Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 85183 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 426(@200wpm)___ 341(@250wpm)___ 284(@300wpm)
"Ria." Caleb scoops my head off the floor and cradles it in his lap. He presses his palm to my forehead and his eyebrows pinch together. His eyes flick to my leg covered in dirty bandages that haven't been changed since I got here. I don't even know what it looks like, but it smells bad, like decaying flesh. I stopped trying to salvage it a long time ago. I have no medicine, no disinfectant, nothing. Why delay the inevitable?
"You shouldn't have come, Caleb." My voice sounds scratchy even to my own ears.
"I couldn't just leave you here." His face hovers over mine, his eyes soft as they study my face. "I hoped I could convince him to let you go."
"Please tell me Jude knows you're here, that he has a plan?" I beg.
His eyes slowly move to mine. "He never would have let me come, Ria."
"Oh, God." A strangled sob breaks though my lips. "You'll die," I rasp. My breaths come in uneven pants as even the smallest of actions seem like an uphill struggle.
Caleb shakes his head, determination painting his features. "No, Jude's looking for you now."
I wish I could believe him, but hope is not something I can afford anymore. I pray Caleb survives this. I know I'm delusional, I've seen the extent of Joe's hate, but I ask for this one small thing.
Caleb takes one of the bottles of water, the only thing Joe's guys supply me with, and he pours it over my leg, attempting to wash my wound.
"Leave it."
"Ria, it needs cleaning."
I shake my head. "Leave it."
"What, you're just going to give up?" He tries to sound stern, but his voice cracks.
I don't say anything. I don't have to.
"You don't get to give up. You fight this." His face crumples and tears trickle down his cheeks. He suddenly looks so young, like the boy he should be, not the man his brother's lifestyle has forced him to become.
I reach up and hold onto his wrist gently. "There are some things that we just aren't meant to survive," I breathe. My head spins violently, and I try to focus on his face.
"Ria!" He shakes me. "Ria."
I try to stay awake, but the blackness pulls me under. I welcome it like an old friend, wrapping me in its warm embrace.
I wake when someone grabs me by my shoulder and hauls me to my feet. "Don't hurt her!" I can hear Caleb screaming, and it confuses me. I thought he was a dream.
I want to cry when I feel the familiar wooden surface of Joe's desk hit my back. Every time I think I'm immune, that he can't hurt me anymore, that his abuse will not affect me, and every time I'm wrong, left pining for death as though it is my very salvation.
A ragged moan slips from my lips as I try to roll away. A deep laugh echoes around the room as a hand grabs my hair and jerks me up to face Caleb. "Pretty little thing isn't she?" Joe sneers as his face presses to my cheek. "Or at least she was. Still, her body's good, and her pussy's even better."
I squeeze my eyes shut. I can't look at Caleb. I can't see the disgust in his eyes.
Joe spins me and forces me face down on the desk. I don't fight. I can't fight. He lifts the oversized t-shirt I've been dressed in, exposing my body to the room. I don't care anymore. I hear his belt buckle, and then I feel him slamming into my prone body. He's just pushing me that little bit closer to death. Caleb's screaming hysterically, drowning out Joe's maniacal laughter. I block it all out, my mind drifting. I smell the smoldering iron of the poker before I see or feel it. This is something he likes to do, fuck me whilst he brands me. Most days, he then lets his men fuck me. The only thing that gets me through is knowing there will be an end. Eventually.
His fingers brush against my skin, moving the torn shreds of my shirt to the side. The hot iron burns into my back, but I don't flinch or react. I barely register the pain anymore.
Joe stiffens behind me, and then he's gone. I close my eyes. I'm so tired.
"I can't wait until Jude kills you!" Caleb shouts.
There's a grunt followed by a thud. I open my eyes to see Caleb on his knees, hunched over as he tries to catch his breath.
Joe chuckles, and once again, drags me up by my hair, forcing me to face Caleb. I can't look at him. Instead, I stare vacantly at the wall. "Here is what is going to happen. Now, you are going to fuck her," he sneers, pointing at Caleb, whose face goes completely white.