Page 17 of Worship

But the doors remain shut, and we keep walking. As my thoughts pick away at everything that’s happened so far , nothing has made sense. This isn’t for Blake. Milton’s doing this for himself, and I think that terrifies me more.

Chapter Seven

Four Years Ago

There’s an unbearable pulse behind my eyes as they peel open. The pain cuts through my skull as I try to focus. The room is blurry, but I know where I am. I’m stillhere, in a place girls like me aren’t supposed to be.

I’m not at home in bed, wearing my fluffy warm pajamas. I’m naked, exposed, my skin ice-cold from a draft coming in from somewhere. And I remember everything. Every sordid, terrible thing that he inflicted on me.

I almost want to pretend that I don’t remember. How nice would it be to pretend none of this happened? That Nicole hadn’t brought me to this place, and I never laid eyes on these people. Especiallyhim. That horrible, terrible monster.

Something’s on me—a tickling sensation I imagine it a spider on the hunt for a meal, though knowing it can’t be anything other than a trick my mind has made up. Because whatever’s touching me is what woke me in the first place.

Blinking away the sheet of fog, I tilt my head to the side, and there he is. Blake. Damp hair and clean clothes indicate he’s fresh from a shower. Black shirt that’s tight against his thick chest and jeans. He smells of soap and aftershave and has a crazed grin on his mouth.

My head splits open, and everything he did to me comes flooding back in. The most prominent was the expression on his face when he raped me. Tears burn behind my eyelids and eventually seep down my face.

“Hey there, sleepyhead,” he says, sick smile in place. I try to move as he circles around me, but my body spasms when sharp pain slices through my stomach, gushes of blood pooling between my legs, stinging broken skin.

“Ow,” I groan, sobbing.

He sits down next to me and touches my arm, turning me to face him. I squeeze my eyes shut, not able to look at him. “Baby girl. You’re making me feel bad.” He chuckles, and I know it’s not guilt he’s feeling. “Come on. What we did together was special.” Disgusting lips press against the side of my face, and my entire body recoils. He doesn’t like that reaction. “Lookat me.”

A threat underlines his tone. Not wanting to be hurt again, I reluctantly open my eyes to see his smile widening, but there’s nothing nice about it. It’s sick and twisted, just like him. I’ve never hated anyone as much as I hate this man right now and what he did to me. Grabbing me, the tips of his fingers indented in my cheeks, he kisses me on the lips, tongue thrusting deep into my mouth. Whining with disgust, my hands slam into his shoulders to push him off. He’s too firm, and for a few more agonizing seconds, I’m trapped against his mouth until he finally stops.

“I’ve been telling the boys what a ride you are.” He strokes my head, pushing sticky hair off my face. But then his fingers wrap around the strands at the back of my skull, and I cry out from the bite as he pulls my head back. “You surprised me, baby girl. Making a man come like that is dangerous. It…complicatesthings.”

Bending over to collect something from the floor, he holds it up to display a pink housecoat with a tie. “You like? I took it off one of the girls. Put it on. I don’t want any old cunt lookin’ at what’s mine.”

“Please,” I dare whisper. “Can I go home?”

“Home?” He chuckles. “But thisisyour home.”

“It’s n-not. My mom—she’ll be looking for me and Nicole.”

He throws the housecoat at me, and it hits me in the face. As if the mention of anyone looking for me has hit a nerve. “No onewill be looking for you. I own you now. And if youevertry to leave me, everyone you know will die. Now. Put. It. On.”

Sobbing, I slip my arms through the fleecy sleeves, ignoring the blood and bruises. I just want to be covered. After securing the belt into a tight knot, he grabs my arm and pulls me off the bed. As my feet hit the floor, I let out a sharp, pained breath. Not that he cares as he proceeds to drag me toward the door.

My teeth clamp together as I try my best to concentrate on walking through the agony. Blake takes me out of the bedroom and back into the room with the long table. It’s empty now, no soul in sight. How long was I passed out?

His arm then falls over my shoulder, and he kisses me on the side of my head as if we’retogether. The weight of him almost has my knees buckling as he takes me back into the room with all the tables and men.

There are less than before, and the women are still here. I find my sister easily. Sporting a black eye and cut lip, she stares at me under Blake, eyes vacant. Hurt stings my heart. I can’t look at her, unable to face her betrayal.

“Blake.” A thin and small man approaches us. Greasy hair plasters his forehead, his tongue running over his lips as he eyes me. “You finished with her yet?”

Terror catches me. Any moment, I expect Blake to push me at the man.Shareme. Instead, his arm around me stiffens as a cold smile stretches over his lips. “No.”

“Come on.” The man steps forward, and I notice we’ve caught the attention of most of the room now. I spot Nicolas leaning against the wall furthest away, arms folded and watching. “Why do you get the young pussy and not your boys?”

Blake pushes me behind him. “Listen up!” His voice booms out, addressing the room. “I know most of your dicks are hanging off because of the dirty pussy in here.” I catch the women exchange terrified glances. “I’ll get you all new pussy, but this bitch right here ismine. Anyone touch her, and you will be sent to the Hill—”

A scream tears past my lips as a hand grabs the back of my neck. The surface of the table hits my face, and I’m stunned with the agony.

As hands grab mounds of the housecoat, trying to tear it from my body, a loud bang suddenly cuts through the room. A weight falls against my back, something hot and wet dripping down my neck and onto the table. Blood.

“Bullseye!” Blake laughs crazily, pulling the skinny man off of me. I let out a terrified scream as I look down and see that his eyes are still open, desire dying out. I fall to the ground, kicking my feet to put space between myself and the dead man.

---