Stolen Secrets

Stolen Secrets- Chapter 10

~Natalie~

“Get up,” one of the minions said as he entered my room the next morning. It was Tony, the non-bald one.

He prodded me in the back, with what I’m pretty sure was the muzzle of a gun. I pitched forwards slightly because I had been sitting on my knees.

I put my hand out to find the wall. I couldn’t see properly because of the sudden light flooding in through the door distorting my vision.

I found the wall on my right, exactly where I had left it. I put both my hands on it and used it to help me stand up.

I hadn’t lost any of my strength, but I was sore all over from the multiple beatings I had received and from tensing my muscles every time I sensed a beating coming.

On shaky legs, I rose and turned to face Tony. He took my arm and roughly pulled me towards the door, causing me to trip over my own feet.

For the first time I saw the rest of the house. Outside the door of my room, was a narrow hallway and then a small staircase, Tony led me up those. Then it opened up to a living room that was nicely furnished and then a kitchen and what I assumed to be a bathroom. There were some rooms behind me, but when I twisted to try and get a look, Tony just shook me, causing me to fall again.

The stairs continued up to another floor, but other than the small glimpses I had, I had no idea how big this place was.

“Suze, she’s your problem now,” Tony said pushing me across the room to here. I wrapped my hands around myself, I was very aware of the fact that both Tony and Bald Man were staring at my very exposed body. My shirt was gone and my pants were shredded and my bra was barely hanging on.

I stumbled and Suze but a hand on my shoulder, but not gently. Then she steered my up the stairs and into the first room.

“Put this on,” she ordered handing me jeans and a simple white t-shirts that looked like it was men’s.

I took the clothes in my hands and to me they felt like gold. “Why are you giving me these?” I asked. I was really confused.

Scary Man entered the room. “Craig heard word that they were coming around and checking to make sure we weren’t a grow-up. Couldn’t risk them finding you in the basement now could I?” he said. He wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that his eyes were roaming my body.

I assumed Craig was Bald Man. But I still didn’t know Scary Man’s name.

I looked from Scary Man to the gold in my hands. “Put it on,” Scary Man said in a nice voice, but the authority was clear in it.

I looked behind Scary Man and of course he had left the door open. But it wasn’t like I would be revealing much more than I already was.

I slipped off my tattered clothing and pulled on the new ones. Suze let out a sigh of exasperation and forced me on to the bed.

“Took you long enough,” she said under her breath.

“Make her look like she’s sick. We don’t need them asking why she isn’t at school,” Scary Man ordered Suze. She mumbled something under her breath. It sounded like ‘She already does’.

Suze scraped my hair back into a single pony at the back of my head and applied makeup to my bruises so that they weren’t visible. Then she deemed me done and stepped back to admire her work.

“Cough,” she ordered. I actually let out a pretty convincing one. She nodded and turned to Scary Man. “That’s the best I can do boss.”

Scary Man stepped closer to me and put his finger under my chin and tilted my head up, forcing me to look at him.