Chapter 4...Three months later

The first day I got here was one of the worst days of my life. Ever since August, I've had the same nightmares for the past 3 months. Some nights I just get no sleep and end up staring at the belly of one of my roommate's mattresses. Either that or I just end up waking up in the middle of the night looking like I have a 120-degree fever. That's when I usually explore the warehouse. I used to try to meet Trevor when that happened because he was the only one that made me feel comfortable in this hell hole.

He usually worked out at the time that I woke up. But tonight was especially scary for me so I needed someone to talk to. I wandered around the warehouse trying to find him in the booty shorts that they give us for PJ's but it was freezing cold at this time in the year. I wrapped my arms around my torso trying to find warmth. I knocked on his door but nobody answered so I just let it be. I wasn't even supposed to hang out with him since I was one of the "special ones" for sex trafficking. None of the guys talked to the girls, it was just a rule here.

I walked back to my room but on the way there I couldn't stop thinking about my dream. I was back in Wal-Mart and I was screaming for my dad. But from where I was standing, I could see him right in front of me and Luke pointing the gun at him. I wasn't there at all, instead, I was behind like this wall of fuzz. I could see the events but I couldn't move from where I was standing because something was blocking my way out. Like a glass cage. I bang against the glass crying for my dad but it's like they can't hear me. I hear the shot ring through the air. And my dad falls to the ground. But next thing I know, I'm in the pitch-black darkness next to Jared's body with his blood on my hands.

I stop in my tracks as soon as I hear someone say my name. "Amber?"

I snap out of the thoughts and look at where the voice was coming from.

"Trevor? What are you doing? You know you're not supposed to talk to me" I said, surprised. Yes, it was true that we used to talk whenever this happened but that ended about 2 and a half months ago. Luke and Jason decided to rough me up after seeing me talk with Trevor because I'm one of the "special ones" and nobody talks to the girls, so he decided that we shouldn't be friends.

"I heard a knock on my door and I was curious. I came out and saw you wandering again," he said with his soft tone. His eyes were searching mine and he was looking for the reason I came looking for him.

"It's nothing," I said, turning around to walk in the same direction I was before.

As I started walking, I paused in my tracks hearing a sound that caught my attention. I looked to where the sound was coming from and it was a dent in the corner of the warehouse that nobody even noticed. It was so dark you could barely even see it open. But it was open enough to where I can bend the metal even more than before and probably crawl through the hole.

I felt Trevor put his hand on my shoulder and I turned around. I looked into his eyes and his expression was filled with worry and concern.

He put a hand up to my forehead and said "Amber you're burning up, maybe you should go lay down. Try and get some sleep."

I looked away from him thinking "How can I get sleep tonight? I can't sleep not today. Not tomorrow. Not until I find Jared and make sure he is safe." I turned back around to go to my room when I heard him get a little louder.

"What do you want from me Amber? You want me to care? Or you don't, but I will never know if you don't talk to me!" he said with a hint of desperation in his voice

"Trevor...you made the call to not be friends with me anymore. You made the call not to talk to me for 2 and a half months. You have made every call that has affected us. I just can't take this. You're either my friend or one of them. Either way it's your choice." I said in a medium volume voice. I could hear him sigh behind me and I turned around to look at him.

"Amber...I made that call because of what happened to you. I want to be your friend I really do but I can't be without you getting hurt. I'm trying to keep you safe from these goddamn people," he said in a low voice.

My thoughts were screaming at me for what I was about to do but something stopped me. "If you tell him about Jared then they can find him. The supplies most likely haven't even run out yet so he would still be at the house. Don't tell them about him."

Trevor looked at me with his eyes saying "Trust me" but, I didn't know if I could trust him. My brother's life was on the line here.

"It's nothing," I said in a blunt tone to Trevor

He looked a little pained by my answer and he turned around and walked away. I didn't know what to do at this point. But I did know what I had to do.

* * *

I walked back to my room to hear one of my roommates wake up. I opened the door to see my friend, Claire, awake. And right after she saw me, the girl that genuinely hates me with all of her guts wakes up and sees me. Claire saw me and greeted me with a smile but Lydia, the girl who hates me, gave me a stare with her light brown eyes saying "why is this bitch here again". This girl was starting to really get on my nerves especially when she tried to always get me into trouble.

Claire hopped down from her bunk and started getting dressed in the daily outfit that one of the girls lays out for all of us. Of course, considering our job, we have to wear something seductive and if we refuse, it's time to take a visit to the boss of this whole corporation.

I look at the outfit laid across my bed and as usual, I hate it. But it was better than getting beat to death. I put on the shorts that showed off almost every inch of my thighs and the blue shirt that was cropped so short you could almost see my boobs. And for shoes, they either give us heels or sneakers and thankfully today I got sneakers.

