Whump Thing

The other prisoner... again, could be from a lot of backgrounds, but I'm inclined towards "dissident or traitor from Whumper's own side". They were there before Gilded Cage!Whumpee. Whoever they once were, it's not immediately apparent, nor is it relevant, because no one deserves that treatment. They're slumped in a filthy cell, maybe chained up, completely unresponsive to Whumper and Gilded Cage!Whumpee's entry, and they've clearly been brutalised both physically and sexually, over and over again.

Whumper tells Gilded Cage!Whumpee that if they fail Whumper, they're going to the basement too, and it's a one-way trip. They kick Basement!Whumpee around a bit, which they still hardly react to except maybe trying to curl up, and then take Gilded Cage!Whumpee back upstairs.

It had really been Zander's idea, really, a concept that had pleasantly surprised Vienna. It stoked that warm little glow in her heart that Zander so often seemed to bring out — she knew there was no world in which he'd do this with someone else, and the idea of being trusted and chosen and special seemed to fill her her chest with warmth.

They were both fairly glow-y when he'd brought it up, to be fair. Both their faces were still a little flushed and Vienna was laying on Zander's bare chest, face tilted up to look at him as they lay in bed. She loved the easy, slightly lopsided smile that came out when they were together. He was talking about something, gesturing a bit with his hand before letting it rest again on her back, but all Vienna was focused on was the warmth between them and the happy thrum still going through her body. She'd never felt closer to anyone.

And then he'd brought it up — you know…..a good way to ring in sophomore year…. — and she'd lit up with excitement like a Christmas tree and he'd done the same and that was that.

And so here they were, looking out at the moonlight shimmering across the lake. Vienna felt a happy fluttering in her chest: she was here with her favorite person, in one of her favorite places, doing something that felt just the right amount of spontaneous and bold and fun. But when she looked back at Zander, she saw a rather familiar look of unease on his face. His blue eyes were scanning the waterline like he expected a campus security officer to rise up out of the weeds right then and there.

"Hey." She gently lay a hand on his wrist, trying to bring him back to earth. "Do you actually not want to? I'd be happy to just go sit on the pier, if you want."

Just the question, all earnestness and care, seemed to smooth the apprehension in Zander's expression. He looked at her, eyes crinkling in a smile.

"Nah. This'll be fun. Worst case scenario, I just drown and come back to haunt you as a ghost. Very manageable."

And is if to prove it, he started to lift his shirt over his head with a mischievous smile. Vienna's heart leapt. Before she lost her nerve, she lifted her sundress over her head and let it crumple on the leaves scattered beneath them. She took a deep breath and ran past the trees, bare feet slapping the wooden planks of the pier before she jumped off the end into the lake.

The cool water hit like an electric shock, invigorating her entire body. Vienna let it envelope her for a minute before she rose back up, smoothing her hair back and looking towards where she'd ran from. Zander was lingering by the trees, folding his clothes up, looking at her with an expression torn between awe and exasperation.

In a stage whisper, he called over, "You didn't even hesitate!"

"You can't! Come on!"

His eyes sparkled and Vienna could tell he'd taken it just as she'd meant it, as a challenge to be conquered. A split second later he was bounding towards her, flinging himself off the edge of the pier with a whoop!

Vienna laughed as he landed with a huge splash, looking around quickly to make sure he hadn't been too loud and alerted anyone. But all was still, as if they were in their own little universe. And Zander — he was being, well, Zander, anxious but pushing through it, taking the moment and making it fun and exciting. There was something about the way he went from hesitant to fully committed in half a second that always made Vienna want to follow him anywhere.

Zander popped up from underwater, flicking his wet hair out of his eyes.

"Christ, that's cold."

"I guess there's a reason people normally just swim when the sun's out."

Zander huffed a laugh, looking around.

"Yeah. It is really beautiful, though."

"Right?"

Vienna reached for him in that way that felt like second nature now, wrapping her arms around his neck while he put a steadying arm across the small of her back. For a moment, they just soaked in the moment.

Then Zander said, "I love that we get to do this together."

Vienna looked at him, eyebrow quirked up. "Skinny dipping? Yeah, you would."

"No!" Zander laughed. "Well — don't get me wrong. Definitely not complaining. But I mean just….life."

