Page 37 of The Boy I Loved
“I’ll show you.”
He started for Anya’s cage, plucking the ring of keys that jingled from his pocket. I always wondered what they were for, considering most rooms contained a hand-scanner, but now it made sense.
The cell creaked open, and he gestured for me to follow. Reluctantly, I did. Once we were inside, he pulled the door closed behind him and locked it again. Now that we were closer to the girl, I could tell that she appeared to be around my age, maybe slightly older. Her features were soft, even with the dirt marring her pale skin. I tried not to stare at her breasts, or at anything else, but it was hard when she was just … laying there like that.
“This one’s a bit of a fighter,” he warned. “Don’t be afraid to knock her around some.”
My stomach twisted with disgust. What was he expecting me to do? I didn’t want to hurt her. I didn’t want to do anything to her that she was uncomfortable with. Hell, even if she was comfortable with it, the only girl I wanted was Hazel.
“Clay…” I trailed off, the words getting stuck in my throat. “I-I don’t know if I can?—”
He whipped his head in my direction, a snarl curling his upper lip. “You can and you will,” he snapped. “Alice’s safety relies on it. Or would you rather it be her here instead?”
I stumbled back a step, shock punching through my chest. He was … threatening my sister? Suddenly, I was seeing him in a new light. Suddenly, the distance my father had put between them made sense.
“Understood?” He arched an eyebrow—a clear warning of what he would do if I refused to comply.
“Yes,” I whispered.
My heart pounded furiously, knocking against my ribcage. The cell felt too small, like it was seconds away from closing in on me and crushing me where I stood.
Clay turned his back to me and approached the sleeping girl. He placed his foot to her stomach and pushed, causing her small tits to jiggle with the movement. Her breath hitched in her sleep, but she didn’t wake.
“Stupid slut,” Clay murmured with an edge of amusement slithering through his tone. He repeated the action, and this time she did wake, gasping so loudly, the sound echoed through the building.
Anya scrambled away from him as quickly as possible, placing her back to the stone wall behind her and drawing her knees to her chest—a pathetic attempt at covering herself. Her frantic eyes flicked from my uncle to me and then back to him.
“Sorry to interrupt your slumber,” Clay said in a mocking tone that implied he wasn’t the least bit apologetic.
“Please,” Anya begged with wide, frantic eyes. “I-I Just n-need to sleep.”
My chest constricted at the sound of her pleading. She was so frail, so defenseless.
Clay snorted. “Do you really think we give a fuck what you think you need?” he demanded. “We decide what you want, what you need, what you fucking do.” The girl said nothing, only continued to tremble on the thin mattress. “This is my nephew, Dominic.” He motioned to me with a flick of his wrist, her gaze following the movement.
“Uncle—” I began, repulsion bubbling up inside of me. I didn’t know how he expected me to … whatever it was he wanted, but I wasn’t sure I could.
“Remember what we talked about,” he warned again, alluding to the threat he’d made not long ago.
My shoulders dropped in defeat. There was no way out of this. He was going to make me touch her—hurt her. I reached into my pocket again, running the pad of my thumb over the smooth surface of the nickel, willing it to offer me the strength I needed to get through this.
“Fuck her,” Clay ordered, slicing through the thick silence.
My head whipped in his direction, my breathing coming out fast and uneven. Anya’s choked sob echoed through the cell, cutting straight into my chest. This was wrong; this was assault. I couldn’t move. My entire body seemed to lock up, holding me in place.
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Boy.” He growled in a low tone that sent a chill sweeping down my spine.
On shaky legs, I forced myself to walk toward her. There were so many things I wanted to say to her—to tell her I didn’t have a choice, that I was sorry, that my sister meant more to me, that I’d be gentle. But I couldn’t say any of those things. Not only would Claypunish me for it as he’d made abundantly clear, but it didn’t matter. Nothing I told her would undo what I was about to do.
Anya’s blue eyes followed me every step of the way, her body curling into itself more and more the closer I got. “Please.” She cried, hugging herself tightly.
My teeth scraped together, but I held back all of the words I wanted to say. Instead, I tugged my hand out of my pocket, moving it to the button on my jeans.
‘I’m so sorry, Hazel. Forgive me.’
The thought echoed through my skull, sending a current of heat to the back of my eyes. I should have never gone with Clay. I should have taken my punishment and gone right back to my family as initially planned. But it was too late for that now.
A shaky breath left my lungs as I kicked my shoes off and pushed my jeans and boxers down my legs. They pooled at my feet, giving me the access I needed to step out of them.
