Page 64 of Anathema
How the fuck did I let this happen to me? I’ve been asking myself that a lot as of late.
I felt like a woman about to be burned at the stake for a crime she didn’t commit.
My head fell forward, and I stared at the ground, tears falling from my eyes and soaking into the dirt underneath me.
Fight, Alexis. Fucking fight for yourself. You aren’t this pathetic mess you believe you are.
Inhaling a deep breath, the last part of my resolve shattered, and I screamed.
I screamed so loudly that the sound bounced off the walls into every tunnel that connected from this central room.
I screamed so loudly that my throat became raw from the strain, and my ears found their own pulse.
I screamed so loudly that when I had finally finished and sagged against the post, Adrian was standing at the opposite end of the room, glaring daggers at me with his arms crossed over his chest, wearing his immaculate black fucking suit.You sorry son of a bitch…I wanted nothing more but to burn him alive in that suit and watch him scream in agony until he was nothing but a pile of ash.
“Oh, sweet Alexis. Is that what you are resulting to now? Screaming? No one can hear you down here. At least… no one who cares.” Adrian chuckled, and I swear the zip ties around my wrists were tightened even further.No—they weren’t tightening on their own… fueled by fury, my wrists had strained so tightly that the ties cut deeper into my skin.
“The fuck do you want with me, Adrian?” I screamed with enough venom to kill. I was a fucking fighter, and I was going to get the hell out of here, and when I did, I was getting as far away from here as possible. After getting my revenge on Adrian, of course.
He stepped towards me slowly, one agonizing step at a time, not speaking a word. His smug ass sauntering pissed me off—as if I could be any angrier right now.
“Spare me the theatrics, you sick son of a bitch.” I rolled my eyes so hard I almost lost my balance. Adrian stopped before me and gripped my blood-crusted chin tightly, his fingers digging into my skin. I hissed from the pain as he tilted my face so that my eyes could meet his toxic greengaze.
“You need to watch thatfilthymouth of yours, sweetheart.” He hissed, so close to my lips that I could taste his threat on my tongue.
“You need to get the fuck away from me.” I jerked my face from his hold and snarled.
“Don’t worry, Alexis, soon I won’t have any more use for you, just like Monika.” He crouched down to my level and tilted his head as if I were some feral animal under inspection—I sure as fuck felt like one.
“I must admit, you’ve been the perfect bait until now.” His voice dripped silk and honey; no wonder Madison dropped her panties for him so quickly.
He was a charmer, in a fucked up kind of way.
Wait… bait? For what?
“Go fuck yourself.” I hissed through my teeth before spitting in his face. If he was going to look at me like a caged animal, I would gladly act like one.
Adrian held his composure, taking a hand and wiping the spit from his cheek before backhanding me so hard my head snapped to the side. He then stood to his full height, straightened his jacket, and flicked an imaginary piece of dust from his sleeve before a sharp whistle came from one of the passageways.
My cheek stung and burned where he had struck me. I gritted my teeth from the searing pain, and I was positive my cheek was now red and had already begun to welt—just another mark to add to the collection that covered my body.
“It seems as though our guests have arrived. I’d ask you to wait there like a good girl, but it appears to me that you don’t have a choice in the matter.” His sarcasm drove me to bite into my cheek, and my breathing turned heavy with the aggression that burned through me.
If I could turn into fire, I’d burn this fucking place to the ground with both of us in it.
“On second thought…” He added before snapping his fingers, and a cloaked figure stepped between us, blocking my view of him.
I fell back against the post, the back of my head hitting it hard enough to hurt, before a set of hands came up to my face and taped an X across my mouth with two strips of duct tape. My eyes widened, breathing accelerating, as I attempted to shake them off of me, my screams muffled and useless now.
“See you soon, Alexis.” Adrian’s voice echoed in my mind.
No, please, no. Not again. Fuck.
“Lex?”Avoiceechoedin my mind, and I mumbled, forgetting there was tape covering my mouth. How long had I been unconscious again? “Oh my god, Lex!” The voice grew louder—voices. I heard multiple different voices surrounding me.
Shortly after Adrian had my mouth duct taped, one of his asshole followers hit me over the head with something hard again, and I lost consciousness. They sure loved knocking people out when itwas convenient for them. As if I could have done anything being strapped to this fucking post with my mouth taped shut.
If anything, I bet it wasChadtaking another free shot at me while he could. That sorry-ass motherfucker was second on my list after Adrian now.
