Trigger Warning: Mild Abusive Content in this chapter. Read if you choose, if not please skip.
Braiden Winters P.O.V - Age Eighteen
Cold. It's all I can feel as soon as my eyes shoot open when I wake up. The constant beeping of my phone going off is what jolts me awake. Immediately, I know something's wrong when I see the spot on the pillows beside me is empty. The mission. Ryan must have gone anyways.
"Stubborn." I mutter to myself while reaching over to grab my phone.
Hurriedly, I rush to it and unlock the device in my hands, seeing a video from Jackson. My fingers hesitantly hover over the file, afraid of what's to come. Working up the courage, I finally press open.
'Bang!' A shot rings through the speakers on my phone as I watch as Michaels body collapses to the floor while Jackson stands with a gun in his hand.
Not shortly after a man I'm not familiar with orders Dean, our psycho teacher, to tie up Michael along with Marsha.
I turn up the volume to listen to the words that come next.
"Braiden, your little girlfriend, here, is going to pay for escaping me two years ago. And you're going to watch it happen. Anything you want to say, Ryan?"
The camera turns and faces my girl who's tied up in her beautiful clothes from our date with tears streaming down her cheeks. I see the outline of a red handprint against her porcelain skin and all I see is flames blazing across my vision. They touched her; HE touched her. The man who I've heard stories about, who haunts her dreams, who should never be near my Ryan, ever again. Her father is going to pay.
My plans of revenge are interrupted when her voice floats through my ears causing my heart to break.
"I'm sorry!" She wails, facing the camera. "You were right, Braiden, and I'm so, so, sorry. Please forgive me!"
Her mouth parts as she's about to say something else, but before she can speak, the man who I'm assuming is Damien, A.K.A, Ryan's father, grabs ahold of her beautiful hair and smashes her head into the wall.
"NO!" I scream, dropping my phone, spinning around and punching the wall beside me.
The video stops playing and I know I have to go find her. She needs me and I know exactly where she is. Once, she told me about where she lived, and judging by the reunion they're all having, I can only assume that she's at the house she grew up in. It's the perfect way for Ryan's father to torture her more than he already has. He's going to bring back the memory of how her mother was killed and finish what he started.
Damien Payne and Jackson Reynolds have my girl, but not for long. They're going to wish they never started this. They want to show me what torture looks like, but they won't know anything about it until I demonstrate on them.
Ryan Hunter P.O.V - Age Seventeen
My eyes flutter open once again, but I immediately close them, wanting to forget about everything going around me. Blacking out was so much better than this, it's like I'm living on hell on earth. On second thought, hell is probably better than this. When I reopen my eyes I see that my hands are now tied on top of a table in front of me. A pliers sits next to them, along with my father, who's sitting in a chair grinning.
"Well, well, well, sleeping beauty finally awakes. Minus the beautiful part, because Ryan, you've only gotten uglier since I last saw you." His words don't phase me, as I'm used to much worse. "Now I thought it'd be nice if we remade some of the memories from a couple years ago. Ya know, father, daughter time."
My eyes widen when he takes the pliers in his hands and grasps my fingernail with it.
"Please, no." I whimper, shaking my head vigorously back and forth.
His eyes take on a new shade and an evil glint appears in them stronger than before.
"Aww, is little Ryan begging? How dare you!" he roars, spit flies in my face. "You know how I feel about you talking."
Before I can utter anymore pleas, a sharp pain like a thousand needles being threaded through my finger shoots through me. Just like that, the nail on my pointer finger is gone.
"Ahh!!" The scream rips through me and tears out of my mouth.
"Shut the hell up!" He shouts, moving the pliers to my thumb and slowly tugging.
I can feel the skin slowly separating from my nail, peeling off before my eyes. It's like having a gash in your arm and then taking germ ex, lemon juice, and salt, then rubbing it all in the wound. It's worse when he pulls slower because I can feel every single tear being made as the two pull apart from one another.
My helpless wails cut through the air, and I lock eyes with Marsha, who's trying to scream for him to stop, but can say nothing due to the rag over her mouth. When I glance over to Mikey, I see he's still unconscious, but is breathing for sure.
When Damien sees I'm no longer focused on the pain, he takes his finger and presses it down on my raw, bloody flesh where the fingernails once lay.
This only amplifies the pain and more treacherous screams leave my body. I don't know how long we've been in here, but it feels like hours due to the immense pain.
"Hmm," he says, tapping his hand on his chin, "I'm getting a tad bored with this. Why don't we move on to my favorite thing... the knives."
Desperately, I try not to show my fear as he pulls out a knife with a six inch blade and drags it tantalizingly down my cheek, pressing just hard enough to slightly pierce the skin.
"Now, I think it's about time I finish where we left off, don't yo-" Before he can finish his sentence, the door to the small room we're in blasts wide open.
Standing in the doorway is the man I love with all my heart, Braiden Winters.
"Drop the knife." His smooth voice echoes throughout the room, bringing me a small sense of reassurance.
Instead of following orders, Damien just ,along with Jackson and the other two men who do the same.
"Look around son, it's three against one, I think you should be the one to put your weapon down." Jackson says, but Braiden isn't phased by a word.
He only looks around, meeting the eyes of Marsha and Michael, who's eyes are slowly peeling open.
"No." Braiden says looking my father straight in the eyes. "Despite what you may think, I never go down without a fight. This is definitely not your typical father/daughter reunion, but I guess we're stuck with it. I'm Braiden Winters, your daughters boyfriend and I'm here to keep her safe. It's my job to treat her with respect and keep her safe, something you'd know absolutely nothing about. Now let. her. go. Or, you'll wish you would have."