He looked at her with those eyes and Vienna smiled so hard her nose scrunched up. "You can't just say something like that and not kiss me."

Zander laughed and she could feel the smile on his lips as he kissed her. She closed her eyes, trying to take in the moment, the cool water swirling around them, Zander's lips on hers, both their hearts beating in double time. He pulled back before she'd had a chance to really feel it all.

Vienna tilted her head and looked at him playfully, eyes sparkling. "Like you mean it."

Zander gave a surprised laugh and rolled his eyes. "You drive me crazy."

But it was all affection, and his smile was even wider than hers as he leaned back in. Zander let her choose when to pull away this time, and she cupped his cheek in one hand.

"I love you."

The words still felt new and exciting on her tongue, warm and grounding, everything she'd ever wanted all at once. It made Zander practically melt.

"I love you t—"

But Zander was cut off by the crunch of tires on gravel, headlights cutting through the trees.

"Oh, shit."

All the buoyancy and ease vanished from Zander's face, replaced by a familiar expression of near-panic.

Vienna's own heart skipped a beat and she couldn't help but whisper, "Do you think it's campus security?!"

"I don't know and I don't want to find out. Come on — we've gotta hide."

He started leading her by hand towards the pier, and it was Vienna's turn to balk.

"But — but there could be spiders under there!"

"Better spiders than suspended," Zander said grimly, and Vienna reluctantly swam behind him into the dark, grimy space beneath the wooden platform. Zander's face was white, and Vienna felt a flash of guilt for leading him into this situation, knowing all too well about his fear of failure and the weight of expectations he carried on his back. Even just getting told off by a police officer would wreck him, leave him beating himself up for weeks. Vienna had spent enough time talking him down from imagined catastrophes to recognize the look immediately.

"We've gotta be quiet," he barely dared to breathe to her, eyes wide.

"I can barely stand here —" she whispered back, feet kicking underwater.

"I've got you." Zander drew her close with an arm around her waist and Vienna wrapped her legs around his. They both held their breath, foreheads practically touching, Zander having to duck his head slightly to avoid bumping it on the wooden planks above.

The car seemed to roll to a stop mere feet from the pier. Zander was mouthing fuck, fuck, fuck, eyes squeezed shut, and Vienna ran her fingers through his hair, trying uselessly to calm him.

Then, the car started up again. Vienna could see the headlights shift across the water as it turned away. Zander's eyes popped open, so cartoonishly large and relieved that Vienna held back a giggle.

"Shut up," he whispered, but was starting to smile too. "They're leaving?"

Vienna nodded, pointing to the reflection of the lights on the water. Just a minute later, it was dark and quiet again.

"That was scary," Vienna whispered. "Close one."

"Well, thank God they're gone," Zander said. "There's been a massive spider behind your head this whole time."

"Shut up!" Vienna squealed, holding onto him for dear life and ducking her head.

Zander stifled a laugh and gently pushed forward until they were both out from under the pier. "Can we call that good enough? Check it off the bucket list?"

Vienna readily agreed and they clambered out of the water, wrapping themselves in the towels they'd brought along with their clothes. They sat in under the shelter of the trees for a while while they dried off, trying to find constellations in the clear night sky.

As Vienna ran her fingers through her hair for the thousandth time, afraid to find a spider or a leech or something equally gross and creepy, Zander told her, "I promise there's nothing in there. I was just messing with you."

"Well, you know. Better spiders than suspended," Vienna teased him, and he laughed.

"I thought that was a pretty good one! It's good life advice."

Vienna laughed with him. "Yeah, that's gonna be my new motto. Very relevant to everyday life."

And after that night it had become an inside joke between them, almost a shorthand for choosing the lesser of two evils. If Vienna had to work with an annoying classmate to get a project done, or Zander had to drag himself out of bed at the crack of dawn to make it to practice, one of them would inevitably pull the phrase out. Well, you know what they say….

It barely made sense. But something about it felt like a precious and private souvenir from that night, a secret language that only the two of them got to speak. A little reminder of the heart-stopping moment that they got through together. And there was a certain kind of magic in that.

