Page 190 of The Invite
A lone tear leaks out of my eye as I relive the night as if it were yesterday.
Augustus recovers fast at the sight of my pain and wipes the saltiness away. He stays quiet as I bare the ugliest and murderous side of me. I was no better than my remorseless captors. If I close my eyes, I can still hear their victorious and cackling laughter when I gave in to their wretched demand.
In the end, they got what they desired.
Turning me into a soulless killer.
Lying down, Augustus twists and cradles me into his warmth. His strength seeps into my pores and I tell him everything.
“Johnny was my first boyfriend. He was older because I had skipped two grades and ended up being his classmate. He was shy, sweet, caring, and made me laugh. We started as friends after becoming lab partners. He was the only boy to ever pay attention to me. He wasn’t weirded out that I was supposed to be his junior. So, when he asked me out, I was over the moon and said yes. We kept our relationship a secret because my parents were super strict. My grades were very important to them and any form of distraction was against their rules.”
Johnny and I used to meet in the library during recess, where he would bring me flowers and chocolates. Shower me with compliments. He had even once planned a picnic in the deserted section where no one trespassed—including the librarian. It showed how well he knew me, and it was the most romantic date ever.
Little did I know it was also the last time we would be happy and carefree.
“Then what happened?” Augustus urges.
Taking a deep breath, I continue. “I made the biggest mistake of our lives. After dating for months, I wanted to take our relationship to the next level and experience what I heard other girls whispering about. One weekend my parents were out of town, so I invited him over. He was hesitant, but I insisted. When he showed up at my door, we couldn’t care less about anything but being together. We both knew it was ‘the night’, you know.” A sad smile touches my mouth as I reminisce. “He lit up my room with candles and flowers while I changed in the bathroom. Everything was perfect, even though we were nervous and fumbled a little. We fell asleep in each other's arms. And then…”
I shudder, my mind trying to block the memory.
Augustus’s grip tightens. “Ness.”
“Two people broke into my place and I woke up with one of them over me. Before I could scream for help or warn Johnny, he covered my mouth and hit my head so hard that I passed out. I thought they were burglars, but they were much… much worse. They kidnapped us. The next time I woke up, it was in a dingy basement with Johnny bound to a metal chair in front of me. He looked at me with terror and fear in his eyes. I could not get to him because they had my feet tied to a pole.”
Rough fingers swipe the wetness on my cheeks and I jolt, not realizing I’m silently crying. There’s no containing the wave of despair still keeping me its prisoner.
“They tortured him while making me watch. We were nothing but objects to them, meant for their sick games. I watched helplessly as they hit and punched him until he was bleeding and broken. No amount of begging and screaming made them slow down. I think they got off on our suffering. Their abuse gradually worsened. They… they raped him with a bat, Augustus. Peeled his skin off. Cut his fingers and tongue. Electrocuted him. It was like we were stuck in a torture chamber from hell. They taunted me that it could all be over if I just killed Johnny. But I… I couldn’t. I didn’t want to hurt him, even though I could see the plea in his gaze.”
Augustus sucks in a harsh breath and sits up, taking me with him. I sob as I twist and straddle him, hanging onto him like he’s my life raft.
“I know, Nessa. I know.”
“We were left to starve. They thrashed me around every time I said no to hurting him. It made them furious and it was poor Johnny who kept paying the price. They wanted to break me and turn into them. Johnny was unrecognizable by the end. Nothing like the beautiful boy I remembered. I should’vekilled him when they asked the first time. Instead, I held hope someone would find and save us. Four days went by and no one came.” I meet Augustus’s tormented gaze through blurry eyes. “I didn’t want to, but I had to end him. I… I had to.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Augustus whispers in understanding. “You had no choice.”
“I shot him in the head.” My eyes close and Johnny’s bruised face flashes before me. “He looked right at me and said ‘Please’. No sound came out of his mouth as his blood—” And brain matter. There was so much of it. “—hit me in the face. Behind me,theyclapped because they won. I no longer cared about what they were going to do to me. In fact, I wanted them to kill me too. I wanted to feel every ounce of pain Johnny felt.”
My gaze flings open when Augustus’s palm travels to the scar above my hip bone. “What did they do next?” he asks with a deadly calmness.
“I was still holding the gun and turned it on them. Or so I tried. My reflexes were slow, but I managed to pull the trigger and hit one of them. At the same time, the other one stabbed me. I wish it had killed me because as a punishment, they left me locked up with Johnny’s dead body.”
“Fuck!” he furiously growls, tucking my face against his chest. He holds me for the longest seconds as he processes my words fully before gently lifting my chin. “Who found you?”
“The cops after Johnny’s and my parents filed missing person reports.”
His brows draw together. “And your kidnappers?”
I force the words out. “They ran away.”
“They’re still out there?” His voice rises, making me flinch. “Why the hell didn’t the cops investigate?”
I glance away. “My… my parents didn’t want it getting out and drawing attention to us. They paid off Johnny’s parents to remain quiet.”
Palpable rage wafts from Augustus. My heart thuds when he picks me up and places me to the side before swinging his legs off the bed. Pacing back and forth in agitation, muscles bunched and hands fisted, he stops only to punch the wall.
“August!” I cry out.
