“Get up!”
My groggy brain takes a moment to come to, but when it does, I wish I could slip into a coma and never wake.
“I said, get up!”
Wiping the sleep from my eyes, I quickly pull back the scratchy blanket on my single bed and get into position—on my knees. This is what’s expected of me, and if I don’t obey, I get punished. And so does everyone I love.
Which is the only reason I submit. It’s the reason I do the despicable things that I do.
“Where is it?”
“Where’s what?”
It’s too late by the time I realize what I’ve said. I pay for my error with a slap to my cheek. My head snaps to the left with a sharp crack.
“What did ya say?”
“Where’s wh-what…m-master?” I repeat, my eyes downcast.
“Aye, that’s better,” he says happily. My humiliation gives him great pleasure. “The brooch.”
