Chapter 11

I changed and held my stomach, lying on my bed. I was starving so much I wished my stomach would blast away.

I heard footsteps approaching, and I looked up to watch Roy enter in a blue v-neck t-shirt and black sweatpants.

"Should I pose? As a welcome? To amuse you, my master?" I asked sarcastically.

"Ooh. I would have been angry for this mockery, but then you said 'my master,' which literally turned me on!" He remarked, sitting near me.

"Mrs. M," Roy called, looking at the door, and the Lady entered, holding a tray with Biryani that tortured my empty stomach.

He took the tray and forced it into my hands. "Eat." He ordered.

Without any objection, I put a spoonful in my mouth and controlled myself to not to moan, to not give him that satisfaction.

He reached over and I shrunk away reflexively. I saw his eyes change from mocking to betrayed.

"I wouldn't hurt you." He spat.

"I am sorry. But that's what I thought of Rover." I said, looking in my bowl of rice.

He got up, his face was red, and began towards the door.

"I am nothing like Rover." He muttered with gritted teeth.

Before I could stop myself, a giggle went out of my lips.

He turned on his heels, raging.

"I am sorry, but I have heard of you. From other Firecrackers. You are a regular customer, and you certainly don't know how to be gentle to those girls. So if you can hurt them, what stops you from hurting me." I knew how challenging the words were, but it was as if nothing's under my control whenever I was around him. The increased breaths and heart rate, my tongue, and this weird feeling that kept tickling my insides.

"You are beautiful, Roy," I said looking at his raging, now confused eyes, his neat hair, and the curves of his muscles that were shaped the sleeves of his t-shirt.

"But such beauties are destructive," I said with a hammering heart. "And I am afraid you'll destroy me." Now I went too far. He kept looking at me, but now with pain, more pain than I ever thought I could see in any eyes.

Stomping his legs, he came close to me, his eyes raging, and his body ready to strangle me. He came close, closer, and now so much that our faces were only a kiss apart.

He watched me swallow, and I wondered if he could hear my drumming heart as well, which had gone rogue. He closed his eyes and took heavy breaths.

Opening his eyes, he leaned in to kiss me. Once, twice and then he wiped my lips as if wiping away his imprints.

I didn't want them wiped.

Banging the door behind him, he left.

******

I was nibbling at my sandwich when Rosa asked Mrs. M, "Why isn't Rover here yet for breakfast?"

I wanted to ask why she cared, but of course, I couldn't, not in front of Mrs. M.

"He is in his room, madam. Not feeling well." She replied coyly.

"Why? What happened?" She asked with too much concern.

"I don't know. When I knocked at his door, he asked me to leave him alone."

"Wait, I will check." She said getting up, and before I could stop her, she was already climbing the stairs.

I shamelessly resumed eating my breakfast because if these were my last moments of freedom, even partial freedom, which my sister didn't seem to notice, I wanted to make full of them.

Five minutes later, Rosa returned red-faced with embarrassment and rage.

"What happened?" I asked, sipping my heavenly juice.

"He is a mess. An angry mess. He wouldn't talk, not without raising his voice." She replied.

"Wait, I will check," I said, getting up off my seat.

"Oh don't, Scarlet. He seemed really pissed at being disturbed. WAY TOO ANGRY." She said.

"Well then, perhaps that's why he bought me," I replied, walking across the floor and then running up the stairs.

Breathing in some courage, I opened the door. The curtains were still drawn though a few sun rays entering through the crease in it clearly gave of the morning. Roy was lying on his bed under his white sheets, his face turned away from the door. The entire interior was painted soothing white, and I couldn't control thinking what it must be like to sleep here. The room was very clean, though a magazine and a cell phone laid on the ground. I bent to pick the magazine up and saw Roy's face smiling from the magazine. God, he is handsome! The phone too seemed expensive.

Positioning them on the table near him, I saw a diary with a blue velvet cover, a page bookmarked with a ribbon.

I am not a prying kind, yet I couldn't stop my hand from feeling the softness of its cover or flipping it over to read beautiful handwriting, which something told me belonged to Roy.

Perhaps she is the award, I yearn and hard work for, the most Yet I doubt of my chances at being on the receiving end For she belongs to the luckiest man on the Earth, And no matter how much fortune I earn, I could never muster that kind of luck.

Not with her.

I always admired good poetry, yet I knew that wasn't just poetry.