Vienna tried to hold onto it now. She tried to hold onto everything from her old life, really, but that night was one she kept coming back to. The impulsive, silly, stupid fun of it, like they were doing something unbelievably daring and illicit. The easy way they'd bared their skin to each other, touching and holding without pain or discomfort or shame. The pure trust and intimacy that felt irreparably tainted from where she was standing now.

And that phrase. Better spiders than suspended. It would come back to her when she least expected.

Sitting and listening quietly to Alec while he spoke, about his day, about his thoughts, about her, even when his voice made her want to tear her own ears off.

Dragging herself upright when Alec demanded, knowing he'd just as quickly force her in a bruising grip.

Letting apologies spill from her lips that Alec in no way deserved, forcing contrition until his fists started to uncurl.

It was the same philosophy that kept Vienna from running or shrieking or fighting every single time the basement door opened. At first, it went against every instinct she had: every nerve in her body positively screamed to run, to fight, to shriek whenever she was in Alec's presence. But she eventually learned a new rhythm. Because what good would it do? It would just make him mad. It would just get her hurt. And it wouldn't stop a single thing.

So when the footsteps sounded overhead that evening, her stomach dropped. When she heard them start to descend the staircase, her heart began to hammer in her chest. And when the lock beeped and the door clicked open, her hands began to tremble. And all she did — all she could do — was sit there and wait for whatever Alec had planned for today.

Vienna had been sitting on the bed trying to do a puzzle book when he'd come in. She'd stopped avoiding that, just another avenue that felt pointless. After the incident where she'd asked to go home, spoke defiantly to him, Alec had had a couple weeks of frenzied visits to the basement. He'd burst into her room all times of the day or night and grab her immediately, forcing her onto the table, shoving her to the floor of the shower, bending her over the sink in the bathroom to look in the mirror while he took what he wanted. The message was clear: nowhere was safe. Not from him. At least the bed was comfortable for those precious moments he wasn't there.

He was in a bad mood. Trial and error had taught her how to read his moods, pick up on the weight of his footsteps or the tension in his jaw or the tone in his voice within seconds of him walking in the door. And what she saw today did not bode well. His face was already in a scowl, muscles tight, hands twitching like he was itching to take his anger out on the only person — the only thing — sitting in front of him.

"The fuck is this?" Alec snapped. Vienna blinked and followed his gaze to the table, and her heart dropped. She'd left a scattering of crumbs there from the sandwich she'd eaten at lunch. You know better than that.

"I-I'm sorry," she began, closing the puzzle book and setting it aside. "I'll clean it up right now, I wasn't thinking —"

"Nevermind." Alec let out a long breath through his nose, as if the crumbs were a personal offense. "Get up. Get undressed."

Every time. Every single time, it felt like a knife to a heart, like she'd stepped off some invisible cliff and was plummeting down, down, down to her doom.

And yet….

Vienna obeyed, sliding off the bed. She pulled at her clothes mechanically, wondering vaguely if today would be a lucky instance in which her mind floated away. He pulled her back in.

"Had the fucking longest day at work today. People are such morons. But then I remembered I have the perfect little stress toy chained up in my basement."

The words made all the blood drain from Vienna's face, and when Alec fully opened the door behind him it only made it worse. The main room. It was going to be one of those days — not quick, not routine, not simple enough that Alec could get what he wanted from her within the bedroom.

She forced one foot in front of the other until she crossed through the doorway. Alec planted a hand between her shoulders and shoved, and Vienna almost stumbled to the floor before righting herself.

"Over here."

A chair he liked to use for certain torments — just a regular, wooden kitchen chair, almost nauseating in its banality — was sitting in the middle of the room. There were pairs of handcuffs attached to each of its front legs, and Vienna's mind immediately began to supply all the potential reasons he might want to restrain her ankles while she sat.

So it was a shock to her system when Alec instead forced her to her knees in front of the chair and reached to restrain her wrists in the cuffs. The familiar panic of being restrained reared up, even stronger now because she had no clue what he was planning.

“Stop — you don’t have to —"

“Shut up,” Alec said firmly, and Vienna stopped at once, pressing her lips together. “I don’t want to hear your voice. The only reason I haven’t gagged you yet is I need that sweet mouth open.”

