TWĖNTŸ-TWØ [v] [s] [sc]

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RØRY
Neil has us handcuffed to the curtain railing in the bathroom. We were all naked, Danny, Sam and I as he hoses us down, all our blood mixing together before going down the drain.

"Speak," Neil put the tip of the blade he was holding to the underside of Danny's chin, in one swift move, it could be through his jaw and poking the roof of his mouth.

"Hermano, nos has estado trabajando todo el día, ¡déjanos descansar!" Danny cried, pulling his cuffed hands from the railing but they weren't giving up.

By this point, I could understand ninety percent of what Danny was saying in Spanish, about ninety-five in sign language too. It made communication with my brother a lot better and the fact that Neil didn't know sign added.

Neil takes a step back to watch all of us tremble, he was choosing which one of us was next.

He chose Sam.

He walked up her, relishing in the hitch of her breathing. He looked down at her bare body and smirked to himself when he saw all his markings along her body.

Neil grabs her hair and rips it out, causing Sam to scream but he shut her up by stuffing Sam's own hair into her mouth.

"Now shut the fuck up, whiny bitch!" He yelled. Neil stood on her feet and wrapped an arm around Sam's middle, bringing the blade to her first breast.

He caved a N onto the first one and a G onto the other. Sam could scream or thrash about from the hold he had on her and Danny and I weren't allowed to look away or the same would happen to us.

"Estas bromeando? ¡Como si alguna vez te hubiera dejado ir!" Neil laughed and Danny and I flinch. "I'm going to destroy you all, until your beg for death-Hi sweetheart!"

I turn my head to see Remy waving at us with a smile. She clutching her rabbit and dressed in a beautiful white dress with her dark hair still in the braid I put it in.

We all put on a smile for the young girl and Sam even waves at her a bit. We were supposed to do this every time she walked in on our torture, wave and smile like we weren't dying.

"Papá, hay alguien en la puerta." Remy says and tension fills the room. Only Sam didn't know Spanish, she had tried for her daughter but just couldn't pick it up.

She looks at me and I mouth, Someone's at the door and her face turns to relief first before terror. One wrong move from the person outside and they join us in here, one wrong move from us and we die.

"Alright, sweetheart, can you go tell them I'll be right down." Neil kisses his daughters head and she runs back down stairs. He needed to clean up, he had our blood all over him. "Try to escape and I'll make you with you were never born."

Neil leaves and we all collectively sigh. I let my body hang from my chains, my legs going week. Danny couldn't even touch the ground so he was slowly suffocating, having to pull his body up to breath.

He pulls his body once more and looks out the window, it's a small square above the toilet and he gasps.

"That's your dads car, right?" Danny said and I snap my head over to him. "Green Jeep, Fall Out Boy sticker in the bottom left hand corner of the windshield?"

"Yes!" I yell before I remember, don't make a sound.

My heart picks up, Neil was going to come in here and cut off my fingers, like like he did to Sam's pinkie.

Or maybe, whoever was at the door, possibly my pa, would hear me and call the police and we'd be free.

Whatever happened, adrenaline pumped through me, it made my eyes water and my skin crawl and my throat clench. It made me shake and shiver and feel like throwing up.

"Please," I whisper a silent pray, letting my body hand limp.

Please

I didn't want my high hopes to be crushed when Neil came back in here to finish us off.

Sam nudged something to my feet and I look down, it's Remy's box that she stood on to reach the sink.

"Give it to Danny, quickly." I nodded and did what she said, moving it under Danny's feet so he can stand and not suffocate.

Soon as the box is under him, Danny's taking in as much oxygen as deep as possible, tears streaming down his face.

"I can't do this anymore!" He cried out.

"Danny," I whimpered, "tell me a story, please."

"I can't," he gasps through his tears, scratching his wrists against the cuffs to rip his skin to shreds, blood cascading down his arms and over his chest.

"Danny! Stop that!" I beg him but he doesn't. I don't know what to do. I've never had to stop someone from doing...this. Suddenly I realised, the pain my family goes through whenever this is me wanting to die. It didn't matter, just keeping Danny alive for as long as possible, maybe someone will save us.

"Think about Ethan, your dads, me, Remy! Think of our fucking niece who needs to get out of here just as much as you, Sam and I do. We -you and I- need to help her."

Danny's eyes meet mine and I'm crying too because I felt all the pain he was feeling.

"I can't do this much longer, RJ." He mumbled and I feel like I've failed at trying to protect him because he is so hurt right now. "It's my birthday next week."

"We will celebrate all together," Sam piped up, cheerfully, "I'll make a cake and I'm sure Remy would love to make the decorations."

Neither Sam nor I let slip what happens on your birthday in this house, how it's a day worse than the others, how it's supposed to make you regret your existence. The fact they you tied up in the basement for the whole week, starved, drugged, whipped, raped, suffocated, left to bleed out, poisoned.

"We love you, baby girl and we won't let you go." Sam says.

Baby Girl came around when Neil was out shopping with Remy and Sam let Danny go through her clothes and Danny said that sometimes he felt like he should have been a girl. When we asked what he meant, Danny replied, every pronoun seems to fit me and it's confusing. I'm still a boy, but a boy who likes to be called she sometimes.

"I know you have them!" Pulls me from my thoughts. That was pa's voice. That was pa's Jeep. That was pa coming to save us.

"Pa! Pa! I'm in here! Pa!" I screamed, even if I'd regret it in five minutes. I pull on the chains while screaming out for my pa. I knew if Neil won the brawl, I'd be punished worse than ever and maybe he'd kill me too, but I needed to rely on that chance that pa would win. "Pa! The bathroom!"

There is some smashing in the hallway outside, heavy things hitting the floor and things being thrown, also grunts and yells.

Footfalls heavy enough the be weights hitting the floor are running up and down the hallway, like their trying to find the bathroom.

The bathroom door is thrown open and I can't hold back my tears when Kay is standing there, Ethan behind him.

"Holy fuck!"

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