"Today's isn't as bad as yesterday's jumpsuit, is it!" Claire said, trying to lighten the mood.

She knows that I hate to show some skin even though I have a nice body. These clothes just show too much skin for my taste.

"Yeah. I think today is going to be a little of a chill day." I said

Claire is like me. She is one of the "special ones." We spend almost all of our time together trying to bear through this whole thing. I gave Claire a smile when I heard a banging on the door to our room. It opened and Trevor was at the door.

Trevor was assigned to our room to make sure that nobody took too much advantage of us to make sure there was still some left for other customers. I know he hates it but he would prefer to keep all the girls safe than stay at the warehouse doing other things.

"Alright ladies are you ready to start?" he asked with disgust in his voice

We all nodded simultaneously. Trevor shot me a glance that looked like he was still upset from our conversation earlier this morning. He looked back at the whole group and moved out of the doorway to let us pass. I was last in line and without expecting it, Trevor caught my arm. He looked into my eyes and I looked into his dark brown eyes. There was a warning in his expression.

"Today isn't an easy day. I'm outside your door just in case," he said with such hate in his voice. Like he knew something bad was going to happen.

My brows drew together with concern and fear. And I gave him a little nod. As soon as I did he said one more thing to me but in a whisper that nobody around us could hear.

"Don't try it today. They are putting guards there today until 10 PM. Tonight is when all the guys will be out. I will say I am sick and can't go party with them and stay here with you. At 1 AM is when we leave," he said with such assurance that it caught me off guard. He let go of my arm and let me follow the rest of the group. And I already knew that I was in absolute surprise. He knew what I was thinking this morning. When he caught me staring, he already knew the plan from the inside. He was going to get me out. And it was happening tonight.

* * *

Trevor drove us to the massage place. It was the most common area of our "business" in Georgia. There would be different girls every single day coming to this parlor because our biggest clients are people that have some of the biggest jobs in a huge company, they can get away with saying that they need a stress reliever so they would go get a massage.

As we get out of the van, Claire grabs my arm and asks "What did Trevor say?" with eagerness in her voice. She was the only one I knew that I could trust. So I told her about Jared and everything that Trevor and I talked to her. But today, I couldn't. I couldn't talk to her about this because she might blow it.

"Nothing. He was just telling me to be good or else the big boss is going to see me. You know too many strikes," I said with a faint smile.

Claire was a bit surprised but that expression faded off of her face quickly. She wanted to say something but she couldn't because she didn't know if it would hurt me. I could tell from her eyes staring at me.

"What? You can tell me you know," I said.

She sighed. "I just...I know today is hard for you but, if you want to talk about it I will listen," she said with a reassuring smile. I smiled back and thought about talking about it real quick.

"I just....miss him. I can't believe I just left him behind. His birthday is today and he is all alone and I just can't stand to be withou-" I got cut off by a familiar voice that was eavesdropping on our conversation.

"Miss who?" Trevor said with a questioning face

I didn't know what to say to him and he was waiting for an answer. I don't know how to lie to Trevor. It's like he sees right through me. I turn around, to stop myself staring at him and start walking. Claire catches up and slips right in front of me. Trevor's voice comes from behind me and asks "Amber, who the hell were you talking about?"

I turn around to look at him and cross my arms over my chest. "Why do you care?" I said in a bitter tone.

His brows drew together and his eyes told me that he was angry.

"Because...I just...I'm a curious person that's it."

"It's not important," I say, turning back around to face the massage place. He catches my shoulder and I turn to face him. I avoid eye contact with him but he doesn't care, he just says what needs to.

"Amber, please. I'm...just trying to-" I cut him off before he could continue

"Today was supposed to be my father's birthday ok? Are you happy now? I left him abandoned in that stupid Wal-Mart. We were supposed to have a cake and a meal that for once wouldn't be burnt by his lack of culinary skills. I was supposed to be with him but he is all alone, dead, in that stupid Wal-Mart," I shouted at him. Tears were in my eyes.

"Amber, I...I didn't know," he said, looking down at me. He came closer and before he could say anything else, I stormed off into the massage parlor.

"You don't want him to know about your brother do you?" Claire said in shock. I shook my head clarifying why I lied to Trevor. She had her arms out about to embrace me when I ran into her arms hugging her first. Her dirty blonde hair covered my face so that nobody could see why I was really hugging her.

"Ok we need to go to our rooms or else we are going to be in huge trouble," Claire said.

I nodded in agreement and walked to my room.

* * *

When I entered the room, my first client was already here. We didn't know the names of our clients just so we could avoid starting drama. But I could tell this man was rich. His blonde hair was neatly groomed, he pulled off his expensive shoes and suit and left them on the floor. Now the only thing covering his tan skin was a towel.