So that's it. Vienna swallowed, tried to breathe evenly, already preparing for her breathing to be constricted as each wrist was locked in the cuffs, keeping her essentially tied to the legs of the chair. Alec looked at her with an approving smirk for a moment before striding across the room.

Vienna held her breath as he rummaged through the wardrobe. Images flashed in her mind of implements stored in Alec's "torture closet" — sex toys and gags, whips and electrical rods, things she'd grown intimately familiar with over the last several months. Things meant to intensify her suffering.

And, sure enough, he pulled out a riding crop and started back towards her. Vienna could almost feel the sting already. Her heart skipped a beat and she couldn’t help but cry, “Wait — no, please, I’ll —"

“Shut your mouth before I do it for you.”

Vienna cut herself off with a whimper, instantly feeling like a prey animal — eyes wide and frightened, posture hunched and cowering. Alec was pointing the crop at her threateningly.

“I told you — today, you’re my stress toy. That’s all you are. I don’t want another word out of you. Is that understood?”

Vienna nodded silently, her eyes on the riding crop, and Alec relaxed somewhat.

“Good. Good. You're going to help me feel so much better, aren't you?"

Vienna swallowed the bile in her throat and let her gaze flick down in front of her so she was staring at the seat of the chair she was chained to. She had to suppress a shudder as she heard Alec undo his pants and let them drop to the floor.

"Show me how much you can move. Pull."

Without looking up, Vienna tugged her wrists in the cuffs. There was almost no give in them at all — she could move maybe six inches back from the chair at most.

"Aw. Are you going to be able to get away?"

"No." Her answer was almost inaudible, and she heard Alec chuckle under his breath.

“There we go…” Alec slid into the chair, letting his legs come down right around Vienna's restrained arms so her face was more or less in his lap. Her stomach lurched at the sudden closeness, the heat, the way he was already starting to get hard.

Alec stroked the crop suggestively and grinned at the look on her face, somewhere between terror and disgust. “Well — get to work.”

When Vienna hesitated, he slapped the crop onto the palm of his hand with a sharp THWACK noise. The memory the noise invoked made Vienna jump and survival instinct drove her forward more than anything. She gingerly opened her mouth and wrapped it around him, hands curling into fists beneath the chair. Alec hummed contentedly.

“That’s what I thought, slut. Remember how I like it.”

I don't want to! I don't want to! Vienna screamed in her mind as she trailed her tongue down the side of his shaft. She could sense more tension seeping out of his body, and was at once relieved and disgusted at herself for her role in it.

“That’s it…you keep being this good, maybe I won’t even have to whip you…”

He chuckled as Vienna instantly doubled her efforts, starting to move her head up and down, taking more and more of him into her mouth. Anything to avoid the bite of the crop, to finish this as quickly as possible….

“Mhmmm….”

Vienna let herself get into a rhythm, enough that she just might be able to float away. She though of….the moon. Yes, the moon, set among a scattering of brilliant stars, and she and Daniela were dancing among them, glittering and luminescent and —

THWACK.

A sharp sting exploded across her back. Vienna let out a cry of pain and immediately pulled back from Alec's lap, though the cuffs only allowed her a few inches of leeway. Alec laughed at the look of betrayal on her face.

“What can I say? I can’t help myself.”

THWACK. THWACK. The chains rattled as Vienna flinched with each strike. What hurt almost worse than the whip was the small hope she'd had that he wouldn't actually hit her. That maybe she'd please him enough. As if hurting her wasn't his goal all along.

“Keep going, bitch.”

Vienna slowly returned to the forced blowjob, her body tensed as it waited for the next blow. After a moment of feeling the crop lightly trace against her skin, it came — Alec hit her further down her body this time, letting the leather smack against soft skin. Vienna jerked away again and looked up at him with pleading eyes. Against her better judgment, she tried to speak again.

“I-I’m trying to —“

“And you’re making me feel great, little girl. I just want to hit you, too.”

He punctuated his sentence with another couple slaps against her reddening flesh.

“Ow!”

He smiled and continued using the crop all over the back of Vienna's body, hard enough that she could feel angry welts starting to form. Vienna let out continuous cries of pain, and he thrust his hips forward a bit to return her attention to the task at hand.

“Take breaks if you need to, but I’m not going to stop until you make me cum.”

