Page 27 of A Storm of Nightmares

Rick shakes his head, “You already had your one question tonight, Katherine. Sleep now. You’ll want to be well-rested for the girls tomorrow.” And with that, he’s out the door, and I’m sitting up in bed, in the dark, trying to piece together the past from what Rick has told me.

Chapter 16

I wake up to the sound of Rick opening the door to my room. I know he told me to rest last night, but I had too many unanswered thoughts swirling around my head to fall asleep. It felt like a tornado barreling through my brain. I finally passed out from exhaustion, but I doubt I got more than a couple of hours of sleep. Not to mention the nerves I feel to be seeing Betty after all these years. I don’t want to get my hopes up if she’s not the same girl anymore.

Rick sweeps through the doorway happily, and I’m taken back for a moment. He’s usually not so chipper. He sits at the edge of my bed and places the tray of food down on my lap gently. “Eat up, angel, and then we can go see the girls.”

A sharp slap of guilt hits me.The girls.I’ve hardly thought about Jess being here. I was hired to find her, and now that I’m in the same building as Jess, all I can think about is seeing Betty. I can’t help but feel disgusted with myself a little bit. She is just as important as Betty. I need to try to think of a way to get all three of us out of here. That is... if Betty even wants to come. My mind thinks back to the haunting idea of Betty being brainwashed into thinking she does love Rick. She’s been here for four years. Jess has only been here a couple of weeks. It might be too late to save Betty, but I’ll be damned if I let the same thing happen to Jess.

With renewed vigor, I scarf down my breakfast of cereal and orange juice so I can go to Jess and Betty. Rick beams at me, no doubt proud of how quickly I ate today. I usually drag it out. He grabs the empty tray from me, and I hop out of bed to follow him out of the room.

“Whoa there. Someone’s eager,” Rick smirks at me.

“I’m just so excited to see Betty. I’ve missed her, Rick.”

“Well, I do understand that. Here is my one and only warning for you. Should you try to pull any crap out there, I will drag you back into this room by your hair, and you won’t be let out again for a very long time.” His deep brown eyes bore into mine, and I know he means every word. “No funny business, no trying to grab my girls and run for the hills. I will not stand to be disrespected after everything I have sacrificed to keep you girls safe.”

I nod silently and drop my eyes to the floor. My right hand reaches up to my cheek, and I rub the place where my faded bruise lays. I know all too well how bad Rick’s temper can be. I have to act completely normal until I have a plan set in stone. If I screw up today, I may very well lose my only chance to escape this hell.

Rick takes my hand in his, and I fight the urge to pull out of his grip. I hate the feeling of his skin on mine, but I have to endure it. It’s day four, and I’m finally being let out of my room. I will not blow it.

I’m guided down a long hallway, dimly lit by flickering lights every few paces. We pass a couple of doors, and I strain to peek inside, but we’re walking too quickly. Is that where Betty and Jess have been this whole time? Are those their rooms? If that were true, they would have heard my screams that first day.

A pit forms in my stomach as my mind flashes back to four days ago. I have never been so terrified in my life as I was on day one here. Tears prickle my eyes when I imagine Betty and Jess being that afraid too. I shake my head to rid it of those dark thoughts.

We’ve reached the end of the hallway, and we’re standing in front of a white door. There’s a padlock bolted onto it, just like the one that was on my door. Rick takes a key out of his pocket and fusses with the lock. After a few seconds, he finally gets it open, and he shoves the key back into his pants.

Before opening the door, he turns to me and gives me a look that sends a chill down my spine. “You will be well behaved in here.” I nod quickly. That wasn’t a question. It was a threat. If I act out, he is promising punishment.

I hold my breath as Rick pushes the door open and steps inside before me. I hesitate, and he grabs my hand to pull me inside. Looking around, I notice the blatant differences between this room and mine. I have been living in a dark, run-down room with such little character it could pass as a jail cell.

This room is clean and bright, and warm. It feels homey. There’s a large window on the wall to my left, and the sunlight filtering in feels fantastic. The walls are a crisp white, and the solid concrete floors are polished and modern. I’m in utter shock. My eyes flicker towards the large, dark leather sofa in the middle of the room, and my cheeks are instantly wet with tears.

“Betty?” I croak.

A blonde girl sitting on the couch turns her head toward me, and her ocean blue eyes lock onto mine. A bright smile covers her face, and she gets up to walk toward me. I can’t wait for her to reach me though, my legs start to move on their own. I run to my sister and throw my arms around her so hard that she staggers back a few steps.

I close my eyes in anticipation of her embrace. I wait one second.Deep breaths, Kat.Two seconds.Give her time.Three seconds.Any moment now. Four seconds.She’s not going to hug me back.Pain slices through me, and I start to release myself from Betty.

Before I know it, she’s got her arms around me, and she squeezes me so tightly I can hardly breathe. I don’t care, though. The dam bursts, and I’m in full-blown sobs. I cannot believe Betty is here in front of me right now. I’ve been missing her for four years, and I never imagined I’d get to see her again.

“Are you really here?” I whisper into her hair.

She laughs, “I’m here, Kat. It’s so good to see you.”

I finally let her go so I can get a good look at her. She looks the same. Beautiful, long blonde hair. Piercing blue eyes. Delicate build. Completely healthy. I don’t know what I was expecting, but this was not it. Betty’s been held captive for years; she shouldn’t look so... normal. I’m overflowing with worry now. This can’t be good. I meet her gaze, and she widens her eyes as if to warn me not to say anything.

“Excuse me for interrupting this reunion, ladies, but I do believe there’s an introduction to be made,” Rick says as he walks over to the couch and takes the hand of the other girl sitting there. I know right away who she is. Strawberry blonde hair, blue eyes, and a scared-shitless expression on her face. This is Jess.

I reluctantly pull my focus away from Betty and reach my hand out to the girl Rick has brought to my side. “Hi, I’m Kat.”

She smiles sadly and takes my hand. “Hi, I’m Jess.” Her voice is small and defeated, and her grip on my hand is too tight for comfort. She’s absolutely petrified.

Rick rests his arms around my and Jess’ shoulders. “Ah, my three girls all in one room. How nice. I am so happy right now girls, you have no idea.”

Betty smiles warmly and walks around me to join Rick. He drops his arm from me and wraps it affectionately around Betty’s waist. She snuggles into his grasp, and I have to do a double-take to make sure I’m seeing this correctly. He leans down, and they share a quick kiss, and then Betty’s eyes lock onto mine.What. The. Fuck.I have to swallow down the vomit wanting to come up my throat. This was my absolute worst fear. I would rather Rick have killed Betty than brainwash her into loving him. I hate myself for thinking that, but it’s every bit the truth.

Rick uncoils himself from Betty and rubs his hands together excitedly. “Alright, lovely ladies, I have to go get some things done today. I won’t be longer than a few hours. I’ll leave you all in here to catch up and chat about girl things.” He turns and starts to walk towards the door and then stops and turns back to us. “Katherine, do not disappoint me. Remember the rules, and all will be ok.” I nod, too shocked to be able to speak right now. This is going from bad to worst real fast.

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