Kidnapped By Johnnie and Jake

Unreal

At that moment, Kaycee entered the living room. Tara gasped, I suppose at Kaycee's rough appearance, and then went and hugged her. Jake explained what had happened with Johnnie, and how Kaycee and I had been kidnapped by Andrew Tate.

I didn't follow Kaycee inside, though. I headed straight to the kitchen for something to eat. I was starving. Then, I went to the bathroom and had a shower.

I felt sorry for myself. Here I was, washing my body, which basically didn't even belong to me anymore. It had been so abused. As I washed my neck, I felt the roughness of the skin from the scar. At least it was healed, though. As I rubbed the soapy water over my face, it stung from the hits I'd taken. As I washed my kitty, I thought about how it had been used for Johnnie's sick pleasure.

Once I got out of the shower, I got dressed into some screwed-up, baggy, smoky-smelling clothes I'd found on the floor of my and Johnnie's bedroom.

When I left the bathroom, and walked back into the bedroom, I found Tara waiting on the end of the bed.

"Brooke!" she said, and she got up and hugged me.

"Hi," I said, hugging her back, realising that her hair smelled of honey and caramel. It was the only bit of sweetness I'd experienced since being thrown into this mess.

"How are you?" she asked, pulling away from me and looking at me with empathetic eyes.

"I'm okay," I said, and I sat down on the bed.

"The last time I saw you, you were in a coma."

"I know." I smiled shyly. "Thank you for looking after me."

"If us girls don't look out for each other here, no one will."

Her words sort of sent a chill down my spine, even though they were kind. "How did you survive here on your own? I can't imagine how I would've been if I came here without Kaycee."

"Because...I love Jake. And, even through the darkest of times, even when he breaks my heart into a million pieces...he's what gets me through it. I have someone to fight for. Something to keep me going."

I instantly felt a wash of guilt. Did Tara know that Jake had had sex with Kaycee? Was she aware of the type of relationship Kaycee had with him? I didn't know whether I should ask or not. I mean, Tara probably knew. I doubted this was the first time Jake had done something like it. It couldn't be shocking, surely.

But...my heart ached for her. She seemed like such a girl's girl, and I didn't want to ruin that. I didn't want her to regret making an effort to be kind to us. I wanted to be friends with her. I needed someone like her. As much as I hated to admit it, because Kaycee was one of my oldest friends...Kaycee wasn't the greatest friend a girl could have. I had never felt like I could  really rely on her, or that she truly cared about my feelings. I still loved her...how could I not? You don't stay friends with someone for that long without developing a strong bond, whether you like it or not. But, a friend like Tara was something I could do with...especially since that part of my life was now missing. Gone, with a massive void left in its place. A sweet, loyal friend. Peppa.

"Wow." I didn't quite know what else to say.

"At least you and Kaycee have had each other since you came here. You don't need to attach yourselves to men." Tara laughed a little.

I smiled weakly at her, and I suppose she felt the vibe that I wanted my own space for a while, to finally relax after being woken up suddenly from a coma, only to be mentally drained from everyone around me for the past day. So, she left.

I tried to sit there and calm my mind. Unwind after the trauma I'd experienced. Finally gather my thoughts about everything since the coma. But...it only made things worse.

The silence of my room alone just made me realise that I should be avoiding my own thoughts, not welcoming them in. There was nothing good to think about. Nothing at all. The only thoughts which flooded my mind were of my best friend's brains being shot out. Being kidnapped, slapped, and cut by Johnnie. Being kidnapped, punched, and stripped naked by Andrew.

I longed for nothing more than my old life back. To be able to fall asleep at night, with my biggest worry being the fact that I had work the next day, or that I had assignments due, or that I had a stupid little argument with somebody. Those 'burdens' seemed like privileges to me, now. I wished I could tell everyone who complained about their normal lives to be grateful that they'd never have to experience this. I wished I could make them see. I wished I could make myself see, my past self. I wished she could see what a perfect life she had.

I regretted letting Tara leave. I didn't know what else to do, but I did know I couldn't sit there with my mind racing like that any longer. I had to get out of the room, but I didn't want to join the others in the living room. I didn't fit in with them.

I decided to look around the house, and I soon found a home gym in the basement, along with some random shooting targets at either end, many empty beer bottles, and full ashtrays.

If I was to live here, I thought I might as well make some use of my time and stay fit. At first, I calmed my breathing, and attempted to work out a little. I had to switch the weights out for much lighter ones than what were previously left on the machines. But...after a while, I found that working out, just sitting there doing repetitive motions on my own, was just giving my mind free roam to think whatever it wanted to think. All the bad thoughts, all the traumatic events, were taking over again. I needed a better distraction.

I searched the cabinets and found a stash of weed and some more bottles of beer. I rolled a joint and cracked open a beer, and tried to relax my mind.

It worked quite well. After reading a few chapters of a book I'd found lying around, I decided to head back upstairs, and when I did, I realised I'd been down in the basement longer than I'd thought. As I glided back through the house, I realised it was silent downstairs, and it was dark outside. The living room was empty, but there was one person in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and pouring a drink. From the back of his head, I could see it was Sam. He must've heard me, because he turned around.

"Where've you been?" he asked.

If it would've been Johnnie or Jake asking me that, I would've been nervous...but, for some reason, Sam didn't make me feel that way. "Nowhere," I said.

Sam smiled and stepped forward, and his movement almost appeared in slow motion, dream-like, to me. I didn't know whether it was the alcohol or the weed. "So, you just disappeared into thin air?" he asked.

"Yeah."

Without another word, I walked away, and headed upstairs, but as I was passing Jake's room, I heard muffled voices through the door, so I paused.

"No!" a girl's voice squeaked.

"Do as you're fucking told," I heard Jake say.

"Only if it's just you," the girl said, and I was almost certain it was Tara.

"Do you want me or not?" snapped Jake. I had no idea what they were on about...my head was spinning.

"Jake, please..." Tara pleaded.

"She's willing to do it," said Jake, and I heard a smack, followed by a moan of pleasure. "Maybe she should replace you."

By this point, I was exhausted. I shook everything out of my head—I was probably mishearing it, anyway—and stumbled through the dark hallway to my and Johnnie's bedroom.

I kicked the rubbish on the floor out of my way as I headed towards the bed, and then I collapsed on it, falling asleep in almost an instant.