Saving The Robin [The Avis Venators: Book 1]

XIX

-Maddie P.O.V-
"R-Riley?" I whispered, trembling.
No way...it can't...
"No," Riley said, her eyes glazed over like crystals. "You shouldn't be here. What are you..." Her words faded away, as if her voice had died out. "Why?"
"I-I don't...I don't understand..." I said. I was trying to make sense of it all. Had she been captured? For how long? How long...has she been needing me?
"C-Come on," Riley muttered. She grabbed my hand, causing me to flinch at the contact. "This way."

"W-Wait," I stuttered, as Riley dragged me down the hallway. Her grip wasn't so strong though, due to her extremely weak body.
"You need...to leave," Riley replied, her voice cracking in between. Even her hands were lined with tiny cuts, scars that would be there forever. "He'll find us and-"
"Robin! You came!"
Riley went completely still, stopping me behind her. She grabbed me by the wrist and flung me behind her, with strength that would be almost impossible with her body. We both turned to face the voice from behind.
"Look at this...we're all together!" It was a man's voice. I recognised it, but I couldn't quite put my finger on who it was. However, he soon after stepped out of the shadows and made it clear.
"I-It's you..." I muttered. "Dr. West?"
"Shane West, actually. Your friend, Riley," he muttered, licking his lips. "She was great fun."
I gave him a death glare, but I was still petrified.
"Why...did you take her? When you wanted me?!" I asked.
"Oh, she hasn't told you, has she?"
My eyes widened. There's more to this. There's something I don't know.
"What do you mean?" I asked in a half whisper. Riley shook her head.
"Don't you dare," she said to him. "Y-You promised!"
"Riley, what do you mean? You're not making any sense..." I muttered, confused. She smiled, facing me, then placed her bloody hand on my cheek.
"It's nothing," she whispered. "He's just trying to confuse you."
"That day...she left you, right? She told you that she was 'leaving'. That's the excuse you made up, wasn't it Riley?" He continued.
"Shane! You said you wouldn't tell her!" Riley shouted back. She was now trembling with rage.
"Riley, what's going on?" I asked. I didn't understand. She said she was leaving to travel, to disappear, so I assumed she wanted nothing to do with this...
So why...
The rapist, Shane, continued talking. "So after she 'left'. Maddie, would you like to hear the rest of the story?"
"Stop!" Riley cried, now desperate. I nodded quickly. Of course I wanted to know. "Maddie, don't listen to him! Please!" Riley begged. I stared at her with desperate eyes.
"Riley...I can't," I muttered in return. Her wide eyes began to fill with tears.
"Please..." She repeated, in a whisper.
"Let's start before she left you, then it will make more sense," Shane began. "When Riley was alone in your house one day, I went to visit her. Of course she let me in, because I was her doctor. She was desperate to kill me on the spot when she found out who I was; it was terribly attractive. But I forced her to listen. Because I didn't want to hurt her- I was offering her something."
"O-Offering?" I repeated, confused.
"A simple deal- come to think of it, I can remember my exact words- 'give me you, and I won't take her'."
I went still. Everything stopped- I couldn't understand. It didn't...work. I waited, as my brain put the pieces together. And when it did, I felt it. My body break down. My heart shatter.
"If she gave herself up to me, and allowed me to do whatever I wanted with her, I wouldn't hurt you. And she agreed. Eventually I sent her an address, and told her to say her goodbyes. When she arrived, she told me the excuse she'd used on you, and that no matter what, I wasn't allowed to tell you the truth. But- whoops. Looks like I did," Shane finished.
"S-So..." I whispered to myself.
All that time...
That whole time...
Memories of the past three, almost four months flooded into my mind. It was full of days with me, Holly and Michael. All the amazing times we'd had in such a short while. And then came along the thoughts I'd had in the process. My hate, my extreme hate for Riley.
And what would she have been doing?
I wondered how many times she'd been raped. I thought carefully about how deep he'd dug the knives into her skin. The lack of food, the lack of light, the lack of happiness. The words, 'I'm saving the Robin'. The fact that throughout this whole time, she had kept me buried in her mind, as a reminder. I wondered how much humanity she had left, and what he'd done to take so much away.