Unedited:

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 "Night falls, with gravity.

The earth turns, from sanity

Taking my only friend I know,

He leaves a lot, his name is "Hope"."

- Twenty-One Pilots "Semi-Automatic"

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“No way! You didn’t!” Tony said as he started to laugh as he found what I said humorous.

I gave a smile, “I’m dead serious,” I confirmed. “I don't like bullies and when I saw that boy, Jude Keagan, pushing a kid in a locker - I marched up to Jude and sucker punched him. That was before I got the kid out of the locker and shoved Jude into it.”

“Wow, I’ve never heard of someone standing up to a bully like that,” Tony commented.

I shrugged my shoulders, “I was going through a hard time and I couldn’t stand someone else going a hard time.”

Tony, who had came in here a little while go to bring me food and stayed because Colton ordered him to watch me and make sure I eat every bite, smiled. “I would have done the same ... Hey, if you don’t mind me asking ... why are you here?” He asked.

I furrowed my eyebrow, “You don’t know?”

Shaking his head, Tony spoke up, “No. I don’t dare ask Mr. Sharp and, well, I know Rachel knows but she a complete ass and won’t tell me.”

I chuckled for that was something we could agree on. “I’ll tell you, if you tell me something.”

“What?”

I sighed, “How long have I been here?” I asked for it felt like a few days, but I wasn’t sure. There was no clock in here, just a mattress that was giving me horrible back pains.

“Four days,” Tony informed me.

I gave a small frown for I realized how long it has been. I started to wonder what Colton had told my parents because without a doubt he had spoken to them and gave them some bullshit of a lie. Releasing a loud exhale, I wondered if Colton was ever going to ‘call upon me’ as he put it the other day.

Resting my head on the brick wall behind me, I wanted to see Colton's face — to talk to him. But just thinking this was all his making, made me shake that idea out of my mind as I felt hatred boiled up in my veins.

“...I stole from Duke, who is one of Col-” I stopped mid-sentence and corrected myself, “One of Mr. Sharp’s men.”

“... He didn’t kill you, that is odd,” Tony exclaimed in a low tone.

Giving a small smile, I nodded, “Very odd, almost like he has a heart,” I muttered.

“What was that?”

I shook my head, “Nothing.” Moving my empty tray off my lap, I handed it to Tony. “Here, I’ve finished it all. You can tell Col - Mr. Sharp how good I was,” I sarcastically remarked.

Tony grabbed the tray from me. “Do you need to go to the restroom?”

I shook my head for Rachel had came in about two hours ago and escorted me to the restroom. “No, I’m good.” I frowned deeper as his simple question reminded me just how much of a prisoner I was. Wait, I take that back because a prisoner has more right than me at the moment — they at least have a freaking bathroom. They don’t have to knock on the door and ask someone to escort them to the bathroom.

“Okay, but if you change your mind, just knock on the door and the person who is guarding the door will get you out.”

I nodded, “Yeah, okay ... hey, is someone always guarding my door?”

“Yes,” Tony admitted, “It is Mr. Sharp’s orders.”

“What about the other prisoners here? Are there people outside their doors?”

Tony shook his head, “There are only five other people down here beside you ... And now that you mention it — no, Mr. Sharp doesn’t have guards outside their door.”

“Oh, are their rooms like mine — with no bathrooms?”

Tony gave me a saddened look, “Yeah. But they get restroom breaks twice a day.”

“Twice a day, what if they have to go more than that-” I stopped when I realized what they must have to do. “That is sick! I really am starting to hate him! I’ve never hated Colton in my entire life but now!” I hissed.

Tony looked at me with a raised eyebrow, “Colton?”

I bit my bottom lip as I realized I had said his name. Which, I knew was a no-no for it was known, even to me, that Colton - Mr. Sharp - kept his true name a secret.

“Huh?” I played dumb.

“You said you hated Colton. Who is-"

“There you are!” Rachel said as she came in the room. “You know you are not allowed to fraternize with her.”

Tony, who was sitting on the floor and leaned up against a wall, quickly stood up. “He told me to stay here and make sure she ate all of her food. She just finished.”

“It took her an hour to eat a plate of food?”

“We don’t all gulp down our food like savages,” I plainly stated as I locked eyes with Rachel and gave her a pointed look.

Rachel began to advance towards me with an outraged expression. “Why, you bitc-”

Tony stepped in between Rachel and I. He leaned down whispered something in her ear.

After he spoke, Rachel took steps back, away from Tony and I. “You think you’re so damn invincible,” Rachel exclaimed as she looked around Tony and stared straight at me. “What’d you do to get Mr. Sharp to let you live? Promised to be his little toy-”

“Enough, Rachel,” Tony proclaimed with a stern voice.

“Tony, why are you defending her? He’s giving her the royal treatment and you-”

“Royal treatment!” I shouted as I stood up and moved around Tony. “You call being locked in a basement room, with no windows or even bathroom — a royal treatment?! I’m stuck here! For what seems to be the rest of my life! What part of this is do you consider a royal fucking treatment?! At least you get to feel the sun on your face any moment you please — at least you can feel the grass blades between the toes of your bare feet - Or feel the wind wipe around you. Where I’m stuck down here — in this dusty room that smells like it has been bleached down a thousand times over.”

“Very poetic,” She spat. “But I consider this the royal treatment for at least you get to go to the bathroom whenever you want — at least you get chances to get rewarded — and at least you get to breathe another day. Don’t you see? He has taken favor in you, you’re far more better off than the others who are here. So, tell me, Doll, what’d you do?! Promise him a blow job? Or-”

“You’re really pissing me off,” I hissed.

