After

Chapter 13

            Lauren is left alone with the cold, damp cloth half on her face, half off. She is cold, colder than ever before, partially from being completely soaked in water, partially from depression and pain. Her clothes still lay in the corner of the room as she lays in complete pain and turmoil. She hopes they don't come back, she hopes they just leave her there to die, alone and afraid. No. If they leave her to die, then Dinah is left alone here. Lauren knows that can't happen. Brad was right; she will do anything to save her friends.

After a long while, she hears someone walking down the stairs. Unable to lift her head to see who is coming due to chains constricting her, she waits until the currently unidentified person stands directly above her. A smiling face is what she is greeted with. Brads smiling face. "Lauren, baby, I hope you learned your lesson yesterday. You know, about not telling Dinah who we are." Lauren simply nods as he continues, "But just because you can't say who we are doesn't mean you can forget." He pauses and strokes her tangled hair, "I'll give you something else you can't forget too."

"Please, no. Not again. You did this just yesterday, please just wait." Laurens voice grows louder and more frantic as Brads smile grows wider and his eyes burn with both lust and rage at the same time.

"You can't stop me, baby." He unzips his pants, "Oh, it's already more convenient for me, seeing as you already aren't wearing anything. Lauren now realizes why she heard a door lock when he started coming down here, everything he does has a purpose. She continues to fight against her chains which causes him to beat her even more. "Stop trying to fight this, slut. This is what you deserve." He beats her to a pulp and only then, leaving her barely conscious of her surroundings, does he force himself on her. He wants her to fight it as little as possible and this is the only way.

Once he finishes, he unchains her. The feeling of metal against wrists and ankles alien to her, but also is the feeling of ease and comfort. He exits the basement, but not before once again tying a chain around her ankle so she can't leave or reach their supply of torture tools which she could use to possibly escape. She is in reach of her clothes though, which she welcomes greatly. Although they are ripped from Brad so roughly pulling them off her body the day before, they do provide her some protection and warmth.

An hour passes and Connor begins to make his way down the stairs. The whole time Lauren has been here, he has been the kindest to her, but she still moves as far away from him as she can when he reaches the last step. "Hey, no, I'm not going to hurt you. It's just me at the house right now, don't worry." Lauren begins to breathe heavily from fear, "No, wait, Dinah is here too. They haven't done anything to her since they took you, I promise." He pulls something out from behind his back, making Lauren flinch visibly, "Wait, don't be afraid, it's just some water, I swear." He opens the bottle slightly and gives it to Lauren. She trusts him more than any of the guys here, but that isn't saying much. "Do... do you want me to bring Dinah down here so you can talk? We are sending her home tomorrow and I know you will miss her."

"Yeah, please." Lauren replies, still unsure whether Connor is telling the truth or not. He exits the room but returns only a few minutes later with Dinah, but this time he is wearing a mask so as to conceal his identity from Dinah. She immediately runs over to Lauren and engulfs her in a hug. Lauren shrinks away from Dinah's touch, it reminds her too much of Brads now. Dinah peals herself away from Lauren when she realizes how scared, hurt, and damaged her friend now is. "Dinah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to do that. It reminded me of-"

"It's fine, Lauren. I get it, I understand." Dinah sits down beside Lauren and rests her head on Dinahs shoulder. Lauren is upset to know her friend will be leaving her soon, but she is glad that Dinah is going to be able to get out of here.