Seraphine

thirty

heavy content warning: mentions of intended rape (no rape scene)

Seraphine

Just as she imagined, the club is twice as packed on the inside than it is on the outside. It looks absolutely gorgeous, however, even with all of the people dancing and drinking inside of it. 

The walls are painted a dark blue, the floor is abstract blue and white tile to mimic the ocean floor, the lights are neon green and purple, the drinks are all ocean or beach themed, and the arches look like they're straight out of a castle. 

Atlantis, Seraphine reminds herself of the club's namesake and looks around once more. Very fitting. 

Derek keeps a tight grip on her hand, and she's pulled through the crowd towards an arch that has VIP written along it in purple neon lettering. There's a curtain of beads falling from the archway, all sparkly and different sizes. Seraphine's so focused on the mesmerizing way they catch the bouncing strobe lights that she bumps straight into Derek when he stops in front of a tall man with a red backwards cap and a blue jean jacket. 

"Wirt, my man! How are you?" Derek lifts his hand for a handshake, and the bouncer lowers his gaze from the floor to Derek. He raises an eyebrow, and Derek drops his hand. 

Seraphine winces when he squeezes her hand a little too hard, his anger and embarrassment getting the best of him. 

"I told boss man about you and your friends," Wirt speaks, his voice low and intimidating. Seraphine freezes. 

Friends? What friends? 

Once again, a picture of Derek with another woman--multiple women, it sounds like--flashes through her mind. Hurt flares within Seraphine, but she shuts it down fast. 

I've basically cheated on him with my professors. It's only fair he does it to me. 

A wave of sadness washes over her, in the middle of the club, as she thinks of her professors. Her professors. 

Not Dr. Reeves, Dr. Michaels, Dr. Wern, and Dr. Brummer, but Luca, Nico, Enzo, and Damien. 

Hers. Her saviors, even if just for a night. The ones who seem to actually care about her health and well-being, which is much more than can be said for her boyfriend. 

Seraphine scolds herself for thinking like that and tightens her grip on Derek's hand. 

I am in a committed relationship. He's just going through a hard time, that's all. I need to be on my best behavior for him, and support him while he's down. Not think about other men. 

She shakes her head to get rid of her traitorous thoughts as best she can, and looks up at the bouncer, who's staring Derek down as he tries to reason with him.

"Wirt, come on, I just need the one room. My friends are already back there! They're all waiting for us, I just need like fifteen minutes, and then I'll be out of your hair. Promise, man." Derek practically begs, and Seraphine scrunches her nose in disgust at his desperation to get in. She thinks for a second about maybe trying to get him to just dance with her in the main part of the club, but she hears a sigh and the tinkling of beads and then she's being tugged along again. 

"Thank you so much, man, you will not regret it." Derek calls over his shoulder at the bouncer, and Seraphine thinks she hears a "I won't, that's for sure", but she can't really tell over the volume of the music thumping in her ears. 

"Derek, what are we doing back here?" She yells up at him, and he turns to look at her and send a wicked grin down at her. That grin makes the color drain from her face, and suddenly her heart, mind, and body are all screaming at her to fucking run. 

"Derek, I don't like this," Seraphine tries to pull her hand from his, but he only tightens his grip and pulls them up to a door, where he knocks a few times before entering the room with her behind him. 

"Derek! I thought you weren't coming," a voice that automatically sends chills down her spine booms over the already loud music, and she peeks around Derek's frame to see a large man stand from his place on the couch. His hair is long, greasy, and unruly, and it frames his long face that's stamped with a crooked nose. His eyes are dark and beady, and Seraphine's discomfort levels shoot even higher at the sight of him.

Derek doesn't let go of her hand, and for that, she's grateful but also a little angry. Who is this guy? Why are we here? Better yet, why the fuck is she here? 

Derek said there were some people he's been dying for me to meet. So I need to put on my brave face, suck up my anxiety, and just introduce myself. 

With a newfound confidence--fake it til you make it--Seraphine straightens her spine and steps closer to Derek while also making herself known in the darker room. The man's eyes immediately shift to her, and a chill runs down her body. Her shoulders slacken, and she suddenly feels desperate for a way out of this situation. 

"Well, look what we have here," the man drawls, his eyes slowly trailing Seraphine's figure. Seraphine tries to hide behind Derek again, but her boyfriend only tugs her back out and shoves her right into the stranger's arms. 

Seraphine is horrified. 

The stranger chuckles as she fights against him, but his arms are like steel, his hands cuffs around her waist. 

"Derek, what--" 

"Sera, this is Richard. Richard, this is Sera, your new...hobby." 

Seraphine freezes. 

What did he just say? 

"What--" 

"Dave, John, c'mere, boys! We've got a new toy to play with," Richard grins down at Seraphine as he yells over his shoulder, and soon Seraphine is surrounded by greasy men with long, sharp nails, unkempt hair, and--

Was that a belt buckle?! 

"Derek, I do not like this, I want--" 

"Oh, Seraphine, don't you get it? It's not about what you want anymore. It's all about what we want. What I want. And what I want is for you to shut the fuck up and take it like I know you have for your professors." Derek's voice comes from behind her and suddenly his touch is foreign, she can't recognize his hands, can't tell them apart from the other six on her skin. 

"Oh-ho, professors, huh? Maybe she'd like a little scene--whaddya think, boys? Wanna teach this bad girl a lesson?" One of the men--Dave, or John, she doesn't really care and it really doesn't matter--pulls his hands away just to roll up his sleeves, and she sees an upside down lily that seems to be crying diamonds on his arm. She focuses on it for a second, trying to remember every detail, because she's come to the realization that she's not getting out of this without a fight, and if she doesn't fight, she's going to be raped. 

"Let me go, let me go!" She struggles against the three of them, flailing her feet and jabbing her elbows back until she hits flesh and hears a grunt of pain and she feels victorious until someone slaps her so hard she sees stars and she knows she's not winning this fight.

Laughter mixes with screams for help that die down once Derek murmurs in her ear that no one can hear her in the soundproofed room. 

Someone, she silently begs as someone tugs at her dress until her red bra shows, her chest heaving underneath it. Please, she tries again when nothing happens, when her dress rips down the middle, the red silk falling to the floor. Tears spill down her cheeks and she squeezes her eyes shut, blocking it all out. 

Help me.