Rachel snickered, “And your face is tempting me to punch it.”

“Do it, and it will be the last thing you do, Rachel.” A cool voice spoke from the doorway.

I looked over to see Colton leaning, lazily, on the doorpost.

Turning around, Rachel faced him. “Mr. - Mr. - Sharp ... I - I...”

Colton pushed off the doorpost and stood up straight. He stepped to his left, “You were leaving,” He said in a demanding tone as he gestured her out the empty space beside him in the doorway.

Rachel didn’t mutter a single word, as she walked out the room with her head hung down low.

“You too, Tony,” Colton stated.

“Yes, Sir,” Tony replied as he began to walk out. When he got to Colton, Tony stopped. “She ate everything, Sir,” He told Colton as he showed him the empty plate.

Colton didn’t look at the plate, instead he just nodded, “Thank you.”

With that, Tony nodded, too, and walked away.

“Well, don’t just stand there, come in!” I stated in an enthusiastic tone of voice the moment everyone was gone and out of earshot. Colton walked in and eyed the room. “Oh, I would tell you to sit down, but I fear the dirt that’s collected on my bare mattress would ruin that expensive suit you have on,” I remarked with a sweet smile. “I would offer you something to drink, but it seems my butler Tony was giving the day off,” I played.

Colton glared at me, showing that he was not liking my sarcasm.

Walking over to my mattress, I sat down. “Sorry, if the room stinks — but to be honest it is not the room, it’s me. Seems I’ve not taken a shower in four days. But, what do you care?” I narrowed my eyes to match his. 

“Care? I care more than you could fathom, Allison.”

I rolled my eyes, “Mr. Sharp doesn’t care for anyone-”

“You’re right, Mr. Sharp doesn’t care for anyone. He can’t-”

“Did you come here for a reason, Mr. Sharp?” I inquired as I looked up at him.

Colton walked over to me. Once in front of me, he bent down, “Allison, I hate myself — more then you can imagine for having you down here ... I want to be fair, though...” Colton reached out and tucked a loose strand of my hair behind my ear. “I came to offer you a better deal than what I’ve handed you-”

“I don’t accept,” I told him.

Colton furrowed his eyebrows, “I haven’t even told you the deal.”

“You don’t need to. Whatever you have to offer, that is a better ‘deal’ than this, I decline. I will not accept something that will make you sleep better at night. I know you, you are only offering something ‘better’ because guilt is eating you up. Well, good! I hope it chews up every fiber of your being. I hope you choke to death on the realization that while you are Mr. Sharp, you are also Colton Pierce - a boy that raised me! Taught me to walk! Sprint! Run! A boy that taught me how to count, say my alphabet! That protected me from monsters, like yourself.

“I wish nothing more,” I continued with venom seeping into my tone, “for you to find a dark hole, crawl in and die! Whether you are Mr. Sharp, the heartless monster, or Colton Pierce, the boy that was my everything growing up ... You might be ashamed of me, the girl that you raised, but trust me when I say - I don’t care. You mean nothing to me, Mr. Sharp or, even, Colton Pierce.”

“You’re lying — you care,” He stated as he saw through my lie.

“ ... You’re right, Mr. Sharp, I care for the Colton inside of you, but give me a week — a month — a year — a lifetime and trust me, somewhere in that time span I will not care. I will get over the betrayal and anger. I will not give a flying fuck about you. And trust me, when that day comes, I will rejoice!”

Colton sighed before standing up. “Tomorrow, morning you will be woken up and allowed to take a shower. There will be clean clothes given to you. After you are changed, you will be brought to me. Tomorrow, we will start your first day." 

“First day?”

“I need an assistant and since you, sorta, already know the business I run, I’ve picked you for the position. We will leave the house, at eight o’clock in the morning to go to my ...  I guess you can call it corporate office...” He gave a small smile, as if he had said a joke.

“If I refuse?”

Colton shrugged his shoulders, “I’m offering you a chance to get out of this room — you’d be a fool not to accept.”

“Consider me a fool, because I decline.”

“Why?”

“Did you not get it through your thick skull? I will not do something to help you sleep at night! You want to punish me, Colton,” I stated as I allowed myself to call him by his real name, “Then punish me like you do all the other people in here!” 

He didn’t reply to what I said as he turned around and started to walk out of the room. When he got to the door, however, he looked over his shoulder. “If you do change your mind,” He stated as he turned to face me, “and decided to take the position, I will reward you the first day with anything of your choosing.”

“Anything?” I asked with hopefulness.

Colton rolled his eyes, “Yes, anything — within reason, of course ... and if you choose to accept it on a long term bases, that is how you will get paid. Every Friday, you’re allowed to pick one thing you want.” He looked me over before nodding, “Goodnight, Alice, hope to see you tomorrow.”

Once he was gone, I laid down on my bed with a smile ... he had called me Alice.

I was going to take the job, that much I knew — but I was only going to accept it because I needed to get out of this place ... it was just a huge bonus that I will be getting a 'reward' for helping...

Laying there, I wondered what I would ask for...

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A/N:

I'm back! Sorry for the delay in an update, I have a hundred excuses — but I won't waste y'all time with time. 

Yes, this is the last chapter I updated with in the book I deleted. 

Anyways, a new update in this book should be rolling in by the end of this week. 

Please, spread the word that I reposted this story. I fear, and know, I've lost readers because of my actions ... but at this point it is what it is... 

... I hope you can take the time and:

Vote

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and 

SMILE! (Do this one, even if you don't have time to do the others, please)

P.S - If a chapter was dedicated to you in version of this I deleted, comment and tell me, so I can rededicate it to you...