& if it's fate, our paths will cross again x3

Chapter 8: "Pain And Suffering In Various Tempos"

Vince keeps talking about his aims for our group; I follow his words while eating my hamburger. "We should do promo like photo shoots and gigs and if we get a record deal, we have to publish a single and music videos..." "We have to get that far first." I don't want to destroy his hopes and dreams, I'm just not as optimistic as Vince. "We will, I feel it coming." Suddenly, my meeting with Dave crosses my mind. He told me yesterday how he prefers my lyrics, Vince's would be 'too weak, boring and cheesy without any depth or meaning', he wouldn't even understand what most of his songs are about; Somehow, I couldn't disagree. Of course I appreciate Vince a lot, he's talented and ambitious and I'm convinced we'll get a record deal, I just don't think our success will last long with his lyrics and poppy melodies. "I'm full, do you still want dessert?", I ask, feeling kinda bad that I don't dare to be honest with him. "No, I'll get that later." I pay for our meals and we get into his car to drive back to his place.
Shortly before we arrive, he says: "You know, Dave called me yesterday and asked for your phone number. He didn't really say what he'd need it for, wanting to ask you something, I don't know. Did he call you already?" My stomach hurts, I can't lie to him. "Yes, he did." Vince stops his engine and pulls out the keys but still waits for a complete answer. We're sitting outside in front of his house in the dark and I can still feel how he's staring at me. "I met him yesterday evening in a bar." Vince leans back in his car seat, I can hear him sighing. "We just talked, you don't have to worry." "I can't believe you've done this. He's weird and if I needed proof that he's after you, that's it." I can feel his anger through his voice. Vince gets out of the car, opens my door and pulls me out by my wrist. He pushes me into his house and closes the door. When we arrive in his bedroom, he starts kissing me fiercely while removing my clothes. Just like last time, he's getting something out of a drawer. He's using it to tie me to a bedpost. Even though he left the light on this time, I refuse to turn around to see what he's about to do next. I'm half-naked and wait kneeling next to his bed. A painful hit on my bare back makes me forget everything for a moment. I close my eyes and clench my hands and teeth to endure the pain. For some seconds, I wait if something else is going to happen but it's silent. "Is that all?" I say. If Vince wants to punish me, he should do it properly. He hits me again, it makes me groan this time. He goes on for a while and with every hit (I think he uses a belt), I give a wince of pain. I still don't want him to stop, not yet.
I can't feel my back anymore when he kneels down behind me, pulls down my trousers and starts penetrating me. He goes deeper than last time and is grabbing my neck while I'm still tied up, unable to escape. Vince doesn't talk, I can't see him; I just feel him behind me, his hands around my throat and hear his moans he's probably trying to hold in. I can feel when he comes. I'm exhausted and go straight into his bed after he stood up and loosed the tie. Vince lies next to me, he took off his shirt and trousers, too. I look at him and can see him sweating just like me. He turns off the light next to him; Thus it's completely dark now. I still hear how he's breathing heavily. "I'm sorry, I just don't want to lose you." I get closer so I can put my arm around him and kiss him tenderly. "It's okay, you won't.", I whisper in his ear. Shortly after, he falls asleep in my arms.

"Your back looks horrible." I wake up lying on my tummy with Vince's hand touching my back. "Does it ache?" I turn around and it does hurt indeed. "No, it's okay." He follows me to the bathroom. My back looks terrible, red lines are covering my skin. I put on my shirt and go to the kitchen where we make some breakfast. "Do you want to go home or will you stay here till evening?" It wouldn't matter anyway, we'll have a meeting with the others for another rehearsal; Our gig is tomorrow. "I stay here, just let me call my mum so she doesn't have to worry."

We sit down at the table, eating some fruit and sandwiches. "So... will you get along with Dave today?" He looks straight into my eyes after I asked. "I hope so." he takes a sip of his orange juice before he goes on: "So why did he want to meet you?" "Just to get to know me better, I guess. He told me stories of his youth and things like these." He seems to be surprised. "Youth? Isn't he like 16?" "18, actually. I couldn't believe it either." I'm also surprised because I thought Vince would know since he invited him to join our band and everything. He himself is 20 years old, the oldest of our group. "I would've never guessed, he seems immature and daft." "Thought you liked him when he first came to our rehearsal." "He already appeared weird to me. It wouldn't matter since we're just working together, though." I'm not sure if I can believe this. It's more likely that his dislike began when Dave started to be extremely nice towards me. Anyway, I hate this tensed atmosphere that is going on lately when we meet. Dave doesn't seem to be very fond of Vince either, he didn't tell me why exactly he joined our band. Was it just because Vince asked him to or does he simply need the money? I'll surely ask him next time, whenever this will be. "What are you thinking about?" Just now I realise that Vince was waiting for me to continue our conversation but I got distracted by my thoughts revolving in my head while chewing my food. "Nothing much," I want to share my thoughts with him without mentioning a conversation between me and Dave, "don't you think it would be better if you'd try to get along? I don't think this whole band shit will work out if you don't really like each other." "Well, I'll try not to be too harsh when we meet as a band, but if he doesn't stay in his lane, I'll tell him to do so."
Knowing Vince, that means he'll probably beat him up.