Page 70 of The Boy I Loved
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” I demanded. “What if it was your fucking mother or sister in this place? Would you still be so callous?”
Dominic clenched his jaw, running his fingers over the stubble. He took a step toward me, greeting me at the bars. So much had changed in him; I knew that the moment I first saw him at his welcome home party. I knew then that he was darker, but I didn’t realize to what extent.
He didn’t say anything for a few moments, just glared at me with those hard, gray eyes. I tried to remember the version of him I used to know—the one with the charming smile and laid-back persona. He used to be so care-free and full of life. Now … he was my worst nightmare come to life.
“What’s wrong with…” he trailed off, repeating my words from a few seconds ago. A soft, manic laugh bubbled up from his throat. One that had goosebumps careening over my skin. “Everything.” He growled, lunging for the bars. I gasped, stepping away, but his hands closed around mine over the metal. “I’ve done every possible thing I could think of to keep you safe, Hazel. B-but I messed up. I fucked up and now you’re here because of me.” His words were a jumbled mess and it didn’t help that he was speaking so low.
I shook my head trying to make sense of it all. “You brought me here,” I pointed out. “So, yeah. I’m here because of you.”
A crease formed between his brows, confusion clouding his features. “What? I didn’t—” he paused, recognition tittering across his face. “I didn’t even know they were taking you until I got here.”
“But you said?—”
“I know what the fuck I said,” he snapped. “And you’ll hear me say a lot of fucking shit you don’t like from here on out. That doesn’t make any of it true.”
A scream pierced the air, causing my heart to sink into the depths of my stomach. Shuffling sounded further down, followed by Tristan’s voice, though I couldn’t make out what he was saying from here.
Nia squirmed against him, the dry blood still caked over her thighs and chest from where the baby had rested for the first time.
“Please,” she begged. “Please don’t do this.” Tears streamed down her face, her body trembling against Tristan as he tugged her along. She had an accent, but I couldn’t place what it was. It sounded Columbian if I had to guess.
Tristan shoved her toward Dominic, who swiftly moved from the bars, placing a hand on either one of her biceps. Her big, amber eyes peered into his, tears mixing with snot. I could see the agony etched into her features; I could hear it in her sobs and pleas.
“On your hands and knees,” Dominic instructed coldly. “Don’t make me ask twice.”
Nia trembled, hesitating briefly before lowering herself to her knees.
“Please,” I whispered. If he had an ounce of humanity left, he’d listen to me. He had to know this was wrong. My hands curled tighter around the bars, my fingers trembling where they rested.
Dominic ignored me, reaching for the button on his jeans before shoving them down his thighs and past his knees. My stomach lurched with disgust, acid rising to the back of my throat. I couldn’t watch this. He kicked off his shoes and did the same with his boxers, moving to stand behind her. He placed a hand against the back of her shoulder to force her forward, and with reluctance, she went.
“Fuck,” Tristan groaned. “She’s gushing blood.”
He wasn’t wrong. It was running down her thighs, splattering onto the cement floor beneath her. With a surprising gentleness, Dom swept his hand over her pussy, coating it in her blood before painting her asshole with it. It smeared across her olive skin, contrasting against the dim lighting. He slowly eased a finger into her backside, shoving it in and twisting, using the blood as a lubricant.
I didn’t know how to feel—relieved that he wasn’t going to push inside her vagina, jealous that he was screwing another girl, sad that she had to endure this after so much trauma, or thankful that he was at least listening to me somewhat, even if it wasn’t exactly what I’d meant when I told him it could cause damage.
Once she was stretched to his liking, he lined himself up with her ass, and pushed in gently, gripping her hips for momentum.
Nia made a strangled sound. But I couldn’t tell if it was from relief or pain.
My breath came out fast and ragged, mixing in with the stale, rancid air surrounding me. My knuckles ached with how hard I was gripping the bars, my eyes burning with unshed tears. Tristan’s mouth was moving, excitement sparking within his eyes, but I couldn’t make out what was being said, not over the sound of the blood rushing through my ears.
Dominic’s hips jerked, slamming into the woman’s ass with ferocity. A choked sob fled her mouth, her fingernails scraping against the cold, cement floor. My head spun, torn in half by the knowledge of the boy I thought I knew and the things happening right before my very eyes. The version of Dominic I grew to love wasn’t here. In his place, was a cold, heartless monster—one who sought destruction and wanted to inflict pain on those around him. It felt like my heart was being grinded slowly, shatters of it cascading around my feet as I watched helplessly.
His name was on the tip of my tongue, but I knew calling out to him would only make things worse, especially with Tristan here. All I could do was stand there and watch. Blood coated his entire dick as he retracted, only to push into her again, her body jostling beneath him. Nia turned her head, her eyes locking onto mine. That was when I saw it: defeat, helplessness, dissociation. Her dark eyes had glazed over, snuffed out by the horrors she must have endured.
My stomach coiled with a mixture of things, but the most prominent ones were heartache and guilt.
How could Dom stand there and tell me he had no other choice when he’d chosen to do this willingly? Was he doing this just to prove a point to me? That he was no better than the rest of the monsters who circled this place like vultures? I didn’t understand it. I didn’t understand it at all.
When he moved his hand to place it on her upper back, shoving her harder against the floor, he left behind a smeared, bloody handprint on her narrow hip. My breath stuttered out, the floor tilting beneath my feet.
It was too much.
Dominic couldn’t even hide the pleasure on his face. He could pretend all he wanted, but the way his lips parted and his eyes glazed over was his giveaway. Heenjoyedthis.
It seemed to go on forever, but after a while, her sobs turned into gentle moans and her body relaxed against the floor. Shecouldn’t fight it any longer. It didn’t matter that what he was doing to her was wrong, her body didn’t know the difference. I’d experienced that with Mason, though that wasn’t nearly as traumatic as this.
