Louis' POV
"Excuse me, Mr., You have some blood on you." I hear a voice and feel a gentle tap on my shoulder. It wakes me up, and my eyelids flutter open to find a young lad kneeling beside me.
I almost think I'm dreaming and if if I fall back to sleep the pain and this mysterious lad will disappear but I force myself to stay awake.
"Who are you?" My voice comes out hoarse and crackly. The dryness of my throat causes me to cough.
"I'm Colby."
I jerk up, my brain flooded with memories of what happened with Niall in the park. The sudden movement causes the skin of my back to stretch and pain surges through my body. I grit my teeth and suppress a moan in order to avoid scaring Colby.
"I've heard of you," I tell him. "You met Niall in the park when you were lost from your father, Richard. And Richard punched Niall in the face."
His eyebrows knit together in confusion. Innocence is spread across his young face.
"How did you know that?" He looks at me expectantly.
"Niall is my...friend, my boy...friend." I avert my eyes from him, embarrassed to admit my sexuality to such a young lad. I feel upset with myself for feeling embarrassed, but after Richard's verbal and physical abuse about it, I have reason.
Colby's eyes grow wide and I can almost visibly see the wheels inside his head turning. "Niall and you are boyfriends! You're who he was talking about!"
"He talked about me?" A small smile flickers on my lips.
Colby nods his head excitedly. "He asked me for advice about you. But don't worry, I helped him." He gives me a wink. For his young age, he sure acts mature.
Silence sets in around us as I'm lost partly in my thoughts, but mostly in the pain radiating from my back. I slowly lean my shoulder against the metal wall. The click of my chains echo throughout the shack.
I close my eyes and try to think of Niall. His light blue eyes will no longer hold onto the innocence of his youth after this situation with Richard is over. I'm sure of that.
A tear slips out of my eye as I realize this is all my fault. Niall will have to suffer because of my past. I brought him into this. I brought all of the lads and their mums into this. I don't think I will ever forgive myself for putting them in danger. I hope they make it out safe.
"You're bleeding." I hear Colby's soft voice.
"I know," I say. "You already told me."
"But doesn't it hurt? It's getting blood everywhere! Are you okay, Mr.?" I hear him scootch closer in front of me, his limbs softly scraping the dirt ground.
"Shhhhhhh," I whisper. All I want to do is sleep.
"Okay," he whispers quietly. Then I feel his hand in mine.
I weakly open my eyes and watch as he climbs into my lap, resting his head against my chest.
My heart swells and a smile reaches my face.
We both doze off into a state somewhere close to sleep, huddled together in a heap, his hand never leaving mine.
---
When I wake up, it's dark out. I managed to sleep through the whole day after my whipping.
I look around, disoriented at the sudden lack of light, and hear a soft clank of metal in the corner.
"Colby?" my voice whispers.
"You're awake!"
His excitement causes a laugh to bubble inside of me. "Yeah, I'm awake."
Colby runs up to me and tackles me in a hug.
"Ouch! Careful there, bud!" I say, in reference to my swollen back.
"I'm so sorry, Mr! I forgot about that." He cowards away like he's expecting me to hit him.
"Colby," I start. "Did you think I was gonna hit you?"
He looks at me through the small hands covering his face. A slight nod is all I need for my heart to sink into my chest.
"Colby, listen to me," I say. "I would never, ever hurt you. Do you understand? You can trust me."
He nods again and undoes his protective ball.
"Dad used to hit me when I did something wrong." His voice comes out as a hushed whisper, full of shame and guilt.
"He hit me, too," I say. "You and me, we're sort of alike."
"For the wrong reasons," adds Colby. Again, his intelligence is baffling.
We sit in a comfortable silence, each of us too in depth with our own thoughts to make conversation. I think of the terrible circumstances we find ourselves in, but I am thankful for the opportunity to meet this wonderful lad.
And instead of drowning myself in my own pity, I empathize with Colby. We've both been hurt by that son of a bitch.
---
Some time later, when the moon has replaced the sun and the still of night has calmed my nerves, the screech of metal causes Colby and I to jump. We share a frantic look and turn our heads towards the door. Sure enough, it's Richard. He's back.
I notice that this time, he didn't bring the whip. My shoulders sag with relief. But behind him in steps Fred.
Fuck. This cannot be good.
Colby whimpers and crawls over to me as the two looming men walk into the shack. I wrap an arm around Colby, drawing him closer for my sake as well. Their footsteps echo off the walls like a sinister melody.
Richard smiles at me before I can turn my head. A small chuckle escapes his mouth as he walks over to me. A bony finger is placed under my chin, and it tilts my head to look at him.
"Remember the last time you refused to look at me?" he whispers.
Ever so slightly, I look at him and nod. I hope he can't see the fear boiling out my eyes.
Fred hobbles over, slowed by his old age, with a pair of metal cutters. My heart flutters, thinking they're for me, but then he moves to cut the chains.
"What?" I question. Why would they cut the metal chains from my arms, the only thing keeping me from the door, from freedom?
The metal clanks to the ground, sending a puff of dust into our faces.
"We're going to do something a little bit...different."
Richard drops to his knees and shoos Colby aside, focusing on me.
I feel my heart beat in my head, throat, choking me. The muscles of my body clenching, protecting me and preparing me.
Richard ever so slowly creeps closer. Closer. My breathing picks up like I've just completed a marathon. I scurry backwards but my back slams against metal. Trapped.
