Estranged • h.s.

10

CECILY 

Sweat trickles down my entire body, the heat from the small room making the hunger and dehydration worse. My chapped lips burn as they shake, scattered tears falling down my cheeks, sneaking past the blindfold over my eyes. My entire body is sore from being kept with my hands tied over my head. I've been standing for hours, too many to keep track of. 

The days I'm stuck in here fade into nothing. Like a blanket of space swallowing me whole. 

Things have progressed in the last month, and my punishments have become inhumane. I alternate my resting position, letting my weight fall onto my left leg while the right one rests. Nothing is comfortable anymore, my throat burns as I feel the pinch of pain radiate up my back. 

Every time I think about the situation I'm in, I find new ways to blame myself. I blame myself for finding Jackson attractive, for agreeing to a date, for falling in love with him, moving in together, staying as long as I did; and most of all, I blame myself for not realizing the kind of person he is right off the bat. How can someone so evil appear so charming? 

Someone so easily scorned and evil. Someone who once used to make me feel like I was the most beautiful person alive somehow became the same person who became capable of the most awful things you could ever do to someone. He and all of his friends, too. 

The door clicks open, and my back straightens at the sound. 

It's silent but I have the sound of his steps memorized. Light pierces my eyelids as he pulls the blindfold down and I squint hard before blinking rapidly to get used to the light. 

"There you are," he says, leaning in and kissing me. I kiss him back immediately, leaning in toward him. He hums in response, holding my face. I produce a noise of satisfaction as well, feeling him smile against my lips. 

"You ready to be a good girl, baby?" He asks, holding my face in place so that I look right at him. I nod. "Yes," I say, not looking away from him. I know what's coming, but I'll do anything to be back on his good side. Sharing a bed with him is better than this room. He knows exactly how to make me behave. Each time I think I'm ready to bite back, he reminds me of our relationship. Of the power he has over me. I do as he says, and then I don't have to stay in this room. 

"Good." 

A few of his friends come into the room, immediately releasing me from the handcuffs around my wrists and ankles. They guide me out of the room, following behind Jackson as he leads me back upstairs. I have no clue where he lives. When he first got his hands on me, I was out for what felt like days. So many hours of my life gone, just like that. And they just continue to disappear the longer I'm here. 

The men have to basically hold me up as we go up the stairs, my limbs weak as ever. 

My heart beats rapidly with the exertion. This time felt longer than the last time. If this is how he treats me on only my second punishment, then I need to try harder. I need to ignore my feelings. I'm too weak. I need to eat something other than the small meal they were giving me once a day. I need to chug water. 

Jackson opens the door to our bedroom, the men leading me inside and right to the bed. I drop to it, barely able to hold myself up while I try to sit on the edge. Jackson dismisses the men, shutting the door and locking it. I hold back tears as my body shakes. 

"Clean yourself up, we have some guests this evening. Nobody wants to eat while looking at a girl who doesn't take care of herself."  

My jaw tenses, safe from his view as I'm turned away from him. I clench the bedsheets out of pure anger, wishing I could kill him right here. He makes sure I'm never too tempted, not with the constant male population he has in this fucking house. He keeps me weak to make sure I could never fight any of them off. That's how he sleeps so peacefully next to me.