VICIOUS

41.

I fall onto my knees, next to Thomas. I look under the bed and find all of the other ripped pieces. From the dusty ground, I pick up the biggest piece. A smiling Ben stares at me deep into my eyes. It's only his head, the rest has been ripped off by some cruel person. 

''I'm sorry,'' Thomas whispers next to me.

I stay silent, staring at the photograph. My head is full and I can't think anymore. It feels heavy, as if I'm about to fall unconscious on the floor. 

This was the only thing I had of him. This photograph. 

I never got to say goodbye to him in a normal way. This made it all a little better. And now it's gone. It breaks my heart knowing that I won't be able to look at Ben anymore. What if I forget his face? 

I can hear footsteps approaching us from behind. Thomas and I turn around at the same time, seeing the presence of someone I really don't want here right now.

Fucking traitor. 

"I can see you've found my little surprise," Hayden says. He stands in the opening of my door, left hand in the pocket of his pants.

"You fucking rat," I say with a clenched jaw. "Why did you-"

"Taylor, sweetheart," Hayden cuts me off. "Don't even start. Look, I'm not here to give you an explanation."

I get back on my feet, wanting to punch the living shit out of this asshole. Thomas is still sitting on the ground, but as soon as he sees me move, he gets up and grabs my arm.

"It's not worth it," he whispers in my ear, looking into my eyes.

It really fucking is. The urge to kill him gets bigger with the second. Oh, I want to torture him so bad. Slowly seeing him drown in his own fucking pain and blood. Ten orgasms is nothing compared to the satisfaction that would give me.

"Ah, romance," Hayden comments as he sees us.

"Just ignore him, we know his plan-"

"Alright, I'm done waiting," Hayden cuts us off again. He snaps his fingers. "Get them." 

Two men walk in. Ricky and Martin. I never got to know them that well, but we talked every once in a while. Compared to some of these losers here, they are okay. 

"Mr. Elendil is going to one of the jails," Hayden commands Ricky, who's holding Thomas.

"Ms. Humentro can come with me," he looks at me and smirks. 

My hands are handcuffed behind my back and Martin pushes me forward.

"Oh dear," Hayden laughs. "I'm glad that the two of you are back. Exactly in time to watch the show I've planned."

I look at my feet, not saying a single thing. The dickhead doesn't deserve it. May he rot in hell.

After what feels like an eternity, we enter Hayden's office. Martin pushes me down into the chair in front of Hayden's desk and walks back to the corridor.

"Now it's just you and me," Hayden begins as soon as the door closes. He sits down in his leather chair, fingers intertwined on his desk. A silence follows and you can feel the tension in the air. The urge to kill each other gets bigger and bigger. Minutes pass by and we both don't say a word. 

''You're a real troublemaker, did you know that?'' He breaks the silence, but not the tension between us. He walks around his desk and stops right in front of me, leaning against the wood of the table and his hands on his lap. 

''You were the one who approved of us going to Oblivion,'' I say, defending myself and attacking him. ''After all, you could've expected us to discover those filthy secrets of yours.''