replace it.
When I was little, my father was adamant about me wearing the necklace as I got older. He made it a point to tell me to never be afraid of wearing it for fear of losing it. He would always say: this is a piece of your mother, and it’s meant to be worn, not gathering dust in an armoire. She would want you wearing it.
“It’s very beautiful, Julianna,” he says sincerely. “You must be a very rare gem yourself to have been given that.” He studies it for another moment before gently placing it back on my chest.
It’s then I realize I shouldn’t have said the stone was rare. I’m dealing with hardened criminals, and I cringe at the thought of them taking this from me. “If there is only one thing I am allowed to ask or have, it’s to please never take this from me,” I plead earnestly. “This is everything to me,” I say, clutching the symbol in my hand.
“I understand, Julianna.” He shakes his head. “No one has any intention of taking that from you. I know it’s something special to you.”
“It is,” I say on a whisper. More than anyone will ever know.
He nods his head and pulls away from me, then tilts his head to the side while taking a tendril of my hair and tucking it behind my ear. “Would you care for a sleeping pill, so you can rest well tonight?” He looks at me with pure concern, which again throws me into a tailspin of confusion. “I’m sure your nerves are shot, and you won’t sleep well...if at all. I don’t want to see you lay awake all night tossing and turning in worry. Your rest is important to me.”
Somehow, I don’t think my rest is truly all that important to them. I do know he’s right, though; I am all shaken up. I know I will go out of my mind, restlessly tossing and turning during the night, fearing tomorrow and the unknown. I’d rather be knocked out than awake and trying to get a grip on my escalating anxiety. Maybe if I wake up well-rested, the shock will clear, and I can go right into my next phase of captivity—escape planning. One can only hope.
I nod my head tightly in agreement, trying to calm my racing heart. I’m so glad to have the drugs coming on board, and not a minute too soon.
“Julianna, when I ask you a question, from now on, I expect you to answer me verbally and with a sir, understand?”
Even though he has asked in a kind and gentle manner, he means business. I don’t like this business, but I can tell by the way he exudes an air of authority and dominance that I don’t really want to tempt fate tonight, and I don’t need to know what kind of business he means—I already found out from Nick. Travis has been so good to me thus far. I don’t mind paying him a little respect; it is only a simple request, after all. He may play winning games with a poker face, but I’m beginning to read his thoughts and emotions through his eyes.
“Yes, sir,” I reply in a timid whisper.
Travis reaches in his pocket to pull out a bottle of pills that rattle when he unscrews the lid. I watch him place two pills in the palm of his hand. Why is he giving me two pills? I begin to question what it is I’ve agreed to take. He grabs the bottled water from the nightstand then looks at me expectantly. Instead of rolling my eyes, I just go ahead and open my mouth for him. I have a feeling if I said no originally, and didn’t comply, he’d find another way to make me take them. He outsmarted me, making me think the decision was mine to make. He places the pills on my tongue then lifts the water to my mouth, tilting it to let its contents flow past my lips. After he watches me swallow the pills, he notices the hesitant expression on my face.
“Do you have something you want to ask, Julianna?”
“I do...I do have one last question.” I’m not sure I want to know the answer, but I’ve always been a curious little shit, or so I’ve been told. “What is a sal..salt—“
As I try to remember the word Nick had used, confusion
When I was little, my father was adamant about me wearing the necklace as I got older. He made it a point to tell me to never be afraid of wearing it for fear of losing it. He would always say: this is a piece of your mother, and it’s meant to be worn, not gathering dust in an armoire. She would want you wearing it.
“It’s very beautiful, Julianna,” he says sincerely. “You must be a very rare gem yourself to have been given that.” He studies it for another moment before gently placing it back on my chest.
It’s then I realize I shouldn’t have said the stone was rare. I’m dealing with hardened criminals, and I cringe at the thought of them taking this from me. “If there is only one thing I am allowed to ask or have, it’s to please never take this from me,” I plead earnestly. “This is everything to me,” I say, clutching the symbol in my hand.
“I understand, Julianna.” He shakes his head. “No one has any intention of taking that from you. I know it’s something special to you.”
“It is,” I say on a whisper. More than anyone will ever know.
He nods his head and pulls away from me, then tilts his head to the side while taking a tendril of my hair and tucking it behind my ear. “Would you care for a sleeping pill, so you can rest well tonight?” He looks at me with pure concern, which again throws me into a tailspin of confusion. “I’m sure your nerves are shot, and you won’t sleep well...if at all. I don’t want to see you lay awake all night tossing and turning in worry. Your rest is important to me.”
Somehow, I don’t think my rest is truly all that important to them. I do know he’s right, though; I am all shaken up. I know I will go out of my mind, restlessly tossing and turning during the night, fearing tomorrow and the unknown. I’d rather be knocked out than awake and trying to get a grip on my escalating anxiety. Maybe if I wake up well-rested, the shock will clear, and I can go right into my next phase of captivity—escape planning. One can only hope.
I nod my head tightly in agreement, trying to calm my racing heart. I’m so glad to have the drugs coming on board, and not a minute too soon.
“Julianna, when I ask you a question, from now on, I expect you to answer me verbally and with a sir, understand?”
Even though he has asked in a kind and gentle manner, he means business. I don’t like this business, but I can tell by the way he exudes an air of authority and dominance that I don’t really want to tempt fate tonight, and I don’t need to know what kind of business he means—I already found out from Nick. Travis has been so good to me thus far. I don’t mind paying him a little respect; it is only a simple request, after all. He may play winning games with a poker face, but I’m beginning to read his thoughts and emotions through his eyes.
“Yes, sir,” I reply in a timid whisper.
Travis reaches in his pocket to pull out a bottle of pills that rattle when he unscrews the lid. I watch him place two pills in the palm of his hand. Why is he giving me two pills? I begin to question what it is I’ve agreed to take. He grabs the bottled water from the nightstand then looks at me expectantly. Instead of rolling my eyes, I just go ahead and open my mouth for him. I have a feeling if I said no originally, and didn’t comply, he’d find another way to make me take them. He outsmarted me, making me think the decision was mine to make. He places the pills on my tongue then lifts the water to my mouth, tilting it to let its contents flow past my lips. After he watches me swallow the pills, he notices the hesitant expression on my face.
“Do you have something you want to ask, Julianna?”
“I do...I do have one last question.” I’m not sure I want to know the answer, but I’ve always been a curious little shit, or so I’ve been told. “What is a sal..salt—“
As I try to remember the word Nick had used, confusion
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