Page 202 of The Unravelings

“Fucking hell,” I grit out. “Are you trying to break me?”

“Oh, I can only hope, OliPop. Please, let me break you in fucking half. Then maybe you’ll answer all the questions I have for you. Truthfully, this time.” His footsteps echo off the walls as he paces back and forth in front of me. “Anyways, now you have the time to think about everything while you sit here and rot.” Warm breath explodes through the hood, and goosebumps spread across my skin as he gets closer to me. “Good luck, Davenport. Hope you’re prepared to feel your way out of here. But don’t worry, if you don’t get out, I’ll come looking for you. Maybe then you’ll have looser lips after spending some time in the dark,” he chuckles directly in front of my face.

And then he’s gone, offering me nothing more than his retreating footsteps echoing off the vast walls I know surround me.

Silence descends on me from every direction. Only my ragged breaths spilling from my nose beneath the hood hit my ears, mixed with the intense ringing echoing in my head.

Not good. This is not good at all. The only positive thing is that I know how to get out of here. Possibly. The negative? It’s been so many years since I’ve been down here; I’ll have to try to remember my way out. Unless this is a new room they discovered after I died. Or maybe he’s thrown me away completely.

Fuck.

No. There is no time to panic. Panic only leads to mistakes. I have to get my breath under control and stop my heart from sounding like a pounding drum.

“Okay, I need a plan,” I softly say to myself, trying to coax away the worry building higher and higher inside me.

“Maybe the darkness will teach you a lesson, you little bitch!” my father’s voice rings out, heavily under the influence of alcohol and whatever else he uses.

I swallow hard, wincing when the basement door slams shut, and I’m left in nothing but a dark room that smells of moisture and mold, clinging to almost every surface. My face throbs from the jabs he sent my way before he got so pissed and threw me down the stairs. I bite my tongue, holding in the pain-filled groans that ache to seep through my closed lips as I move my body into the sitting position. Luckily, I don’t think anything is broken. This time, at least.

Footsteps sound above my head as he moves through the house, causing more terror than before. My mother’s wails fill the air, filtering through the floorboards and kicking up dust as it blows in the darkness. Blinking several times, I finally get my eyes to adjust to total darkness, wishing there was a light switch or something to give me light down here. I lean my head back against the cold basement wall and let my eyes fall shut as sleep takes me over.

I jolt, trying to shake the memory from my mind. That wasn’t the last time he resorted to shoving me into the basement and keeping me prisoner there. It was one of many. His favorite punishment was before he got so distracted with whatever he was doing and almost left us all alone. Of course, you can’t take the abusive prick out of an abusive prick completely. No. He still came back between missions to terrorize us from time to time.

I squeeze my eyes shut again, trying to calm my racing heart. Being in the dark has never helped my situation one bit.

“You got this,” I mumble again, lifting my chin. “No more nightmares. Get your hands free, like you’ve been trained to do. Get the hood off your head and then, get the fuck out of here.” I nod to myself, repeating the words over and over. It’s the only thing I can do to distract myself from the bullshit I’ve been thrown into. One day, I’ll get back at Mack for being such a douchebag. I mean, I get it. He’s grieving. But grieving doesn’t have to make you an asshole at every step.

“Deep breaths,” I remind myself again, keeping my voice low so it doesn’t echo through the vast cave system. Although as I perk up my ears, a chill runs over me when no other noises filter through my ears.

Damn it. I really am far, far away from anyone else.

A deep chill spills over my flesh from my surroundings. This cave was always cool and damp, maintaining the same temperature year-round. A reprieve in the summer to cool off and a warmer haven in the winter months. So many memories lie within these rock walls. I may not remember the specific layout. But I’ll never forget the feeling of sitting here, contemplating running away from the awful family I had been born into.

“If I stay here, do you think my dad will be sad I’m gone?” I whisper, looking around at the dripping water coming from above. A shiver runs through my body before a strong set of arms pulls me into his side, and I lay my aching head there.

A day ago, I was finally allowed out of the basement after being forced to live in the darkness for hours on end. The first thing I did was run away from the house the second my father left on business with Franco, and I found myself here in the caves. But I wasn’t alone like I thought I would be.

“I dunno, Trouble,” Hux mutters softly so his voice doesn’t carry through the entire cave system we’ve been hiding in for two hours. Surprisingly, Mack and JJ haven’t found us yet. If they’re looking, that is. But I know it’s only a matter of time before they pop up and beg us to go exploring again. They always do.

“I wish he’d be sad,” I sniffle, wiping at my aching nose with a huff. “I don’t think he would be, though. I think he’d be happy I was gone.” But I knew that if I were gone, Sophia would bear the brunt of his frustrations. Well, after my mom, anyway. She seems to make him mad the most. Only, I don’t understand why. She tries so hard to do everything he wants, and she still disappoints. I understand, though. I seem to be a stain on his entire existence. “I think he’d be happy if we were all gone.” Huxley holds me tighter, whispering sweet words into my ears until I sigh heavily.

“Was it bad today?” he asks, knowing exactly why I wandered into the cave by myself without calling any of them to join me.

“Was it for you?” I ask, peering up into his moss-green eyes, which widen slightly, and he avoids my question altogether.

It’s always bad, with no reprieve.

He only nods. “Some days, Trouble, I want to move away and disappear. So, I come here.”

“Me, too,” I murmur. “Take me with you?”

“I think we all do,” he says, squeezing my shoulder softly. “And I’d take you anywhere with me. Always. I’d never leave you behind.”

I breathe through my nose as I sit on the cave floor, my brain lost in the memories of the past that I can’t seem to escape. That’s what happens in this town, though. Around every corner, a living, breathing memory smacks me in the face and knocks me back a step or two. I swear, since I set foot here, I’ve been drowning. And all the therapy in the world I went through to get myself back to the human I was before has been wiped away.

But I don’t want to have my head beneath the waves anymore. I want to breathe and be Olivia Viotto again. A new and fresh Olivia who doesn’t answer to anyone else but herself.

I want answers to my past, and the only three people who can truly unlock that for me are the boys who put me in this position. Three boys whom I’ve blamed for ending my family’s life and almost mine. Three boys who I’m not so sure did it. It’s a feeling that now sits in my gut and stares me straight in the face.