It’s 8pm.

We all gather in Eliza and Amelia’s room to embrace before we head off to the torture chambers. Amelia is saying her amens in a corner when I leave. She has Harry tonight. I silently echo her amens as I near Niall’s bedroom.

I gently open the door, wondering what to expect behind the mahogany. Apparently he’s not too bad, but his wants are no different from the others.

“You must be Robin,” a boy with blonde hair stands up from his position on his bed. “You can shut the door.”

I stand not knowing what to say. What even is there to say?

He comes up to me, loosely taking my hands and guiding me to the bed.

“Let’s take off that jumper. Not very flattering for your figure,” he smirks as he starts pulling up my thick sweater.

“Please don’t,” I wince and push his hands down.

“Let’s try this again,” he gently pushes me back so I’m lying underneath him on the bed.

He stars unzipping my shorts.

“No,” I glare defiantly up and roughly push his hands away.

“You’re no fun,” he frowns. “You’re dismissed.”

My jaw drops as I watch him get up and sit down at his desk. He proceeds to open a laptop that looks really expensive.

“What?” I sit up. “Dismissed?”

“Unless you’ve changed your mind?” he spins around in his chair and raises his eyebrows.

“N-no,” I stutter. “But why?”

“You’re not easy enough,” he shrugs and turns back to his laptop. “I need a girl that’s quick and easy. I don’t have time for resistance.”

An idea sparks in my head.

“One of the girls,” I begin. “Amelia. She would be perfect for you.”

“I’ll see,” he lazily waves his hand, still focused on his screen. “Now go, I have work to do. There’s a rest area in this place. You’ll see it on your map. Fireplace, small snack bar, plenty of computers and books.”

“Thank you,” I say softly before going out the door. He doesn’t reply.

I look to my map to see that there is a large section labeled “Rest Center” on the third floor. I’ll have to take the elevator two floors down. No one’s is going to be in my suite yet, so I decide I’ll visit the area just for kicks.

I take the elevator and when I reach the third floor I step out onto white marble. Each floor of the mansion is different. On this floor, the walls are simple gray wallpaper with very few framed black and white photographs dotting the hallway. I glance at a grandfather clock at the end of the hall. 8:30pm. Seems like it was only five minutes ago that I was in Niall’s room. I’m still surprised at how… emotionless he seemed. When I used to go to the grocery store, all the magazines portrayed “One Direction” as a group of smiling youths that were living the luxurious life I could never have. I laugh sadly at how wrong I was. I glance at the map to see two more turns until I get to the Rest Center.

Then again the papers were always ones to lie. Just like they lied about our world. Glossing over the glamorous lives of the rich and famous. Turning a blind eye to our poverty stricken neighborhoods. I will never forget that one view from my house’s window. The dirty window pane would cheaply frame the picturesque capitol in the distance beyond a tall barbed wire fence. A kind of sarcastic painting constantly reminding us where our place was. We were too dirty to soil their expensive foreign imports from God knows where across the world.

I reach the Rest Center. It is a rather large space with a fireplace like Niall said and couches around it. Computers lined the wall of one half the room and the other half was lined with bookshelves. There is certain warmth encompassing the room, but I can’t tell what it is. Maybe it’s the books. Little leather bound worlds to escape to from this monstrous palace that has become the background of my life.

I pick a random book from a shelf and settle down in a plush sofa. The heat of the fireplace wrapping around me, I open the book, but I don’t feel like reading. The feeling of peace is so nice I want to savor it as long as I can.

I think too soon.

“What are you doing here?” an icy voice cuts through the calm.

I look up to see Harry leaning against a bookcase with his arms crossed.

“Niall didn’t want me,” I stated, almost proudly. “He said I could come here.”

“Well, well, resisting again?” he moves to the sofa in across from me. “I advise that if you don’t want to have a hard time – don’t put up a fight.”

“I would rather die than subject to you bastards,” I snarl.

A deep laugh comes up from his stomach and I can see the orange reflection of the fireplace in his eyes as he stands up.

“If that’s what you really want, just tell the management,” he pauses in the doorframe before he exits the room. “We can always get a replacement.”

Anger boils inside of me and I can’t sit still. I get up and shove the book back into its place on the bookshelf.

“A replacement,” I spit out.

We’re not toys or machines; we’re people with feelings and lives before this. We have families to yearn for and memories to relive in our dreams.

I catch sight of a clock on the mantelpiece. 9:30pm. Sara and April should be back in the room by now.

Before I go, I randomly grab a book from the bookcase. It’s rather large so it should last me a while when I get cooped up in our suite.

‘Castle History’ is displayed in ornate letters on the cover above a picture of a building that resembles the one we’re in. I’ll be damned. I flip through some pages to glimpse a variety of maps scattered throughout the worn pages. Well God bless broken America.

Notes

So so sorry for the long wait! D: School is crazy and I barely have time. Trying to get myself into writing a bit each day. Thank you for the comments and reading! Hope you liked the chapter. Have a wonderful day, gems.
~christi ellie