Vanishing Acts

|| Four ||

Something.
Anything.
I searched the bedroom dozens of times; in the drawers, in the closet, under the bed, any possible place I could get my hands on. Yet after the frantic, repetitive search, I couldn't find a single item that would help. Nothing could be used as a weapon, and there was no way of contacting anyone outside the house. Even still, I went around the room endlessly, seeing as it was the only thing that could distract me. I hadn't been able to function after Alex left, throwing myself into a panic attack at the thought of being surrounded by those people. I had curled into a corner for hours, not daring to move.
I examined the clothes in the drawers again, hoping to find something I had missed before; something more comfortable than what I had on. I had figured out that Alex had picked one of the less revealing dresses, each of the others being horrifically worse. But as I sifted through the clothes, I winced harshly and had to hold the dresser for support. Ignoring the wound wasn't going to make it disappear.
Eventually, I walked into the bathroom and sat down, leaning against the bathtub as I nervously pulled the dress down to look at my waist. It was caked in blood; stinging unbearably and difficult for me to look at. I bit my lip to prevent myself from crying out in pain, though I knew there wasn't anything in the bathroom cupboard that could help me. No bandages, no disinfectant, not a single option to help.
I rested my head back against the bathtub in defeat, trying not to launch into another panic attack. Minutes later, I locked the bathroom door and stepped into the steaming hot water of the shower. I had hardly managed to stop shaking, and it was a desperate fight to stop myself from crying. I was just afraid that if I started again, I wouldn't stop.
Knowledge, strength, cameras; they had every single advantage, and I was left with nothing. It was the only reason I stayed in the shower for hours uselessly, not knowing what else to do. I stayed under the relaxing water until I was certain I had stopped crying, until I was certain I had stopped shaking. The combination only made me realize not only how weak I was, but how weak I seemed. By the time I had crawled back onto the bed, exhaustion had taken over me and it was only four in the afternoon. It didn't matter much; I passed out after a few hours.

I woke up cringing early the next morning, the wound on my side stinging severely. I focused on it for a few moments until something caught me off guard; the door was open. I stumbled out of bed hesitantly, looking at the dresser beside the door to realize that there was a set of clothes and a note with a couple of arrows, and after a moment I realized that it was directions back to the kitchen. I sorted through the clothes; simple jeans, a grey tank top and a black sweater. It was one of the most relieving things that I had seen since I had been brought to the house.
After getting changed into the much more comfortable outfit, I looked at the note and wondered if I even wanted to dare leaving the room. Running into someone along the way would horrify me, Alex especially. Although, I knew I'd never escape sitting in one room. I had to find my way around, and earn some sort of advantage against them. I didn't have much time to think before I heard footsteps approaching, scaring the hell out of me as I whirled around. Dominic walked into my view, waiting at the doorway. He glanced in for a moment, his blue eyes gazing around the room until landing on me. I had immediately dropped my gaze to the floor, not wanting to risk any more injuries. He held his hands in his pockets, nodding his head towards the hallway, "C'mon."
My eyes flickered up hesitantly, though he had already started walking away. I followed, this time conscious of the cameras. As we walked silently, I looked for them only to realize they were around every corner, on every wall. As far as I knew, there wasn't a single hallway that wasn't in view of them. It made me nervous as we walked into the kitchen, where I noticed Jesse already sitting at the island. Instinctively, I stayed back and wavered at the archway. Jesse glanced over at me as he stretched, "Morning."
It was too hard not to glare at him once again refusing to show that this was wrong. I crossed my arms and leaned against the archway, lowering my eyes before I could make him angry. Dominic spoke up, "Alex is gone for the week. I figured you wouldn't want to wear whatever the hell he put on you." He said flatly, taking a sip of what looked like coffee.
I nodded quickly as I realized I wouldn't have to put that dress back on, incredibly thankful and relieved. It took a few moments to process the first sentence... Alex was gone. I shut my eyes and nearly let out a sigh of relief as I realized that he wouldn't be walking up behind me at any given second. One week. I tried to convince myself that I would be out of the house before he returned. "Quinn."
I was knocked out of my trance as Jesse called my name; I hadn't even realized he was looking at me. For the moment, he looked nearly serious. He still wore a slight humorous grin, though he was on the verge of saying something important. "Come sit over here."
I watched him through narrowed eyes, trying to determine whether I hated him or I was terrified of him. He glanced over at Dominic, almost seeming conflicted. As surprising as it was, it seemed as if Jesse was genuinely interested in me talking to him. I didn't know why, although I was afraid of getting an angry outburst if I didn't. "Quinn, please. You're going to have to talk to us." He said reasonably. 
As much as I wanted to deny it, he was right. I was petrified, yet one of the causes was that I had absolutely no idea what was happening. I didn't know where I was and hardly knew who I was with. I was so genuinely terrified because I didn't know why I was there, and I sure as hell wasn't going to ask Alex or Blake. Reluctantly, I walked closely to the island yet I kept enough distance from the both of them. I realized there was a plate of food prepared for me, yet I felt like I was going to lose my appetite. Jesse kept glancing over at Dominic, as if he was nervous to speak to me. I didn't understand why, although I didn't bother thinking about it. Jesse rubbed his forehead tiredly, "What do you want to know?"
It was such a bland, nearly dumb question that I felt bitter sarcasm rise into my voice, "When I'm getting out of here."
Jesse tilted his head, considering my response, "Quinn, it isn't that bad-"
"Not that bad?! Not that fucking bad?!"
His reaction outraged me as I started shouting at him, backing away until he reached over and grabbed my arm, pulling me back. It fuelled my anger, "Stop it!"
"Shut up Quinn. Blake is right down the hallway and I know he checks the cameras to find a single excuse to beat you." Dominic snapped harshly.
I pulled away from Jesse and glared over at Dominic, but anyone in the room could sense my fear reeling back. I looked away angrily before he could see my lip quivering. I was becoming increasingly overwhelmed, slowly feeling my common sense vanish behind fear and anger. Jesse spoke up again hesitantly, "You aren't leaving. I'm not lying when I say I'm sorry for that, but you can scream and kick and hate us all but it won't change anything, and you'll get yourself in trouble. If you keep quiet, you won't get hurt. You're not going to beat them, and you can't run from them."
My stomach churned as I listened to him, furiously blinking away tears as I blocked out his words. I wouldn't dare listen to them. "J-Just tell me why I'm here." I muttered angrily.
Again, the hesitation returned to Jesse's eyes. They exchanged looks for a moment, and yet after minutes of a thick silence, I only got one word for an answer. "Alex."
I looked up at them, waiting for further explanation but I wasn't given one. I scoffed at them, "That's all you'll say? That's it? You expect me to give in as if someone owns me?!"
Jesse looked away, and although Dominic would keep my gaze, he kept it void of any emotion. My heart was racing because of one sole emotion: anger. I was trembling with it, consumed by it and blinded by it. I made sure to make eye contact with both of them before hissing my next words, "Then you can kill me right now."
As I stormed out of the room, neither of them argued or called me back.

