Chapter 26
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Tessa
Blinking groggily, I squint into the darkness. A small amount of light filters through metal bars on a streaked window that patters steadily with raindrops. The rest of the room is doused in black, but there’s something strangely familiar about the window. Those bars. . .
Where the hell did I crash last night?
It’s not until I try to swallow and feel a sharp pang that I realize how thirsty I am. My throat is on fire; I would kill for a glass of water. I must have gotten shit-faced last night considering the way my head swims with each little movement.
What’s odd is that I swear I stopped drinking after I ate that cheeseburger. I remember feeling pissed about seeing Lilah, going outside for a smoke, then. . . everything else is cloudy. I don’t know when I left the bar, or who I left with. The harder I try to remember, the more my head throbs.
I rub slow circles over my temples to try to relieve some of the splitting pain. I need Tylenol, stat.
I’m never drinking again. Ever.
Andrew had way more to drink last night, he’s probably getting real friendly with his porcelain throne right about now. Mustering some of my limited energy, I make a move to stand up, but something cold bites into my ankle and I’m jerked back to the hard floor.
What the hell?
Fear bubbles up inside me. With a trembling hand, I slowly reach out to my ankle. A cold, metal cuff is wrapped around it. My heart slams into my chest as I slide my fingers all the way around until I find a thick chain at the back. My uneven breathing fills the air as I follow the short chain to a metal plate that’s bolted into the floor. Wrapping my hands around a heavy link, I yank as hard as possible, earning me nothing but another wave of vertigo.
I’m chained to the fucking floor.
Caught like a rabbit who stumbles into the hunter’s trap. I tuck my face between my knees, begging the room to stop spinning.
Wake up, wake up. Please wake up.
I’ve had this nightmare before, I just need to wake up. But it’s all so. . . vivid.
Floorboards groan nearby and my head whips toward the sound. Blinded by the bright light from an opening door, I squeeze my eyes shut as my heart thrashes and fights to escape my chest.
A bead of sweat rolls down the side of my face as I scuttle backwards. When the chain runs out of slack, I’m jolted to a stop. A pungent smell assaults my nose. Suddenly, I’m overcome with a feeling of déjà vu.
Blinking furiously, my vision takes a second to adjust to the light. Two figures stand before me, the harsh light giving way to familiar faces.
Mother and. . . Trent.
My stomach clenches and bile forces its way up my throat. That smell. . . it’s the same nauseating odor from the bar. Someone bumped into me, then I went outside, and—fuck, this splitting headache makes it so hard to remember. I was outside and. . . something was pressed against my face and I couldn’t think, couldn’t move. He took me from the bar; it was Trent. Watching, waiting.
Oh god.
Trent regards me with a bored look. “Still seems pretty out of it.”
The dragon’s eyes are cold and calculating. “Now take a seat. I need to have a word with my darling daughter.” Obediently, he moves to the folding chair that sits in the corner of the room. “As you can see, we’ve done a little redecorating.” She spreads her hands, motioning around the room.
I understand now why it felt so familiar. This is my old room. Stripped of everything aside from the chair where Trent sits, watching me. Looking down, I notice a rectangular outline of dust. I’m sitting in the place my mattress used to be.
Chained to the very spot I was raped.
My stomach churns, and this time I can’t keep the bile down. Leaning over, I empty the contents of my stomach on the wooden floorboards. The stench of puke overwhelms the scent of cologne, bringing me a small measure of comfort.
“Oh, I thought you might like it. What a wonderful homecoming this is. Lovely, lovely, yes. Might feel a bit woozy, had to keep you nice and sleepy until we got here.” Her smile displays rows of rotting teeth. “And don’t worry about your little friends. Nasty neighbors might get nosy, but darling Trent here has done a few upgrades. Little birds will tell us anytime someone comes sniffing around for their favorite pet. Right under their noses and they will never know,” she cackles.
“They’ll see right through whatever bullshit you have planned. They will come, and they will find me,” I spit, causing her to stop moving and smile down at me.
