His voice muffles as the drug starts knocking me out. What has he done to me? He was safe. He was supposed to be okay.
No. No, he wasn’t. Lucien is the only one who is safe.
Lucien…
* * *
I wake up in the bedroom in the basement. Pain radiates through my mouth as if I have been stabbed in the jaw. He probably just used my mouth after he knocked me out. Somnophilia. Fucking gross.
My tongue feels like sandpaper in my mouth. I go to open my mouth, but I can’t. Pain erupts through my body, and tears fall from the sting. My tongue brushes against something metal inside my mouth.
I bring my hands up to my face, and my heart races. I feel small wires on my teeth. No.
Fear overwhelms me, and I hyperventilate. I can’t speak. He wired my fucking jaw shut. He wants me to be helpless.
I stand and rush over to the mirror. No.
Tears pour out of my swollen eyes. Why would he do this to me? He knows me. I thought he saw me.
I sit down on the floor and bring my knees to my chest as I sob. There is nothing I can do. I’m fucking helpless.
I try to rationalize my options. I can’t fucking run. He has a tracker on my ankle, but I can call someone. I just need a phone.
Iwipe the tears from my face, knowing that I don’t have time to be a little bitch right now. I stand and move to the door, hoping, wishing that it is unlocked.
Relief washes over me when I push open the door and slip out into the hall. I slowly make my way to the stairs, careful not to let the rest of my body make noise.
I look left and right at the top of the stairs and listen carefully. I don’t hear anything over the thumping of my heart. Thump. Thump. Thump.
I round the corner and run into a plant. I stumble back, falling onto the floor. My body flushes with panic. I quickly stand, hoping no one hears me. It appears to be early morning, based on the light shining in through the windows. I tiptoe, scanning every surface for a phone.
I get to the living room, and Victor lies asleep on the couch. I should have gotten a fucking knife or something. His phone lies on the table next to him. I take a deep breath through my nose as I creep over to the table. I grab the phone and quickly walk away. He rustles to life on the couch, and fear comes in waves, knotting in my stomach.
I run.
I run back down the stairs and think quickly. I open one door and slam it shut. I quickly run back towards the lounge. Hoping he checks the rooms.
I peer around the corner as he runs straight into the room. I quickly bolt from around the corner, securing the lock on the outside of the door.
My shaky hands open his phone. I watched him enter his password in the car on the way here.
I quickly call Lucien. Fuck. I can’t talk. I cry harder as Victor pounds on the door from the other side. Fuck.
Heanswers, and I hold the phone up to the door as Victor yells.
“You fucking bitch. Let me out. Now. Or I’ll fucking kill you.”
Lucien stays on the phone. Not saying anything. I know he hears it. He can trace the number. He will find me. I set the phone on the ground and go upstairs, grabbing a knife from the butcher block. I walk back down the stairs and sit on the floor opposite the door. I will stay here all night if necessary.
Lucien is coming. Lucien will save me.
21
Lucien
23 Years old
I sit outside a crumby motel. There are rats in the parking lot and broken-down cars. I hate places like this. It makes me fucking sick.