Page 6 of Envy

“Come on,” a man's voice says.

I can't see behind me. I’m dragged to the back exit. I try to kick, but the arm wrapped around me is too strong. I feel the air shift. I’m outside.

A black SUV skids to a stop. The back passenger door is flung open. I’m pulled inside. All the air whooshes out of my lungs when something hard hits my head. A crack of pain explodes in my head and darkness swallows me whole.

My eyes flutter open,and I sputter from the cold water. Shocks me back from the abyss. The pain in my wrists, The bite of the restraints. A red light.

John's voice slithers through my mind–– a never-ending nightmare. His hot heavy breath against my skin. The weight of him. This time, he drugged me. I remember slipping in and out––wishing I’d stay in the dark. But the cold water keeps pulling me back.

The spray stings, electric against my skin, and I gasp as reality slams into me. Off-white tiles. Metal brackets from a stall. Fluorescent lights. I'm back in my dorm's shower.

Something warm pools between my thighs causing my muscles to lock up. For split second, terror seizes me but then I realize I’m peeing. The drugs are wearing off. I wiggle my fingers, testing. Movement comes slowly. I press my palms against the cold tiles, trying to drag myself away from the water. A sharp spike of nausea coils in my gut.

A puff of air escapes my throat. Pain erupts through my ribs. I sob. Fuck. I try again, but my body doesn’t move. It’s all in my head.

I stare at the same crack in the tile, my vision blurring in and out. A frustrated moan rumbles from my lips when I realize I haven’t moved an inch. It’s all in my head. Then––

Thud.

Thud.

Thud.

Footsteps.

My eyes roll back.Someone is coming.

I try to call for help, but my throat is raw.

I try again. Nothing.

The fluorescent lights swirl, tilting beneath. And then, I float. Something warm presses against me. Heat melts into my frozen skin, chasing the cold away. For the first time, I don’t fight it.

If this is death, I’m home. Because living is my true hell.

I’m weightless, suspended on a cloud. For a second, I savor the quiet. I count to five. Then open my eyes. Two black orbs stare back. Blink. Something wet, leathery, breathing. It blinks again. Metal. Spikes. A growl. My pulse spikes. It’s a fucking dog. A big, black dog. With pointed teeth and bared teeth.

I yelp––my voice hoarse, broken. I bolt upright. Catching the soft black sheets, clutching them to my chest, trimmed in gold. The bed is enormous. And I’m naked.

Where am I?

My head whips around, the room is huge and unfamiliar. Black oak floors. Dark furniture. Monochrome colors carefully placed by design. The windows are covered in heavy drapes. The air smells different. Not like John. Not like the others.

A sharp growl pulls me back. The dog sits in front of the door. A Doberman Pinscher. Large. Watching. Waiting.

I test a slow movement, pausing the growl deepens. Shit. Whose fucking dog is this?

I try again, inch by inch. The Doberman raises its head. I sigh and lean against the headboard, staring at the beast. “Who do you belong to?” I ask.

The dog’s ears flick. It watches me without blinking. Minutes pass. My heartbeat slows.

I scan the room––really scan. Ni chains. No cuffs. No red lights. This is not John’s house. I would be locked in a small room with a twin bed, not in a room this luxurious. And John would never leave me alone. He would never leave me with a dog either.

Desperation sets in after sitting still for so long. I wonder how long I’ve been here. The smell of cologne on the sheets doesn’t help. It’s not one I’m not familiar with. It’s how I learned who John let in. Their cologne. Their sweat. Their sickness. I knew which ones were violent, cruel. Which ones would use me the worst.

It’s how I could tell what kind of day I was having. It’s funny how quickly you tune in to your other senses when you’re tortured—raped, hit, slapped. I knew them by their scent when the drugs kicked in and my vision blurred. And this scent isn’t his.

A whine snaps me back to the present. The Doberman circles, then sits again. It watches me with the same unreadable expression. I shift lightly. Another growl. I sigh.

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