Chapter 6
6
CHARLOTTE
I hung from the ceiling by my wrists, my muscles threatening to give out from the effect of the drug I was repeatedly being fed, though it was starting to wear off. My calves were stretched to the limit with my toes barely touching the floor to hold myself up, and I feared if I dropped my weight, my shoulders would dislocate.
Sleep threatened to overtake me, and I fought it with all my might. The position I was in was torture in itself, and I hoped they wouldn’t leave me that way for much longer. I’d been suffering muscle spasms and cramps for some time, and I didn’t know how much more I could handle.
The wound on my inner thigh burned, and I was certain I still had fresh blood running down my leg. I couldn’t be sure, though, because I couldn’t see past my bare breasts. My tears had dried on my cheeks, mixing with the mascara that painted my face, and it felt sticky.
The only thing I could hear was my shallow, shaky breaths until the scrape of a shoe made its way toward me, and I raised my head to investigate. My eyelids were heavy and my vision blurred, but I could just barely make out Richard Walker’s form.
“Hello, Charlotte,” he said in a sultry tone.
My mouth was dry from the gag. I was ordered to keep it on unless Walker said differently and though I willed myself to speak, all that came out was a groan followed by a small whimper.
He laughed. “You’re still out of it, huh? Lacey said this new drug was a real whopper. Thanks for being our beautiful test subject.” he said, standing in front of me, reaching to the back of my head to unclasp the gag. At this moment, I was grateful for the minimal amount of hospitality.
“What do you want, Walker?” I whispered, licking my lips to try and convince my mouth to salivate again. His eyes took on a ghostly look and he took my face in his hands.
“Careful, Charlotte. If you keep licking your lips like that, I’ll have to do something about it,” he groaned.
My eyes widened, and the thought of that sick man touching me again made me nauseous.
“Don’t touch me,” I snarled, pulling my face out of his hands.
He took a reluctant step back and his hands returned to his pockets. “This can all go away, Charlotte. All you have to do is give up your place at the head of the family. I’ll make sure you’re kept safe for the rest of your life if you cede everything to me.”
A look of disgust fell heavy on my face and I shook my head. “And give up everything my father worked hard for? Go to hell. You make me sick,” I spat.
Richard smiled sweetly and stepped close again.
“Oh, Charlotte. You are so much like your father, not so easily broken,” he said. “It makes me wonder how you ended up with someone like Rowan. Such a weak mind he has.”
Richard’s breath was hot on my face, and I turned my head away from him as his hands wandered over my stomach, my hips, my back. He pulled me into him, and I could feel him harden against my pubic bone.
“Get off me,” I gritted my teeth. “Rowan is twice the man you will ever be.”
His hands swept gently over my skin, causing goosebumps to form as he fondled my breasts, pulling, pinching, and leaning down to take one in his mouth, biting down harshly.
“So sad the children have to pay for the sins of their parents, Charlotte, isn't it?”
What does he mean by that ? He tipped my chin up to meet his eyes, running his thumb gently over my jawbone.
“Are you going to be a good girl?” he asked.
Before I could speak, he forced four of his fingers into my mouth and down my throat. I gagged, trying desperately to expel them from me, but he only held them there longer. Vomit rose and spilled out of my mouth, running down my body. I was disgusted with myself; I couldn't stop it. As I choked, I considered giving in to his demands to save myself from further assault.
Giving up my family name had to be less of a torture than what the old man wanted to take from me. But I had to hold strong. Lacey tried to break me, and I held out for that, too. Walker released me and I gasped for breath.
“Dirty girl…The other option, Charlotte, is for you and Rowan to die,” he said, wiping his vomit-covered?fingers on his pant leg.
“I’ll take that over what you’re suggesting any day,” I wheezed.
Walker shrugged. “That’s fine by me. I’ll take you over what I suggested every single day for the rest of your life,” he chuckled, waving a hand at the door.
Someone came in approaching us with a phone held out and I watched as a video of Rowan appeared on the screen. He was being hurt by his best friend. I couldn't even begin to imagine how he was feeling right now. As much as I wanted to be there for him, I had to focus on saving myself.
Walker snatched the phone and held it up close to my face so I could watch. Rowan hung his head low as a whip lashed across his back, and a few times it reached around, licking his ribcage. My mouth hung open horrified seeing his blood drip from the ends of the leather. Tears stung my eyes as I watched the love of my life gasp and grunt in pain.
“Stop!” I cried, closing my eyes.
“Rowan belongs to me, and I’ll only stop when you comply, Charlotte. Do you really want to be the reason he suffers? Be rational,” he replied.