Reflexively I looked up and saw Roy standing in front of me and jumped so hard that I knocked my knee on the table that soared with sharp pain.

What if he saw me reading his diary? No, no, he definitely saw me reading his diary. Angry mess. Rosa's words echoed, and watching his red face, I wished I had listened to her.

"What are you doing?" He asked in a rather composed tone as if trying to control his anger.

I breathe in, to feel the music.

"I came here to take you to breakfast," I replied.

"But instead, you shamelessly resorted to checking out my diary." He said in an edgy tone, and alarmingly I was reminded of last night, how I said those hurtful words.

God, I did a grave blunder coming up here.

"I just—" I tried to find my words.

"Just what? And I solemnly said Mrs. M I am in no mood to come down. Rosa received the message in a rather heated way. How do you want me to deliver it to you? That I want to be absolutely alone?" His tone was rising steadily, and I could feel the goosebumps.

He turned around and sat upon his bed, his face on the window, against me.

I knew I should just turn and leave, and I would have if it was anybody else. But I couldn't with Roy.

It's not that I care for him, no. I don't know what I feel for him. But all I know is, I lose control when he's around. I feel another level of courage, bravery, ego, anger, and all other thousand emotions around him.

"You can choose whichever way you like," I said, walking towards him, and knelt before him to look into his eyes. "But I am afraid the message won't seep in."

"What do you want from me?" He asked, his tone moderate.

"Welcome to the sweet torture of not knowing things. I am glad you can feel the torment I feel whenever I am around you. But I will tell you what I want, and I want you to come down and have your breakfast." I replied.

"Why? Why do you care? Aren't you afraid I might destroy you?" His voice was demanding, yet he controlled of temper.

"I don't care. But some people do." I said, thinking of Rosa. "And I don't know what you want from me, but still, I am grateful that you got me away from Rover, even if it's only for a week." I stood up and went to the door.

"And just so you know, Roy, I am afraid of dying by a vehicle crushing my bone, but that doesn't stop me from crossing the road.

******

"Why do you care about him so much?" I asked Rosa, taking my seat at the dining table.

"Did he yell at you too?" She asked, too concerned.

"Don't ask questions over questions!" I snapped.

"I don't know, Scarlet. I just do. As if there is so much to this guy." She explained.

"He certainly has so much money." Mrs. M said, putting down a coffee mug, and we eyed each other, horrified. She just giggled and went away.

Shaking her head, Rosa continued. "He is like a sea, and the explorer in me wants to uncover his treasure and secrets."

Her words reverberated in my ears, and I remembered how I thought somewhat similar about Rover when we first met.

Oh, this wasn't good.

We were halfway done when we heard footsteps. Roy.

He was in another v-neck blue shirt with black jeans. He approached the table, combing his hair with his fingers, and sat with a sigh.

"Mrs. M, breakfast?" He asked, and Mrs. M, who seemed dumbstruck at his presence, composed herself and went back to fetch his breakfast.

Rosa and I shared glances, and she swallowed before speaking.

"How are you feeling?" She asked, and he looked at her as if he hadn't been aware of her presence.

"What's your story?" He asked instead, frowning. "Yours and Scarlet's. You two are sisters, but you don't look anything alike. What's your history?" He asked, glancing at her and then at me.

I shifted on my seat, and Rosa looked at me. I shook my head.

She breathed in.

"We are orphans. Both of us." She began, and I watched Roy look at me in astonishment.

"We met at the foster house. The Gill orphanage. A lot of children were adopted. A lot weren't." She swallowed, and I fought the urge to go over and hold her hand. It was still a little painful as we had watched a lot of orphans—younger, older, and the same age—get adopted, but not us.

"I am sorry," Roy said, looking from me to Rosa with pity eyes.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” I said, looking at my reflection in a shining spoon.

“Well, what do you girls plan for today?” He asked, savoring his breakfast.

“Find a way to run away?” I said seriously.

Rosa had dived deep into her thoughts, and a small smile played around on Roy’s face.

“Sure.” He said. “Amuse yourselves. And if you manage to, please leave a note in good faith, informing me about it.”

******

An hour later, I watched Roy leave for whatever work he did, and I ran to Rosa’s room.

“Okay, he is out. How do you propose to get out from here?” I asked her urgently.

She was reading a book, The Fault In Our Stars, which I had been nagging her to read since forever.

“We can’t.” She replied.

“What do you mean?”

She looked at her book sighing.

