BONNIE
The man was back. He was trying to get her to break, and she was about to.
When she didn’t answer his question the way she wanted to, he
ripped her shirt in half, exposing her. It was humiliating and she’d cried for several minutes. The man-she didn’t even know his name-told her to answer the question honestly. The same question he asked every single time.
What did Ethan want her to do? Why had he sent her?
Bonnie continued to swear she was telling the truth. That Ethan had no idea she was here. Well, maybe by now Ethan was looking for her, but she had no clue if that was the case. Sometimes they would go days without seeing each other and this could be one of those times. Bonnie didn’t know how much time had passed, if it had been a day, a couple hours, or a week. Hopefully, by now her brother was looking for her. Maybe he would be able to get her out of this mess.
But at the same time Bonnie didn’t want her brother to find her. She knew if he did, she’d be in the same predicament that had gotten her into this mess in the first place-an arranged marriage to a stranger of her brother’s choosing. He wouldn’t care about what she’d gone through to try to escape. To him, this would just be proof she needed a man to take care of her.
Bonnie actually agreed with that part, but she didn’t want it to be in an arranged marriage. Especially to someone who wasn’t going to be her Daddy.
“Are you finally going to tell me the truth?” the man asked as he walked around her chair, yanking on her arms, making the handcuffs dig into her skin even more.
Bonnie had a chance to look at her body when he turned on the light, and demanded she look at ‘the beautiful work he’d done across her skin’.
She was covered in blood and cuts. There was no exposed skin that didn’t have blood on it. It had scared her to see so much blood and it made her realize blood loss was one of the reasons she was so tired. How much more blood could she lose before she lost too much?
“I honestly didn’t expect for you to last this long,” the man said. “Seeing you cry in the car and not be able to answer Rogan made me think this was going to be easy. How much is your brother paying you for this?”
She shook her head. “Nothing. He doesn’t know I’m here. I’m trying to run away from him,” she weakly insisted.
Bonnie didn’t understand why he couldn’t grasp she was telling the truth. Ethan had nothing to do with this. Was it so hard to believe?
Apparently it was, because they had been at this for hours, maybe even days. He would always ask the same questions and she would always answer the same way. With the truth.
“Why do you fucking keep lying to me?” he asked. “Just fucking answer the question honestly.”
Bonnie stayed silent because she didn’t know what else to say.
“If you don’t answer the question honestly, I’m going to rip your bra off,” he threatened. “I’ll leave tiny little cuts over your whole body. Then if you ever do get away from this, no man will ever want you.”
“Please, I’m telling the truth. I’m just here to find safety. I don’t want to be in an arranged marriage,” she explained, knowing it was useless, but trying anyway. “I’m telling the truth. You have to believe me.”
The man laughed and shook his head. “You almost had me believing you. Answering the same thing every single time. But that can’t be true.”
Before she could ask him why he couldn’t be true, he brought out his favorite knife and gently placed it against her stomach. Tears filled her eyes as she realized what was going to happen next. He hadn’t touched her stomach or boobs yet, but he was about to.
“I’ve had so much fun leaving all these tiny little cuts on your skin,” he whispered. “Knowing every single time you look at them, you’re going to be reminded of this.”
Within a second, his blade went up, cutting through the fabric of her bra and leaving her exposed. A sob broke from her mouth as the humiliation set in. She didn’t understand what he was getting from this. She’d been telling the truth, keeping her story the same each time. What did he not understand about that?
“Look at you,” he gently said. “Skin covered with my marks. Such a pretty sight.”
Tears streamed down her face as he continued to stare at her.
Bonnie let out several tiny whimpers as he started to leave little cuts all over her chest and stomach. Whimpers turned into cries and then into screams. The pain was becoming overwhelming, and she knew if he continued for much longer, she was going to pass out.
She couldn’t remember how many times he had made her pass out from all the pain. Too many times to keep track of.
“I’ll be back later,” he said as he rose, standing at his full height. “Maybe I’ll bring my camera so I can take a picture and remember you.”
Another sob escaped her mouth. She didn’t want any pictures taken. She didn’t want any of this, but he wasn’t paying attention to her. He wasn’t doing anything but continuing to hurt her.
