Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Ana

My stomach grumbles and cramps. Again. After pulling my knees up to my chest to muffle the sound, I lay my head down and stare out the window at the courtyard. Watching the leaves flutter in the breeze helps distract me.

If only he weren't here. Then I could go down and find something to eat. I won't do that while he's home, though. I'd rather starve to death in the safety of my bedroom than take a chance of running into him.

Branches sway in the soft wind right outside my window, and a mama robin swivels her head around, looking for a snack for her new babies. Sometimes, at night, I slide my window open to talk to her as if she is my mom. She seems like a good one to her hungry little birdies.I like to think that my own mom would have loved me and treated me well. Maybe he would have been different to me, too.

I do everything I can to distract myself while the sun settles behind the mountains in the distance. Usually, as long as he doesn't see me, he leaves me alone. That's my only hope for tonight. Besides the hopes and dreams I have of him dying of some kind of painful disease or getting hit by a car. Better yet, a bus. No, a train. He deserves to be hit by a train.

One day, I'll get free of him. I'll be brave enough to slip past his guards and run away. I may have been sheltered all my life, but I know I've been of an adult age for two years, so technically, I'm free to do whatever I want.

According to him, though, he owns me, and his men won't hesitate to shoot me if I ever try to escape. He hates me, so why does he want me here so badly?

A cramp squeezes my tummy again. I groan and close my eyes. Why didn't I grab some food to hide in my room the last time I was in the kitchen? Oh, that's right, it was because one of my father's men was down there, staring at me like I was a piece of prime meat. I got out of there as quickly as I could.

Crap. Why did I have to think about meat? A big fat steak sounds delicious. With mashed potatoes.

My tummy grumbles again. I groan and lean forward. It's been two days since I was last outside of this room. If only Gloria still worked here, she would have brought me some snacks. She would have never let me go hungry. But of course, the one good person in my life had to leave because she did something to piss off my father. She was the longest-running housekeeper he's had. I'm surprised she lasted as long as she did. The new one won't even look me in the eye. She's barely said five words to me since she started. I have no doubt that my father gave her instructions to ignore me.

He hates me. He always has. Because I look too much like my mother, a reminder of the wife he lost giving birth to me.

I start to doze off, but every time I slide into that comfortable space, another cramp wakes me. I'm not sure what time I finally move from the window seat to my bed, but it's dark out, and the house is quiet. Maybe he'll be gone in the morning.Or maybe I'll be put out of my misery in my sleep.