“Rosa? Tell me? Wait, that bargain! What was that? Tell me, Rosa!”

“I can’t. And I have seen all the corners of the house. The place is no less than a palace which has cameras at every corner.” She excused.

“Or maybe you don’t want to get away,” I said, trying to control the rage brewing inside me.

“What?” She rose from her seat.

"Yes, Rosa, I see how you act around him. I see how you look at him. I was stuck in that place, forced to cooperate so that monster Rover wouldn't bring you there. I agreed to let men rape me so that you wouldn’t have to go through the same fate! But here you are, dreaming about 'exploring treasures and secrets'—which by the way, is total bullshit—and getting so crazy about him that you are ready to let me be sent to that horrifying place again!”

As soon as the last words left me, I felt a sharp pain on my cheek, where her slap had landed.

“Yes, I like him. But can’t you see he only kisses you! And since Rover took you, I was desperately trying to find you, begging people for help.” Rosa yelled, and her eyes welled up with tears. “He said he would help you get out of there. I learned when you did that, instead, he had bought you for a week. Last night I was roaming around the house like a ghost, looking for any opportunity to run away. I searched for the entire night, but I couldn't find any. I don’t know how, but Roy found out what I was doing and asked me to trust him. That he would keep you away from Rover. I chose to trust him.” She finished.

“Rover tried to sell my body. Roy bought it. And you trust that stranger with my life and future. I am a toy to them, and seems like to you as well.”

I ran away from her room. It was too much. It was as if I had lost everything and everyone.

I rushed into the bathroom, tore off my clothes, and sat under a shower to weep. I had no idea what would happen to me, after a week, after a day, or after an hour. My life had always been a little uncertain. I was always finding myself lost and oblivious to the future. But everything was heightened now. Every minute brought sharp turns to my life, and I was completely unaware of the destination I was heading towards.

I got off the bathroom feeling giddy. Rosa’s words echoed in my head.

‘I chose to trust him.’

How could she trust him with such a big thing? And the hurt in her eyes when she said that he kisses me. Everything was swirling in my head now, Roy, Rover, Rosa. I didn’t even realise when the cyclone in my mind took control of my body. Soon I was dropping to the ground, watching the colors around me fade till it was pitch dark and I lost my consciousness.

I opened my eyes to Mrs. M’s worried face leaning on me.

“You okay, miss?” She asked and I frowned. “I found you on the ground, unconscious. Don’t worry, I have informed the Master. He should arrive any time now.”

Shit!

I tried to smile weakly, before saying “Okay. Will you please get me some orange juice? That will make me feel okay.”

“Sure, madam.” She curtsied and left the room.

Oh god, I have to get out. I thought of Rosa, but I didn't think she’d want to leave. I was on my own. It was my life at stake, not hers.

I braced myself to be selfish and think of rescuing myself. Then I could think of getting Rosa out of there as well.

But how could I get out?

I looked around frantically for some clue or help.

And then it clicked me.

I had only seen such stunts being performed in movies, but I was ready to go to any lengths to get out of this place before Roy returned.

I locked my room from the inside and dragged a table over the door so that no one could enter the room. Then I snatched away the bedsheets and tied them together. I searched for something strong in the room to tie one end to, but I couldn’t find anything.

And then I heard a knock on the door and Mrs. M calling for me.

My heart was drumming against the chest, and I desperately searched for something to hook my makeshift rope to. Mrs. M now started banging on the door, calling my name.

It was then that I saw it: a pillar around which the bookshelf was wrapped. Tying the bedsheet to it would use up too much of it in the room itself, as the bookshelf was far away from the window, but at this moment, it seemed like my only hope.

Fixing one end of my makeshift rope, I peeked out of the window and found the earth below devoid of any guards, or anyone else for that matter.

The noises outside the room rose, and I could hear footsteps and men assembling outside my room.

Taking a deep breath, I dropped the rope out of the window and flung myself out. I stepped into the air holding the bedsheets, praying that I would land in a single piece.

As I began to fall holding my rope, I realised how stupid the idea was and how immensely the movies had misled us because it was nothing short of falling and my hands burned as they slid along the bedsheet, so much so that I feared they would give way soon.

But thank god they didn't until the end of that makeshift rope, which to my horror, ended after three floors. The ground was still a floor away. Surprisingly, my hands were able to stop abruptly and hold my body dangling in the air.

I looked down, and my heartbeat in my ears.

It was now or never.

I closed my eyes and let go.