Page 188 of The Invite
He cranes his neck in my direction. I sob when I see the recognition in his eyes despite his awful state. His mouth opens to speak but instead of a sound, a mixture of blood and saliva spills out.
I almost crumble to the dirty floor as it dawns on me that he can’t talk.
My gaze travels to the right of his chair and nausea builds as I see his cut-out tongue lying on the ground.
I cringe away. Saltiness lands on my taste buds. It takes my muddled brain several seconds to recognize it as my tears,which seem to be unstoppable. They feel welcomed on my parched throat.
“Oh look, both of you are up,” a chirpy voice says, masking the evil underneath. But once you’ve seen the real face of the devil beneath the enchanting, beautiful one, you never forget it. “Good morning, love.”
I lurch away and curl into a ball as another set of footsteps approaches me. Instead of fighting my captors, I become a coward.
“Ahhh!” I cry out when a fist yanks my head up by my hair at the roots.
“Are you ready to end poor Johnny’s misery?” Evil asks in my ear. “Or do you want us to continue? We can bring him to the brink of death again and again until you say yes.”
A loud and excited clap makes me jump in fright.
“What’s it going to be, love?”
A resounding crack fills the air and I turn my head in time to see Johnny groan and cough out more blood. Another mean punch lands on his other eye, causing it to shut. Before he gets hit again, I shout, “Stop!”
“Then do it yourself.”
“Just take the gun and shoot him, love.”
I shake my head but the grip on my hair tightens. I whisper, “No.”
I’m thrown to the floor with a disgusted grunt.
“Wake him up,” Evil says. “Get me the pliers.”
“No… please,” I plead. “Don’t hurt him!”
They don’t listen.
And the next day, I say yes.
***
“I’m sorry… I’m sorry.”
A heavy weight around my waist pins me down.
“No… Let me go!”
The grip only constricts me further, followed by a faint voice.
“Please… no more,” I sob.
“Shh… it’s okay,” the voice consoles.
“I did what you said.”
“Open your eyes, Ness.”
What? Who’s that?
A warm hand curls over mine, lacing their fingers with my clammy ones. “Come back, honey.”
