Chapter 12 Lila
A large purple clock hung on the wall, the hands ticking by slower than they should.
My skin itched with the need to get up and move, so I stood from the bed and started to pace, glancing at the clock occasionally.
My ankle throbbed with every step, but I pushed past the pain, the need to move making me feel claustrophobic.
My mind was racing with thoughts of what Jason might have planned for me. I still didn't know why I was here. When I'd asked, he'd only given me one word.
You.
What did that even mean?
A jolt of arousal shot straight to my clit as I remembered the way he looked at me last night. The throbbing in my clit grew, but I shook my head to clear the thoughts, telling myself I only felt this way because I hadn't been laid in months.
I glanced back up at the clock, seeing only two minutes had passed since I last checked, and groaned.
A loud click filled the silence, and the large metal door swung open. Jason stepped through, his hands bloody and bruised, and the hair on the back of my neck stood at attention. He dragged something, no, someone behind him, and I stumbled back, my blood running cold.
He threw the body down, causing their face to smash against the wooden floor. I stared at Jason, his breathing heavy and erratic as he flipped the body over. My breath caught in my throat as it turned over, revealing a face bloodied and bruised, but one I recognized.
Daniel lay on the floor, his chest rising and falling in a steady, but strained rhythm. I swallowed down bile as I glanced at Jason, the look in his eyes one of pure hatred.
“What did you do?” I whispered.
“I’m fixing a problem,” he replied, his voice void of any emotion.
“What problem are you fixing?”
His head snapped up toward me, blood smeared across his cheek, and something dark swirled in his eyes.
I backed away as fear and arousal battled in my stomach.
My back hit the nightstand, knocking the vase to the floor and shattering it.
Water carried the flowers across the floor, meeting with Daniel’s blood, their floral scent mixing with the coppery scent of blood in the air.
Jason stepped forward, reaching his hand out to me, and I stumbled back, my feet slipping against the water. Pain shot through me as a piece of glass embedded itself in my left foot.
Great, now I have two injured feet.
“Fuck,” I hissed, reaching down to pull it from my skin.
Before I could reach the glass, Jason’s hand gripped my wrist, and I gasped. Concern laced his features, his nostrils flaring as he looked down at the blood seeping from my foot.
“Let me help,” he whispered.
I looked between his hand and my foot and gave him a curt nod. He reached down and lifted me in his arms, a small yelp escaping my lips. He placed me on the bed gently and inspected the wound, his lips turned down in a frown.
“Doesn’t look deep,” he said gruffly before turning toward the bathroom.
Daniel stirred, letting out a low groan, his hands moving to his face. His face turned up in a grimace as he felt his crooked nose and swollen eye. Fear flashed across his face as he looked around the room, his eyes darting between me and Jason.
“What the fuck,” he whispered, his voice thick with sleep.
He went to stand, but Jason’s foot slammed into him, holding him in place against the floor.
“Stay,” he growled. “Do. Not. Move.”
Daniel let out a soft whimper, his one eye peering up at me.
Deep down, I knew this was wrong. I knew that Jason was a ticking time bomb, but something dark twisted in my stomach, all the care I would typically have evaporating as I replayed the last time I saw Daniel.
Jason stepped in front of me, my eyes level with his bulging cock. I looked up as he uncapped a bottle of peroxide and poured some onto a washcloth.
“This might sting,” he said as he knelt in front of me.
Gently, he lifted my foot and removed the glass, blood streaming from the cut. He pressed the washcloth against it, holding it there, and I clenched my eyes shut.
“Fuck,” I hissed as he pressed harder, trying to staunch the bleeding.
“Deep breaths,” he said, using his thumb to make small circles against the top of my foot.
I inhaled deeply, the scent of peroxide and blood mingling in the air, then let it out. The pain began to fade, and I opened my eyes to see Jason cleaning the wound, his touch gentle and soft. He glanced up at me before reaching down and grabbing a Band-Aid to place it over the cut.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said as he stood, grabbing the peroxide and washcloth, heading back to the bathroom.