Tears are streaming down my face at Braiden's speech due to the immense love I have for him. I knew he'd find me. The happiness disappears when I glance over to Jackson who's slowly clapping with an evil smirk on his face.
"Well wasn't that sweet. Your little boyfriend came to save you! It's a shame you didn't listen to him in the first place." Jackson says in a sickeningly sweet voice as he walks towards me. "This is why no one will ever love you." he finishes in a whisper for only me to hear.
His words are like a blow to my chest and I'm immediately filled with shame. He's right, I can't believe I was going to tell Braiden that I love him when he'll never love me back.
"Kill him first, then Ryan's little friends. We'll save the best for last." Jackson orders, looking directly at me.
Before I can even process what he said three gunshots echo throughout the room. Braiden drops to the ground and I cry out his name. It takes me a moment to realize that Jackson and the other two men from the drug house are on the ground with blood pouring from there chests. Dead.
Damien's eyes are wide once he realizes his bodyguards are gone. Braiden is standing back up, pointing the gun directly at his head.
"Drop the knife, Damien. It's over, just let her go, and you can keep your life." A voice that I recognize says from over the speakers.
Instead of listening he only applies more pressure to the blade on my neck. "Never, she dies before I die. If anyone takes a step, I slit her throat."
I gulp in fear, feeling the cool, sharp metal dig into me further. A warmth slowly oozes down my throat and I know that he is drawing blood, it won't be long before he sends the metal through me and I'm dead.
Braiden speaks up bringing his attention off of me for a moment. I don't miss the nod of his head towards me meaning I'm supposed to be preparing to attack. I look around for something to hit him with and my eyes land on a loose metal pipe. Slowly, I try to inch over to it without him noticing.
"You're a monster. How dare you! This is your daughter! Why would anyone ever do this to their own flesh and blood, huh?" Braiden starts, slowly inching closer. "Is it because you realize what a worthless piece of shit you are?"
This makes my father flinch slightly.
"Is it because you are trying to compensate for being such a horrible person? Because you know that you serve no point in being alive, unless you're killing others or ruining someone else's life?!" He's shouting now, slowly getting closer and my father lunges towards Braiden, forgetting about me.
"You know nothing about me!" My father roars, the purplish-blue veins on his forehead popping out even further than before.
"I know so much more than you think, and you, Damien Payne, are a monster." Braiden snarls back, and something in my father snaps as he jumps towards Braiden with the knife.
Before he can bury the knife in Braiden I lift the pipe up and smash it as hard as I can over my fathers head. He crashes to the ground, a loud howl escaping his mouth. Without another thought, I pick it back up and continuously bring it back down onto his skull.
"You're!" crash, "A" crash, "Monster!"
Before I can finish him off, strong arms wrap around my waist and pull me off of his still body.
"Shh, Ryan, don't, it's what he would want, for you to torture him like he did to you." Braiden whispers in my ear, causing me to calm down.
I stop hitting him and drop the pipe to the ground. Tears start to stream down my face for what feels like the hundredth time today. I'm about to collapse in relief that it's over, but Braiden catches me in his arms, holding my body to his.
"It's okay, Ryan. It's over now, you're safe. I'll always keep you safe." His face is buried in my hair and he kisses the top of my head.
All I can do is grip his t-shirt tighter and let my tears soak his shirt.
I tell myself to calm down and get it together, so I look up and meet Braiden's eyes. When I scan our surrounding, I see that Marsha and Michael are now untied, but I'm confused how they got that way.
My eyes widen when I see the man who came over the speakers before. Simon, our old leader.
Stunned, I look at him not able to ask how he's here.
"Well if it isn't Ryan Della Hunter. It's so good to see you again." Simon speaks, walking over and pulling me into a hug.
"What... How..?"
He chuckles watching me stutter, "yes, Ryan, I'm not dead. You only all thought I was dead because that's what Jackson wanted. In reality, I was stuck on an Island off the coast because he dropped me there after knocking me out. Luckily, I was able to signal a boat, which brought me home. Braiden just so happened to have ran into me, and we came here to save you. A miracle, I know. I never thought I'd see you, or anyone again."
"Oh my gosh," I start, "you're alive! Thank god!"
The excitement is cut short when a groan comes from Michael.
"Don't worry, I called the ambulance, they're on the way here. It'll all be alright, Ryan. The shot wasn't fatal, he's just in a lot of pain. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a pretty woman over there who needs comforting." Simon points at Marsha and I grin.
They would be so cute together!
"Ooo, her names Marsha, now go get em' tiger!" I say and gently push him towards her.
Once he's gone, Braiden pulls me into him and plants a soft kiss on my lips while stroking my cheek with his thumb.
"Ryan, I realized today that when I feel something, I need to tell you because I never know how long I have left with you." I'm preparing for him to tell me he doesn't want me anymore, that he hates me just like everyone else, but instead it's the opposite. "I love you, Ry. I've loved you since the day you knocked my feet out from me, literally and metaphorically."
This causes me to chuckle and I can feel my heart about to burst out of my chest.
"He loves me!" I squeal.
"Yes, I really do." Braiden replies and my face reddens when I realize I said that out loud.
"I love you, Braiden. I love you more than words can describe, and don't know what I'd do if you weren't in my life." I reply, then stand up on my tiptoes and kiss him softly, loving the electricity that courses through my veins.
Braiden's arms stay wrapped around me when the police arrive, when they take me to the hospital, except for when he has to leave, which he refuses to do. He doesn't leave my side, even when I'm released from the hospital and we're safe at home.
"Braiden," I chuckle, looking into his forest green eyes, "you can let me go now, we're safe."
He chuckles, looking back at me.
"I love you, Ryan Della Hunter. I am NEVER letting you go again."
So that's how we stay, holding onto each other, because no one is ever going to let go.