Page 52 of Ruined

Sitting down on the swing, I tuck my feet under my legs, taking the whiteboard from Jace. Leaving it in my lap, Jace starts swinging us back and forth. I look out into the woods, watching the trees move back and forth in the wind. With the birds chirping, it’s almost like a movie, a romance movie where a couple gets their happy ever ending.

They cut my toe off because I wouldn’t do something they wanted.I write it down on the whiteboard, holding it upside down. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to tell him what happened. No one knows what happened. But Jace, he’s told me so much about his past, that it only feels right to do the same to him.

Holding my breath, I flip it over, refusing to even look over. I shouldn’t be embarrassed, but I am.

“Blake,” Jace says after a minute. I shake my head; I don’t want his pity and I don’t want—

“Blake Volkov!” Jace snaps, grabbing ahold of my chin and forcing me to look at him. “What did they do?” he growls out.

Tears well in my eyes, not prepared at all for the emotions that begin to rain down on me. I can’t tell him how easy it was for them to break me. He’d never want me if he knew I was weak. That the only reason I’m alive is because I’m too weak to end it all.

Tossing the whiteboard back into my hands, I shakily write down the one thing they wanted from me and what Ryker has wanted me to do.

Scream.

Jace frowns at the board, glancing between me and what I wrote. “That’s why you don’t talk anymore?” he whispers.

I nod my head. They wanted one thing from me, and I refused to give it to them. I couldn’t.

“Why? I mean why don’t you talk now?” he asks.

I’m lost.

“You’re right here, Sunshine. I won’t let anything happen to you; you do know that, right?”

Looking out into the woods, the sun sets below the tree line. I’m not sure how to answer his question. I stopped speaking because they wanted to make me scream. They wanted more out of me than I was willing to give. Henry took my innocence; they chopped a part of me off. I’m scared I’m never going to be the same. But why haven’t I spoken since I got out? Why can’t I just answer them when they speak to me? I haven’t tried to even use my voice since the last time I begged them to stop hurting me.

“I know it was a guard that hurt you, but Blake, I’m not him. I don’t want to hurt you.” Jace places his hand on my thigh, trying to ease the thoughts from pushing in. “This is going to end soon, and when it does, I’m not going anywhere. You’ve somehow forced your way into my brain. You’re all I think about when I’m awake, who I dream about when I’m asleep. You’re more th—”

“BLAKE!” Ryker yells from inside the cabin.

Jace stands immediately glancing down at me before it dawns on him that his friend must have gone into his room and found what I had done.

“I’m not sure I can save you from him, Blake.”

Rolling my eyes, I don’t care. Ryker is all bark and no bite. Standing, I double-check my pocket, making sure the knife is still firmly in place. When I feel it against my hand, I walk around Jace, ignoring his calls after me.

The moment I step inside, Ryker is standing there, the mask that was once between my legs, soaked in my cum is now on his face. I can see his jaw working back and forth, his hands fisted at his side.

“What happened?” Jace asks, stepping in behind me.

“What happened?I’m going to kill her.” Ryker stalks towards me.

Smiling, I hold the knife in my pocket, waiting for him to come closer. It doesn’t take Jace long before he’s in front of me. Protecting me.

“Ryker, you’re not going to kill her. Just tell me what happened?”

“She cut holes in all my boxers, and put honey all over my floor and bed,” he hisses. I hold my breath, waiting for him to say the last thing, and possibly the worst. “And my little pet decided to use my mask to get herself off.”

I bite my bottom lip, feeling the tension rise. Jace turns his head, looking at me over his shoulder. This time I don’t look away. I want to see his face; I want to know if he’s hurt or if he even cares.

“Blake…did you cum on his mask?” Jace asks.

I nod. Of course I did, and now I’m realizing my mistake and how I acted like a brat.

“Now I’m going to punish you,” Ryker hisses.

“I’m not sure I can protect you from that.” Jace sighs. Slowly stepping away, I stand facing Ryker. He’s a few feet away but just looking at his stupid masked face again makes me angry. He has no reason to be here, and I hate that I want him.

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