Jason reappeared, the black jacket he wore just moments earlier gone, revealing his bare chest beneath. He leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. I shifted under the intensity of his gaze, my heart hammering inside my chest.
Moments passed as we stared at each other, and eventually, Jason stepped forward, grabbing Daniel by the back of his coat. He grabbed the chair behind him and slammed Daniel into it, the chair almost tipping over with the force.
Daniel’s hair was matted with blood, his face bruised and bloody from Jason’s fists. His nose was crooked, and his left eye was swollen, his bottom lip split almost in two. Blood and dirt coated his face and clothes, and the shoe on his left foot barely hung on.
“What are you gonna do to him?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.
“Nothing yet.”
“Why did you take him?”
Jason turned to me, his brows furrowed, and swiped his hand through his hair.
“He hurt you.”
He turned to Daniel, his hands clenched into fists, and leaned down, their faces only inches apart.
“Answer whatever questions she asks, and answer them honestly. I will know if you’re lying. And I don’t like lying,” he spat.
Jason turned to me and gave me a nod before walking away, standing in the dark corner of the room.
My brows pulled together as I stared at Daniel, tears welling in his eyes.
"What if I don't have any questions?" I asked, turning to Jason.
He shrugged.
"Then I'll just kill him now."
I looked at Daniel, his hands clutching the arms of the chair, his body trembling with fear.
I stood up from the bed, pain shooting through my foot, but I pushed it aside.
Memories flooded back from the day he showed up at my apartment, tears trailing down his cheeks as he admitted to cheating on me.
I didn’t love him then, and I don’t love him now, but the betrayal still stung.
He wasn’t the first man to cheat on me, and I knew he probably wouldn’t be the last.
“Why did you do it?” I whispered, my voice cracking.
“Do what?” he asked as he shifted in his seat.
“You know what. Why did you cheat on me?”
He shook his head and looked down.
“I loved you but I made a mistake. I-I-I shouldn’t have done it. I was just upset.”
“If you loved me, then you wouldn’t have cheated. You would have waited until I was ready,” I scoffed. “You don’t cheat on the people you love, Daniel.”
“Answer her,” Jason snarled from the corner.
Daniel’s head popped up, and he shifted in his seat to look back at Jason. I could see his apprehension, the real answer probably one that neither I nor Jason would like.
“I wanted to see if I could get away with it,” he said, swallowing hard. “When we met, I could tell you lacked… well, everything.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, anger flaring in my chest.
I couldn’t bring myself to feel anything other than anger as I watched him fight back a smile.
“The way you hold yourself screams vulnerable. You lack confidence and honestly…”
He stopped mid-sentence, his words trailing off.
“Honestly, what?” I said through gritted teeth.
“I heard fat chicks were easy and wanted to see if it was true,” he shrugged.
Before I could react, Jason grabbed the back of his neck and yanked him out of the chair, throwing him to the ground.
He pressed his boot against Daniel’s chest, a look of fear flickering across his face.
Daniel squirmed underneath Jason’s boot, his face beginning to turn a bright shade of red as he pressed the tip of it against is throat.
Part of me knew I should stop Jason, to keep him from hurting Daniel any more. But another part of me, the part that I’d kept hidden and buried for far too long, wanted to see him suffer. I wanted to see him beg for mercy. I wanted to see him beg for his life.
“Apologize,” Jason snarled, his muscles rigid as he held himself back.
“I-I’m s-s-s-orry,” he gasped, his face now turning a deep purple.
“Get him out of here,” I mumbled, turning to Jason. “Please, just get him out.”
Jason turned to me, his eyes filled with anger, and nodded.
He removed his foot from Daniel’s chest and reached down, pulling him by the collar of his coat to stand.
They headed for the door, Jason pulling the key from his front pocket, a loud click sounding in the room.
Daniel turned back to me, panic etched into his features.
“Please, Lila. Help me!” he screamed as Jason dragged him from the room.
I looked him in the eye, his words twisting in my head.
“No,” I said before turning my back toward him.
The sound of the door shutting behind me sent a chill down my spine, Daniel’s screams still echoing in my head as I lay down on the bed. Broken sobs ripped through me, and I clutched the blanket against my chest.