Chapter 2
Nora
"Nora darling, get up, you have to go to school," I heard Mom's voice calling me. I sat on my bed in my room and got ready for school.
"Nora!" I heard my stepfather's voice as he swung the door open and looked at me with a grin.I opened my eyes and realized I was dreaming. Mom was dead, I wasn't in my room, and I was tied up in that room, in pain. I must have fainted again.
"Nora honey," I heard a woman's voice call and turned my head in that direction. I saw a woman sitting on the ground not far from me with a pain-filled expression on her face. "Nora, can you hear that?! Someone is coming to free us. The police are here," she called to me.
Jane... that's what she said her name was. Sweet Jane, the police won't help us... they are part of it.
Her voice seemed to go on and on as I fell into sleep again; partly from the pain that was burning, partly from the drugs that were injected into me. They're going to come and there's nothing I can do... they're going to come, I thought before I fell asleep.The voices I heard in the room became louder and louder, and as my hands were freed, I prepared myself for the usual impact on the cold floor.
There was no impact, I was held by two hands and heard a man's voice cursing something. When he took me in his arms, I looked up at him in pain. My head seemed unstable, and I had to fight to keep it upright.
"We are from the FBI, Miss, you are safe," he said and looked at me.
Of all the eyes I've seen in my life, I've never seen eyes like that. It wasn't because of the sky blue color they had... it was because of their expression. He looked at me with pity, full of emotions... eyes like that I haven't seen for a long time.
I felt that I was being placed on cold leather, and shortly afterward, we seemed to be moving. I saw the small window and I was aware that I was in a car that was speeding. The lights of the streets shone as we drove past them... It was night, I thought before I fell asleep again.I only woke up when I heard talking and women's voices crying. The panic inside me awoke, and I looked around, expecting hell again. The blue-eyed man opened the door and took me in his arms. I stiffened at the touch, and fear grew inside me when he started to walk. He said he was taking me to the doctor... another doctor who kept me calm with injections and...
The sun was shining on my face as he stepped outside and I turned my head into his chest to protect myself. I haven't felt the sun's rays in a long time, and my skin tingled when I felt it. The warm light disappeared too quickly, and I was laid down in a bed.
The words I heard were "Doc... treat... your wounds," but I just stared at the man who took off that black mask coming in the room. He had dirty blonde hair, and his arms showed lots of tattoos as he put on a coat.
This isn't a damn doctor... this is another one of Ted's henchmen who was supposed to sedate me. My panic took over, and I lashed out wildly. The pain I felt when my back hit the bed was enormous, but my fear was greater.
"You need to calm down, Miss, you're just hurting yourself more... Please," I heard the man call before the blue-eyed man gently held my shoulders.
My eyes were stinging from tears, and my ears were ringing when I just saw his lips move. I looked at my arm, which was burning, and saw the syringe stuck in it. Don't do it again.
When I woke up , my pain was significantly less, and I turned my head to the side when I felt someone touching my arm.
"Jesus, child, you scared me," an older woman said as she smiled at me.
Why is she smiling at me... doesn't she know what they do to women?
"I'm Evelyn," she said, and I turned to the other side, uninterested.
I don't care what your name is Evelyn... Beverly... Samantha... you're all the same.
"The FBI was here, honey, but you don't seem ready so Doc sent them away... but you have a phone here if you want to call someone," she said and I turned to her.
A telephone? I looked into her hands, and she handed me the phone... I pressed a button and heard the dial button beep... A phone!
I just stared at it and thought that I had never been offered anything like this before.
"Do you have family... anyone you want to call?" she asked, and I looked up at her.
Her face didn't lose the kindness, and she still looked at me smiling. When I shook my head, I heard her sigh. "I'm sorry, honey," she said.
I studied her face, and she seemed serious as she said it. Pity... again.
"I have to take her blood for a moment..." I heard the man who had given me the injection say as he came into the room and stopped halfway when he saw me awake. My fear took over my body again, and I threw the phone at him, but he ducked to avoid the impact.
The woman tried to calm me down, but their voices mixed in my head as I ripped the drip from my arm to flee.
"Honey... let them help, they are good people. Do you remember me?" I heard a familiar female voice, and my head turned to the door. The woman in the room... Jane. She told me her name again as if I didn't know. I remember Jane...
