𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐃𝐔𝐌𝐁 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐊𝐄|𝐎𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊𝐒

𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿:𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗲𝘇

Esme could feel herself drowning, the cold water surrounding her body being a clear indicator. Breathing seemed almost impossible moment as her arms flared around, desperately trying to have anyone or anything save her from her demise. The water entered her lungs at such a rapid pace that it was rather terrifying in her opinion, as she screamed as loudly as she possibly could for any sort of help.

Finally, a hand grasped onto her own and pulled her out of the crashing waves that were on the verge of taking her away completely. Esme gasped in horror as she saw Rafe staring back at her, a sadistic grin sprawled across his lips. With the remaining strength she had, Esme tried desperately to free herself from Rafe. That was a complete fail, for seconds later Rafe grasped onto Esme's neck and slammed her up against the wall, his fingers turning a bright white from the amount of pressure he was putting on the teens girls neck.

"You can't escape me, Esmeralda," Rafe seethed, Esme letting out a low whimper as the warm and hot tears rolled down her cheeks and onto her already soaking wet clothes. Esme was supposed to be strong, resilient, just like her father taught her to be. But here she was, crying like a baby as Rafe choked what little life she had in her body. Esme felt as if she failed her father and anyone else she was able to call her friend. She was weak, pathetic, just like Rafe said. Esme sobbed and sobbed as she desperately tried to free herself from the abusive grasp.

"You'll never escape Esmeralda,"Rafe repeated for about the second time, putting even more pressure on her neck as if that was even possible. Esme didn't even try anymore. This was what she deserved. She was going to die, just like everyone else in her family did. At this point it seemed to be inevitable.

Esme screamed loudly as she jolted awake, her hand immediately flying to her chest to steady her pounding heart. Everything hurt, everything ached to the point where she thought she was going to pass out. For a moment she thought she did, for the world seemed to go black for a second before returning back to normal. Esme's eyes flickered around her room, landing on the window seconds later. The sun was bright, causing for her dull and exhausted eyes to squint as she tried to protect them from the sun rays which threatened to do more damage than she could handle.

For a moment Esme just laid in her bed, staring straight ahead. The thought of getting started with her day after the nightmare she just had caused for bile to bubble up in the pit of her stomach, almost on the verge of spilling out if her mind lingered on the thought for a second longer. Rafe Cameron now had that effect on her. Months ago Esme wanted to see him dead for causing both her and her friends so much pain, and now just the mere thought of being anywhere around him was enough to send her spiraling into a panic attack that was almost impossible to muster. Esme had only spent a few hours with Rafe on that boat that day, yet it felt like centuries. Right at this moment Esme could feel his disgusting hands on her frail body, running up and down her waist as he whispered rather disturbing things into her ear.

A shaky breath escaped Esme's lips as she leaned forward to hold her head in her hands, the tears already forming in her eyes and rolling down her cheeks at a rapid pace. She hated that the pain she felt refused to go away no matter how much she tried. That she was no longer the strong and confident person she once was before ending up on that fucking boat. Esme couldn't tell anyone about the pain, did they wouldn't understand. Well, maybe Pope would understand, but the last thing she wanted to do was worry him with her own problems while he had his own, such as returning to school after being absent for about a month. The only thing Esme could do at the moment was battle her own demons and hope she comes out victorious in the end.

Esme eventually pulled herself out of bed, wrapping a very much oversized cardigan around her body to shield herself from the slight breeze that flowed into her room. However, right before Esme's hand landed on the doorknob, she froze. The sound of hushed whispering could be heard from the living room, Esme immediately recognizing the voice as Lunas. That was quite odd, for over the course of time that Luna had been staying with Esme she usually woke up in the middle of the afternoon. So why she was she suddenly awake now?