My hands clenched so hard my nails bit skin.“I’m not a product.”
The blonde’s gaze softened a fraction, like she pitied me for still believing that mattered.“In here, you are.”
The rocking girl whispered, “Don’t say that too loud.”
I stared at her.“Why?”
Her mouth trembled.“Because they like when you say no.It’s a game to them.They want to hear you beg to be a person again.”
My chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe properly.
I forced air in through my nose.Slow.Controlled.I couldn’t fall apart.Not here.Not in front of them.Not where someone could use my pain against me.
I crouched near the wall, keeping my back to it.Keeping my eyes on the door.
“What are your names?”I asked, because I needed something real in my mouth.Something human.
The blonde hesitated, like her name was a luxury she wasn’t sure she was allowed to spend.
“Lena,” she finally revealed.
The dark-haired girl looked me dead in the eye.“Amara.”
The rocking girl’s lips moved.No sound.Then, barely, “Cici.”
I nodded once, like I was storing them somewhere safe.
“And you?”Amara asked.“What do they call you?”
I swallowed.“Neve.”
Lena’s eyes flicked over my bruises again, then to my throat, like she was checking what kind of damage I’d carry into the next room.
I stared at the door.At the lock.At the simple, brutal fact that it didn’t matter how smart I was if I couldn’t get out of the box.
“What do you do when they come in?”I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.
Amara’s eyes narrowed.“You mean when they pick?”
I nodded.
Lena’s expression went hard.“You watch their hands.”
“That’s it?”My voice cracked despite me.
Amara’s mouth curled.“You watch their hands.You watch their eyes.You don’t drink anything you didn’t see poured.You don’t eat unless you have to.”
Cici’s whisper cut through.“You don’t cry.”
I looked at her.“Why?”
She blinked slowly.“Because they like it.”
Something inside me—something wounded and furious—twisted.
“Is there any way out?”I asked.
Amara laughed once.Shrill.Bitter.“There’s always a way out.”