"They saved us from those men and want to protect us, darling," she said, and I looked from her to the people in the room. Could it be?
She was walking around freely and seemed to be smiling... maybe it's just a dream, I thought to myself.
"You're safe here, no one will be able to harm you anymore, I promise," said the woman named Evelyn, and I looked at her. Was she lying?
“This is my niece Ivy; she will stay here too. Please let them help you,” said Jane and led a young woman into the room. She looked unharmed... washed and happy. Her green eyes shone as she smiled kindly at me. I leaned back and stretched out my arm... if you're all under the covers together I'll be powerless anyway, I thought to myself.
He did what he said, he took my blood and left again. Jane sat down next to me on the bed and took my hand. She squeezed me lightly, and I looked at her, aware that I wasn't dreaming.
“There are two kinds of pain, my darling. The one that breaks you... and the other that makes you stronger. Don't let it destroy you," Jane said, and I looked at her.
I'm already broken, Jane, I wanted to say, but I said nothing.
The young woman and Evelyn stayed with me when Jane left the room. She assured me that they didn't want to harm me and that her boyfriend had freed us.
"The one with the blue eyes?" I asked out loud and was shocked when I realized I was talking. The young woman and Evelyn looked at me, shocked or confused.
"No, that's his brother Ace," she said.
Her name was Ivy, and another woman called Alice came. They talked to me and kept offering me to contact my family... but the only family I had is dead... Mom is dead.
I think I fell asleep again because when I woke up I was alone with Evelyn. Her words went through my head. She offered me to stay in my house to nurse me back to health. My house... and music... she said she could bring me music.
I used to love music... but for a long time, I just remembered what it was like.
I don't know how often or for how long I was kicked out, but I was woken up by a knock on the door. My eyes fell on Evelyn, who smiled at me and looked up at the man who was following her.
He was very tall and stood over Evelyn, probably a head taller than her. His body was muscular, and his arms are tattooed - it seemed more so than the doctor. Even his neck was tattooed.
The vest he wore had a small patch on it and it said Sgt. at arms. My gaze fell on his face, which was framed by awell-groomed short black beard.
His hair fell over his forehead to his eyes... the eyes. The blue eyes I saw were the same ones that took me out of this hell.
"I am...." he said in a deep man's voice. "Ace," I said, and he just looked at me.
I'm not sure why I interrupted him, and I looked at my hands, nervous of his reaction. I was only allowed to speak with permission, and if I didn't comply, I was severely punished. But there was no punishment. He talked to me calmly, and Evelyn explained to me that they were now taking me to my house.
"And music?" I asked, and they both looked at me.
"And music, honey, as promised," said Evelyn and smiled.
They explained to me where this house was, and I was willing to try it. If I could have some peace and quiet and had to get out of this clinic, then it was worth it to me.
"I'll pick you up and carry you over since you're still weak... I'll be careful," he said, and I nodded.
He held me in his arms, always careful not to put too much strain on my back. I was tense and just looked at him as he walked. I just concentrated on his eyes that looked at me as he left the clinic so as not to notice anything around me. "We're here," he said as Evelyn opened a red door to a house.
He came in, and I looked around. A house... a real house. Nobody was inside, and as he walked up the stairs, my heart was pounding like crazy. I was afraid where they were taking me, but when I saw Evelyn fluffing up the pillows and then Ace let me down on a soft bed, I was confused.
"King will send men to guard the house, so don't be surprised if..." Evelyn said, but I interrupted her.
"No... no men," I said loudly and was frightened when I looked at Ace and expected punishment again.
He just looked worriedly from me to Evelyn, and she asked me, "Should Ace keep watching at the door then?".
I looked at him and didn't know what to say. He wasn't angry, he didn't yell at me... hit me, or hurt me in any way. His eyes just looked at me with such compassion.
"I'll be at the door... don't worry, no one's coming in... no one will hurt you, I promise." He said to me, and I just nodded as I looked at my hands.
I heard him talking as he sat in front of the door, but no one came into the house. When Evelyn went home to get the radio, I was scared alone. I listened to the noises, and all I heard was... silence. Maybe they mean what they say...