SEVEN
M y eyes flutter open as the morning sun crawls through the curtains. I take a look around, realising I have no idea where I am. Turning my head, my eyes flicker, getting used to the light. My eyes zero in on a body asleep peacefully beside me, and I realise it's Damon. My eyes widen when I notice he isn't wearing a shirt.
Lifting the blanket, I sigh with relief when I realise his boxers are on and my clothes from yesterday are covering me. Yawning, I pull myself from the bed and rub my eyes. Eying Damon's motionless body, I grab my bag of clothes and quickly change into a new clean pair of comfortable clothes.
I turn and look at Damon to see him sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes. Quickly fixing my crazy hair, I yawn and shove my dirty clothes into my overnight bag.
"Damon," a harsh voice comes through the door. I avert my eyes and scramble toward the bed.
Damon quickly pulls a pair of black skinny jeans up his legs before throwing on a T-shirt. "Come in."
A blonde woman with blue eyes enters the bedroom with no emotion on her face. "I didn't even know you were here till I got a text from Damien around four in the morning. Why are you here?" Her voice holds zero sympathy or love.
Damon puts on the best smile he can before picking up his cell phone. "We can't stay, Mom; we have things to take care of."
"Like what? Why are you here?" she snaps. I feel out of place in the hostility. Swallowing, I slip past the two of them and wait in the hallway.
Leaning against the wall, I listen to the loud commotion coming from the bedroom, but I can't decipher all of what is being said.
"Who's the girl?" The woman's voice rises into pure and utter disgust.
"Her name is Hanna. And it's kind of complicated, so if you would just like to tone down the disappointment dripping in your voice," Damon snaps. I hear a harsh sound come from the room, but I don't hear another voice.
Shuffling uncomfortably, I cross my arms over my chest while I wait for Damon to exit the room. "Margarita!" someone calls from down the staircase to my right. A short girl with a bob cut stands at the staircase with a broom in her hand.
A maid, I assume. It hits me then that I have no idea where Damon comes from or anything about his family. But I jumped at the opportunity to be away from my stepbrother and left with him and his brothers. A shiver skates down my spine at the unknown answers circling my brain.
"I'll be right with you!" Damon's mother calls, snapping me out of my trance with the whip of her harsh voice.
Margarita saunters into the hallway and faces me with the biggest fake smile on her nude-painted lips. "I can tell Damon sees you in a different way. He hasn't brought any girls to my house since Emily," she says, but it sounds like a dig toward me.
Damon's body goes rigid at the mention of Emily, his feet halting halfway out of his bedroom, and I bite my lip. "She doesn't know about her," Damon snaps, making his way into the hall with both bags in his hand.
Looking at the floor, I shuffle my feet. "Bailey wanted me to know because I was asking so many questions about you. She thought it was fitting that I knew what happened, just in case," I whisper. Damon stops what he's doing and turns to face me.
"Bailey Sanchez?" Margarita questions, her lips thinning at the name. I nod slowly before my eyes meet Damon's.
His eyes are haunted, his smile doesn't exist. He uses scowls and tattoos to cover up his demons, but I saw right through that just now. I can tell that day destroyed him. "We gotta get going, Mom," Damien says from behind her, his usual emotionless mask slipping onto his face like nothing.
Margarita nods. "Make sure to keep me updated on things in Princeton next time. I am in need of the knowledge after all."
Damon nods, pressing his hand to my spine to get my feet moving. I gently smile at his mother, but she doesn't return it. Holding in my frown, I follow Damien and Soren out to the car, leaving Damon to have a moment with his mother.
The size of this mansion surprises me. I didn’t realise Damon was rich, let alone this rich. Then again, I still have no idea what his family is known for or what they do.
"Bailey told you about Em?" Damien asks me as we put our bags in the car. I nod slowly as I set Soren's bag in the trunk. Both brothers glance at each other with raised eyebrows. "Everything about what happened?"
"She thought I was catching feelings for Damon, so she wanted me to know what happened with Emily just in case he ever looked my way. She told me Emily drowned," I reply softly.
Soren gives me a blank look, causing another shiver to run up my spine.
Damien's eyes find mine again, a haunted smile gracing his lips. "He feels something for you, and that's something because Damon doesn't feel anything," he answers the question I was going to ask Soren.
We all stop our chatting as Damon makes his way out to the car. "Is your hand okay?" Soren asks with the hint of a smirk on his lips.
Damon shakes his head slowly. "I'll go to the hospital when we get back to Princeton, but don't pretend like you give a shit," he answers, sliding into the back seat. I give Damien a smile before I slide in beside Damon on the other side.
"You got Mom to give you the money, right?" Damon asks, looking at Damien as he slides into the driver's seat. He nods slowly, tossing Damon a binding of cash. My eyes widen as I watch the exchange between the two brothers.
"It took some serious effort on my part because the witch didn’t want to give me a dime, but I got it," Damien mutters. I ignore it and look out the window, thinking about what Damien just said to me.
Damon nudges my shoulder. "Hanna, do you want us to just drop you home when we get there?"
I eye Damien in the mirror before I nod. I need some time to think about what was just said to me before I decide what I'm doing. I close my eyes and rest my head against the window, popping in my ear buds before pressing play on "Falling Inside The Black" by Skillet.
Closing my eyes, I let all the thoughts run through my head as I listen to my favourite song blare through my ears.
Someone taps my shoulder, bringing me out of my music haze, and I come face to face with Damon. "We're here," he says softly. I stop my music and check the time with widened eyes.
