Page 25 of Their Stolen Obsession
I almost choked as I took the pendant back. “I think the necklace will.”
Suddenly, Gloria took Sin’s hand and mine. Her skin was soft as she traced her thumbs over our flesh and shocked us to our cold cores. “Promise me one thing?”
“Anything,” I whispered.
Gloria squeezed us tightly, a mother full of desperation, guilt, and rage. To get her child back, she would do anything. She was putting her faith in us, two men she barely knew, and that meant everything to us.
Gloria clenched her teeth. “Make those fuckers pay.”
We would. We’d bring our demons straight to evil’s doorstep and break down the gate. Hearts would stop after we tore them out of chests and watched them burn in the flames of our revenge.
Fifteen
Their Universe
Liv
Ihadn’t been out of this shithole since the last time Zane had come, and I had to deal with that scumbag violating me. His unwanted, vile touch had corrupted me for days. It was pure torture as I relived those horrible moments on repeat until Zane showed up days later. He had a bucket of warm water with bubbles inside of it and a loofah. His granting me privacy and letting me sponge bathe myself surprised me. But I hadn’t seen Zane since.
Food was scarce. Sometimes when I woke up, a small meal was beside my mattress, and other times my tummy would grumble in hunger for God knew how long. My gut ate me from the inside while my brain reminded me I might wake up to a meal next to me. It was funny how the mind played tricks tosurvive through harsh times, making up excuses to stay alive.
The last few days had been lonely.How many?Fuck if I knew.
I’d never known loneliness like this before, where one ended up talking out loud to themselves and expected an answer in return, but only heard the echo of their own voice. It was a bitter reminder of the captivity and fate I had never chosen. I needed to hear a voice inside my caged walls instead of the assholes who roamed freely on the outside.
Why me?
Self-pity had finally sunk in. I had wondered when the dreaded emotion would make an appearance, and I tried my hardest to fight against it. My external reality was terrible, but I struggled to keep the sorrow away inside by holding onto my shadows. The men who I knew were out there tirelessly searching for me, unable to give up because I was their everything. Their need to watch me was far too strong, their will to keep me for themselves too powerful to ignore, and their desire made them hell-bent on having me. The pain they must experience without me must be as excruciating as mine.
I wanted what I had with Sin and Saint back. There was the phraseyou don’t know what you have until it’s gone.Well, I knew what I had—unwaveringdevotion, no matter how screwed up their feelings were for me, their love was true. Inside the dark world where we were all trapped, they found me, kept me, and made me theirs.
I needed my phantoms more than anything because I loved them too.
“Goddamn it…” I sighed as tears fell down my cheeks.
I missed the men who hunted for me in the blackness.
Sin and Saint were fucking persistent, chatty, and bullheaded. I laughed at the memory of those assholes’ personalities, and it felt like they were right there with me. Close enough I could touch them, reaching out in front of me, hopeful to find them there with me, but there was nothing. Only air. And I couldn’t help crying endlessly.
I was broken, even when I had promised myself I wouldn’t be. I had made a silent pact while these monsters tortured me, but I had faltered. Again.
My sobs filled the stale, confined room, unstoppable as I wept in depression from my dire state. Mental health was no fucking joke, and even the strong could break. I simply wished I hadn’t been compelled because I wanted to hold on to hope. Deep down, I didn’t want to give in, but the result was hopeless.
Suddenly, a sound caught my attention through my misery. A knock. Not against the door, but the wall. I darted my gaze toward the back of my hands, wiped my tears away, and caught sight of another note falling through the hole. A Snickers bar fell right after the piece of paper.
Desperately, I dashed to the wall. “Hey! Wait!” My mouth was over the tiny hole in the wall.
I didn’t want the person to leave. I needed them to stay. Prayed for whoever was on the other side of this barrier to come back to me. I was tired of being alone.
Captivity got to me. Messed with me within these closed off barriers. I knew I had seen things that weren’t there as I clung to sanity. I didn’t want to succumb to the brink of insanity, and any outside communication could keep me stable. This person could be the balance to keep me from falling and never returning to clarity.
The silence was deafening from the other side. Hope had sparked, but anxiety crept in. I panicked, peeked through the hole, and saw no movement.
Was I losing my mind?
I gave my head a shake. Everything went blurry for a few seconds until I caught sight of the Snickers bar on the floor. I reached down to grab it, praying the chocolate bar was real. My hand shook, imaginingthe candy bar disappearing at any moment, but it didn’t. I heard the wrapper crinkle, and the sound was the sweetest noise I had ever heard.
I opened the candy bar up and took a bite. I practically drooled at the pleasant taste I had almost forgotten and read the writing on the note.
