if clarity's in death, why won't this die

chapter 4

It was hard to figure out how much time had passed when she was just lying there. But she knew it had to be a while because they all had the chance to do what they wanted. She wanted to puke at the thought of that; she wanted to puke the minute they touched her. But the pounding headache restricted her from turning her head. And the five pairs of eyes that leered at her.

She could've gotten up and ran. She could've screamed at the top of her lungs. She could've fought back a bit harder. But then what would've happened? More people would see her lying naked on the plush carpet with blood pooling around her, hands shaking, and barely awake. She didn't want anyone to see her. Not even Travis.

It was so stupid. The drugs wore off long ago but she still couldn't force herself to move. But it was over. They did what they wanted. But they didn't hide themselves from her. So were they going to kill her? No way, that would be too much. They couldn't.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a hand grasping her head forward, forcing her eyes to meet those above her.

"You don't tell anyone about this or what just happened would seem like a fuckin bruise, you hear me?"

Taylor nodded her head the best she could with the hand grasping her chin, and her breaths coming out in gasps.

They left right after that, leaving her alone in the recording studio. Her toes curled in the carpet. What was she going to do? She sat up on her elbows, blinking past the pounding headache in her head and the nausea rising in her stomach. But a sudden sharp pain in her ribs stopped her from going any faster as she forced herself to take a couple of breaths.

Sobs forced themselves out of her throat as she began to crawl towards her phone that lay cracked on the floor where she tried to run towards it while they were distracted. She was rewarded with another beatdown, and her phone thrown across the wall, which she prayed would turn on.

One look at her phone and she knew it was broken. She couldn't just crawl out there. She was in too much pain to get up so she lay there; she didn't know whether she wanted Travis to find her or to die.