“Oh Tessa,” she clucks her tongue in disappointment. “They will be relieved, my dear. Come now, let’s be honest, shall we? You must know how much of a burden you are to that poor family. How much they despise you for sniffing around their precious boy. They wonder, what more damage will this vile girl do? Who will she hurt next?”
“Shut up.” I slam my hands over my ears, regressing to childlike behaviors.
“No more, little peach, but I embrace the demons in you. Maybe I feared them before, perhaps I was jealous. No more, I accept your darkness, sweetness. We will use it to better our lives. Men will pay a pretty price for a taste of a hellcat.”
A shudder quakes through my body as I come to understand her intentions, and why I’m chained to the floor like a wild animal. I ignored her rambling when she confronted me at the Blackwells, but I should have listened, maybe I could have prevented this.
My own mother plans to whore me out.
Anger spreads through me, pumping my veins with adrenaline. I won’t go down without a fucking fight. I yank my leg against the chain, but the bolt in the floor doesn’t budge.
“There’s only one problem. One tiny little thing, an easy fix. Yes, quite easy. Men, well, they are fools, my dear. They think they want a feisty little cunt, but truly, they want a docile baby sheep. You’re not a sheep, dear, you’re a wolf with fangs.” She snaps her teeth. “We’ve got to get a little of that bite out of you, my pup.” She bends down to pat my head like a dog.
With a surge of energy, I lunge forward, thrusting out my hands I aim to claw out her eyes. She sidesteps, and my leg goes out from beneath me as the chain yanks me back to the ground.
Dragging me up by my hair, her arm slips around my neck and applies pressure to my throat. My back is flush against her chest as she pins me against her bony frame.
Her fingers snap, and Trent suddenly looms above.
Laying her chin on my shoulder, she whispers, “See what I mean? So much fire, so much rage in you. We must find the little sheep who hides in wolf’s clothing. Do you understand, dear girl?”
I shake my head, tears stream down my face as I look to the ceiling, more terrified and helpless than I’ve ever felt in my entire life. My soul screams into the universe. I know whatever happens next, will threaten to destroy me, to unravel all the progress I’ve made to become something I don’t despise.
“Trent,” she bites out, making me jolt with fear. “Hurry the fuck up, will you?”
He stumbles forward before he tightens something around my arm.
No.
An item is removed from a small bag, and as my worst fears are confirmed, I’m reduced to begging. “No, please. Please, I’ll be good, I won’t fight you. No. No, you can’t.” I moan as he flicks the needle, never meeting my gaze, never hesitating.
“You always thought you were so much better than me, and now. . . now you’ll be just like me, won’t you? This is my own little concoction. Divine liquid of the gods. Now you’ll understand me, and the universe. Now you’ll be a good little sheep.”
As the needle punctures my skin, an earth shattering scream rips through me, and a filthy hand clamps down over my mouth. The foreign liquid enters my veins and the effects are almost immediate. My body goes limp and my muscles relax. Slipping out of her arms, I drop to the floor as dead weight.
The dragon’s toothy smile swims before my eyes. “Whassyou done?” I demand, but my mouth isn’t working right, and I wail in despair.
Her bloodshot eyes become reptilian and smoke curls from her nostrils. When she opens her mouth, I see a row of razor-sharp teeth. “Just chasing the dragon, little peach.”
Chasing the. . . dragon.
Chasing the dragon.
The dragon.
The words echo and bounce off the walls of my mind. Feeling drowsy, I blink once, twice.
When my eyes reopen, I’m all alone.
Didn’t I just blink? My eyes were only closed for a few seconds, I’m sure. Pathetic noises emit from my throat as I begin to cry. How can my body be so relaxed when my mind screams in despair?
Andrew!
With his name on my tongue, I reach up for the crown around my neck only to feel that it’s gone, along with the small amount of comfort it would give me.
I held happiness in the palm of my hand, and it was ripped away. I was not made for happiness, or light. Not love or sunshine.
So, I do what I was created in this universe to do.
I give in to the darkness.