"Boss! We have a situation." A guy comes barging into the room.
"What kind of situation?" The man's gaze lingers on me for a few more seconds then he turns to face the other guy.
"That rich lady-" He's smacked across the face.
"You let her escape didn't you?"
"Sir-" He's smacked again.
"I'll deal with you later." He turns to look at me and Ida. "As for you two," He walks to me and handcuffs my hands to a pipe on the wall. After he's done with me, he ties Ida's right hand and a leg to the wall. "Vincent will be here shortly." With that, he leaves and so does the other guy who came barging in.
After they leave, the room is quiet for a while.
"I'm sorry Camila," Ida says to me. I sit down on the ground. I say nothing. I close my eyes and think to myself. What would have happened if I had never gone on that cruise? A question that I've asked myself today a lot. "By the way, happy birthday. How old are you turning?" I open my eyes and look at the ceiling.
"Twenty-three."
"I'm sorry you have to spend it like this," Ida says to me.
"How old are you?" I ask.
"Twenty-two." I close my eyes. The question once again pops into my mind. This is the first time that I can really truly think about anything since I've been here. "What happened while you were on that cruise ship?" Ida's question startles me.
"I was forced to kill two people I didn't know. Then watch and do these sick twisted games in order to survive. I lost three of my childhood friends that I grew up with and one that I met in college. I was forced to-" I get choked up. Tears start to run down my face, my voice is shaky as I keep going. "I was forced to kill Hazel in a game of Russian roulette. Then there was Bryson, who I lost when we got separated when the rescue boat came. And then, I watched the life go out of my third friend Ariel's eyes when we were escaping to the rescue boat." I break down and sob uncontrollably. "We were almost there. We were so close to freedom and then she got shot. And I watched her die in my arms." Ida looks at me as if she would hug me if she were able to. "And then there was Grace. She died when the cruise was just beginning." I make an attempt to catch my breath and stop crying. Ida looks at me.
"Did you say, her name was Grace? As in Grace Hunter?"
"Yes, but how-"
"Camila, she's not dead. I'm very certain about that. She's the bi-" She stops for a second and then continues. "She's the person who made me kill my dad only a few days ago." My eyes go wide.
"There's no way she's still alive, I watched her die!" I attempt to stand up when I remember my hand is cuffed, making it impossible.
"Well, I'm telling you she's alive and well and-" She stops and then asks me something I don't expect. "Why did you go on that cruise?" I give her a weird look and think about it. Then it hits me.
"I went on that cruise because Grace wanted me to come with her. She said that going on the cruise had something to do with her job and she did not want to go alone." Then I get the answer to the question that has been ringing in my head all day. "If I had never gone on that cruise, I would have been roped into doing something with Grace one way or another. A bunch of people still would've lost their lives. But Hazel, Bryson, and Ariel might still be alive.." I bring my knees up to my chest and stare at the ceiling again trying to stop the tears from flowing. "So no matter what I did, the ones who I was closest to still lost their lives all because of me." The tears threaten to come again, but I force them to stay back.
"Don't look so sad love." My head turns in an instant to see Vincent standing in the doorway. In a matter of seconds, his eyes go from playful to spiteful. "I told him not to touch you." He walks over to me and crouches down to my level. He cups my face into his hand. I do my best to look unfazed by it, but inside I'm dying. Inside, I want to kick him and tell him how much I wish he was dead. But that will get me nowhere. "Are you-"
"I'm fine." I move my head out of his hands.
"I'll be back. Try not to touch it." He leaves the room just as fast as he came in.
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