"Come here Darlin' Let me show some love," he said with a strong southern accent, his blue-green eyes finding mine.

I did as he said and came over to him. For some reason he scared me more than the others. There was something different about him. More aggressive and powerful and I could feel the fear forming into a monster in my chest.

He grabbed my waist and held me tight. He started to kiss my neck and then moved up to my jaw and then he stopped. I took off my shoes just to get a little more comfortable. His hands moved up my shirt and touched my bra. And I felt a little uneasy about that. He started kissing me at my stomach, my arms, all while his hands moved up and down my waist. From waistband to bra. And then I felt it. His grip was a little tighter around my waist and it made me feel uneasy. He kept moving up and down and kissing everywhere until he stopped at my waist and held me so tight that it felt like the day Luke kicked me in the stomach.

He could feel my struggle a little and whispered "What's wrong Darlin' not enjoying yourself," and then went back to kissing me everywhere.

I don't understand. I have done this for 3 months. Yeah, I was still a little uncomfortable with it but I almost became so numb during this whole thing that I just didn't care. It was the only way I could survive this. Then I couldn't feel him let go as I pushed against him.

"Trevor!" I shouted

"Trevor," I shouted louder. This guy wouldn't release his grip on me and even when I was struggling he just kept asking "Who's Trevor? Come on Darlin' relax, I won't bite"

I wasn't too sure about that one. Then I could feel him grip me even harder.

"Trevor!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

I heard the door slam open and I could see the anger in his face. I don't even know why he was so angry.

The guy finally let go of me and put his hands up showing that he didn't touch me.

"Maybe you should get her checked out. I didn't even lay a finger on her," he said with an evil smile on his face.

"Your time is up, maybe you should leave," Trevor said as a response

The guy got his clothes and left the money on the table before leaving. He didn't even put on his clothes when he left. He just left in the towel.

I put my shoes back on and adjusted my shirt to feel more comfortable. Trevor turned to me with a worried face and apologize in his eyes.

"Are you ok? Did he hurt you?" he asked

I nodded, looking away from him. The guilt from yelling at him this morning and arriving here was bubbling up in my chest. I felt so bad for getting so upset but today is just one of my dark days. He put one hand on each arm and his face was serious.

I finally got the courage to look up into his eyes. I shook my head assuring that nothing else happened other than the man gripping me harder than anyone has ever.

"God I'm so sorry. I didn't hear you shouting. I was on a phone call with Jason and when I heard you scream I ran in. How long did he have that grip on you for?" he asked.

"Maybe 10 minutes," I said.

"Goddammit I am so sorry Amber," he said. His voice sounded like he was about to kill someone.

I looked at him and gave him a faint smile before I said "Trevor?"

"Yeah Amber?" he said, taking his hands off of me

"I'm sorry...for this morning and earlier. I didn't mean to yell at you. You didn't know what today was and I'm just sorry," I said, looking away from him so he wouldn't see the pain in my eyes.

He looked at me and assured me "It's ok Amber. I get it. When they got me into this whole mess...they shot my dad and took my sister. She was the oldest out of all of us and when that happened...my younger sister and I were in the backseat with her. We were already tested and they wanted to take all 3 of us. I don't know what happened to my older sister. That was the last day I ever saw her but I know for a fact my mom is dead because of her. You just have your dark days at times."

I looked at him with shock. Trevor is an orphan? I yelled at him about stuff he has already gone through.

"God I feel terrible. I didn't know that you and I were in the same situation. But, what happened to your younger sister?" I asked, looking at him waiting for him to explain.

He took a long pause before he looked at me and drew his eyebrows together. Not in anger but in focus.

"Well, she is still with me here in The WildFires but she goes by a different last name now and a nickname. I made her get a different name so they didn't get to her if I ever did something wrong. She has some similarities but there are more differences in our appearances. So it was a perfect opportunity to keep her safe from them."

He looked into my eyes. I looked away to gather my thoughts.

"How did our lives become so fucked up?" I asked

He gave me a smile and a little laugh. I looked at him taking every part of him in. His teeth were perfectly straight, his eyes were so dark, and his chestnut hair that hung above his eyes.

"Maybe we should gather the other girls and leave. Some more clients are coming in about 30 minutes and Jason is bringing his girls over," he said looking away from me.

"I'll go get Claire" I said walking out of the room before he said "Tonight?"

I turned around, gave him a smile, and said "Tonight."

* * *

As soon as I got Claire, all the other girls were already in the van by the time we got outside. We hopped inside and within 3 minutes, we were already moving. It took us about 15 minutes to get back to the warehouse.

I already had a bad feeling about going inside because of what happened with the client. The client would probably have told them what happened and we are never allowed to stop unless they are trying to kill us. So I already knew I was in trouble, I just didn't know how much. I stayed in the back of the van for a little while longer just to collect my thoughts. All the girls already went inside the warehouse just so they could get this day over with.

