Our Story

Part 25

Arianna's POV- Episode 24; I crave the burn and feel the pain.

I wake up brunette haired guy with lots of tattoos, holding a wet towel to my head to stop the bleeding. I open my eyes and sit up while slapping his hands away. 

"Get away from me asshole I can do it myself." I snap at him grabbing the towel

"Kind of feisty. Jacob sure knows how to pick em."  He says to another blonde guy with tattoos looking at me curiously.

"You know him?" I ask them and the brunette scratches the back of his neck and looks to the blonde guy.

"Let's just say he owes us some stuff." The blonde guy says and I look at him curiously.

"So what he owes you money or something?" I ask him and he recoils as if shocked.

"Or something." The blonde guy says and lights a cigarette.

"You shouldn't smoke it could kill you." I say and he laughs.

"If someone else doesn't kill me I will, love." He says to me menacingly.

"Tell me really what does Jake owe you?" I ask and the blonde guy throws a knife at the wall behind me.

"Lady shut up!" He shouts at me.

The brunette boy stares at me. I know everyone in the room is staring at me. I didn't move or blink, I didn't even flinch when he threw the knife. I guess this is what Jake was training me for when he said it's a dangerous world and we need to be ready.

"Well that was rude." I mumble crossing my arms over my chest the best I can with ropes. 

"Do you have a death wish is that it?" He asks as he takes a few steps towards me.

"No but you know what they say curiosity killed the cat." I say with a shrug. 

"Gag her and put her in the cell." The blonde one says to a blue haired girl as she nods and walks towards me.

I use this moment to my advantage. I use my legs as leverage to pull myself up to a kneeling position and right as she tries to grab me I jump to my feet while throwing a kick to her jaw and stomach. I throw another kick to the blonde girl who tries to grab me. When the brunette guy approaches me, I lunge for him and manage to shove him down with pure adrenaline. I use my elbows to jab him in the stomach and turn around right as the blonde guy stops in front of me with a gun. 

"Kian grab her." He says and in one swift motion my feet are wiped from beneath me and I'm on my knees.

The other guy... Kian grabs my hair and yanks my head up to where the guy is aiming a gun at my  head.

"You either follow directions or I will blow your brains out, love." He says and I laugh.

"You can't. You need me as leverage." I say venomously and spit blood at his face.

"True but nobody said anything about hurting you." He says and I feel a shiver go down my spine.

"Change of plans, Take her to the torcher chamber." He says and jabs me in the head with the bottom of his gun.

An hour later I wake up in a closed off cell. I open my eyes to the blonde guy leaning against the wall looking at his nails.

"Now that you're up the fun can begin." He says.

As he approaches I try to stand up but find my legs chained to the wall and my arms chained above my head. He yanks my hair up and turns me around to face the wall. I try to steady my breathing and not worry or try not to appear how I feel. Which is really fucking scared.

He trails something up and down my bare back and I feel it cut into my skin. A whip. Suddenly a sharp pain slashes against my skin and I grit my teeth together to keep from screaming out in pain. 

"Count." His breath tickles the back of my neck.

"Fuck you, you sadistic asshole." I hiss and feel a shocking pain in my side.

I look back to see him holding a metal rod with two electrical prongs at the end. The shock comes again and again. After 8 times he decides to go back to the whip. I guess he gave up with trying to get me to comply.

The force behind the whip increases and increases. I bite my lip and clench my fists to keep from screaming out in pain. I will not give him the satisfaction of seeing me hurt. I close my eyes and try to imagine I'm anywhere but here. I imagine it's that day I stayed until 8 in the cheer room, and I'm trying time after time to perfect the routine and back handspring. The music plays loud in my ears and I'm rubbing my hands raw on the athletic mat I'm practicing on. As the whip clashes with my skin I imagine I'm messing up the back handspring and crashing to the ground. 

Suddenly the memory fades and the whip has stopped colliding with my skin. I open my eyes to see the blonde guy staring at me. The whip has dropped to the floor behind him and he's just standing there staring at me blankly. He wipes the tears off my face with his thumb and unhooks my arms before locking my feet with a key and slipping it back into his pocket. 

"You're boyfriend should be here and you can go home tomorrow." He says to me.

"Does that mean he won't be coming home with me?" I ask and he glances back at me before continuing to walk out the door.

"Maybe not." He says.

"Wait please!" I shout as I try to get up and end up nearly falling over as I collide with his chest.

"Jesus woman, be careful." He hisses at me. 

"Why is it a life for a life?" I whisper to him and he sighs.

"Your boyfriend killed a friend of mine. Candice." He says and I gasp at the name.

"She's not dead, 2 weeks ago. She interrupted my date with him in fact." I say and he looks at me surprised.

"Although I did give her a hell of a punch for saying things about my brother's sexuality." I mumble and for the first time he laughs a genuine laugh.

"That sounds like my sister." He says and I look at him.

"She's your sister?" I ask and he nods.

"Why would you suspect that Jake killed her?" I ask and he looks at me.

"They dated for awhile her job was to kill him to get his fathers gang. She fell in love with him. He found out and I haven't seen either one since." He says matter of factly.

"Well they're both very much alive." I say and the guy nods.

"Which means he's been hiding her." He says and I sigh remembering a story Jake told me.

"He hid her because he thought she would be in danger if his father or mother found out." I say and he looks at me.

He walks over to me and unlocks my chains before pulling me up.

"You're free to go, just... give this to Candice please?" He asks and I nod and smile at him and he offers a sad smile back.

"Kian take her to a local place where she can call her boyfriend." He says and escorts me into a car. 

Kian drops me off at Starbucks and waits until after I call Jake to leave. When he walks out I watch his retreating figure walk until the car engine starts and he begins to drive.

As I watch their car drive off into the distance, I'm left to wonder... 

what did he really want?