Ethan dragged Kendall down the hall and threw him into a room as if he were no more than the food he had tried to feed them earlier. The door immediately closed with a defiant bang. Kendall stood back up and looked around.
He was alone.
Although, or maybe because, Kendall had just spent two days with Anya, he now felt more alone than he ever had in his life. The future was no more than a never-ending void filled with rotten food and a lack of human contact.
He would never escape. He would spend the rest of his life here.
Kendall felt tears welling up in his eyes. It was hopeless.
No.
Kendall couldn't lose hope. It was all he had left.
You will get out of here. You will see Anya again.
Anya.
Kendall went over to the door and started banging.
"Anya!" he called as loudly as he could, "Anya, can you hear me?"
"Kendall?" Her voice was faint and shaky, but it was there.
At the sound of her voice, a surge of hope shot through Kendall. They would get through this.
"I'll get us out of here, Anya!" Kendall called to her, "I promise!"
Mrs. Knight sat in the courtroom, watching as her daughter delivered her speech to the judge, trying to convince him to let Anya stay with them. James, Carlos, and Logan sat behind her in the gallery. She couldn't remember a time when they had sat so still for so long. She hadn't heard so much as a peep from them in the hour that they had been there.
"…and that is why it is crucial that Anastasia Petrović be allowed to stay with the Knight family and not be forced into foster care. Thank you."
Katie sat down next to her mother while the judge left the courtroom to contemplate both of the arguments he had just heard.
Katie thought they had a pretty good chance of being able to keep Anya. She had talked about everything that had happened from the day Kendall had first found her, emphasizing on the fact that if it weren't for them, Anya would probably be dead. But Katie was still nervous.
After what seemed like forever, the bailiff ordered the court to rise and the judge came back in.
"After much consideration, I have decided that Anastasia Petrović, if and when she is found, is to be placed in foster care."
Anya sat on the floor, knees drawn up to her body in despair. She felt empty inside. Kendall was gone and Anya couldn't help but feel that he was never coming back.
Kendall paced the floor of his room restlessly. He needed to get out. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand being trapped against his will in a warehouse filled with illegal substances.
Kendall hit his hands against the wall, looking up at the tiny, filthy, miles-away window hanging on the wall, tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Would he ever see his band mates again? His mom? Katie? Camille? Gustavo? Kelly? He missed them all.
No. He couldn't think about them. He had to keep it together so that he could come up with a way out of this accursed place.
Kendall slid down the wall and sat on the cold concrete floor. Closing his eyes, he began to think.
Anya stood up, sighing. What if it had just been a dream? What if Kendall had never been there? What if it had all been a flashback?
Anya heard the heavy thud of Ethan's boots stomp by her door. She cowered in the corner. He sounded angry. Thankfully, he didn't come into the room. Anya breathed a sigh of relief that was quickly cut short as she felt herself slipping into another flashback.
Kendall could hear Ethan's stomping footsteps as he neared his room. Kendall began to count them. One, two...three, four...five, six...he almost sounded like a horse.
Quickly growing tired of counting, Kendall tried to pinpoint the exact moment that his captor would be in front of his door. Almost...almost...
BANG! The door flew open.
Kendall watched in terror as Ethan stumbled towards him, his hands drunkenly fiddling with his belt. Kendall tried to prepare himself for the unthinkable. At least it was happening to him and not Anya, right? He could endure the shame...Anya, on the other hand...
Ethan finally had his belt off. He folded it in half, once, twice. He raised his arm and brought the strap of leather down on his victim. Hard.
Relief flooded through Kendall. Ethan wasn't raping him after all; he was just beating him.
Wait a second. Nobody laid a hand on Kendall Knight. Not without a fight.
Kendall sprang up and punched his assailant in the stomach. Ethan let out a grunt and staggered back. He quickly recovered himself and belted Kendall across the face.
Dazed, Kendall allowed Ethan to land a few more blows before striking back, this time hitting him square in the jaw.
Without even seeming to notice the punch, Ethan grabbed Kendall by the arm and dragged him out of the room, continuing to strike him.
Kendall's anger began to dissipate as a foggy blackness began to dot his vision. He felt detached, as if everything was happening miles and miles away.
No! He couldn't give in. He had to stay awake.
Kendall blindly swung his fist. He was dimly aware of yet another blow to his head and one to his arm. He could no longer feel the pain.
Can't...give up...have to...stay...
Kendall hit the floor with a thud.
Anya sat on the floor trembling from a particularly bad flashback. Images kept flashing through her mind as she tried to calm down.
Trying to run away.
A hand grabbing her hair and yanking her back.
A slap across the face.
A piece of word striking her back.
A sharp pain blossoming in her chest.
Anya began to breathe heavily as she remembered. She tried to replace these memories with a different one, like her therapist had told her, but it just wasn't working.
Suddenly, Anya heard the unmistakable sound of Ethan's heavy footsteps in the hall.
Terrified, Anya backed herself into the corner. No. No. No. No.
The door slammed open and Ethan instantly threw a bloody bundle into the room. Before Anya could even react, he was gone.
Anya stared at the bundle. It wasn't just any bundle.
It was Kendall.