"It's eight p.m.?" I ask suddenly. Soren nods from the front seat and looks at Damien.
"You zoned into your music and your eyes were closed, so you didn't notice," Damien replies.
Yeah, I didn’t notice twelve hours go by. How the fuck does that happen? I nod before scrambling out of the car with my bags collected under my arm.
"Be safe," I mutter to Damien before heading to the door of my horror house. I really do wish I didn’t have to come here. The thought of being here sends chills up my spine—chills that are different from the ones I get from Damon's family.
Opening the large red door, I slip inside the house, dropping the house key into my pack before checking my surroundings. Nobody's home. I widen my eyes, astonished, as I make my way up to my bedroom and close the door behind me.
I quickly remove all my clothing and look around the room. Dropping my bags to the floor, I climb into my bed and pull the covers over me. A nap would be very useful after the weird day I have had.
Today has been so long and confusing as hell. My mind mutters for me as I curl up in my bed. I hear the creak of my bedroom door, causing my entire body to still.
This can't be happening. How did I forget to lock the door? How did I forget?
"Hanna…" Brayden's voice rings through the bedroom. I squeeze my eyes closed before relaxing them to pretend like I'm asleep. Maybe if I'm asleep, he'll leave me alone. Maybe I’ll be safe.
His feet pound through my room as he makes his way to my bed. My body stills as I feel him sit beside me. "Hanna," he whispers softly, his ugly, ragged breath brushing against my skin. I keep my eyes closed as I listen to the words coming out of his mouth.
His hands skim across my bare thigh, causing my eyes to snap open. "Where were you all night?" he rambles as his hand grazes my leg. Vomit rises up my throat at the sight of him touching my skin.
Shivering with disgust, I stare at him. "I went with my friend," I respond with bitterness in my tone. Bitterness he deserves, but I never use.
His smile deepens as he slides his hand between my thighs. "He can't love you the way I do," he whispers next to my ear.
Love me? If this is love, then I don't want it.
I close my eyes, retracing the last five minutes in my head. "You can't be in here, I'm naked," I mutter. His smile turns to a smirk as his fingers travel closer to my pussy. Shivering, I scramble away from him with the blankets wrapped around my tiny body. Brayden's large hands wrap around my legs as he shreds the blanket from my body, leaving me completely naked before him.
"Absolutely stunning," he breathes, making me choke on vomit. He drags me to him before he unzips his pants and pulls out his ugly dick. I don't stop the tears that stream down my face as I try to get away from his grip. Before I can bring my hand up and slap him, he grips my wrists, wrapping them in duct tape so I can't release them.
I continue to cry as I watch him before my naked body. "You'll love this, darling." He smiles at me before he pushes himself inside me.
Stop. But the words don't break free from my mind. I break into tears as the pain shoots up my leg and rests on my hips. Quickly grabbing my tiny hips, he pounds into me, groaning as he slams into me again and again. The tears stain my cheeks as I continue to cry, unable to move from fear and restraint.
I can't move; I can't scream. All I can do is lay here and cry, hoping he'll stop. Hoping the pain all over my face will make him show some human emotion and stop, but it doesn't. He doesn't.
Hiccupping, I continue to sob until he pulls himself from me and zips up his jeans. "I'll see you downstairs for dinner, sis. " He smiles, the remark clearly a jab at me. Removing the tape, he exits my bedroom in one swift movement.
I wrap my arms around my legs and continue to sob into my knees. How could he do this to me? How could anyone do this to a person. Blood pools between my legs from the force of what he put me through.
Scrambling off my bed, I lock the door and grab my phone from my bags, hiccupping sobs as I dial Damon's number.
"Hanna," he answers. I break into another sob as my name rolls off his tongue.
"I-I n-need y-you… I-I…" I manage to get a few words out as the tears continue to fall. I don't know why he was the first person to come to mind after this happened, but he was. I shouldn't feel safe with him, and I definitely don't trust him, but if anyone can get me out of this house without being harmed by my stepbrother, it's him.
"I'm on my way," is all I hear before the line goes dead. Crying into my knees, I sit with my back against the wall as I patiently wait for the one person I need. I need him for sure, but I still don't trust him. Not without knowing his background. Not without knowing why his mother treats him like dirt.
Tears stain my cheeks as I sit there, shocked and broken. I feel a part of me break inside as I sit naked on the floor, blood pooling between my thighs. Grabbing my knife from my bag, I slide it into my arm, letting it bleed. I continue to cry as I cut into my arms deeper and deeper, watching the blood run from my arms.
Maybe I'm better off dead. After everything I've been put through, this takes the cake. And I'm ready for this life to just end. For everything to be over.
A loud bang breaks me out of my thoughts as someone rushes up the stairs. I cry softly again as I hear Damon's voice come through the door. "Hanna! I'm here. I'm here." I don't even hear his voice as the blood rushes from my arms to the hardwood floor. "Hanna." I hear his voice again, but it's more distant as my eyelids fold over.
Death is coming. And I welcome it with open arms.
Another loud bang sounds right beside my head as my eyes continue to close. "Hanna! No! Hanna!" I hear his voice, but I can't reach out to him. I can't hear much of anything anymore. "Damien! Fuck! Call an ambulance," he screams. Before I know what's happening, something soft is wrapped around my body and I'm lifted and carried from the scene.
Everything goes black. I don't want to feel anymore. Every time I feel, something bad happens to me that I can't control. The last thought that rests on my mind before everything is silent is… Damon.
He showed up. He tried to save me. But death is coming, and I'm fully ready to accept my fate.