$ᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇ ɢʀᴏᴜᴘɪᴇ // $ᴜɪᴄɪᴅᴇʙᴏʏ$

Chapter Seven

The next night, Ruby didn't look at me when I walked backstage, which I took as a really bad sign. He always looked at me when I walked into rooms, even if I was doing my best not to look at him. In the bus this morning he had practically pressed his gaze right up against the side of my face, but somehow tonight, here and now, he wasn't?

It could be that he was finally getting some control over himself. Maybe he understood now that there were lines and boundaries and things he was forbidden of and was going to behave accordingly. Maybe he was going to act the way I did whenever I saw Scrim. I used to simply sit and focus on something ever so slightly to the side of his head, as though he didn't exist.

And for a long moment I was sure that's what Ruby was doing. He had found a spot he could safely stare at, without getting stiff or needing to squirm or beg. He was a perfect submissive already, before we'd done anything at all.

I mean, what was a little light masturbation in a bathroom? It wasn't much, was it? And if a part of me kind of believed it was and didn't really want to stop thinking about it, well... that was fine. I could cope. As long as it didn't show on my face, I could cope.

♡♡♡

"You've been looking at my cousin." Scrim stood in front of me as I sat on the edge of his bed.

That intense look in his eyes, his serious tone, my thighs squeezed together automatically.

He stood above me like he was a king and I was a citizen about to be executed. "You have to be punished for your actions. So I'mma tie you up, spank you with my belt, and then fuck you. That's a fair punishment for you, baby."

He had slapped me with a belt in the bathroom before. It didn't seem painful, but it was. The bite of leather always marked the skin, making it welt and redden. The pain lingered for days afterward, and the scars took weeks to disappear. "But I haven't been looking at your cousin."

"Yeah, you have." He held my gaze, telling me lying and defiance wouldn't help in this situation. He was going to do what he wanted no matter how much I fought.

Sometimes, I forgot he was a psychopath. Not a psycho like rapists, serial killers, etc., but mentally unstable, nonetheless. And I'd been feeling so in control lately, so powerful. So I started defying Scrim. "I'm not letting you beat me. Get over it."

Something flashed in his blue eyes then. "I'm not gonna beat you."

"That's what you just said."

"I said I'm gonna spank you. It'll hurt a little bit, but it'll feel so good you won't even notice."

"Maybe you should let me slap you around and see how you like it, Scrim."

"You liked it last time. You'll like it again."

"Will not."

"You will."

"Nope."

He leaned down to bring his face close to mine. "Zaida."

I met his gaze without flinching. He still made me nervous, but I wouldn't let it show. "Scrim."

I could tell he hated being defied, but he loved it at the same time. It was obvious in the intensity of his eyes. His arms shook in frustration, and when I couldn't help the little curve on the side of my mouth, the barely noticeable smirk, he did notice it. And that told him everything.

He quickly undressed me, pushed me onto the bed and tied my ankles together with rope. I was completely naked and on my stomach. He grabbed my wrists and tied them together behind my back, making it impossible for me to move.