𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡

𝟕𝟎 | 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐬𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭

Drip, drip, drip...

I woke up to the cooling touch of the dripping water on my skin. Ouch, my head... I tried to grab the top of my head, where I felt a torturous stinging spreading all over my body, but I couldn't. My hands were tied.

My eyes widened twice their size and my heartbeat jumped to dizzying heights. I was in some kind of old abandoned warehouse, tied to a chair with a rope and with zero chance of escaping. For a moment I tried to free myself from the tight knot but in vain. Then I saw a familiar silhouette a few feet away. The silhouette of the man I loved and hated so much.

"Father?" I squeaked with a numb voice, at the same time examining every inch of his face to see if he was alive. "Father!" I called again, louder and more confidently this time. He looks like he just fainted, so why isn't he reacting? "Can you hear me? It's me, Ria!" I shifted the weight of my body forward, trying to get closer to him. I could feel my chair lifting up a little, but my position remained unchanged. "Come on, wake up!" I shouted from the top of my lungs, not caring if someone could hear us.

The door at the end of the room flew open in the strong gust and someone stood right in the middle. The mysterious figure chuckled at first, then started walking toward me and my dad.

"Well, well, well...look who do we have here?" asked the man I had the honor of meeting once before. This sight filled me with disgust, and I had to scrunch my nose.

"Buck," I growled angrily, trying so hard not to spit into his nasty face. An elderly man from the casino playroom was taking his time. He approached me with small steps, stretching every one of them. What was he doing? Trying to make a dramatic entrance?

"Ria O'Donnell, if I knew it was you, I'd finish you off right off the bat," he admitted, ruffling his hair. Half-annoyed, half-mocking, I snorted with a painful grimace. Buck pursed his lips. He was almost next to me. Two more meters. One. One and a half...two steps... "Look at you, beautiful, you've kind of lost the desire to talk, haven't you?" he laughed and started pacing back and forth.

Sickening bile accumulated in my stomach more and more, as I was looking at the person standing right in front of me. He's not the only one who regrets not pulling the trigger when he could. I should have shot his brain out at the first sign of opportunity. I looked away, trying to find comfort in my father.

"Don't you even care if he's alive?" he asked mockingly, knowing there's nothing I could do about it. His voice made my lower lip tremble. I wanted to disguise it by quickly biting into the inside of my gums, but even so, it was not enough. My fear could be sensed from miles away. Pathetic, Ria, simply pathetic. "Hmm?" he demanded an answer passionately, enjoying being in the power, I could tell. Last time, when things were all the way around and I was the one standing on top, I was also trying to get everything out of it. It felt...wrong but exciting at the same time. But now... I was trapped. Like a fish in a net. Powerless. Already dead.

Buck circled around me and stopped in front of my unconscious father, raising his hand...

"I swear if you do something to him, then-"

Psychopathic laughter spread through the empty room, walls echoing it and making it scarier.

"Ahh, she can talk," he praised, leaning over me, supporting himself with hands pushing to his knees. "She has finally opened her mouth. I bet you can do other things with it besides talking. Maybe we could play together, huh?" he suggested while twisted wickedness took over his mind. The horrifying scenarios flew through my head. I felt sick.

"I would rather you shoot a bullet between my eyes," I remarked. Buck wildly swung his hands through the air, clearly upset with what I said.

"Oh, those young and naive girls. They think how brave they are, but when it gets tough, they always do what I tell them. That's why I'm giving you one more chance," he said coldly, his glance even colder. I watched him with a blank stare as he put down his belt and unzipped his pants. I couldn't take it anymore. I let the tears run free. "No, no, don't cry, shh," he reassured me, roughly wiping salty water off my face. I wanted to look away, but he gripped my chin and turned me towards him. "So, will you listen to me?!" Buck took control and nodded instead of me. "Good girl," he whispered proudly. Then he ran his thumb over my dry lips and I took the opportunity, that I ignored the first time. He is a monster. He deserves it. I didn't care about the consequences, which could be fatal in this case. I simply refused to surrender without at least the smallest fight.