I could feel the fear rising into my throat. I felt so sick. I was going to get out tonight but not without a scratch. No probably worse. I heard the front door slam and the car shook a little. When Trevor got around to the back, he already knew what I was thinking.

"I know you're scared right now but you did the right thing. The guy was hurting you," he said

I tore my eyes away from the spot of the van I was staring at and looked at him. He was leaning against the side of the van, revealing all his aspects to the warm orange the sun was giving for light. His arms crossed over his chest showing his biceps. His hair was a golden brown with the sunset shining on it, and his dark brown eyes were a little lighter from the sunlight hitting it.

"Yeah, I know. But we both know that when I walk in there...It's not going to end well for me," I said

He shook his head like he was trying to get a thought out of his head. He looked back at me with his brows drawn together.

"They may not believe what you say but they do believe what I say," he said to reassure me

After that, he pushed his weight off the van and started to walk into the warehouse.

I stood up in the van and jumped out of the back. I was walking towards the warehouse and with every step, the blood started pounding in my ears louder and louder. I could feel my heart against my chest. I opened the door that entered the warehouse and just my luck...I was right. I saw Luke and Jason standing in front of me with their arms crossed over their chest. I scanned the room for Trevor but I couldn't find him. I couldn't find Claire either so at least she was safe.

Luke and Jason looked furious and I should know that with that look from those two. I am about to get a major beating. Jason walked towards me and Luke walked a few steps behind him. As soon as he reached me, I could feel his grip on my arm. It didn't hurt that much but I already knew what this grip meant.

I felt Luke's fist find my stomach. He punched about 5 times with full force in the stomach and then he moved to my face. The sting from his strength spread across my body. Then I felt his fist make contact with my cheek. It pushed me to the ground. He punched me about 3 more times before I felt him stop.

"Don't you ever throw a client off you again," he said with such anger in his voice

That's when I saw Trevor behind the tall figure in front of me. His hands were clenched into such tight fists that I could see the white over the knuckles. His facial expression was all anger. No softness was left in his face from what I could tell.

"He was hurting her. He broke the rules that he already knew," I heard Trevor yell at them.

They both turned around to him and processed what he just said. They looked at each other trying to decide what to do. Jason looked back at me.

"Show me," he demanded. His voice was angry but not for the reason Trevor was. It was because I screwed over one of their best clients.

I pointed to the red marks on my waist. I saw his eyes follow my finger. I put down my finger and Jason's eyes found mine. His eyes were filled with hate and anger. Then he turned around to Luke and gave him a nod signifying that what Trevor said was true.

He turned back towards me and said "You got lucky this time princess, but next time you're going upstairs."

He stood up from the crouching position he was in and he started to walk away. Luke followed like a little puppy dog. I could feel tiny, skinny hands lift me up.

It was Claire.

She let me put half of my weight on her even though I weighed maybe 20 or 30 more pounds than she did. She was really underweight for our age.

"I think I can stand," I said to her, looking at her dark blue eyes with a facial expression that says that I was telling the truth.

She looked at me and gave me a nod. I felt her letting me go but still standing next to me, making sure that I can actually stand on my own.

We walked back to our room in silence, not knowing what to say to each other after what just happened. As she opened the door to the room, I could hear the gasp from our other two roommates. Gracie was the first to the door. Her hazel eyes found my dark ones and her dirty blonde hair flew behind her shoulders as soon as she hopped off her bunk bed. She gave me an expression asking what happened.

"The guy in the room had his nails long enough to make some indents on my waist. I pushed him off of me and Jason and Luke were made since he was one of their biggest clients," I said looking away from her.

I felt her pull me into a hug but I stepped back before she could. Her arms fell to her sides and then she walked back to her bed saying something under her breath.

One thing I have learned from being here for so long is to avoid touching. The only one I actually let touch me is Claire. She is the only one that makes me feel safe in her arms. We are both each others safe places.

Our other roommate, Ly, was shocked by what happened but she didn't care enough to not hate me anymore. I could feel Ly's eyes on me. It was a mix of emotions when I found her eyes. Hatred, regret, anger, sadness. I looked away and started walking to my bed.

It was 9 PM. The guys were going out in an hour and in almost 4 hours I was going to get out of this place.

"Amber, are sure you're ok?" Gracie asked

"Yeah I just need some sleep. I haven't gotten a lot of sleep lately and I am just exhausted," I said laying down on my bed.

I could feel the bruising starting to form in my stomach and cheek. But despite the pain I could still manage to close my eyes. And before I drifted off into a sweet sleep I whispered "Goodbye, Claire."

And everything went a sweet and peaceful black.