Life of Sin Book 1

Chapter Twenty-Four *Mention of Sexual Assault*

“Stop! You’re hurting me! Please…” My arms were yanked behind my back and bound at the wrists as Quentin continuously pumped inside me.

“…why are you—” He punched the side of my face, drawing blood from my lip. He punched me again, causing my right eye to swell. I tried as best I could to fight against him but for some reason my motions were significantly slower than his. As I tried wriggling away from him, I was swiftly pulled back towards him and held down by Janay. Her eyes shined with a dangerous glimmer as she watched me suffer, encouraging her fiancé to do his worst. His hand wrapped around my throat in a vice like grip, constricting my airflow.

“Stop… can’t… breathe! Please…”

“Kill her,” Janay said faintly, as I opened and closed my eyes slower than each time before.
I jerked up, breathlessly staring at a dark room lit by nothing but the tv. Swinging my legs over the side of the bed, I buried my head in my hands and cried. I must’ve been sniffling loudly because a while later there was a gentle knock at the door.

“Yeah?” I answered, drying my wet hands on my shirt.

“Everything okay?” Kiana pushed open the door and poked her head in. Seeing my wet face, she walked in and sat beside me.

“Devyn, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just a bad dream…” She looked at me in disbelief and reached past me to turn on the lamp.

“You know you can talk to me, right? Does this have something to do with the attack?” I nodded, sniffling and wiping my tears. She got up and walked out, only to come back a minute later with a cold, damp towel in her hand. I accepted it and cleaned my face before continuing on.

“I was nearly raped yesterday by the same guy who raped my sister.”

“Oh… Devyn, you could’ve told me sooner,” she said, wrapping me in her tight embrace. She pulled back to look at me, brushing strands of hair away from my face.

“I just… I hate feeling weak. It’s the worst feeling ever when you’re always so strong and others always see you that way.”

“I understand that, but I’d never judge you for letting your emotions show. I mean, this is some serious shit! You can’t just hold something like this in and hope it goes away.”

“I know… and on top of all the other shit I have to deal with, that’s exactly what I hoped would happen. It’d just go away…” I said, looking down at my hands. She wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my shoulder.

“Do you want me to stay in here with you tonight? I can try helping you sleep or we can just stay up and talk if you want.”

“I don’t wanna keep you, you should get your rest.”

“I will… after I’m 100% sure you’re okay and comfortable,” she said, crawling to lay on the other side of me. I relaxed beside her, turning to look at her but she was already looking at me. She put her arm around me as I nestled closer.

“Thank you,” I said, my face buried in her neck. I breathed in her scent, allowing it to sedate me. I was still afraid of falling asleep though, even with her holding me. It seemed every time I dozed off, I jolted awake several minutes later. I was so exhausted.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” She said it every single time. Even though she volunteered for this, I couldn’t help feeling guilty for keeping her up. I even started crying again because sleeping was such a daunting task. Whenever I closed my eyes, it felt like I was being strangled again. Over and over. This went on the entire time I stayed with Kiana and she took care of me every night.