Forgotten

-Chapter 36-

VOTE & COMMENT ❤️

I drug the knife slowly over the man's palm, watching the blood seep and spill from the cut onto the floor. The man wriggled in his chair and cried in pain. Leo's hands found my waste and squeezed tightly, "Eso es todo, mi regina, eso es todo." (That's it, my queen, that's it.) My stomach fluttered and my core betrayed me as it pulsed at his deep voice. "Now, jam it into his thigh." Leo hissed and I hesitated before obeying. The knife went up into the air and then flew back down, embedding itself deep into the bald man's leg. Leo smirked and released his tight grip on my hips.

"Now, trouble, I want you to remember the horrible things these men did." I nodded as Leo walked around to grab another knife and walked up to the next man, who's shaggy blonde hair almost covered his fearful face. "I'm going to repeat what they did, and then you take your anger out any way you want, okay tesoro?" Leo asked and I nodded again.

The hand that was holding the knife shook I was clutching it so hard. "They work for the man who took Aries and abused her." My heart thudded. Suddenly, all I saw was red. I raised the knife and struck the man, not even knowing where I plunged it. "They brainwashed Ina." I struck him, again. "They killed Bowen." Again. "They tried to kill you." Again. And again. Reason after reason. Until Leo stopped and the red faded from my blurry vision.

I blinked rapidly, regaining vision as the knife fell from my hand, clattering on the concrete floor. My chest heaved and sweat dripped between my brows. The bald man was dead. He was definitely dead. I couldn't even look at him fully without wanting to barf. "I'm done." I said, my voice trembling. Leo nodded, "I assumed you would be." My whole body shook, and I shivered. It was suddenly really cold down here. "Just return to your room, Athena. I'll take care of the rest. I saw all I needed to see." My head bowed in shame as I stood there, a trembling mess. Leo set this all up on purpose. He wanted to expose how weak I truly was, and how much he overpowered me.

"No." I hissed, almost too quiet to hear. "No. I'll do it." I looked up to meet Leo's surprised expression. "You always do surprise me, tesoro." I took a few deep breaths, forcing my body to stop shaking and reached back down to pick up the bloodied knife. Then I walked up to the shaggy, blonde-haired man. "I got him." I whispered and Leo just nodded, moving down to the next man. I won't get into the details, but the next hour was the darkest moment of my entire sorry life.

I reached my room after leaving Leo without saying a word. My hair was a tangled mess. My cloths, although black, were clearly stained with blood. I smelled of copper and mildew and sweat, and I was utterly disgusted in myself. But if i gave up, Leo wins. And I can't do that, not this close to the wedding.

I made my way into my bathroom, stripped my dirtied clothes and staring at myself in the mirror. My face was smeared with dried blood. It was crusted into my hair, splattered on my arms and chest, and covered my hands. I turned the water on, making it so hot it felt like my skin was going to burn off. "Athena." My head snapped over. Leo stood there, staring as I stood naked and afraid. He walked over, stripped as he went. First his shirt, then his pants. Somehow, he had not a drop of blood on him. He stepped in beside me without saying a word and started to scrub the blood from my skin. He was rough yet gentle and I just watched his face, the red water running down the drain.

He appeared concentrated, like he was trying really hard not to do something he'll regret. "Turn around." He commanded softly and I did so. He started to massage my scalp with shampoo, extra careful to get all of the blood out. Once my hair was rinsed, he grabbed my hips, swinging me back towards him. His warm hand came up to my face, drawing a gentle line from my eye down along my jaw. "You have no idea how bad I want to kill you." His words were truthful, but I detected a bit of sadness in them. "I know." I whispered back. He nodded. "Goodnight, Athena." Then he left, leaving a trail of water behind him.

My heart was beating so fast I thought it might burst from my chest. I stepped out and wrapped myself up tightly in a towel. He had left his clothes in here. I picked up the soft, black t-shirt and held it up to my nose, inhaling his scent. My heart slowed and my head cleared. If only we had met in another lifetime, we could've actually fallen in love. I threw his t-shirt on and crawled into bed. Falling into the deepest sleep I've had in a while.

-Authors Note-

-I know this chapter is super short, but I loved the way it was written and didn't want to ruin it. I hope you guys loved it too :)

Xoxo, Crystal