I woke up feeling like a zombie, my eyes were heavy and my body felt like I hadn't even slept at all, it was the worst feeling ever
I rolled over and grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened my email again for like the millionth time and yet…nothing
no email from voss pharmaceuticals no call no message just a bunch of spam about sales and some random app updates
I groaned and threw my phone on the bed pulling the blanket over my head, I wanted to scream but i just stayed there staring at the darkness and thinking maybe they didn't like me or maybe i messed up, URGH!
my thoughts were cut short when my phone buzzed again i yanked the blanket off and grabbed it, rosa's name flashed across the screen
rosa: "girl open your window omg"
i blinked confused but did what she said and there she was climbing through my window like a ninja and I completely understood her reason for doing that particularly because I know how my family feels about her, I know how they generally feel about me having any friends, talk more of them coming over...they hate it.
"what are you doing!" i whisper-shouted laughing
"i'm leaving for the dominican republic remember to visit my grandparents, I told you yesterday but you were too busy stressing over your job problems…which I understand by the way" she said rolling her eyes and throwing her bag on my floor
i stuck my tongue out at her "I'm so sorry that i was too busy dying inside, "I didn't listen
we laughed and hugged then decided we had to get coffee because that's what best friends do when life is a mess.
we sat on my bed talking about everything while rosa showed me the new swimsuits she packed and somehow we ended up checking each other's breast sizes like idiots because rosa said "i swear yours got bigger since last summer"
i smacked her arm and almost fell over laughing but we had to cover our mouths because we heard footsteps coming up the stairs it was, I think it was my mother.
"hide hide hide!" i hissed grabbing rosa and shoving her into my wardrobe she squished inside between old coats and dresses barely holding in her giggles
i flopped on my bed pretending to scroll on my phone just as mother knocked once and opened the door
"everything okay in here?" she asked peeking inside
"yeah just texting" i said trying to look innocent
She gave me a weird look but nodded and closed the door again walking away down the hall
the second she was gone rosa burst out of the wardrobe coughing and laughing
"never again, never again!" she said wheezing
i fell on the bed laughing too but deep inside i still felt that ache wondering if VOSS PHARMACEUTICALS was ever going to call,
Later rosa left around 4pm she hugged me a million times before she left through the window again like a weirdo and i laughed waving at her until she disappeared down the street
i went back to my room feeling kinda lonely but still hopeful and then boom like 45 minutes later my phone buzzed i grabbed it and there it was THE email that I have been waiting for!
"congratulations isabella faulkner welcome to voss pharmaceuticals"
i screamed and jumped so high i almost hit my head on the ceiling i started dancing like a crazy person all over my room spinning and shouting and laughing so hard my stomach hurt
i grabbed my phone and ran downstairs faster than lightning screaming,
"MOMMMMMM! MOM YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT I GOT THE JOB!!!"
i didn't even care if i looked like a maniac, i was so happy i just wanted to share it with everyone but when i got to the living room i stopped dead,
outside the window i saw a whole convoy of black cars pulling up in front of our house with black tinted windows and shiny black paint, it looked like something out of a movie, before i could even say anything men in black suits got out and started walking fast towards our door and my heart dropped, something didn't feel right, the door flew open and before anyone could react they barged in like they owned the place, their faces were hard and mean
"victor faulkner!" one of the men shouted
my uncle victor stepped forward looking pale like a ghost he looked at niko standing there in the middle of the men and he looked like he knew him, "niko please," uncle said dropping to his knees "please don't do this i'll get the money i swear just give me more time"
my brain was spinning, I knew that one day, my uncles borrowing habits would come back to bite him in his wicked arse...I stayed silent hiding behind the staircase watching everything unfold, my heart was beating so loud that i thought they could hear it and honestly part of me wasn't surprised i mean uncle victor was always borrowing money to send my siblings to fancy schools and buying random crap we didn't need.
But as I sat there thinking to myself, I didn't realise when everything went from bad to worse, Niko crossed his arms and said coldly "if you can't pay... then we will have her as hostage" he said as he pointed directly at the staircase, I hoped it wasn't me he referred to but everything in me knew that he was referring to me.
my whole body froze and to make it worse, my own mother smiled when she heard it, like a real smile, she was actually happy; my so-called family looked relieved like they were happy to sell me off like some piece of furniture, i stood there blinking like did i just hear that right; was i dreaming or was my family actually okay with trading me for his debt.
That's when i realized i was completely on my own, I ran to the sitting room where they all were and I fell to my knees right there on the cold floor and started begging like crazy, tears poured down my face, i couldn't believe this was happening "please please don't let them take me!" i cried holding onto my mom's leg but she shook me off like i was dirt
"if you really cared about your family you would do this for us" my uncle said with a fake sad voice
"think of everything we've done for you" my sister said crossing her arms like she was the victim
i wailed and screamed so hard my throat burned "i'm not useless anymore i got a job! i swear i'll work i'll pay the debts just please don't let him take me!!!" but when i looked up they were already giving niko a little head nod to go ahead and take me, before i could even run niko grabbed me so fast i didn't even see it coming he threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, i kicked and punched and screamed at the top of my lungs but he didn't even flinch, he carried me straight out of the house.
As i was dragged away i looked back at my family hoping praying someone would stop this
but no, they all just stood there lined up at the door like they were taking a family photo and they smiled and waved at me like i was going on a vacation, my heart shattered into a million pieces right there; Niko walked fast carrying me like i weighed nothing and the closer we got to the cars the more he frowned, he sniffed the air a little and i saw the look on his face change like something clicked in his head, im not sure what it was.
Slight pause*
ARTHUR`S NOTE
he finally smelled it, her scent, it was intoxicating and it hit him so strong he almost stopped walking for a second but then he shook his head like trying to clear his brain.
CONTINUATION
he threw open the car door and stuffed me inside, before i could even sit up he yanked a black cloth over my head and everything went dark, i felt ropes tightening around my hands, i thrashed around like a wild animal but i was trapped...completely trapped
i didn't even know where i was anymore, i didn't know where i was going, i tried to scream for help one more time
"please help m—" but the words never finished, everything went black;
I passed out cold