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Silas growled, though he walked out with Rayen following him. They closed the door behind them, leaving her to her own thoughts. Her head started spinning as she tried to comprehend the past few hours. Now that she was alone, everything started to overwhelm her. Sliding from the rim of the tub, she sat on the heated floor. She pulled her knees to her chest and buried her face into her arms, hugging herself tightly.
Shivering, not from the cold but fear, she stayed on the floor. Her body started aching. Not just physically, but mentally as she recalled the monsters that had violated her. Her thighs where she’d been held started burning, as if the man was still holding her. Her neck started stinging as if the knife was still pressed against her throat. Forcing herself to breathe calmly, she tried to push the images and feelings aside. She remembered that they were no more, that Silas had rescued her. He made sure they would never hurt her again.
The thought of the men being gone felt far too good. It scared her how much she agreed with Silas, that they had deserved what he’d given them. Slight fear settled into her heart, panic that they would both be punished for what he’d done. Two dead bodies in the midst of downtown Houston would be discovered sooner or later.
Though she still tried to force her breathing to slow, she just couldn’t. Panic spread like wildfire. Her heart raced so fast it felt as if it would explode. Her mind started spinning, her vision blurred.
The door burst open with a loud bang and cool sleek fingers found her jaw. “Look at me, Gwen.” Silas tilted her head, his face just inches away from hers. “You are alright. You are safe with us.”
“They will find them. They will find their bodies. They will come for us,” she panted.
“No one will ever come for you, Gwen. I will protect you.”
“You will murder even more people.” She had trouble getting the words out, her brain not getting the oxygen it needed.
A large hand wrapped around hers, a thumb gently caressing her knuckles. “Little bird,” Rayen hummed close by, though she couldn’t properly see him. “We promise you, no one will take any actions against you. You did nothing wrong. They were hurting you. Even if they connect you to that alley, you have nothing to fear.”
His voice was so sweet and gentle it was hypnotizing. She slowly turned her head towards him, her breathing calming down.
“We’ll be by your side. No one will find out the truth of what happened in that alley. No one will come after you or Silas. We will hire an army of lawyers if necessary.”
“You will?”
“Of course, we will, little bird. You mean the world to us.”
Her heart skipped a beat, not just because of her new pet name but because she meant the world to them. She relaxed slightly, as much as she could with her aching muscles.
“No one will touch you, Gwen.” Silas’s voice, slightly rougher, but just as soothing as Rayen’s.
She let her eyes close as she leaned against the bathtub, enjoying Silas’s sleek fingers running over her cheek and Rayen’s thumb soothing her hand. She soaked it all in, taking deep breaths, letting her heart calm down.
“I’m sorry.” She opened her eyes and looked straight into Silas’s bright blue ones. “Thank you.”
“No need to thank me. I scared you.”
Her lips twitched as she tried to smile sarcastically. “Jump scaring me wasn’t enough anymore, huh?”
He smirked, his face slowly relaxing. “I already ordered myself some bells.”
Rayen started laughing. “I can’t wait to see that.” He tilted his head and studied her closely. “Do you want to clean up now? We can stay a little longer if you like.”
She looked down at herself, and disgust hit again. Swallowing hard, she suppressed a gag. “I think I’m good.”
Rayen nodded, giving her an encouraging smile. “We’re here if you need us.”
He stood up and so did Silas, though he seemed a little more reluctant. Holding on to the bathtub behind her she pushed herself up and sat on its rim. She waited for them both to leave and close the door before she slowly undressed with shaking hands.
In the shower, she let the hot water cascade down on her. It felt good as the stream cleaned her skin. She stood there for quite some time before she scrubbed herself with soap. She repeated the steps three times before she felt clean enough to leave the shower.
The man had indeed left his marks on her thighs. They not only hurt physically, but mentally as well. The cut on her throat burned as the water and soap washed over it, though it didn’t seem to be deep.
She tried to stay away from the large mirrors as much as she could, not wanting to see herself. She took the clothes Silas had given her, a pair of black gym shorts and one of his black shirts. It was a little big, so she tied it together with a knot by her waist.
She rushed past the mirror to step out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. It was big, and the big armchairs by the large floor to ceiling windows looked like a good reading spot. She felt tired, but had no desire to lay in bed. She didn’t want to give the dark images lurking in the back of her mind the chance to come forward again.
Instead, she stepped into the hallway and walked towards the staircase. To her left were large double doors leading into what seemed to be a library and the door opposite of her seemed to be leading into a creative space with paintings and a piano in the midst of it.
Her feet moved without a thought and led her into the room full of paintings. Most of them were landscapes, but one painting in particular caught her eye. She walked past the piano and stood in front of the large painting, opposite of the door. It was a full body portrait of a woman. She had long dark hair that covered her face as she looked down on her growing baby bump, that she was caressing with her hands.
