Healing Together

Kidnapped I was strolling down a dark alley, and all I could hear were my footsteps. Due to the cold temperature, I put my arms around myself. Today was the day I finally left the place where I lived. I loved my father, but tonight he revealed his real colours to me. I realised today that I couldn't stay in the same house with him if I didn't have people who cared about me. After my mother died of blood cancer, I assumed my father was the only family I had left, but he now confirms that I am merely a burden to him and his new family. It's been 15 years since my mother died, and dad remarried with Jade two months after, and she already had a son named Jasper. I was only five years old when he remarried and had Lillian with Jade. He doesn't care about my mother's feelings. After 5 years, my step-mother began beating me psychologically and physically, along with her son; I attempted to tell my father, but he refused to listen to me. As I grew older, so did the level of abuse. Not only did she and her son assault me, but so did her daughter. And today they overstepped their bounds. Dad came home drunk, and Jade accused me in front of my father of taking her jewellery. I assumed he would never accept her falsehoods, but I was mistaken. He slapped me and told me to return whatever I stole from her. When I attempted to argue that I didn't steal it, he slapped me again. I admit that after my mother died, we lacked much affection, but he never hit me until today, and at that point, I knew I couldn't stay in a place where my father didn't believe me. So, I made the decision to leave. When I started packing, Jade told me I couldn't take anything from that house since it was from Jake's aka my father's money, so I walked out without anything while dad stood captivated in the same spot. I'm sure Jade, Lillian, and Jasper are relieved to see me leave. Now I'm on my way to my closest friend, Kate's place; she lives alone in her apartment and it will take me 15 minutes to get there. We were in high school together, and her parents recently relocated to another nation for personal reasons, and she couldn't accompany them because she had college to attend. My loving family, on the other hand, dropped me out after high school. She is my only friend, and she is the only person who cares about me and understands me as well. I'm going to stay at her place until I'm ready to live on my own. First and foremost, I need to find work. I was thinking about how to get a job when I heard footsteps and a voice approaching. My heart began to race. I started walking faster than usual, and to my horror, the footsteps began to match my beat. I started running, as I was about to enter another alley, when someone put their arms around my waist and clutched my mouth with their filthy hands. I attempted to scream, but my voice was muffled by his hands. He dragged me down an empty alley till we came to a stop in front of a black car. When I realised what he was going to do, I began to struggle, but his grip would not loosen. I bit his hand, causing him to yell in agony and loosen his grasp on me. "You b***h" With a dangerous expression on his face, the man yelled. Before I could make a move, another man appeared in front of me with an unpleasant grin. I realised he was holding something, and by the time I realised what it was, it was too late. He injected me with something, and soon the darkness engulfs me. I awoke with a severe headache. I groan in agony. When I tried to move, something stopped me. When I glanced at myself, I was tied to the chair, and the place resembled a dungeon with a foul smell. "How on earth did I end up here?" I mumbled to myself. When everything came back to me and I started crying. I don't know how many hours I cried, but it was too late, and no one showed up. I'm not sure what to expect from being abducted. Nobody will come to my help, my father doesn't care about me, and Kate has no idea I was heading to her house. My thoughts were broken, When the door slammed shut with such force, I let out a yelp. "Our little prisoner is awake now, brother," The right-side man said to another man with a smirk and they look quite similar so I assume they are brothers. "Indeed, she has," the next man said with a sneer. "Why am I here, and what do you want from me?" I've never been this courageous, but given the circumstances, I believe some confidence came easy to me. They started laughing while staring at each other as though conversing through their eyes. "Your father took some money from our boss and has been refusing to pay for almost a year, so we kidnapped you so that your father comes to his senses and returns the money he borrowed from him." I had no idea my father was in debt. "You are totally wrong if you believe my father cares about me. I'm sure he'll sacrifice me whenever he gets the chance." With an ugly grin, the man on the left side squatted down in front of me. "Who doesn't care about their own blood?" he asks as he brushes my hair. I wanted to get away from his repulsive touch, but there was nowhere for me to go. I'm bound to the chair and can't move. "My father," I responded quietly. When I think about what my father did, it stings. He doesn't even like me and I'm sure he'll exchange me for money. "Did you get to hear her, Brody?" Is she attempting to mislead us? How naive is she?" He stepped up and said. "We're not leaving you until your father repays the money he borrowed from our boss," the Brody man replied. "And you are at our mercy until our boss returns," they say as they walk away, leaving me defenceless and miserable. I emerged from hell only to find myself in another hell hole. I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I awoke with a loud crash. "Wake up, prisoner" They walk in, Brody holding a meal tray. "We will untie you, but if you try anything, we will not hesitate to turn your beautiful face ugly, got it," Brody's brother said. Due to my fear, I instantly nodded. They untied me and gave the meal tray to me. When I looked down, I saw that most of the food had gone bad, and I gagged in disgust. "I couldn't eat this," I said quietly. "I told you, Clyde, we should have brought her some decent food." "She is our prisoner, not a guest, so we must treat her as such." "It's your choice whether to eat this food or throw it away because we won't get you another tray of food," they said before leaving me with the spoiled food. I couldn't eat it, so I drank the water they had left for me instead. This is the only source for me to be alive. What is going on with me? Is there something I did wrong in my life that fate is punishing me for? My stomach grumbled in hunger, but there was nothing I could do. I sipped the water, set the bottle next to the tray, and leaned back in my chair. They returned after one hour. "I think you made your decision then," Clyde said. "From now on you will not get any food to eat" They left me alone with my thoughts once again. They abandoned me for a week, leaving me with nothing but loneliness. They didn't tie me, but there was an emptiness within me that yearned for me to swallow the darkness. I've only been given access to the bathroom, which is attached to this room. I can drink water from the tap whenever I want, which is handy. I'm not sure what will happen next because I'm not bold enough to confront them. Now I'm depressed since I haven't eaten anything in a few days, which causes me to black out. The whispers radiating in this lonely dungeon jolted me awake. I pretending to sleep while listening to them. "We can have some fun with her until the boss gets here," I recognised Clyde's voice. "If the boss finds out, he will kill us." Brody answered with uncertainty in his voice. "Until someone tells him, and I'm sure no one else will, then who will tell him?" "I believe you are right, brother," I gasped in shock as I realised what they had planned for me. I heard footsteps approaching, but I didn't dare to open my eyes. "Open your eyes, b***h," Clyde replied, sternly. "I think she'll learn the hard way," he said before slapping me across the face making my eyes flew open. "You're finally awake," he said as he massaged my cheeks, making me feel disgusted. "Get away from me," I yelled, but was met with another blow to the stomach, causing me to scream in agony. "Don't scream, got it," Brody said, his face deadly. "Please let me go," I eventually sobbed in front of them, as they smirked contentedly. "We will, but first you must satisfy us," Clyde remarked evilly. "Why are you doing this?" I questioned in hushed tones, and I'm sure they heard me loud and clear. "Because this is fun" Clyde's response sickened me. "You both disgust me, how can you have fun while torturing someone?" I roared to the top of my lungs, without thinking about the implications. "I repeat Do not yell at us," I'm not sure where I got this confidence, but what I did made them glare at me. I spit on Clyde's face. "You b***h," next thing I knew, I was laying in my pool of blood. They beaten, kicked, and punched me, making me believe that death is better than this. I'm hoping death comes sooner rather than later. From the next day, they always come and take turns beating me up until they are pleased. I couldn't go on living like this. It hurts when my father neglects me, but it hurts even more when someone thinks it's amusing to abuse someone just for fun. I know I don't have anyone to help me, but I wish there was someone who could pull me out of this hell hole before it's too late.