Richard grabs me by the ankle and drags me forward. I rewind backward again but his grip is firm and strong. I look to the door and see Fred standing there, blocking it. His arms are folded across his chest, he means business.
Why did he cut my chains if they are keeping me trapped anyways?
Then Richard puts his hand on my lower abdomen. Oh.
I squirm under his touch as I feel the filth from his palm spread across my skin. My body is crawling with his dirt. I bring a leg up to kick him and he tumbles off of me.
"Why must you always pick the hard way?" He growls.
Suddenly, he lifts off the floor and lunges at me, knocking me to my back. A huff of air is forced out of my lungs and I cough under his weight. The flesh of my back I'm sure has torn open again.
"You will do as I say!" he yells. I nod quickly.
His hand slithers down my side, sending shivers of disgust through my veins. "Unbuckle your belt."
"What?" I ask, barely audible over the beat of my heart, the breath from my mouth.
He doesn't repeat himself. His eyes bore into mine and I try to find something, anything inside them to tell me why he's doing this. I find nothing.
Hot tears roll down my cheeks as my shaking hands fumble with my belt. It unhooks with a clink.
"Pull down your pants."
I slide the jeans down my legs. Goosebumps appear as my bare skin makes contact with the cool air.
I glance to my right to find Colby. He has retreated to the opposite corner with his knees curled up to his chest. Tears pour out of his closed eyes.
Richard lowers his body onto mine, with a sick grin curled on his lips. His hips begin grinding on mine and I feel him getting hard. My stomach twists with such force that I feel I might throw up on his face. Maybe that would help what's happening. Or maybe make it worse.
Sprawled helplessly beneath him, I focus on removing myself from the situation. If not physically, then maybe I can escape mentally. I tip my head up and stare at the ceiling. My eyes wander lazily over the ripples in the metal, as I think of the one person that I had planned to save myself for. Niall.
Niall's laugh is the first thing my brain tells me I hear. A light cackle, so delightful and carefree. It floats through the rancid air like a little bird, leaving behind an echo of its sweet melody.
Richard's breathing picks up and his exhales land on my neck. It smells of stale alcohol. I feel bile rise in my throat. No, I tell myself, think of Niall.
Next, the smell of oranges invades my nose, plugging it. Niall smells of fresh oranges after a shower. In the mornings when we stay at hotels, I can smell him from the bathroom, the scent drifting down the hall way and into my nostrils, clouding my head. It's his shampoo, he told me. So whenever his head gets near to my face, I inhale his electric scent and hold it in my breath as long as I can.
Richard lifts his weight off of me and I snap back to reality. He shimmies his pants and underwear off and I look away. My hands clench into fists at my side in attempt to stop their shaking.
His hand is placed on my stomach where my tattered shirt has lifted up. It slowly trails down lower, lower. His fingers toy with the rim of my boxers and my stomach lurches. I'm not aroused, I'm disgusted.
And then he flips my body over so I'm lying on my stomach. My body turns numb from the cold or maybe in preparation for what I know comes next. Richard inserts himself into me and I suck in a hasty breath of air and almost choke. I knew this was going to happen but that doesn't mean I would ever be prepared. Richard's filthy hands cover my bloody back, like he owns me. My heart seems to be ripping a hole in my chest. I struggle to calm down and focus on removing myself again.
This time, I feel Niall's hands on my body. They brush lightly over my skin, leaving pleased goosebumps in their wake. They touch me with so much care and love that I almost believe they're there.
Richard's pace becomes faster now, and I desperately wish for this to be over. Warm tears slide down my cheeks, puddling beneath my chin.
I squeeze my eyes shut and picture Niall hovering over me. Those hands are Niall's hands. Niall would never be so careless but I don't have many other options.
As if God was on my side, I find that Richard's breathing is quickening, as are his movements. With Niall running through my brain, I hardly even feel Richard jerk and pour out.
"Did you like that? You like being touched by another guy, you fag," he spits at me, breathing heavy and drawing out painfully.
I say nothing, just hear Niall's heavy breathing over me.
Richard climbs off of me. He has a satisfied grin upon his face, but little does he know what I had been thinking during that.
He stands up and pulls on his pants, fastening the buttons all the while looking me over. I turn my head from his gaze and listen as his and Fred's footsteps leave the shack.
When silence has replaced the heavy air, I open my eyes to find Colby next to me. He hands me my jeans and I quickly pull them on.
"You're smart, Mr." Colby says.
"How am I smart?" my voice comes out whiny and irritated. "I just got fucking raped."
"If you give him what he wants, he'll leave sooner. If you try to fight him off, it only makes it worse." I did give Richard what he wanted. He wanted to touch me and I let him.
But I pictured Niall. Niall was the one touching me, not Richard.
I won. I beat Richard at his own game. He thought he could have me, but Niall is the only one. I saved myself for Niall.
-----
Author's note!!
Alright? What did you think...? The reason this chapter took so long to update was that I wanted to make sure it was perfect. The scene at the end needed to roll out a certain way and I had to be sure it worked. I'm pleased with the way it turned out, with Louis picturing Niall instead of Richard. Tell me what you all thought?? And just FYI there's not much left in this book, maybe five-ish chapters left... I know, it's so sad. But the last thing I would want to do is stretch the story too long and ruin it. Ya know?? so thank you for the votes and reads and comments :D keep it up!!