Page 78 of Bound by Family
He doesn’t answer as my body begins to feel like it’s sagging. The room becomes clouded, and I feel dizzy. My limbs are heavier than normal, and it hurts to hold them up. Resting them on the ground would be a better option. My head goes foggy, and I fight to stay awake, but within moments, it’s black.
“Bristyl!” My name being screamed comes through the haze. It feels like I’m drowning, and every once in a while, I can come up for air, yet the pull overtakes me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
BRISTYL
I can’t keep track of the time. My head goes in and out, but the sound of my name, said in that voice—Cooper’s voice—pulls me up, and I slowly blink.
It was a mistake to open them. The vision before me is right out of a horror movie, and I’m not one hundred percent sure whether this is a nightmare or reality.
Cooper is in front of me, his hands tied above his head on a hook. They are so tightly strained that every muscle in his upper body is strung out. It looks like each tendon could snap. His feet are barely touching the floor, and a slight sheen of sweat covers his entire body. His shirt is torn and bruises line his abdomen.
How the hell did he get here?
“Bristyl? Are you alright?” Cooper asks.
I sit up, realizing I’m on a dirt floor.
Cooper gives a grunt as something hits him from the back hard, like a crack of a whip. Instantly, I rise, wobbling along the way, but halt when Nick steps out of the shadows, holding a long, leather bound whip that has several long strands on the end each with something sharp. Cooper’s blood is dripping from it.
“What’s going on?” I manage to get out. My arms are gripped and pulled behind my back as Len stands there, still no expression. The fight in me isn’t strong, but I try with no success.
“Little Bristyl,” Nick says way too calmly for the situation. He holds his tool like a prized possession, skating his hands up and down the leather rhythmically. “About time you got here. You missed the fun. Here, let me show you.” Nick turns and slices the whip through the air, hitting Cooper all over the front of his body, spilling blood.
“No!” I scream and try to fight again. “Stop it!”
“Oh, you want me to stop, huh? Alright, then let’s go over here.” Nick walks casually to the other side of the room where it’s dark. A sconce comes on, and my knees give out. When they do, Len doesn’t move his arms and the pain from the angle shoots through me. I stand instantly, trying to relieve it. All Len does is chuckle.
My focus isn’t on my pain, though. No, it’s on my father. My father who looks almost like Leah did, except he’s not strapped to a bed. No, he’s bound to a chair, hands behind his back, and feet tied with rope. His head hangs awkwardly, making my heart pump even faster. Poe stands behind him, a baseball bat in his hand.
“Dad!” I scream, fighting my restraints.
His head comes up, his eyes directly on me. “Bristyl?” His voice has a bit of slur. I don’t know if they drugged him, like they did me, or if it’s from the injuries.
“I’m fine. Are you okay?”
Len takes the opportunity to yank my arms hard, and I cry out.
“Motherfucker, you just wait,” Cooper growls.
My father’s focus moves to him. “Cooper? What’s goin’ on?”
Nick walks up to my father and punches him square in the jaw. My dad’s head jerks to the side, but he comes back, his focus coming a little bit clearer. His silver mustache is a rust color from his blood.
“Shut the fuck up,” Nick spits. “You had to go and fuck up the plan!” he screams, his cool demeanor taking a hike. “This is all your fault!” He points his finger at my father who now has blood running down his face from his head. “You stupid motherfucker had to go and kill Wolf.” He shakes his head. “You ruined everything!”
Nick grabs the bat from Poe. He raises it and slams down hard on my father’s kneecaps, the echo of crushing bone reverberating through the room.
Tears stream down my face. Screaming doesn’t help. Fighting doesn’t help. Len just holds me tighter as I watch the bat come down on my father’s other kneecap.
He cries out in pain, something I have never heard my dad do in all his years.
This isn’t happening. This can’t be happening!
“Please, I’m begging you stop!”
“Oh, you want me to stop? Alright. Then I’ll just take this over to your boyfriend.” Nick walks over to Cooper as I scream at him.
