There's Only You ✔

Chapter 9

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️

THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS PHYSICAL VIOLENCE. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Chapter 9

I was on all fours in a dimly-lit room. My eyes could barely make out what was in front of me; there was a pistol on the kitchen table toward the edge, blood was dripping to the spot on the floor below my nose and there were guys sitting on the couch with the light of the TV reflecting off their faces.

I tried to stand up, but a searing pain spread across my back like a raging fire touched my bare skin. My screams remained unheard as I pulled myself up with the edge of the table and oxygen crawled out of my lungs. I gasped for air.

No one was helping me.

My vision was in and out, but I knew that the men on the couch were fixated on the football game.

I was nothing but a ghost to them.

I was fighting for air in a room full of people, but no one heard me.

Suddenly, the front of my shirt was gripped by a strong hand. Just when I remembered how to breathe, the oxygen escaped and was too far away from me to seep back into my lungs.

I was flung into the back, sliding door with such force, the glass shattered all around me. Shards pierced through the skin on my face. I screamed in immense pain, but I was unheard by neighbors.

Or maybe they heard me. They just didn't care.

Or they were too scared of the beast inside to call for help.

I jolted awake in panic. My mind drifted back to being inside that abusive bastard's apartment. The punches. The slaps. The beer bottle against the side of my head. Him stripping off my pants and underwear and executing unjustifiable things.

That wasn't how I imagined I would lose my virginity. Prince Charming never came. I was stuck with the villain taking it from me.

He gripped the front of my shirt mere seconds before his hand slapped hard against my cheeks.

I gave into the pain.

I was tired of fighting.

It was like an iron grip clamped around my throat, making it impossible to breathe. Unless you counted the wheezing coming through my mouth. My heart was spazzing out of control, the walls were closing on me and my mouth felt drier than the Sahara desert.

He punched me square in the nose, blood dripping to the floor. All I asked was for his friends to lower the volume on the TV.

They were being too loud.

I was doing homework.

Was that too much to ask?

Olive, who I forgot was even here, rushed to my side. She frantically rubbed the small of my back while I desperately tried to take deep breaths. I was here. Not there.

He was behind bars, surrounded by prison guards who were trained to keep the criminals inside the barbed wire. I made it out of that relationship alive. The wheezing ceased and I slowly leaned back against the pillow.