𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐒

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐘-𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

TW: TRIGGERING THEMES

𝗥ayne's mouth dripped with the leftover throw up on her lips as she slowly tried to crawl away. The force of being shoved against the wall left aches in her ribs; she struggled to breath in. She was sure that at least one or two of them were bruised – maybe fractured, especially on her left side; there was a sharp pain there specifically.

Christian hadn't gone easy on her after that either. He had kicked her multiple times in the sides, not allowing her to get up – he did everything to keep her from fleeing.

As she crawled through the puddles of her own vomit, she felt herself giving up. This was worse than anything she had experienced growing up, and that was mainly because she wasn't alone for the majority of it. The person standing above her now was no longer Christian. It was like something inside him snapped with her rejection and sent his mind down a spiral. He'd gone completely insane.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled above her, closing the few inches of space she created between them with just two steps, "—I'm not done with you yet." 

He reached down and grabbed onto the hem of her jeans, as well as the collar of her jacket. He picked her up, swinging her in the air before releasing her in the direction of the proposal board he had set up for her.

She crashed into it, snapping it in two before collapsing to the ground alongside it. She coughed out blood, crying out in pain as the shards of wood dug into her back, lower thighs and palms. She trembled, barely having enough strength to just keep her eyes open. Blood trickled down from her nose and mixed with what was coming out of her internally.

Rayne looked down into the blood that had pooled in the carpet below her. In an instant, a memory of her childhood flashed across her eyes. She remembered the identical image of her brother's hand when they were younger; it looked exactly like hers did now. Carson had gone too far with him – just as Christian was doing with her. The only difference was, Matteo never stopped fighting. Even when he was clearly losing, and the odds were against him, he always stood up and fought. Just when she thought he might give in – he threw another punch.

She closed her fist tightly, gathering all the strength she had left in her to bring herself to her feet. She almost instantly doubled back over due to the lightheadedness that washed over her, but she blinked, getting over the feeling.

It's all in your mentality, her brother's words rang through her head, don't let them break your spirit.

She reached up and wiped the blood running down her chin, raising her eyes to look at Christian once more. He was standing a few feet away from her looking as smug as ever.

"Think you've had enough yet?" he sneered, "Ready to accept my proposal?"

The corners of her mouth twitched up, "N – never," she breathed.

She raised her hands again as Christian moved towards her again.

This time ... I'm ready.

As soon as he was close enough – predictably – he threw a punch. Rayne, getting used to his fighting style and form, ducked below his blow, avoiding his hand and landing and upper cut of her own on the side of his chin. Adrenaline began to course throughout her body, and just like Matteo had encouraged – the will to fight back returned to her. The last three years of Jujutsu training filled her mind space; she took advantage of the zone she'd just placed herself in.

Christian backed up as he howled in pain from her small punch. Rayne took his sloppy posture as an opening, throwing another punch with her right hand; it landed on the center of his left cheek. Not finished, she grabbed his shoulders and yanked him down, kneeing him hard in the abdomen. He fell to his knees before her, grabbing hold of his stomach, but she knew that he wasn't going to be subdued this easily. She backed up, yelling as self – encouragement, before jumping and spinning in the air; her right foot connected with the side of his head; it took the last ounce of strength she had.

He crumpled to the ground, writhing like the snake he was against it. She breathed in and out heavily, tasting nothing but her own blood. She knew this adrenaline rush was the only thing keeping her on her feet, but she had no other choice than to rely on it.

I have to win.

After a couple minutes, Christian stopped moving. Rayne lowered her hands and took a small step backwards, not wanting to let her guard completely down.

Did I knock him out?

A manic chuckle bubbling from his throat answered her question, but gave her zero time to react. He swung his legs against the floor, using his submissive position to his advantage and taking out her own. She fell to the ground, hitting her head on the hardwood solidly.

Christian wasted no time. He grabbed her right leg and pulled her closer to him. Rayne did all she could with her free leg; she kicked at him randomly, whimpering the more the gap between them disappeared. He, annoyed, reached over and grabbed that foot, snapping it hard in the other direction. She let out a blood – curdling scream as a loud crack sounded in her ears.

Did he just break my ankle?

Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as he yanked her to him; his breathing was ragged. Dark red liquid dripped from his nose and forehead in the places she'd connected to. His face was cold, and empty, and it was the last thing she saw for a while as he punched her one ... two ... three times in the face.

Rayne's head laid limp. Her visions went black for half a second before returning to a blurred state. She saw the hazy outline of him standing up and walking away through a red – ish filer; her own blood was now running into her eyes.

She closed them again, dizzily listening to his orders; 'stay your ass on the floor' along with the sound of his fading footsteps near her, but to be honest, she couldn't really tell – her ears were ringing so loud.

As she lay sprawled across the floor, unable to move, she focused on looking up at the ceiling. Never did she think an ex – romantic partner would put her life to an end. It was her own fault too. If she'd just stop pretending those red flags were green for just one second, maybe she'd be elsewhere. Maybe she'd be back with Rueben and his friends – laughing and forgetting about real life like they always did.

Instead, she was blinking slowly, staring up at the ceiling, fighting the urge to fall asleep. All she wanted was to see everyone else, just one more time.

I tried Mat ... Rueben ... everyone...

I'm sorry...