I opened my eyes and spit in his face. “Fuck off,” I growled, kicking him in the shin despite the protests of my shoulders.
Walker growled and wrapped a hand around my throat. “You’re going to regret that, whore.”
The man who brought the phone in pushed my head to the side harshly and I felt the sting and burn as he injected me and I stopped struggling, even though I wanted desperately to gouge his eyes out of his skull. Tears streamed down my face as the gag was painfully returned to my mouth stretching it open. At least let me clean up first. I couldn’t ask though; he would just laugh.
All that could leave my mouth was a pained whine when Walker entangled his fingers in my hair yanking my head back.
“You’re going to enjoy this, whore,” he said, undoing the button on his pants with his free hand.
My face blanched as I realized what he was going to do.
“Please no,” I tried to beg.
He hoisted me up and wrapped my legs around his torso and I struggled with every ounce of energy I had until a familiar shock tensed my muscles. I felt so weak, like I’d just run a ten-mile marathon and done a thousand push-ups.
“Oh, I’ll be doing whatever I want going forward, Charlotte. I’ve wanted this for so long. Nobody can protect you now,” he said, lining himself up with my entrance and driving himself deep inside with a growl. I screamed; with every stroke, it felt like he was breaking me in half. He didn’t give me time to react as he dragged himself out before pushing his way back in. Too focused on Walker's assault, I couldn't sense a table being placed next to me and the phone being set down.
“The first thing you're going to do for me is come to his screams, because that’s who you are, Charlotte, a dirty whore. My dirty whore,” He groaned.
I watched his head as he fell in and out of consciousness. He would have to kill me, because I won’t be doing that for him. Another body approached me from behind spreading my asscheeks open and wasted no time plunging into my asshole, no adjustment, and no lube, these men wanted me to hurt, wanted to break me. They moved in time with each other, and it was the worst pain I had ever endured in my life, begging them to stop, scream after scream ripping from my throat.
Yet, a familiar warmth spread throughout my body as another hand pressed a vibrator against my clit. I started hyperventilating; this person was wearing a mask, so, I couldn’t even begin to see who this person was. For all I know it was Lacey again. The man brutally stretching my asshole grabbed my chin and made me face the screen.? Rowan had his head hung back and his chest heaved. He was alone in the darkness, all but one light shining over his bloodied body. Is he crying? Can he hear me?
My question was answered as his own pained cry shattered my heart.
“I’m sorry!” He yelled, fighting weakly against the restraints. I vowed then to stay quiet; no matter how much it hurt.
Closing my eyes, my back arched as the shock coursed through my veins, it burned the skin on my neck, and I stayed true to my word as they ripped every orgasm out of me.
Go to your happy place, Lottie, and stay there. It's the only way you're going to survive this.
Rowan
My brain was foggy, and I was tired… no, exhausted from disassociating from everything. Lottie’s screams felt like they went on for hours, finally dying down after some time. While hearing them destroyed every part of me, it was the only indicator that she was still in this house, and alive. Jason, the man I thought was my lifelong friend, had betrayed me, and the knowledge of that alone was torture enough.
He had been by my side for the most important parts of my life, and I wouldn’t be able to see those memories in the same light again. What was supposed to be comfort during my mother’s death was now a severe breach of trust. I left him to protect Lottie when I was gone, trying to become a better man, putting her right into Walker's hands without even realizing it.
Jason had come back a while ago and I tried my best to blink away the tears I was previously shedding. Right now, he was standing at the table, and I couldn't see what he was fiddling with. Whatever it was he needed pliers to bend and shape it. It couldn’t be good, though. He’d already deprived me of air, shocked me, and whipped me until my back was raw and bleeding. That alone was enough to want to succumb to whatever it was they wanted from me. I loved her with all my heart, but there was only so much one man could take.
“Why are you doing this, Jason?” I asked, trying to soften my eyes. I was hoping to appeal to his inner being, maybe the old Jace was in there somewhere. “I love you man, we have been through so much together.”
He threw something down and it hit the table before turning to face me.
“Give it up, Rowan. This is who I am. I’ve always liked to hurt people. Walker only brought out the best in me, and you resisting the best in you is not going to help your case or hers. If you had only done what he asked from the beginning, you could be in there having some sort of control over what was being done to her, to help her adjust to her new life. Rowan, we wouldn’t be here right now, and I wouldn’t have to do this,” He said, moving close to me.
For the first time in this whole ordeal, I saw something that hadn’t been shown before. Sorrow, and remorse, but it wouldn’t change the damage done.
As he stepped closer, the light from the dim bulb above my head glinted on something shiny in his hands, I looked closer and swallowed. It was a thin piece of wire.
