Taken

Chapter 12

TROY

September 9, 2013 2:00 p.m.

Man, my face hurts, Troy thought to himself. I can't believe my own father would whip me in the face.

Troy was now sitting in the house he and his dad shared on the abandoned factory's land. His cheek was swollen twice its normal size and was a deep shade of purple. Troy was currently icing his cheek with a bag of frozen peas.

As he was icing his cheek, all he could think about was Rikki. Watching her get whipped was the most painful thing he had ever witnessed. Watching the person you love get tortured is the worst thing anyone could ever see.

Love. Troy had gone out with many women before, but he had never been in love with any of them. Come to think of it, Troy's dad had set him up with most of his dates. All of his dates had been daughters of rich businessmen or important people in the NBL.

"Rikki was right, I don't have any control over my life," Troy said out loud. "Ow!" he cried as he was caught off guard with pain. Moving his mouth really hurt his cheek. Troy guessed it would be another good day, at least, before the swelling in his check would go down.

He absolutely could not get Rikki out of his head. Every second of every minute of every hour of every day he saw her gorgeous eyes that seemed to sparkle like the ocean itself, her straight, dark brown hair that shone whenever the light hit it, her slightly round nose, her dazzling smile. He could see every detail perfectly, like he was looking straight at a picture of her.

I've gotta find a way to impress her, a way to show her I really care about her. What on earth can I do? Troy asked himself in his mind. Just then, Jeff walked into the house. Troy was in for the lecture of the century.

"I can't believe you embarrassed me like that! You idiot boy! I was punishing our hostage, and you stepped in because you couldn't control your feelings! I am ashamed to be your father!" screamed Jeff. "You either need to learn how to control your feelings or I'm going to lock you in the bunkhouse as another hostage!"

"That actually doesn't sound too bad," replied Troy, wincing as his cheek burned.

"Oh wait, that's right, you have feelings for the girl so that wouldn't be punishment. Actually, I think I'll shove you in the dining hall instead if you don't shape up. You'll be rooming with a bunch of rats, so you'll fit right in!" exclaimed Jeff as he turned to leave the house.

"Where are you going?" asked Troy.

"I'm going to get our next round of hostages. Rikki and Adam seem a little lonely, don't you think?" said Jeff as he left the house with an evil grin on his face.