Page 17 of Pretty Stolen Dolls

Macy is sniffling and every time the lightening crackles in the air, she screeches.

I wish I could see the color of the bolt, smell the scent of the rain, and experience the night air on my skin. Time passes, but I stopped keeping track of the notches I made on the wall when my fingernail ripped off while trying to etch a line for day thirteen.

That was so long ago now.

My hair is longer and my chest finally filled out. If only Bo could see me now, he wouldn’t make fun of me for being flat-chested.

Momma used to say boys who were mean just liked you and didn’t know how to express it, and I suppose in a way she was right. Benny is cruel, but he claims he loves us.

Crackle…boom. “Argh.”

Smash!

A gasp rings out from beyond the wooden panels of my cell door as a stampede of horses rattle in my ribcage.

“Look what you made me do!” Benny—Benjamin roars. Tiny bumps break out over my skin as an icy quiver snakes up my spine and over my shoulders, rooting itself within my chest.

“She’s ruined.” His voice drops low, almost childlike. A clanking sounds out and I rush to the latch in my door left open for me to view him outside working on his dolls.

“It’s my fault,” I declare, trying to sway him into unlocking my door and giving me Macy’s punishment. My voice finds only silence in return, and it’s earsplitting. There’s nothing but the anger of the storm raging outside.

Until the screams from Macy’s lips fire into me like bullets made of venom, poisoning my once innocent heart.

Placing my hands on the battered wood of the door, splinters dig into my fingernails, causing blood to bubble on the tips. Air rushes out of me like someone pushed through my stomach and squeezed my lungs into dust.

Hard, chiseled muscle flexes under a mist of sweat on his bare back as he leans over a huddled form caught in his grasp by her hair.

Layers of thick, brown hair curtain around her face.

He brought her outside her cell.

My mind reels in disbelief.

I haven’t glimpsed my sister since the day he stole us.

“Look what you did,” he growls. “She’s broken. She was a pretty little doll just like you and now she’s ugly.”

Reaching down, he picks up a shard of porcelain with his free hand, then straightens to his full height, which almost reaches the light bulb dangling from the ceiling, bringing Macy up with him. She reaches up onto her tiptoes and the frilly dress she’s wearing ruffles and sways with her movements.

When her hair falls away from her face, I truly see her for the first time in so long. Hot tears burn in my eyes, brimming my lashes. She’s different, but the same. My heart is happy to see her, yet my soul is sad.

I didn’t keep her safe.

“Tell her you’re sorry,” he rages, his entire body quaking with anger. “Cry for the broken dolly.” When she doesn’t speak, he raises his hand. At first, I fear he’ll hit her and the blood in my body stops pumping altogether as I wait for his impending blow.

But then, softly, almost gently, he does something worse.

Clutching one of the porcelain shards in his grip, he pokes it into her flesh just below Macy’s tear duct with steady movements.

Bile rises in my throat as blood blooms around the creamy porcelain. A scream threatens to suffocate me as he drags the sharp edge down along the side of her nose, the shard creating a crimson river in its wake. Her lips part, but she doesn’t cry out. Instead, her eyes meet his, and they flicker with sorrow. Her bottom lip quivers and in a meek, regretful tone, she tells him, “I’m sorry.”

I find my voice—louder than the thunder crashing outside—and yank at the metal on my cage. “Let her go, you maniac!”

He remains frozen in the sick, twisted position of holding my sister by the throat as her face bleeds. Just staring. Always staring. I ball my hands into fists and hammer them against the door, hoping to drag his attention away from her, all to no effect. Her hazel eyes flicker to mine and I sob so hard, my chest hurts.

“Forgive me, Macy. I’m so sorry…forgive me. I’m going to save us, I promise.”

My will loses fight as my knees buckle and I nearly fall to the floor, screaming alongside the storm, hoping it will carry me away when it eventually passes, leaving behind the merciless heat. He disappears with my sister into her cage and I feel powerless in my world. I bury my face in my sweaty, dirty palms.

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