips brushing soft white medical wrapping covering each thigh. I pulled the blanket closer to me and tucked it under my chin as I tried to force myself back to the darkness once again.
Before I fell deeper into the abyss of nothing, my door was pushed open and in walked Demon. As I winced in fear, he grinned and moved to the foot of my bed.
“Are you done fighting?” He questioned me, crossing his thick hairy arms across his chest. All I could do was nod. As much as I was terrified of everything going on, at least I wasn’t dead, a state in which I now knew could be at any moment.
“Stand up. It’s time to get ready for the day.”
How I managed to push myself up onto my aching legs, I’ll never know. But somehow, faced with the choice of moving or being punished, I chose the lesser of two evils. He slid the rusty chains around my hands but left my feet free this time. He moved outside my chamber door and waited for me to follow and join the line of girls waiting to be led into the cold bathing room. As soon as all the girls were out, Demon turned and walked out the end of the hallway and led us through as we had done the day before.
We entered into the tiled room, its bright lights on, and were instructed to stand underneath the overhead showers. This time, no one fought or hesitated. We kept our eyes down and followed instructions. I instinctively moved closer to where Evie was standing.
She noticed my bandages and winced as they soaked through to my skin. We gripped our hands together and stood under the steady stream of water, helping each other rinse our hair and scrub the dirt from our bodies.
“I’m sorry, Nova.” She whispered as a tear slid down her face. I glanced up into her wet violet eyes and grimaced at the shame I knew she felt.
“It’s not your fault.” My fingers tightly grasped hers and I leaned into her for support.
“Yes. It is. If I hadn’t…”
I put my hand up to her lips to silence her. “No. Nothing you could have done could have ever predicted this.” Letting her see the sincerity in my eyes, I held her gaze until she understood.
She nodded and turned her back so I could scrub the dark stains marring her skin. She trembled under my fingers and I tried to soothe her as much as I could. This would be the only time I got to see her today.
“Thanks for asking the doctor to tell me you were okay last night. I was really worried.”
“I was hoping he’d be able to get to you. He didn’t try to touch me, Nova. I don’t think he is like the rest of them.”
“Maybe not, but he’s still working for them, knowing what’s happening here. It still makes him just as guilty.”
“I guess.” She sighed and shuffled out of the water stream. We pulled our simple cotton gowns over our heads, tying the straps on our shoulders for each other. The old woman walked in once again and handed out small sandwiches for each of us. We took them and ate them greedily. They didn’t feed us much food. Just enough to keep us from starving, I assume. They wouldn’t make any money if we were dead.
We shuffled back to our rooms, keeping our eyes glued to the floor in front of us. We each stood by our chamber doors, waiting for our keepers to let us back inside. Demon walked slowly down the hall. After letting Brooke into her room next to me, he turned and unlocked my door, pushing it open and waiting for me to shuffle inside.
“Hands.”
I lifted them up and waited for him to remove the chains. He did so, and I stayed silent as he stepped out the door, slamming it closed behind him and turning the lock. I
Similar Books
