Page 36 of The Boy I Loved
Screams,bones crunching, blood pooling, death’s odor—it was always the same. The same shit I woke up to every single night. My body was slick with sweat, my chest rising and falling in frantic succession. I was in a constant war with myself over what was right and wrong, over good and evil. There were things I enjoyed that would get me a first-class ticket straight to Hell, and there were also things I did that made me feel sick to my stomach.
Bile churned around in my gut, eliciting a series of cramps with the memories that stumbled forth. The first time Clay made me…
I sucked in a ragged breath, attempting to shove the memory to the back of my mind, but it was the same fucking memory that haunted me each night.
“I think you’re ready.” Clay grinned, flashing a set of dull, white teeth as he pushed himself to his feet.
Clay had brought me to this place he called the ‘compound’ a few months ago. I didn’t understand why he’d brought me here, or what the purpose was, but deep down, I knew there was a reason for it. Everyone had been vague about what went on here, and I didn’t feel the need to pry.
“Ready for what?” I asked, fiddling with a nickel that was lodged in the pocket of my jeans. The smooth texture of the coin helped calm me most days but did nothing now. There was something about the look on Clay’s face that rubbed me the wrong way.
His smile only grew as he rounded the desk in his office, moving to stand beside me in the center of the room. “To turn you into a man.” He clapped me on the back of the shoulder before heading for the door, leaving me to trail after him.
My mind whirled with a multitude of possibilities. Turn me into a man? What the hell did that mean? I’d already had sex.
Clay jerked open the door and led the way out into the hall. A few of his guards passed by, giving him slight nods of acknowledgment as they walked. The compound was made up of three floors, elevators all throughout the building. I was free to roam around the building as long as I never stepped foot on the first floor or the basement.
I followed my uncle to the elevator at the end of the hall and stepped in after him. Soft music echoed throughout the box moments later, tittering into the air surrounding me.
Uncle Clay exuded excitement. It was in the air around us—in the way he held his head up high, a slight grin pulling at his lips. Whatever he wanted to show me exhilarated him. So … why did it make me uneasy? It wasn’t that I didn’t trust him. He saved me. If it weren’t for him, I’d be at the correctional camp right now. He chose to take me under his wing, which was exactly what I needed after my dad died. It was nice having him around.
It wasn’t until the elevator stopped that I realized we were on the first floor. My stomach flipped with nervous energy. He’d made it very adamant that this floor was completely off-limits to me, so why bring me here?
Before I could make any move to step out, Clay turned to me, stepping in front of the exit. “Once I show you this, there’s no going back,” he told me. The grin had vanished, and in its place was astern expression. “I mean it, Dominic. Your loyalty will be mine. Do I make myself clear?”
He already had my loyalty. He was the only one who saw me for me—the only one who stepped in to protect me. I still wasn’t sure how he got me out of trouble, but he did, and I was grateful.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat, my eyes flicking toward the exit nervously. “What is it?”
“Promise me, Son. Tell me that you understand.”
It took me a few moments. I wasn’t sure what I was even agreeing to, but I jerked my head in a single nod anyway. “I understand.”
Uncle Clay’s posture relaxed, and he expelled a heavy breath. Finally, he turned on his heels and vacated the elevator. My hands trembled at my side as I followed behind him, taking note of everything surrounding me. It was late at night, but I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Guards were posted at every exit, and I could see a few of them hanging around a sliding, glass back door.
I followed my uncle to another door, but this one looked different than any other in the building. It was made of metal, presumably leading to the basement.
He paused, his hand hovering over the doorknob. There was a flicker of uncertainty in his gaze, like he wasn’t sure he should show me what was inside. “What you see might shock you,” he warned. “But you must show no emotion.”
“Okay,” I whispered lightly, the sound barely reaching my own ears.
Satisfied, he put his hand against a glass screen that I hadn’t noticed before. It was located a few inches away from the door but instantly lit up and scanned his palm. The door beeped immediately, allowing him the access he needed to tug it open.
Darkness was the first thing I saw, followed by the scent of … I wasn’t sure what the smell was, but it was awful. I choked back a gag, reaching up to pinch my nose instead.
Clay released a low chuckle. “You’ll get used to the smell after a while.”
I seriously doubted that.
He led the way down a few steps, and once we reached the bottom, a faint glow of light illuminated the long and narrow space. It took me a minute to realize what I was seeing, but when it clicked, my stomach bottomed out.
On either side of me, there were giant cages—almost like cells. At first, I thought those were animals behind the bars, but after closer inspection … I realized they were people—women. The girl closest to me was lying on a thin mattress. Her blonde hair was thick with grease as it fanned over her face. She was … naked, her body curled into itself as she trembled, even in her sleep.
“You like that one?” Clay mused. “That’s Anya. She’s been here for about three weeks now.”
“What is this?” I whispered, doing my best to hide the tremble from my voice.
I didn’t like this one bit. These were women—caged and naked like animals. My mind instantly drifted to my sister, and then to Hazel. I couldn’t stomach it if something like this happened to them. Clay didn’t need to tell me why these women were here; it was obvious, but there was a part of me that needed to hear him say it.