Bonnie barely could see through her swollen eyes as he left the room. She could hear his footsteps slowly walking up the stairs and the door creaking as it closed.
Sometimes she felt like she was going crazy in the dark. She was losing her sense of reality.
The passing out was making the time loss worse. Any time Bonnie passed out, she didn’t know if it was for a couple minutes, a couple hours, or even a day. There were no clocks and the man wouldn’t tell her the time. She’d made the mistake of asking one of the times he came down, and he was not happy. He said she didn’t have the right to know what the time was. He was ever so slowly breaking her down piece by piece and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold on for.
Bonnie did remember before she left, the day before, she told Ethan she loved him. She didn’t want to leave and not say that if she never saw him again. Part of her was happy she did, because he knew she did love him. She didn’t know when she was going to see her brother again, or if she was going to.
For all she knew, Rogan could come downstairs any second and kill her without a second thought. If he let his men hurt women like this, what was to stop him from killing her?
Bonnie closed her eyes and tried to relax. It was hard when every part of her body was aching from the tiny cuts and bruises the man had inflicted on her.
She had no doubt she’d lost a lot of blood, maybe too much blood. She hadn’t eaten or drank anything in a while either which meant things weren’t looking good for her.
Her whole body stiffened as she heard the door creak open again, followed by several sets of footsteps coming down the stairs.
Whimper after whimper escaped past her lips. She wasn’t ready for him to be back. She couldn’t endure more abuse. Bonnie definitely wasn’t ready for two people to torture her.
Bonnie pulled on her restraints, trying to get out of them, even though she knew it was useless. Desperation filled her as their footsteps got closer and closer.
“Please,” she whimpered. “Please, don’t do this.”
A deep chuckle filled the room, sending even more fear into her body. It wasn’t the same man. Was this the friend? The guy before didn’t talk about inviting a friend but maybe it was his definition of fun.
“Please. I’ve told you the truth,” she swore. “I promise you, I’m not lying.”
“Seems like she’s ready to talk,” a voice she’d never heard before said.
“Did you come down here earlier?” “No,” Rogan answered.
A whimper escaped her mouth when she realized Rogan had finally come for her. This was not going to end well. The man wasn’t back so maybe he’d told Rogan she wasn’t cooperating. But she was. She wasn’t lying to them.
“I promise, my brother didn’t send me,” she cried. “He doesn’t know I’m here. I promise you. Please don’t do anything.”
Bonnie pulled on her handcuffs hoping maybe there was a weak spot so it would come undone. But she was only hurting herself.
Her eyes moved back and forth as she tried to find out where Rogan and the other man were. It was still pitch black in the basement, but she was still trying. She didn’t want to be blindsided.
“Maybe she’s hallucinating. Thinking that somebody came down already,” Rogan offered. “Maybe now she’ll be more inclined to answer the questions truthfully.”
She continued to whimper and move her head toward the voices. Tears filled her eyes and spilled down her cheeks.
“Turn on the lights,” Rogan ordered.
Bonnie screwed her eyes shut, not wanting to get blinded by the harsh lighting. The other guy never gave her a warning when he was turning the lights on.
“Please. Please don’t do this to me,” she begged. “I’ve been telling you the truth. I’ve told the man the truth every single time.”
She flinched as she heard the lights click on. They were super bright, and even with her eyes closed, it still hurt. Was the sunlight this bright outside? Part of her couldn’t remember what the sun on her skin felt like or what fresh air felt like.
“Shit,” Rogan cursed, angrily.
“What the fuck happened?” the man with him questioned. “I thought you said we weren’t hurting her.”
“We weren’t. No one was fucking supposed to come down here and bother her. Food and water once a day, but that was it.”
Bonnie was confused. She slightly opened her eyes to see Rogan squatting in front of her. She let out a scream of fear and pushed herself against the chair. She didn’t want him near her. What if he was only saying this her to relax around him before he started to torture her? She wouldn’t fall for it. Not this time.
“Stop fucking crying!” Rogan barked out.
She whimpered and started to cry even harder. She didn’t know what to do or what to believe.
