Page 40 of Starving Butterfly
“Yeah so are you,” he chided me. “God you’re freezing.” He unzipped his jacket and pulled it around me.
“Thanks,” I muttered. Shock setting into my limbs, “You look like shit.”
“Aw man, I wore my best for you.” Dustin chuckled before he appraised my appearance. “what did they do to your hair? It’s all missing.”
“Shaved it,” I spoke. I didn’t care that it was missing; the person I was before died in that hole.
“Come on, let’s get going before actual cops show up.” He grabbed my arm, and we walked back to the stairs, him carrying most of my weight without complaint.
30
I DON’T LIKE BATHS
Harsh hands pulled me upright from a dead sleep. I blinked away sleep as I was dragged out of the cell. I looked for Scar across the way, but he was nowhere in sight. My lips quivered as tears fell from my eyes.
“Where are you taking me?” I asked the bad man.
He grunted, not saying anything as he hauled me from the cell up those fairytale-looking steps again.I hit and shoved at his tight hold on my arm, trying to free myself. That only made his grip tighter. He pulled me down hallway after hallway into a large bathroom that looked bigger than Reyna’s whole house. I looked around in amazement as the man forced me to the center of the room.
The man from before stood in a fancy rub at one of the sinks, his hands resting on the back of the counter as he faced me.
“Well if it isn’t the little princess back again, are we ready to behave?” He asked in that bad voice; I didn’t like him.
“Senator,” the one who’d brought me in spoke, but the man in front of me raised his hand.
I didn’t know what a Senator was, but if all senators were like this one, I wished they would all disappear.
“Where’s Scar?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of me.
A laugh bubbled up from the man, and I didn’t like it. He took a sip from the glass next to him and replied, “Is that what you call him? Well it’s fitting if nothing else. He’s dead…” I gasp fell from my lips before I could catch it. “Or he will be if you don’t behave.” The Senator finished.
“What do you want?”
“How about you take a bath? The water’s already warm.” He replied as the other man shoved me forward towards the tub, and I looked inside to see the tub filled with water and bubbles. I looked upward at the Senator and shook my head.
“No.” I shook my head. “I can’t.” Shaking my head again, I backed up into the solid legs of the bad man.
“Too bad, I was hoping this would be easy. Very well.” He sighed. The man behind me picked me up and plunged me into the water as I kicked and screamed.
“Noooo!” I shouted as my head plunged under into the hot water. I beat against the side of the tub, trying to raise my headand breathe, but it was no use. The man held my head down while I struggled for air.
Everything hurt, but I tried to hold my breath as long as I could. It continued though; the screams and shouting turned into bubbles as I swallowed some water. My hair was yanked out of the water, and I sputtered, coughing up water as the senator walked towards me.
“Are you ready to behave now?” He asked with a sickly sweet smile on his face.
I gathered saliva in my mouth and spat at him. He motioned with his hand, and I sucked in a lungful of air as my head was shoved under the water again.
I fought as hard as I could, kicking and screaming as I tried to wiggle free. Arms aching and legs straining, I couldn’t hold my breath any longer. More water filled my lungs as my body slowly stopped fighting.
The senator yanked my head out of the water again. “You will learn to respect me.” He hissed and nodded to the man again. I barely got the water coughed up before my head plunged into the tub again. A tightness filled me as I tried to hold my breath, grabbing and scratching at the man’s arm that kept me pinned in the water. Blackness crowded my vision as I struggled to fight out of the water. I wasn’t the best at swimming, so I already knew I couldn’t hold my breath as long as the other kids.Please save me, Scar.I thought as my pain raced through my body. I choked gulping water and just when I thought I wouldn’t make it, the man jerked my head above.
I gripped the edge of the tub, coughing up as much water as I started to breathe better.
The senator was nowhere in sight; the bad man yanked me out of the tub and dragged me through the halls. My heart thudded in my ears as my feet stumbled to keep up with hispace. My heart raced with every step forward and down into the darkness again.
He threw me into the cell and slammed the door. I crawled to my blanket, holding it tight around me as I shivered and coughed up water.
“Scar please come back,” I chattered before exhaustion took over and my eyes flitted closed.
