9. Chapter 9
Chapter 9
Avery
Dead.
It was all just a joke to them—exactly like the rational part of my brain had tried to argue.
Still, it had hurt. I can't be mad at something that happened before I even came to Lilydale. But the thought of Grey loving someone else instead of me was a torture Dr. West knew I couldn't fight.
It's sickening, beyond anything I thought they were capable of. I knew they were monsters, but to exploit our biggest weaknesses—feeding into our fears and traumas. What kind of sociopath does that?
"They forced me to watch them have sex," I finally manage to say.
I'm not sure if I'm telling him this for my own benefit, to get it off my chest, or because he needs to know the lengths these people will go to. They have personal footage of patients, and the irony isn't lost on me that what they did breached so many confidentiality laws. We already know that the staff in Lilydale have no morals or ethical boundaries.
"Old footage?" Damon asks.
I shrug, unable to look at him. He hates vulnerability, but I don't know how else to be right now. I promised myself that I would be strong and escape, and now that I'm back here, I feel like I'm ready to snap and break.
Seventeen hours isn't a long time. But it felt like days. Torture method after torture method, I lost a bit of myself, and now I'm trapped in this head space of knowing I am safe, but realizing they just fucked me up worse than I was to begin with.
I don't want him to see me cry. If he makes any comments about my emotions being unstable or my lack of control, I'll shatter.
"Yeah, I guess so," I mutter back. "They told me it was a live stream though."
"You thought we weren't coming."
It's a confident statement because he always knows everything. Begrudgingly, I nod, letting him know just how messed up I am.
"We were always coming, Avery," Damon says, surprising me. I glance up at his unusually soft tone, taken aback. "We just had to be smart about it. But for what it's worth, Grey was a wreck the entire time."
"A wreck?"
"Well, a wreck in the sense of Grey."
A tiny laugh slips out of my lips. "Who did he hurt?"
Damon's mouth tilts upwards into a smile. "Christopher—among other things."
"He didn't do this," I reiterate. "It was—"
"Arthur and Elsher, yes. Regardless, there's some things we need to explain to you. But not tonight."
I don't have the energy to argue or the mental capacity to take any more information in. "Alright. I don't want to go back to my room though. I don't feel safe there."
"You're staying here," he replies, before being cut off by the sound of rushing footsteps.
My eyes widen in panic, turning to Damon in alarm. He looks unfazed, and within seconds, I realize why.
Grey bolts into the room, immediately finding me on the edge of the bed. He lets out a sigh of relief and a string of curse words, lunging forward to engulf me in his arms.
All the air is squeezed out of me as he coils his arms around me like a snake, crushing me in his hold like he's afraid to let me go. And suddenly, it starts.
I break down crying, unable to stop the tears as I cling to him back. I sense another set of eyes on me and I peer over Grey's shoulder, finding Theo hovering behind him.
My bottom lip quivers as I manage to slip my arm free, holding out my hand desperately for Theo. He grasps it, squeezing my knuckles.
"You're okay," Grey whispers, pulling back to grab my face in between his hands. "You're okay."
I can tell he's saying it to himself too, running his fingers over my cheeks, like he's checking that I'm not an apparition.
"I'll give you guys a moment," Damon murmurs. "I need to go check on the others."
I watch as he leaves the room, eyes glued to his retreating frame. It doesn't go unnoticed by Grey, his eyebrows furrowing.
"So, he got you out? Was it okay?"
Finally, I manage to break my trance, turning to look at Grey.
"Yeah," I tell him. "We ran into a few guards but it was fine."
Fine.
What a weird way to describe the fact that I just killed someone—again.
Grey nods. "We did too, but they were no match for us."
Theo squeezes my hand again and I tug him toward me, forcing him to sit on the bed. Grey, realizing my intentions, slowly lets me go, shifting to make room for the three of us.
I shuffle backwards until my back hits the wall, bringing my knees to my chest. I can't bring myself to tell them what happened—any of it. All I can do is focus on the fact that I'm safe, and the validation of that little inner voice that they came for me.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Theo asks quietly.
Shaking my head, I force myself to smile at him. "Not right now."
He nods in response. "We're here when you are ready."
They each grab one of my hands, clutching them tightly. I let them, a wave of exhaustion starting to creep over me as the fight-or-flight adrenaline wears off.
