Survival

my eyes in annoyance. He could easilyaccess my fist to his face if he preferred that.
“Watch it, little girl,” he warned. “I don’t takekindly to sarcasm, and you’ve been pushing it as it is.”
“Just what am I supposed to wear when it gets coldoutside or when I want to work out? I don't see any sweaters orcardigans, and I can’t work out in a dress.”
This question wasn’t so much about the clothes as itwas for the revelation of where the hell I was and how long I goingto be here.
“It doesn’t frequently get cold here, and should youever become chilly, I’m often told I’m a walking furnace,” he said,spreading his arms out and smiling so wide I was sure his cheekshurt. Like I’d ever come to him for warmth even if it was the lastsource on Earth. “And there are some skorts in the dressersyou can wear for your workouts.”
Skorts? What the fuck was this, Catholic school gymclass?
“Now, if you can hold off on some of your questions,I have some business to attend to. Why don't you take a shower, getcleaned up and dressed, and meet me downstairs for dinner in twohours? That should give you plenty of time to get ready.”
I nodded, almost excited at the promise of a realshower for the first time in days.
“Do not be late,” he cautioned.
“I won’t.”
With that, he turned from the doorway and headedout, shutting my bedroom door behind him and leaving me to my newbeautiful prison cell.

Chapter Four
Introductions
The second I heard the door to my bedroom close, Icollapsed on the floor. For thefirst time in days, I was finally alone. I sat against the wall andpulled my knees to my chest, clutching my legs tightly as thoughthey would fly away if I didn’t. I felt the shakes coming on as thepanic I had buried deep under my rationality finally clawed its wayback up. I lost my breath in the wake of the aftermath of what Ihad been holding back for so long, and all it took was a singularmoment of clarity to come along and shatter me.
I had been sold.
Me—a human being capable of love, compassion, andkindness had been sold like a prized dog breed. What was worse wasthat a man who was capable of none of the above had been the one topurchase me. And it terrified me. I now officially belonged tosomeone, and I didn’t even know his name.
I glanced up from my dirty and dry knees to find aglimmer of my reflection in the full-length mirror across the room.I didn’t know if I had the guts to look at myself and what I hadbecome, but I decided I wanted to remember every horrible thingthis man did to me so when the day finally came that I brought himto his knees, I would remember exactly why.
Not having the strength to stand, I crawled my shakybody over to the mirror, the sight of my reflection becoming worseand worse with every move. When it was clear and unmistakable, Inearly broke down all over again. It took everything I had to lookand face the ghost of the girl who peered at me from the mirror.There were so many bruises; I thought I looked like a damnDalmatian. They were everywhere. My face, my throat, my hands andknuckles, my arms and legs, but the most prominent was the long shoe-shaped one that stretchedacross my entire chest. It was healing, but far too slowly for myliking.
I had lost a lot of muscle tone since my time inthat cage, and I thought I looked far too skinny and sickly. Purplebags hung under my eyes from stress and lack of sleep, and my skinwas pasty as fuck and paler than usual. My hair was a tangled messand the red “dress” I had been given was already ripped at theside. How did this guy even find me attractive? I looked and feltlike total shit.
I hated looking like this; it was the image ofweakness and vulnerability. I preferred to look strong and healthy,and I was definitely lacking, but I vowed I would return to mysuperior physical state and then some as soon as I was able.
The new diamond studded silver rings that adorned mywrists and ankles glistened under the lighting of the room, and Ibecame instantly angered by their presence on my body. They werehonestly beautiful; like jewelry, if I didn’t know any better. Ifiddled with them for a second before realizing no matter how muchI wanted them off, they would still remain. But what hurt my pridethe most was the collar resting around my neck. The true sign Ireally was a prisoner. But it would not be for long. This was onlytemporary.
Fighting the strain of my body, I stood and slowlypadded over to my new bathroom, completely unimpressed with thelush beauty of the all-white marble and bright natural light. Whatreally caught my attention was the giant Jacuzzi tub nestled infront of a large bay window. It held a perfect view of the ocean atthe back of the house, the shore beckoning me to swim away with thetide. I stared out the window and took in as much of the scenery asI could. Though the scene was picture perfect, I hoped to God Iwasn’t on some estranged island.
I walked away from the window, noting I would haveto take advantage of that tub another time. I headed to the largeshower in the corner, which sported three showerheads and even asmall seating area. I turned the shower on and continued to explorethe bathroom as I waited for the water to heat up. I wanted itscalding.
Looking in the drawers and cabinets, I discoveredthousands of dollars’ worth of designer makeup, hair products,and styling tools. It was a girl's ultimate fantasy. Luckily forhim, I actually knew how to use all of this. My mother had been acosmetologist all her life, and I didn't escape my childhoodwithout knowing a few tricks on how to make myself look pretty. Ijust never indulged in it much.
Once the steam started to fill