Cursed

Chapter Thirty-Four

TRIGGER WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER MIGHT CONTAIN TRIGGERING AND/OR SENSITIVE MATERIAL. SEXUAL VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT, AND ABUSE ARE SOME TOPICS MENTIONED WITHIN THIS EVENT. 

Dara's Point of View:

I picked at my cuticles, staring out the window. It was a pretty calm day. It was warmer than the past couple days, but it was still barely above sixty degrees. I scratched at my bare knee. Vayne and I were in his car, smoking some weed and watching the sunset go down. I couldn't help my nerves. For weeks I had been worrying about the upcoming Full Moon.

Vayne reached for me, grabbing at my sides. He pulled me towards him, but I pushed him away.

"I'm not in the mood," I told him plainly. We had no plan -- not totally true, we had a plan it just didn't include how we were going to successfully get Cornelia there. She wouldn't go willingly. 

Vayne pulled out a cigarette and lit it. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw him take a long drag. He let the smoke out slowly, then flicked the ash. Each of his movements was slow and deliberate. That wasn't a good sign. I felt the tension thick in the small space. My skin started to crawl with sickness.

It happened so quick. He ditched the cigarette out the window and made an agile grab for me. His grip hurt, bruise-inducing. I yelped and reached for the door handle. My fingers scraped against the metal. I was losing. 

He grabbed the back of my neck and I froze. 

"You're not in the mood? Who gave you a say, you little bitch." He made each word sound dirty. His grip tightened and I winced. I couldn't tell you how I had gotten to this point. It started slowly like every brochure warned against. Then, before I knew it, the abuse was constant and worse each time. I was too involved with him to get out. 

Where would I go?

The Cult had become my family and Vayne was my everything. The very idea of leaving him hurt worse than the abuse.

I tried to slow my breathing, but my heart was racing. 

"I-I'm sorry." I stammered. 

Another apology I didn't truly mean. His hand loosened. 

"You need to start showing some respect." He put his forehead against mine. "Don't you get it? I love you." His lips forced their way to mine. I knew his words were empty, but that didn't stop the filling feeling I got whenever he said it.

I didn't deserve anything more than Vayne.

I tried to kiss him back, but I was tired of this facade. I was tired of pretending to be something I wasn't. 

"Stop, I'm not in the mood!" I fought against him, trying to push him off me. He pushed against me so hard we were horizontal on the seats of his car. His fingers grabbed a fist full of my hair while his other hand pushed me down harder. I couldn't breathe. 

"Don't you love me, Dara? Why won't you give me this?" I ignored his words. I was trying to think of a way to escape. I needed to leave this car. I couldn't fake it anymore. 

I looked above me and saw the door was unlocked. I just needed to open it and get out. He was too heavy for me to push him off. He straddled me and held my arms down. There were sweat beads on his forehead. Those dark eyes looked so dead. 

"S-Stop!" I screamed, afraid of what was going to happen. He used one hand to criss-cross my arms and hold them down. The other hand he fumbled with my belt. He moved his hips slightly and I brought my knee upright. I hit him with all my might. It came in contact with his junk and it hurt him.