"You need to get some rest," Grey mutters. "You can come to my room if you like. Theo can stay too. We'll have Jillian program the door so no one gets in. I'll stay awake all night if it makes you feel safer."
"You need sleep too," I mumble sadly. "I don't think they will come find me here. Not tonight at least."
"Or ever," Theo snaps. "Never again."
My lips twitch at his words, a smile fighting to appear despite my current state. The validation is everything I need right now. I know I need to learn to cope on my own and not rely on others, but in this second, I cling to it. I hate having to ask for help—almost as much as I hate having a need for external validation. I used to believe it was setting me up for failure, to have my heart broken. But now I know that's not true.
Dr. Smith was right—it's normal to have connections. We need them to survive. Trust will strengthen over time, but the first step is accepting that I have needs as a person… and there's nothing wrong with that.
"Tomorrow is going to be bad," I murmur. "I wonder what bullshit they will spin about it."
Grey leans his head back against the wall. "Arthur and Alexander are masters at covering their tracks."
"Vivian was down there," I tell them, watching as they both look at me.
"We thought as much," Grey answers. "That will definitely be a PR crisis for Lilydale."
"I have no sympathy for them," Theo grumbles. "Let them panic about it."
I glance at Theo curiously, realizing that there's a lot I don't know yet. But it's a conversation for later, all of us needing sleep.
We wait until Damon returns—because truthfully, I need to know that everyone is okay. Thankfully, they are, and the confirmation eases some of my guilt.
The three of us head to Grey's room, Theo dragging his own mattress in as we create a makeshift double bed on the ground. Without exchanging words, I find myself in the middle, flanked by the two of them as we lay on the hard ground.
I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep, reliving the horrors. But surprisingly, once I am in my cocoon, surrounded by them, I drift straight off to sleep.
I'm not sure what wakes me up.
My body still aches and screams with exhaustion as sunlight fills the room. When I roll over to my left, I notice something missing— or someone.
Immediately, I jolt upright in a panic, noticing the empty spot.
"He'll be back," a voice murmurs from behind me. "He's just gone to see Damon."
An arm snakes over the dip of my waist, pulling me backwards into his chest. I relax a little, shifting slightly to mold myself further into Theo's body.
"When did he leave?" I ask, eyelids feeling heavy.
"About fifteen minutes ago."
I nod slowly, hand reaching out to the vacant spot. It's still a little bit warm, the flimsy mattress flattened slightly in the shape of a body. It's a wonder we don't all have spinal problems with the quality of the beds here.
"He said to give you something when you woke up."
"Oh?" I reply, curious. "What is that?"
Turning around to face Theo, I smile as his hand brushes my cheek, our chests touching. He leans forward, giving me a soft kiss.
I kiss him back, feeling the utmost relief that I can. For a moment in time, I believed I'd never get to touch them again.
"That," he mutters, pulling back from the kiss.
Dropping my head forward, I rest my forehead against his chest, letting his arms tighten around me.
"Is it nearly breakfast?" I ask quietly. "I haven't eaten since before they took me."
"Nearly," he replies, sounding concerned. "About half an hour. Grey said he'd be back to get us soon. They just needed to take care of some things first."
"I can only imagine what," I grumble. "Today is going to be a dumpster fire."
Theo cups my head, gently prying me back to look at him. "Listen to me. I'm not going to let anyone touch you again. You're not being let out of our sights. I don't know what Whittingham has planned, but I am damn sure that Damon will be on the warpath today."
"I know he will be," I say, agreeing. "He didn't have to come get me, but he did."
"Of course he had to. There was never any question about it."
It dawns on me at this moment that perhaps Theo doesn't know the full story between me and Damon, and what happened between us. I know I was hesitant to tell Grey initially because of his friendship with Damon and jealousy issues, but Theo has never given me a reason to be afraid of that. If anything, he's probably the one person I can confide this information to, who will look at it in a different light.
"He kissed me," I tell him. "Before I was taken."
My eyes scan over his face, but as expected, there's nothing but calm acknowledgment.
"I'm not surprised," Theo answers—but it's a surprise to me.
"What do you mean?" I ask, confused.
Theo raises an eyebrow. "It's obvious he likes you, Aves. I can see it from a mile away."
"No, he doesn't. We tolerate each other."
"At first, sure. But not recently."
