Poverty, Pleasures, and Basic Needs

Four

Chapter Four

Regan

I was in a dark room I could barely see as a man stepped out of the shadows big and muscular as his beady eyes were trained on me. My breathing was shallow the closer the man got to me, his beady blue eyes trained solely on me as he took a whip off of the table that I just noticed to the left of me.

"You've been a bad boy Simms. Bad boys get punished, you know this." he growled out, the first lash hitting down hard.

"Raven Raven! Hey shh ... you're alright." Seth said, his warm arms wrapped around me tightly as I started crying. That was so vivid ... Was it real? Did that actually happen to me? I shook my head ridding myself of those horrid thoughts as I hid my face into Seth's neck sobbing. Why was I having these horrible nightmares? What have I ever done to deserve something so cruel?

I felt the urge to vomit as I raced out of Seth's comforting hold and into the master bathroom, making it just in time as I belched up the contents of my dinner that I had eaten not too long ago.

Seth was behind me the entire time, soothing me and trying to keep me calm as I emptied my entire stomach into the toilet. Afterwards I was left panting as Seth picked me up, while setting me up on the counter. I watched as he grabbed a face cloth, wetting it, and wiping my face off before throwing it into the hamper. Next he grabbed my toothbrush and handed it to me, and when I was done he carried me back out to the bed.

"Are you alright Regan?" Starling mumbled, wrapping his comforting arms around me embracing me in a tight hug. My breathing had calmed down which I was happy for as I slowly shook my head no. I wasn't okay, each flashback was starting to get worse and it was starting to scare the hell out of me.

I felt suspense when he hesitated slightly at my answer but then he nodded, none the less, and ran a soothing hand up and down my spine. "Do you want to talk about it Raven? You don't have to if you don't want to, I will never force you, but I want you to know you are and always will be welcome to talk to me whenever you want. I will listen without judgement." He said, Sincerely. I nodded contemplating the idea of getting this off my chest. The nightmare that I had told him about before weren't as bad as the last few had been. I'd promised myself I'd be honest with Seth, I'd tell him if something bothered me and he knew I would; it had been this thing we'd been doing, every time something bad would happen, nightmares or just day flashbacks, he'd sit down and listen to me.

"T-They are getting worse Starling," I mumbled into the crook of his neck, my voice raspy from the recent events. I felt so bad, not speaking giving me as much time as I needed to continue "The last one before this, there's was two huge men, and then me and another smaller man," I gave a sigh as Seth moved us so he was leaning against the headboard. "the other smaller man was tied to a cross as one of the men whipped him .. I was tied to a chair, I think, as the other man did something to me ... I don't know what though," I whispered, tears burning my eyes, threatening to spill. "This one," I paused taking a deep breath as I sat up straight in Seth's arms gauging his reaction "I was bound to something while a big man with beady blue eyes came into sight picking up what look to be a whip. He said that I had been a 'bad boy' and that I need to be 'punished' and then he started to hit me with the thing," I whispered out, tears running down my face at the mere memory of what I had seen. I sniffed as Seth embraced me in another tight hug.

"Regan, I know this is a bad time. But earlier when Oliver came in ..." he paused hugging me a bit tighter "There was a big muscular man, with blue beady eyes at the door," Seth paused again probably feeling me tense under him. He ran a soothing hand down my spine again "He claimed to know you, said you two were related. He looked nothing like you Raven, I could tell he was lying the moment his mouth opened," Seth said barely loud enough from me to hear. My mind was racing, the same man who had haunted me and my dreams had been here, asking for me. Claiming to know me, like siblings? Was I really related to someone who would whip me and treat me like a dog?