The room smelledof mildew and damp rain. I blinked to focus in the darkness, but even squinting, I couldn’t make out the form sitting in front of me. Confusion set in as I tried to replay the events that led me to this dank hole, but my mind blanked. A fuzzy film coated my memory, prohibiting clarity.
“Don’t be scared, Cherry.”
My heart slammed against my chest. “Nash?” I couldn’t remember why it hurt to hear his voice, but the slow cadence of his words tore a jagged hole in my heart. “Where are we? Why can’t I see you?”
A low rumble of laughter filled the room. “You’re feeling better. Already with the rapid-fire questions, I see.”
I rubbed my neck where a stinging burned my skin. “What happened?”
“This isn’t your fight, Cherry. You’re going to get hurt. There’s no game here. It’s real.”
Frustrated, I tried to move, but my limbs felt stuck in quicksand. “Why can’t I see you?”
“Listen to me,” he instructed with a serious voice. “There’s two sides to everything, and the key is in the middle. The guard will be your downfall.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I love you. Be strong and keep your eyes open.”
His words finally broke through my muddled brain. “No! Don’t leave me!”
Now barely a mist, his voice echoed in my ears over and over. “Wake up, Eden.”
“Don’t go!” Throwing myself forward, I landed on the hard, concrete floor, busting my lip and tasting blood.
His voice continued to echo in the small room.
Wake up, Eden.
Wake up, Eden.
“Wake up, Eden.”
My head turned as my brother’s voice took on a distinct Latino accent. “Wake up, Eden.”
Worlds collided as the voice became louder. More blood filled my mouth, and I gagged as I swallowed it to breathe.
“Wake the fuck up, Eden.”
Brightness burned my eyes the minute they cracked open. My body felt heavy as if I’d been asleep for days. Focusing on the voice, I turned my cheek from the hard floor toward his face, fighting the urge to fade back into darkness. His form seemed familiar as he crouched down beside me. I realized I was lying on the floor, but my arm ached beyond reason. One shift of my eyes, and I knew why.
My left wrist was handcuffed to the base of a rusty iron bed.
Suddenly wide awake, I frantically jerked on my restraints while fear crept inside of my panicked thoughts. My bare heels scraped the cold concrete as I pushed away from him, crowding against the white sheets hanging off the side of the bed.
“Welcome back, Eden. You’ve been out since yesterday. You were starting to worry me.”
My name. He kept calling me by name. I closed my eyes, recalling a memory from outside my father’s house.
Someone said my name beside my car.
With blurred eyes, my lips cracked as I fought for my voice. “What…” I cleared my throat, my tone hoarse and rough. “What am I doing here? What do you want?”
The man’s outline moved closer. Crouching down, he reached out a finger and wiped it across my chin. I drew back, stiffening for a blow that never came.
“Relax,” he said, wiping dark liquid from his hand onto his jeans. “You busted your lip when you fell. I told you if you calm down, we won’t hurt you.”
My body may have been restrained, but my antagonistic nature couldn’t be. “Well, if you uncuff me, we’ll be sure both of those things will happen, won’t we?”