“Who the fuck hurt her?” the man with him asked.
She searched until she found him. He wasn’t one of the men that had been with Rogan in town, and he wasn’t the one that had been inflicting regular torture.
“Please,” she begged again, tears still streaming down her face. “Please don’t hurt me. I’ve told him the truth, you have to believe me.” Rogan and the other guy continued to stare at her.
Were they going to do anything? Why were they just looking at her?
“Please don’t touch me. Don’t cut me. I’m begging you. I’m telling the truth. I always have been,” she promised. Maybe they would listen to her this time. Maybe they would realize she was actually telling the truth.
“Who did this to you?” Rogan asked.
Bonnie’s eyes went wide as she stared at him. She was not about to answer that question. What if this was all a ploy and he wanted to know if she would snitch on the guy?
She wasn’t about to say anything and get in trouble. She knew if she thought the other guy’s torture was bad, Rogan’s was going to be even worse.
“Stop fucking crying!” Rogan yelled. “It’s a fucking sign of weakness.”
Her mouth fell open as she stared at him. She held her breath, trying to stop herself from crying but it was so hard. She’d been terrified for however long she’d been here. Not having a moment to relax and be calm and at peace. She’d been on edge and alert whenever she’d been awake. Bonnie was exhausted and everything happening around her was making her more emotional. She couldn’t possibly stop crying.
“Who did this to you?” Rogan asked once again.
She shook her head and tightly closed her eyes.
“Look at me,” Rogan demanded.
Bonnie forced her eyes open. Fresh new tears filled them as she saw his glare.
“Who did this to you? I want a name.”
The tears fell when he asked for a name.
She had no clue how to answer and she feared it was a test.
Rogan stood up and turned toward the other man. “Lucius. Figure it out,” he said before he walked away.
Sob after sob escaped her mouth as he left. Was this the guy, Lucius, who was going to torture her? Did she fail the test he’d given her?
“Please,” she begged. “I promise you, I was telling the truth before. Please don’t hurt me. I promise I wasn’t lying.”
Bonnie continued to cry as Lucius walked in front of her. What was he going to do to her? Was he the one that was going to break her bones and pull her fingernails and toenails out? Was he the one who was going to make her beg for death like she already had?
“Please, don’t torture me. If you are going to, just kill me already,” she cried out.
Rogan was long gone, which left her alone with him. He could do anything to her and nobody would know. That scared her.
“Take a deep breath,” the man said. “Tell me who did this to you.”
Bonnie took a deep breath in like he said, but it didn’t help her at all. She continued to cry and her breathing grew labored and erratic.
“Just tell me who did this to you. That’s all we want to know,” Lucius pressed.
Her breathing picked up even more as he spoke. They were somehow going to twist her words or play a trick on her. She couldn’t deal with any more hurt. The other man had already hurt her badly enough.
“Take a deep breath for me,” Lucius instructed. “Try and calm down. We’re not going to hurt you.”
She wasn’t going to believe him. They’d sent the guy down here before to hurt her. Both of them were just acting innocent right now. They probably didn’t want her blood on their hands.
Lucius took a step forward, and Bonnie nearly hyperventilated.
“Calm down and just tell me who did this to you. That’s all we want to know.”
“N-no,” she forced out. It felt like her lungs were on fire, the longer she couldn’t take a breath in. How much longer until she was going to pass out again? If she did, would they finally put her out of her misery?
“Please, just tell us who hurt you,” Lucius repeated. He seemed to be pleading now.
Bonnie shook her head. She wanted to tell him that she wanted no part in whatever they were trying to make her do. She didn’t want to snitch on the person and get herself into even more trouble.
He cupped her face with his hands, sending her into a full-blown panic attack. She felt the darkness closing around her vision, sending her into hysteria. She was going to pass out. And what would they do to her then?
“Come on girly,” Lucius coaxed. “Just take a small breath for me. Fill those lungs so you can answer my question.”
But Bonnie didn’t follow his directions. The more he told her to breathe, the more she couldn’t. Before she knew it, she felt her body growing weak, the darkness filling all of her vision and sending her into unconsciousness.