I didn't notice the tears falling from my eyes until I had neared my room, wiping them away with the sleeve of my sweater. I was a complete wreck, having no clue in hell how I was still walking. I had wandered around uselessly, not knowing my way around until I was fairly confident I was getting close to my room once again. I had no where else to go; I'd be easily spotted by the cameras, and I hadn't managed to find an exit door yet. I was so overwhelmed that as I turned the corner, I didn't even notice him standing there. I had almost run into him before I realized Blake was leaning against my door, smirking down at me coldly. "Get a little lost?"
I nervously took a step back, my lip still quivering from the crying. I stared up at him as an icy fear crept over me again, leaving me senseless. "I thought I already told you that you speak when someone talks to you."
His tone said it all; there wasn't any escaping from what would happen next. As I slowly backed away, he came at me. I tried to run but there wasn't much distance between us and he caught up easily; before I could open my mouth to scream, he had bashed my head against the wall. I collapsed to the ground immediately, motionless and silent. I could hardly tell if I was conscious, lying there completely stunned and disorientated until he pulled me to my feet my the neck of my shirt. The rapid movement released all of the pain I had yet to feel from the hit to the head, attacking me in waves. Nausea crept up on me and even still, I could hardly tell if I was going to remain conscious as I pleaded him to let go of me. He slammed my back against the wall, his eyes completely blank and lacking humanity of any form. I struggled weakly against his grip, trying to fight off the pounding in my head. "Stop moving!" He yelled angrily.
I wasn't quite as shocked as the first time he hit me; meaning unfortunately, I felt the pain immediately. "Just let me go!" I cried.
His only response was a knee to my stomach, making it a miracle I didn't throw up instantly. It took my breath away, my side exploding in pain. I was dizzy as he continued shouting at me, "You stupid little bitch, you aren't understanding this, are you?!"
"Please, s-stop..." I sobbed.
He slapped me again, questioning my ability to stay conscious. Every part of my body was aching and burning in pain, screaming at me to make to pain stop. "I-I'm sorry! Please!" I begged desperately, praying he would give up and walk away.
"You're pathetic." He spat at me.
I tried to pull out of his grip, though my only defence left, as terrible as it was, was to scream for help. The only thing it got me was another knee to the stomach, completely knocking the wind out of me as I nearly fell to the floor. If he wasn't holding me up, I would've. "Who do you expect to save you? No one cares." He snarled.
I felt blood begin to pour from my nose, and at that point I believed he wasn't going to stop until I was dead. Furiously, I cursed at him, "Go to hell."
My voice faltered in pain, yet the unmistakable tone of anger and hatred was still audible. I flinched as he suddenly rammed me back against the wall, curling his hands around my neck as he cut off my breathing instantly. It took me off guard as I weakly tried to push his hands off, though within seconds, I wasn't capable of even trying. My neck was in searing pain from the pressure, yet my lungs hurt more from the lack air. It burned painfully, yet as I looked at him, I saw no sign that he would stop. He was going to kill me.
I would've been screaming in pain if I had the ability to breathe, and once again he tightened his grip around my vulnerable neck. It continued until his face began to blur and the room spun around me, my vision beginning to black out. My arms had fallen limply to my sides as I realized I was seconds from passing out, wondering if I'd ever wake up again as my mind buzzed with panic and unbearable pain.
Abruptly, a loud, buzzing alarm rang throughout the hallway and nearly instantly, he let go of me. I fell to the ground into a painful coughing fit, the air rushing back into my lungs as I fell onto my side. I was too stunned to move, or do anything else but lie there as I struggled furiously to breathe again. I vaguely heard Blake cursing above me, "What the hell?!" He snapped angrily as he looked down the hall.
I cried out in pain as he leaned down and pulled on my shoulder, yanking me up to my feet. I was still coughing and spluttering, trying to recover or at least stay awake as he began dragging me back down the hallway. I was in a daze as I violently shook my head, not having the voice to scream at him. I wasn't capable of walking, but as he pulled me through the hall angrily, I didn't have a choice. I hardly recognized we were back in the kitchen until I jumped, hearing Blake shouting, "Why the hell are the alarms going off?"
Dizzily, I stumbled a step forward as I looked ahead; Jesse and Dominic were still both sitting in the kitchen. Dominic shrugged as he glanced over at Blake coldly, "Some malfunction."
Blake abruptly let go of me, storming out of the room as he muttered profanities. I glanced ahead of me and swore I saw Dominic grin.