Muse (Caspar Lee Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-Six: Raining Fire

Lilly’s POV

            “STOP! PLEASE!” I begged as Jordan approached me for the second time that day. He had lugged in a barrel of water behind him, and I knew what was coming next. “You said it’d only be once a day! You already did it. Stop! How does this even relate to Cassie?”

            Jordan laughed as he stopped a few feet away. “I can do whatever it is I want. And well, she always told me she felt like she was drowning. So stupid right? But whatever. And if I only did things that related, we’d be over too quickly right?” Jordan walked up to me and grabbed a handful of hair from behind my head and pulled me towards the barrel.

            I cried and scream, but it was cut off as he dunked my head into the cold water. I screamed until my lungs were empty of air. I tried to hold it then, but it was hard. The moment I was about to break and suck in, Jordan lifted my head.

            “I’ll give you a chance to hold your breath this time. Ready? Go!” He returned my head to the water as I sucked in as much air as I could in the short time he gave me. I tried to relax myself to help me stay longer, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t have all that much stamina since I was almost always indoors working on my art.

            Too soon, I released the air and instinctively sucked in air, the water entering my lungs. I started to cough, but it made things worse. The world started to go dark, but then Jordan pulled me back out and I coughed, water exiting my mouth slowly and painfully.

            He pushed me sideways and I landed on my hands and knees, coughing up as much water as I could. My hair was dripping around me, and it clung tightly around my face.

            “There. You can rest for now. Get better so you can be ready for tomorrow.”

            I could feel him smiling behind me. The sound of the door shutting helped me relax, but my lungs were still burning with the cold water. It clung to my throat every time I coughed. When I tried to force it out, blood came out mixed with the water.

            Minutes later, I was finally able to breathe properly. My lungs no longer burned but everything seemed hazy from the lack of oxygen running through my body.

            I still didn’t lose hope. I knew Caspar and my sister would find me. They would do anything they can, but that could take days, maybe even weeks. And it was only the second day and I could feel my will power being stripped from me.

            The only reason why I’m probably still alive is the fact that Emma had been helping with the recovery. I wonder if it’s all an act, her being so kind, but I decided to go with the latter.

            It was dark out, and I made my way to the window. Through the iron bars and clear glass, I could see that the sky was clear. The stars were bright and I knew that we were probably not in London anymore. But the stars gave me hope. Hope that I won’t have to go through anymore torture. That I’ll get out of here by tomorrow.

            But that was unlikely.

            This time, I wasn’t prepared. I didn’t get to brace myself for the pain, for his maniac laughter, or for the sound of my skin sizzling.

            “So let’s say you do get out of here alive. I want you to have a permanent reminder of your time here, and what’s better than a branding? Don’t worry, I cleaned this before I heated it up,” Jordan said as he pressed the iron tool into the left side of my lower back.