Page 69 of Caged in Flames

I've never been sure about how I feel about Charlie. I wanted to hate him for existing, just like he did me. Even when he was acting the part of the ruthless dictator of the school, part of me wanted to pretend that maybe he was another victim of our circumstances too. Not anymore. All that remains is a passionate resentment.

His hand cups my cheek so softly that it contradicts the venom in his voice. “Now why would I do that? We do everything together, why not you too?"

True fear takes over with his words. They wouldn't.

When the blindfold falls away, I can see the other two.

I could feel their presence before but seeing them all standing against me causes pain of another level.

My heart shatters into so many tiny pieces and I can't see how I'll ever be able to pick them back up.

“This is enough, you guys.” I barely get the words out. The look in Charlie’s eyes is terrifying. When I look at the other two, I find none of the softness I had come to know. Standing there like stones. Unwilling to help. Leaving me to the jaws of a monster.

“It’s enough when we say so.” He presses himself even closer to me. When I feel the bulge in his pants, I begin to struggle against the tie Sawyer used for my hands.

“Please, I don’t know what you’re thinking of doing, but please just let me go.”

They all laugh. Then I hear it. The laughter isn’t just inside the storage room. They displayed my body to the entire school. It's all too much. I have to shut everything down, but my own mind is too busy shutting itself down.

I don’t remember who let me out of there. I don’t know what voices were panicking in an attempt to get the screen up and the live feed off. I don’t remember how I got home. I only remember breaking, and then I remember entering the darkness of my own mind. Readily.

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