Tortured - Jaele

|| Chapter Thirtythree ||

Something I remember most about that day, was thinking maybe if I pressed my body tight enough against the wall I'd shrink and disappear. In a fantasy land, that thought might have worked. But as of that moment I was in hell.

"Open the door!"

I jumped, my breathing accelerated from neutral to uncomfortably rapid. Jace was banging so hard on the door, I feared his fists would break straight through it. Immobilized by the anxiety striking in my heart with every beat, I stood up on my feet and approached the door.

"I'll tell you what.. If you open this door now, all want is to talk."

More banging, it sounded as if he wanted the door to collapse. To buckle in on itself and burst wide open. Of course he wanted that to happen, to get to the unreachable prize inside. With the way I was feeling, I repressed my urge to vomit and took a deep breath.

"Get away from this fucking door you bastard!"

I yelled, which exerted most of my energy. Part of me was wondering why I had said anything at all, and the other part wondered why I thought I owed him something when I didn't. Thoughts I had no answer for.

"Riele, open the door."

"Where is Chance!?"

"Open the door."

"Did you do something to him?!"

"Open the fucking door or I'm gonna kill you! You stupid fucking bitch!"

Something began consuming the little love I had left for anything in my veins. I couldn't tell what it was at first but It was like watching the slow build up of a violently shaken bottle of soda. He thinks he has it so fucking bad, doesn't he? Poor Jace Norman and all of his issues, his depressing life, the love he'll never have from the people he wants it the most. How he's an outsider and everyone else is looking in on him, judging him, whispering about him behind closed doors. His life is too hard, all he ever wanted was someone to love him. In my mind, that's the way things were interpreted. Then I remembered every awful, horrifying thing he's ever done to me and suddenly I wasn't afraid anymore... I wasn't anxious or terrified. I was angry.

"You go to hell! You go to hell and I hope you burn like the devil you are!"

I screamed, banging right back on the door at him. My unfiltered rage led me to start throwing things, anything I could get my hands on, it flew at the door as I imagined him standing in front of it. I never asked to be here, I never asked for this unborn child in my stomach. One night. That was all it took for my entire life to be flipped upside down.

"I hate you! I hate you! I wish you would fucking die! Just die!"

Glass was shattering, all around me. I couldn't even really hear anything anymore. Just the glass and the banging, but it was my own fists beating against that door. I felt for an instant like a cae animal, mad at the world for making me it's spectacle. I knew I was crying, because by this stage how could I not? These were angry, bitter tears I was gulping down.

"Riele, please!"

I slid down the side of the door, sobbing.

"Why would you do this to me?"

"I'm sorry! I can't control this because I love you and it's fucking impossible!"

I heard him scream, and maybe he was crying as well. His voice sounded awkwardly raspy and thick. Confirming everything I had thought up until now. That he wasn't as badass as he thought he was. He didn't want to kill me. He wanted to love me. And I hated him for it. I hated him for everything.

"Don't you dare say that to me! Don't you ever fucking say that to me again!"

I kicked the door as hard as I could, now in such a pitiful state there really wasn't anything else that I could do.

"Open the door... Please let me in! I'm begging you just please!"

"Fuck you."

I whispered. But inside, I was torn in half. One piece of a person that I used to be. And the other piece of someone that he had made me to be. Why did my heart ache for him? Deep down, I knew that in some sick twisted way I was in love with him and things would never be like I wanted them to be. I turned and leaned against the door with my forehead pressed against the white wood, and I continued to cry. Like I was mourning for someone, a death which hadn't taken place. All my body would allow me to do was cry.

...

Narration -

From the other side of the door, Jace couldn't breathe. He couldn't think. His heart was literally on a race against time from sky rocketing out of his chest. He's never cried this hard for anyone before. All he wanted was to see her again, one last time. With Chance's blood on his hands he knew he didn't have very much time left. He was desperate to see her. Surprised by her sudden pitch of anger, he knew he had been ruthless in this urge to hurt someone he deeply cared for and loved. It was like waking up out of a nightmare, and suddenly you were the hellish killer and the world around you was falling apart.

"Riele."

His voice was hoarse as he tried to use it, leaning his forehead against the door, the smudged handprints of blood was making him nauseas. There was no reply. No sound. With every breath he took the pain drew closer into his lungs.

"Riele!"

Jace's fists hammered against the door with all his might, with all the strength he could muster, he felt the wood crack, his fist fly through. His knuckles flooding with red.

"NYPD!"

As he leaped to his feet, he could see a mere reflection of her shadow, she was huddled in the corner, the artificial lighting shielded her in a shadow. And then she was gone.

"Get down on the floor and put you hands behind your head right now!"

It was all over now. The police had finally arrived. Jace fell to his knees, everything seemed to be happening so fast but it felt so slow. He placed his hands behind his head and kept his gaze lingering on that hold in the door. The last he'll ever see of her. He hung his head as he felt one of the police officers slap the heavy metal cuff onto his wrist and escort him outside of the house.

...

Riele sniffed, dragging her hand under her nose as she scrambled to stand up. From the window, she pulled the curtains aside and watched as Jace was forced into the back of a squad car. The lights were flashing and there were about two or three of them outside. Silent tears dripped down her face as she blinked faintly. She could hardly see his entire face, but she could see his eyes. His cheeks were smudged with blood, making them look a deep intensive red. His hair was messy, a vast contrast to his usually clean and kempt hair cut. And his eyes. The golden beasts she had looked into the first day, they were much darker than she remembered them being. She didn't let his tears go unnoticed. She didn't ignore them. She felt them. Every single one, pressing her palm to the window she swallowed and wished she had never met him. From inside of the squad car, he wouldn't look away from her. As if he was trying to engrave her image into his mind for the hard days to come.

"I love you."

He mouthed to her, and she turned away covering her face with her shaking hands. It shattered her heart into a billion more pieces.

Right when she was about to turn away, he mouthed something to her and it shattered her heart into a billion more pieces. There was no way to change the past, she'll always have the memory of it. And for her maybe that was the most painful part.

Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed please leave a comment and vote! I know some of you have been extremely patient for this revision and I tysm!

Xoxo Leesey-