Our hidden wounds (#1)

Seventeen

Chapter seventeen | Ekaterina
Earlier that day....
The sound of footsteps pauses my thoughts and confusion wanders through my mind as I check the time, 2:36, it's still daylight, there's no way in hell Alexander came back from work, and well, since Vladimir and his father left earlier today as well, that leaves the house all for myself which doesn't help when i hear the footsteps coming closer,

Alexander's mother was supposed to come today though, maybe it's her, but I'm not brave enough to go explore who the fuck is outside, so I just stay here, heartbeats thrumming in my ears, and breath completely uneven,

"Ekaterina?" A feminine voice meets my ears just as Alexander's mother steps inside, and I think that's the first time I'm relieved to see that woman, "thank god." I breathe, her brows furrowing as she walks towards me, "not really." Another voice joins and my lips part and I watch in horror as a masked guy smashes a vase on her head,

blood scatters over her face as she falls motionlessly on the ground, adrenaline rushes through my veins and just when I'm about to grab anything and defend myself, he walks towards me and tugs on my hair harshly, I squirm in his hold, doing everything in my power to push him away which is purely pathetic, because I don't get anywhere with it,

I scream as I watch another person come inside and take her body away, "oh stop—bitch." He grunts when I bite down on his shoulder, and I take the chance as I run away from his hold towards the living room and just when I'm about to storm out of the door, he clasps his hand around my throat and I gurgle as he continues choking me, murmuring some words to the other guy but I'm way too scared for my mind to even function what they're saying.

And when I feel as I'm going to faint he slaps his hand away, turning me to face him, as he grabs a knife from his pocket, "I can make you another matching scar on that pretty face, so think carefully." He says in Russian and when the words finally start processing, a wicked smile spreads on his face as he grabs my hair again, harshly clutching it to the point of pain as he slams my face in the wall and I feel blood dripping down my neck,

Just as I feel the whole world going black around me.

Present
Ticktock
Tick....
Tock....

My vision finally clears as I recall what happened from the last hours of my life, I suck in a breath as the memories come crashing back to me, fear and despair running through my body as I take in my circumstances, My hands and legs are tied with a tape and so is my mouth, screaming might as well be useless because there's no way someone can hear me here, tears well in my eyes as more sickening predictions roam around my mind, fuck.

The room I'm in is absolutely disgusting, the smell is almost unbearable, blood, vomit, and much more shit, I swallow the knot in my throat as my breath turns shallow when I notice Alexander's mother who's squirming beside me, in a similar situation as mine, my eyes meet hers and the look on her face is pure desperation, which exactly matches mine,

She motions with her head at something and I follow her gaze to find a knife thrown on the ground, I try to move a little but I just end up crawling as my hands shakily clutch the knife, trying to cut the tapes off my arms to make this fucking process easier, and when I finally succeed I almost scream from joy, as I move on to my legs, doing the same thing and then with my mouth,

I let out a breath the moment the tape leaves my lips, "hold on." I whisper, the words barely audible but I know she heard me because her expression softens as I free her from the tape as well, "are you okay?" She offers tightly and I almost snort but the moment I realize where we are again I sober up, "we need to get out." I force and ignore her earlier question, the answer to it might be as useless as the question itself but I won't tell her that of course,