“What are you doing with that?” I bristled.
Somehow, I had allowed myself to get too relaxed and I wasn’t ready. I was afraid that I’d break. Jason looked down at my hand and then at the wire.
“Oh, this? You can’t kill anyone without a trigger finger, Roe,” he said smugly, and the smile on his face was the coldest I’d ever seen. I lost him again.
The weight of what he was doing crushed me, and I squeezed my hand shut as he moved closer with the wire.
“Don’t touch me, Jason,” I warned, but he ignored me.
I was tethered tightly to a chair, with each wrist strapped down to the arms. After my escape attempt, he made sure I wouldn't go anywhere. I couldn’t move away from his advances, and I was too weak to keep my hand in a fist. With surprised ease, Jason pulled open the finger he wanted and wrapped the wire around it twice. There's something about knowing what’s going to happen to you, that makes it so much worse.
I watched, speechless as he pulled on both ends of the wire, sawing at the delicate flesh as it slowly cut into my finger. The wire disappeared in a torrent of blood, and I screamed out my pain. If I had use of?my legs, they would be slamming against the floor.
Jerking against the chair, my body fought against the pain and was slowly succumbing to shock.
My mind finally escaped from the torture, and I thought about the first time Lottie and I met.
I was sitting on the couch shoving the chips in my face, nothing but my shorts and my ass backward hat when Nicole just walked into my house, something she has been doing for a while and it stopped bothering me. Jason and I had to leave soon, Nicole knew, and she normally stayed and watched the house while we were gone. But this time was different; she was trying to coax someone in.
I wiped the food off my chest and rose from the couch to investigate, just over the threshold?stood another woman but she seemed too shy to just walk in and I narrowed my eyes.
“You can come in,” I spoke.
Carefully, skipping in she stood at the entrance staring at me, and I was immediately drawn to the freckles that lined her cheeks and her green eyes.
Interrupting the moment, Nikki said, “This time she's going to stay with me if that's alright. I need company. Rowan meet Charlotte; Charlotte, this is Rowan. I’ll be right back.”
“Sure,” I shrugged my shoulders and motioned for her to take a seat on the couch as Nikki ran upstairs two steps at a time.
Smoothing her skirt, she sat down and I offered the half-eaten bag of chips to her, she scrunched her eyebrows, and I scoffed. She's a princess.
Rolling my eyes, I headed to the kitchen to grab a bowl from the cabinet before filling it up with the salty snack and returning.
She stared at the bowl in my hand, and after a moment of contemplation she took it gracefully and my body shivered as her fingers grazed over mine. I continued to eat watching her out of the corner of my eye, she still hadn't eaten.
“I have other food if you don’t want them.” I offered awkwardly.
She shook her head in surprise. “It's not that sorry… no one has ever done this for me before. Thank you,” She smiled gratefully.
“Anytime, Princess.”
“Princess?” she questioned in disdain.
“Oh yes,” I teased. “In this house, we all grab out of the bag, put the breakfast sandwich in a paper towel, things like that, less dishes. Learn it, live it, and you will fit in just fine here.”
“I know how to microwave a sandwich, Rowan.” she countered.
She reached for my hat and pulled it off using her fingers to slightly part my locks, and I looked at her in confusion.
“Much better.” She replied before turning back to the show playing in front of us.
We went back to staring at the TV and a few minutes later I laughed when she said, “I guess I can learn your ways, if you want me around, oh lazy one.”
She's had my heart from that moment, and that memory has become my happy place. I always go back to it. We are both making it out of this, that’s my promise to her, and then no one will hurt her again…Ever.
As I clenched my eyes shut tight against the pain in my hand, I heard footsteps in the doorway. A bead of cold sweat dripped down my forehead as I opened my eyes and saw Lacey leaning against the door. She smiled sweetly at me as she set up a computer on a small stool and drew it near me. What is this?
Jason loosely wrapped a piece of gauze around where my finger used to be and set about cleaning up the blood as I stared blankly at the wall in front of me. My stomach lurched at the thought of looking?at what he’d done, and I didn’t want to see all the blood I knew would be there.
Lacey pulled a chair up next to me, and I finally allowed my eyes to flit to the screen of the laptop. The screen read ‘Stream Starts Soon’. My eyebrows knit together slightly as I stared at the uniform lettering, and I vaguely registered Lacey’s fingers testing the edge of her small dagger.
She played with the knife for a little while, and then she ran the blade up and down my arm, across my chest, teasing and testing me. Jason finished his task and walked to the door.
Pausing, he nodded at Lacey and looked me dead in the eyes.
“Enjoy the show,” he said smugly, and he walked away.