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Chapter Twenty-Five – Ash
My eyes were slow to open, daylight streaming in through the window and caressing my face in a way no hands could, warming me. I blinked and let out a yawn as I sat up, stretching my hands. Almost immediately, I winced in pain, drawing both hands to my chest to inspect them. Fresh bandages were wrapped on my knuckles and my palms, my fingers covered in smaller Band-Aids here and there. It took me ages to remember what happened last night, and when I did, I felt sick.
It was too easy for me to revert back to who I used to be. I thought I’d gotten over this, but I hadn’t. I was the same girl I was back then, and just like then, he had me.
The room around me wasn’t mine; I didn’t recognize it. The clothes covering my body weren’t mine, either. I wore a soft, satin slip of a dress, and nothing underneath. Funny, because I didn’t recall changing…
I flipped the fresh, white covers off me, half expecting to see chains around my ankles—but this wasn’t Travis’s dorm, and there were no chains around me. Just my bare feet and my bare legs.
I got up, gazing around the room. The walls were a light tan, the curtains on the window drawn open. Pictures of cityscapes hung on the wall, and I hated that they reminded me of the one hanging in Sawyer’s room.
Sawyer. I never wanted to think of that bastard again, never wanted to see him. At this point, I didn't want to see anybody. I was so lost, too far gone. I’d stepped into the abyss with wide-open arms, welcoming the chaos and wanting it to ravage me.
I exited the room, moving into a quiet hall. It looked like I was in a house of sorts, and I headed to the staircase, smelling something delicious in the air. Was that bacon? I followed my nose into a brightly-lit, newly-updated kitchen, finding Ray standing before the stove, cooking eggs and bacon.
While shirtless, because who cared about stray splashing grease when you defied death at every turn?
His back was wide, muscled—had to be, in order to overpower the girls he’d taken. Me? He didn’t have to overpower me. I went with him without a fuss, like the stupid bitch I was. Stupid, so, so stupid.
Almost as if sensing my presence, Ray said, “You’re up. I was just about to go up and wake you.” He threw a look over his shoulder, his green eyes even brighter than I remembered them being. “I hope you still like bacon.”
I loved bacon. The problem was I think I still loved bacon a bit too much.
And, of course, I wasn’t really talking about bacon.
Using metal tongs, Ray grabbed the bacon off the pan and set it on a nearby plate, which he had waiting. I glanced around at the wide, open space. The house was too nice, too fancy and new for someone like him to afford, so I asked, “Did you kill the owners of this house?” Was I wearing a dead woman’s slip? Didn’t know what was worse. I was having a hard time thinking rationally.
He turned to face me, smiling a slow, deliberate grin. “What would make you think that?” As he asked it, something dark twinkled in his eyes, and my gaze dropped. His chest was lined with scars, but none of them as thick as the one on his lower abdomen.
Right where I’d tried to kill him.
“Amorcito,” Ray whispered into my ear. “You’re going to love what I have in store for you.” He hummed as he put a blindfold on me.
I couldn’t help but giggle. This was our first official weekend away—usually I had to sneak a few hours with him here and there, but now that I was eighteen, I was feeling adventurous. I wanted to live a little, and that meant having a whole weekend with my boyfriend, away from any prying eyes.
“I can’t wait,” I said, sounding exactly like what I was: a love-struck teenage girl. It was easy to be love-struck when I was dating a man like Ray. On and off for the last few years, but now I knew, without a doubt, that this man was the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. He was my future; I couldn’t see a single future without him in it.
Once the blindfold was on, Ray’s breath tickled my neck as he whispered, “Be careful with your footsteps.” He set a single kiss on my cheek before taking my hand, leading me through the log cabin that would be our home for the next forty-eight hours.
He led me through the house, and down into the basement. The air got colder when we went under, and I shivered to myself, wondering what he could have waiting for me down here. Hopefully he wasn’t going to murder me, I joked to myself. It was a joke Kelsey would’ve made, had she been here.
But she wasn’t. It was just me and the man I loved more than life itself.
Ray’s hands fell to my hips, and he forced me to turn to my left. His lips grazed my ear as he murmured, “Are you ready to see your surprise? I got it especially for you.” This time, when he kissed my cheek, it was slower, sloppier, trailing down to my collarbone and making me sigh.
“Yes,” I said, “I’m ready.”
And then he untied the blindfold, letting the fabric sway to the floor.
My heart nearly stopped. A girl was strung to the basement wall, wearing nothing but dirty white underwear and a matching bra. Her wrists were tied with tight rope, the skin around it chafing and red. Her eyes were red and puffy, but dry. She’d long cried out her last tears. A dirty gag sat in her mouth. How long had she been here, and why—
I saw a black X marked on her abdomen, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when Ray suddenly slid a cold metal knife into my hand. “What?” I asked, my voice dry. Not as dry as her lips were, or her voice—but she was gagged. The girl, who couldn’t have been much older than me, couldn’t say anything, and she couldn’t scream.She could only whimper.
“I got her for you,” Ray whispered, standing directly behind me. “So we can do everything together, you and I.” He tenderly touched my hair, its long, blond lengths. I immediately wanted to cut it off, but I was frozen.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered, watching as the girl’s eyes met mine.
She was staring at me. I didn’t want her to stare at me…