I push myself up, leaning on my elbow. "What do you mean?" I ask again more urgently.
Theo smiles at me, amused at my stupidity. "You really can't see it?"
"No?"
He runs his hand over the curve of my body. "He wants you—wants this. I'm just not convinced that he's admitted it to himself yet."
"He doesn't want me. I'm fairly certain he only kissed me to shut me up," I argue.
"It's a great method to silence you, but you should have seen them when you were missing," Theo says. "Grey was ready to throw hands with him. But Damon, he pulled together a team and made a plan. He was the mastermind behind everything."
I don't know what to do with this information, falling silent. Theo walks his fingers along the side of my body.
"No one can blame him. You have that effect on all of us."
I smile. "Even you?"
"Even me."
A little squeal escapes my mouth as Theo suddenly flips me onto my back, holding himself above me. I don't even care that my back hurts from sleeping on the ground. He leans down, kissing me with every single, little bit of longing that's been haunting him.
And it dwells on me.
I nearly lost this.
I nearly lost him.
My hands grab his shirt hastily, pulling it off his body so I can get to his skin underneath. I need to touch him—need to feel him. I need to cling to reality so that my mind stops drowning in memories.
I know today is going to be tough, and before I have to face it, I want to be lost in Theo for a little while.
Kissing him back, I run my nails down his back, pulling him closer. His hands push my shirt up my torso, gliding along my rib cage. When it's bunched up on my chest, he grabs my breasts, squeezing them through my bra. My nipples harden instantly, craving his touch. I hate that there's still clothes between us. Theo senses that, sitting up so he can remove my shirt.
I grab the waistband of my shorts, pushing them down with my underwear. Dark eyes watch on as I kick them off, quickly snapping my bra off too.
Theo scans my body slowly, staring at me like I'm his favorite tattoo—a piece of art that will last forever.
He goes to reach for me, but I playfully smack his hand out of the way, finding his pants. My fingers curl under the waistband, pulling them down just enough to see my name appear on his hip. I pause for a moment, enchanted by the sight.
"You're making it hard to go slow," he complains.
Smirking, I shove his pants down. "I hope it is hard."
He lets out an uncharacteristically loud laugh, helping me pull them off the rest of the way. I return the favor with his pants, running my eyes over his naked frame, cheeks flustered and pink by his toned physique.
I'll never get sick of looking at him. Never not be affected by his gorgeous body.
Theo hooks his arm under my knee, flipping me onto my side. He nuzzles in behind me, pressing his chest against my back as he holds my leg up.
Letting me go for a moment, he grabs his cock, guiding it to my body. In one swift swoop, he's inside me—giving me what I need.
His hand grabs my breast, using it to hold me against him as he rolls his hips back and forth. My head drops back onto him, and I turn to look at him. Our lips meet as he buries himself inside of me, slow and deep.
Our pace quickens as the urgency between us increases, both too impatient after being separated for what felt like an eternity. Theo drops his hand from my chest, sliding it along my stomach until his fingers reach my hips. When they graze over my clit, I moan into his mouth, his tongue quickly pushing into mine.
The tip of his finger circles lazily around my clit, teasing me, as his cock plunges into my pussy. It's a deadly combination—and I'm too far gone.
My orgasm rolls through me, my body tightening around him as I cry out into his mouth. He swallows my moans of pleasure, only moving his hand to my thigh when I've finished riding out my high.
Gripping my leg, he thrusts into me harder, sending my body ricocheting up the flimsy mattress. I grab his hand, holding onto him with all my strength, rocking my hips back against him as I help him chase his climax.
I'm surprised when he suddenly stops, pulling himself out of me. Before I can turn to look at him and ask why, he pushes me onto my back, crawling up my body.
"Part those pretty lips," he commands, pulling my bottom lip down with his thumb.
Pushing myself to my elbows, I open my mouth, watching as he guides the tip of his cock past my lips. Theo grips the base of his cock with his fist, stroking hard, until he pauses with an almost inaudible growl. He releases his high onto my tongue, and I'm ready to be drunk on him.
Holding his gaze, I swallow. His eyebrow twitches slightly before he leans down fast, smashing his mouth into mine.
"You're fucking perfect," he growls into my mouth. "So fucking perfect. And mine."
"Ours," comes a voice from behind him. "She's perfect and ours."