I am so fucked.
Surveying my surroundings, I see that there is only one window in the room I’m in, and only a sliver of light peeks from the sides of the curtain. It’s not pitch black, but it’s dark enough for me to be uncomfortable. I’m in the monster's lair. The monster enters the room at that moment.
“Oh good, you’re awake,” Dean says, coming close and stroking his hand over my head. He runs my hair through his handsand I shiver, feeling my eyes begin to water. I don’t want to show him the fear that is settling deep in my stomach. My mouth, still occupied with the gag, is unable to say anything. I can only listen, and pray to the goddesses that someone has noticed I’m gone. I have no idea what time it is, so I have no idea if Harley has stopped by the shop yet.
“You know, I tried to bring your little friend, too,” Dean says, sitting on the bed behind me. “But he took off before I could make it happen.”
My head snaps back as Dean yanks my hair, pulling my gaze up to the ceiling. Dean’s face fills my vision as he hovers above me. I try to talk around the gag; I need to know who he tried to take. My heart is thumping so loud I can hear it in my ears.
“I bet you’re asking yourself who I tried to take?” he says before coming around in front of me, squatting between my legs. He runs his hand up my thigh, and my body goes completely still.I can’t do this. I can’t let him take from me again.
“Rawley,” he says as he grabs my face. “He’s ours, isn’t he?”
My body processes faster than my brain, and I immediately throw up. The gag prevents me from spewing it out, so I sit there, choking on my vomit.
“God damn it, Ember,” Dean says as he yanks the gag out of my mouth. The contents of my stomach pour all over him. “Fucking sick.” He wipes the puke off himself and turns to leave.
“Dean…” I say, now that I'm not gagged, and he stops in his tracks.
He whirls around. “Say it again,” he commands without breaking eye contact. His eyes are literally shining.
“Dean,” I say. I don’t know what else to do. My fight or flight is restricted to fight, and my fight seems to be feeding into his delusional desires. Now that I know his true weakness, I know what I have to do to keep myself alive.
I have to want him. Or pretend to.
I see a slight bulge growing in his pants, and it makes me want to throw up again, but I hold back. “Can you take me to the bathroom?” I ask him, trying to make myself sound calm. “So I can clean up, please, Dean?” My voice saying his name seems to be his kryptonite. I need to be aware of my surroundings, and see if I can recognize where he’s got me hidden away.
“Fuck,” he says before walking out of the room. I drop my head in defeat. I look over at the closet, not recognizing it. I turn my head as far as it can turn, and catch a picture frame on the wall over the bed. It’s his mom and him. His mom was absolutely fucking insane. She made my life hell any chance she could. She has a long list of legal charges, and an even longer list of unethical instances. She’s the reason Dean ended up living in the same house as me while I was pregnant. She’s the reason he spent my entire pregnancy raping me.
I’ll dance on her grave when she goes.
Dean enters the room, filling my personal space before I can process it. “You’ll go to the bathroom, I’ll put you in the shower, and then you’ll come right back here,” he says, no emotion detected in his tone. He grabs my face, and I can feel his hot breath on my nose. “Try anything, and I will make you pay.” I whimper without meaning to.
“I won’t,” I tell him. As long as he doesn’t go too far, I’ll listen to what he says. Even though I want to be a strong, badass woman, Dean has at least a foot on me, and I know I don't stand a chance if he wants to overpower me. “But can I ask you some questions?” I ask him. He looks at me with a twitch in his eye.
“I won't tell you where you are. Not that it matters. Your phone is in the pond,” he says before he gets to work untying me.
I try to think of all the places where there is a pond. I can only think of one that’s super busy with people, and I highly doubt he wouldchance that. So, we must be at his grandparents' abandoned home, I decide. I remember he took me fishing there once. We were only ever on the water, so I never saw the inside of the house.
Dean finishes untying my arms and they fall limp to my sides. I bring them into my lap and rub them, trying to ease the pain. He kneels in front of me, untying my legs now.
Once he’s done, I try to stand up, but my legs give out and I collapse back into the chair. Dean rolls his eyes with annoyance as if he’s not the reason I’m weak.
He yanks me up to my feet, and he puts his arm around me. “Put your arms around my waist,” he says before he starts walking, and I have no choice but to hang onto him. I can do it myself, I just needed a minute for my legs to wake up after being immobile for goddess knows how long. Dean has no interest in waiting and begins pulling me forward.
“Will you tell me what time it is?” I ask him. I am trying to take in as much as I can as we walk. Pictures line the walls of the hallway as we make our way to the dark bathroom.
Dean flips on the light, and it illuminates the grungy bathroom. I stay where I am, not wanting to trigger him. He walks over to the shower and turns on the water, sitting on the edge of the tub, his hand under the water.
“If you have a rag, I can just clean up.” I realize what he’d said about getting into the shower, and the thought of being naked makes me feel way too exposed and vulnerable to him. He ignores me. “I only threw up on my shirt,” I tell him, trying again to make him hear me.
“Fine,” he says before turning the water off. “But I'll need to put this in the washer. It fucking stinks.”
I let out the breath I was holding. But before I can finish that thought, Dean rips my shirt over my head and I’m standing there in just my purple bra. Chills run up my back.
“Here,” he says as he rips his own shirt off and puts it over my head. He’s a solid extra large and I'm a medium at best, so it falls to my knees. “I always wanted to see you in nothing but my t-shirt,” he whispers into my ear before he walks away. His musty Old Spice smell invades my senses, and I hold in the gag I want so desperately to let out. “Don’t fucking move.”
I stay there but turn towards the hallway, trying to see if any of the doors to the other rooms are open. Unfortunately, none are, but I see the light outside has dimmed significantly. It’s getting late, and my lessening chances of being found are sending me into a panic. I don’t know what his plans are for me. Harley would never stop looking. And Atlas.My fucking heart. Atlas would burn the world down to find me.My eyes begin to water, but I quickly wipe at them when I hear footsteps coming back towards me.
