22. Chapter 22
Chapter 22
Faith
I can smell the air choked with cigarette smoke, and before I open my eyes, I already know where I am.
The front door slams shut, and Wayne disappears behind it, leaving Ryan and I to finish yet another rather loud argument in his garage. The icy air cuts through me from the open garage door, but the cover of the night makes Ryan comfortable enough to scream at me like no one's watching.
"You're going to regret it if you keep seeing them," he snaps at me as he cracks open another beer from the fridge.
"They're friends from work. You're saying I can't have my friends now?" I bark back, but this only makes his lip thin with irritation.
"I'm saying you can't hang out with people who put bullshit in your head," he says, quickly closing the distance between us until he's right in my face.
"It's not bullshit. You're just pissed that I'm leaving you, and you can't do shit about it," I say as I turn my back and head towards my car.
This was a massive mistake because I only took two steps before he grabbed my ponytail, yanked my head backward, grabbed my arm with his other hand, and pulled me back towards him.
"You don't walk away from me, you stupid bitch. You're mine," he growls, trying to pull me back into the house.
"Let me go!" I scream as loud as I can, ripping my arm away long enough to get a few strides away from him, enough to get out of the garage.
Like every time before, I wait for a house light to turn on. I wait for someone to wonder who could be screaming at such a late hour, but the houses surrounding us remain dark, leaving me to face Ryan alone.
I turn around to see where he is, and it's too late for me to do anything when he grabs my wrist, turns me, and pins me against my own car. I can hear my keys fall to the ground, along with any hope of getting away from Ryan unscathed.
"Someone help me!" I cry out, and before Ryan can swing, I lift my knee, hitting him right in the groin, but it doesn't do much.
“You fucking cunt!" he growls, his grip still tight on my wrists.
Somehow, over the booming sound of Ryan's voice, I hear a familiar one calling to me, and like a touchstone, I fight to find it.
"Faith," the voice says. "I'm right here, it's okay."
Ryan grabs me by the shoulders, pulling me back to his car. I fight and claw as much as I can before trying to kick him away, but one backhand slap knocks me to the icy ground. He wraps his hand in my hair, dragging me as if I'm nothing but a worthless rag doll. I scream even louder, knowing the punishment that awaits me if he gets me inside behind a locked door. I can see Ryan undoing his belt and pulling it from his jeans. I without a doubt know my doom; the more I fight back, the more I beg and hope Wayne will step in, and the more pain I'm about to endure as punishment.
I know it all too well.
"Don't let him take me!" I call out, my eyes searching for the source of the voice. "Please… Please, help me escape this nightmare!"