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┏━━━━ CHAPTER TWENTY TWO ━━━━┓ ★゜・。。・゜゜・butterfly effect ──── Mallory Thompson
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WHEN MALLORY WAS DELIVERED BACK TO THE OTHERS, it was clear through the hollow look in her dull eyes that she was traumatized. Lilly wordlessly pushed her back inside the cell and the girl merely crumpled to the ground, the energy draining from her body at a rapid pace. The question was: how many times could the young girl be beat into the cement until her soul splayed out onto the concrete?
She landed on her bad arm, the girl whimpering as a result, but that was the only sound that escaped her mouth after that. She held her right arm close to her chest. Her eyes were unfocused, the dissociation in her gaze was enough to haunt Louis and he was afraid to approach her.
The boys had heard her splitting screams, the sound still resonating in their ears as if she was still in that state of mind, consumed by the agony that ripped through her body like venom.
Aasim and Omar watched with the utmost concern as Louis lowered to Mallory's height and approached her. All three wondered when Mallory was going to be free from her hellish suffering. Dried tears glistened on her rosy cheeks, her cheeks flushed from the trauma her body was enduring, and the fever that radiated from her body filled Louis with worry. She was pale, paler than anybody had ever seen, but her skin was now appearing a sickly gray as if her body was shutting down.
Louis cautiously reached out, intending to place his hand on her shoulder, but the girl recoiled aggressively and a wave of fear flashed in her eyes as she stared right through him.
"Don't touch me!" She cried, her voice was scratchy and hoarse as she physically moved away from Louis' hand. "Don't touch me!" She repeated, her voice caught in her throat and she choked on her breath.
Louis felt hopeless, unsure of what to do that would ease Mallory's jumbled mind. He figured approaching her was out of the question, but he believed words wouldn't help either. Her terror was something that was out of his ability to heal, and he mentally cursed Lilly and her group for what they did. They were all kinds of fucked up and had no right to do what they did. Whatever they said to Mallory, or what they did, was her new nightmare and his heart hurt.
But guilt consumed him as well. If he would've just stayed quiet, then maybe would have stuck to her familiar spirit of trying to find a way out. And if things played out the same way with him lashing out, then he wished he could've at least refused the protection she had given him. Would Mallory look at him differently when she realized it was him that made her this terrified of the world? Did she hate him for not keeping his damn mouth shut?
When someone knocked on the cell door, Louis instantly stood angrily to his feet when he noticed it was Minnie. Perhaps he saw sorrow in her gaze, but whatever she felt was overshadowed by a stoic expression, and all emotion was hidden from plain sight. She observed Mallory for one long second before she offered something to Louis through the small gap in the door.
"Here are some bandages. For her arm," she explained.
Louis took the bandages, no questions asked but hesitated as he crouched down next to his best friend. Mallory hiccuped slightly but didn't turn to meet his saddened gaze. "I just want to help you, is that alright?" He questioned softly. When Mallory silently nodded and accepted his offer, he deemed that a step in the right direction. He started to unroll the bandage and went to wrap it around her gunshot wound, but Minnie stopped him.
"Her other arm," she stated.
Louis timidly glanced down to her left arm, his stomach churned and he gagged as he noticed what he didn't before. Mallory's hand, or lack thereof, was a gruesome sight. The flesh was stringy and he could clearly see every horrendous detail—how the bone and severed nerves were visible. A tingle spread down his spine as his hand trembled. It seemed they had cauterized the wound, but did not go farther in terms of protecting her from infection.
"Fuck. I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Aasim and Omar were quiet, as they had spotted the serious wound when Mallory was getting dragged in. And watching as Louis wrapped the bandage around the wound did not ease their troubled minds, it just made their hearts clench. They all hated the Delta for what they did to Mallory, and they hoped they'd meet their demise in a very unsettling way.
"It's a punishment for what she did to Abel, and for punching Dorian," Minnie spoke.
"Don't," Louis mumbled. Although as he turned his head to look up at her, the fury that swam in his eyes was unnerving. "You sick fucks!" He exclaimed.
"Louis!" Aasim warned. "Not the time."
Louis fell silent, knowing he was right. He finished his task and when he finished Mallory shifted and worked her way to the opposite wall. At that moment, he vowed to do everything in his power to get her back to safety.
Minnie turned and left as Louis gripped the bars on the door, desperation clinging to him. "We need to get out of here somehow," he hissed. "Mal needs help."
"We tried, Louis," Aasim deadpanned. "But I hear you. What is she doing right now? Does she seem coherent?"
Louis looked back, to see Mallory in the same position as before, her eyes glazed over and staring into nothingness. He wanted her to be okay, but as the seconds ticked by he worried that maybe okay wouldn't be possible. She looked ready to fall unconscious at any given moment and had no physical will to hold herself upright, so her body was left to slump forward. She looked uncomfortable and her face twisted in agony as she cradled her hand to her chest, and no doubt her head was still spinning from the blow she received before.
"I've never seen her like this," Louis breathed. "At least when Marlon died she still spoke. They fucked her up real bad. I don't know what to do and I'm the only one in here with her. What do I do if she starts bleeding again? What do I do if she passes out?"
"Just keep an eye on her, and maybe sit near her," Omar suggested. "We'll get out of here."
Louis nodded stiffly, crossing the small room towards his friend. He sat against the wall next to her and subconsciously started to reach out towards her, but Mallory flinched and scrunched her shoulders to her head for protection. Louis instantly pulled away, his eyes falling and tears brimmed in his eyes as he pleaded for something to shift. Whether it was within Mallory or outside. He didn't want her to die here, she wasn't supposed to die here.
"I'll get you out of here," he told Mallory. "I promise."
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Who let me do this? We all should've known it wouldn't end well. So now that I clearly fucked up Mallory, what's next? Will Mallory make it off the boat? Will Louis get to keep his promise? Let me know your thoughts! Sorry for another short one, but Clementine and everyone are coming. I still have a couple more surprises for y'all :)
I love you all! Hopefully, I didn't make you guys sick as I did with myself.