Vienna sucked in a shaky breath and forced herself to lean back in. All of her focus went into blocking out the pain and just making him finish, which seemed to be the only escape from this particular torment. But she could feel Alec's eyes on her — dark, soulless, like a shark — taking in every movement like it was a performance just for him. His hand ran through her hair in an odiously affectionate gesture.

“Fuck, I needed this.”

The noises were the worst. Clear, obscene, impossible to ignore or block out. Every slap of the crop ripped a pained cry from Vienna's throat, which in turn made Alec groan appreciatively as the sound vibrated against his skin. Even her attempts to gasp for breath just prompted the wet, intimate noises of her mouth on his body. Vienna's mind conjured up an image of biting down, of blood spurting, of a different voice screaming in pain this time, but then dismissed it as quickly as it came. It was as good as a death sentence.

Alec used the hand in Vienna’s hair to brush it to the side, seemingly wanting to admire the collage of pain he'd beaten into her skin.

“What a nice view,” he purred, and smiled as she grimaced at his words. For one terrible moment, it was almost as if she was floating above the scene, seeing herself from his perspective: chained at his feet like an animal, lips obediently wrapped around him, silent tears streaking down her face, the back of her body covered in bright red splotches. Then Alec's hand fisted in her hair and he shoved her down further, making her gag.

A thrill of panic shot through Vienna, disgust and claustrophobia and alarm. There was nowhere to go, and the air between his sweaty thighs felt thick and heavy. She could vaguely hear him gritting out words above her.

Mmm, yes….just like that….such a good little cocksucker….it's gonna be coming out your fucking eyes…..fuck….fuck….

Don't throw up don't throw up don't throw up — Vienna had to instruct herself silently, nauseating warmth flooding her mouth as a flurry of slaps rained down on her back. Her hands spasmed in the cuffs as Alec kept his grip tight on her hair, not letting her pull back no matter how much she choked and teared up. When he finally did release her, he slumped back in the chair, looking dazed and happy.

Over. Over. Finally. Vienna sat back the few inches that the cuffs would allow her, gasping for air, and the tears hit as soon as her lungs filled back up. She tucked her head to her shoulder — the only snatch of privacy she had right now — and choked out soft sobs. Her body trembled but felt strangely numb at the same time, as if it wasn't hers at all. As it it weren't even a body, just some inanimate thing.

He was calm now, at least. She'd served her purpose. The bizarre calm that sometimes followed assaults stretched for a couple minutes until Alec spoke.

“Hey, little girl, look at me for a second.”

Vienna's head rose almost of its own volition, every muscle in her body trained to obey first and ask questions later. The sight was as if he'd hit her again, and Vienna flinched violently backwards: he was holding his phone to her face.

"W-what are you doing?!"

"What does it look like?" Alec replied calmly. "Stay still."

He'd taken her picture before. Or recorded…..things. She'd seen the phone propped up at deliberate angles, watched Alec scroll through his library with a smirk on his face before. She assumed they were just trophies for him. If he posted them, anywhere at all….well, half of her almost hoped he did, leave evidence somewhere someone might find it. The other half of her wanted to fade into nothing at the very idea of it. She'd have to ask him one day after he'd been drinking.

“This really is a fun position. We’ll definitely be doing this again.” Alec leaned down to undo Vienna’s restraints, continuing, “But now we need to go shower.”

The implication hit like a lightning bolt down her back. “B-but — that will really hurt with my back,” Vienna whimpered. “I showered this morning, please, can I…?”

“You did this morning? You sure?”

Vienna nodded fervently. Her eyes widened imploringly, born of pure desperation and the sickening knowledge of how much Alec loved that expression on her. Sure enough, his lips twitched.

"Alright, alright. But you're cleaning yourself up at some point between tonight and when I come back to fuck you in the morning."

“O-okay.”

“I’m doing you a favor, what do you say?”

“Thank you,” Vienna said tonelessly, and Alec smirked.

"Good girl. Up."

She didn't need to be told twice — Vienna scrambled to her feet immediately, already turning around towards the bedroom. She often imagined in some distant corner of her mind that there was another Vienna, perhaps in some alternate universe, who would take off running in these moments. Who would shove Alec to the floor, take the stairs two at a time, and burst out screaming back into the world. But this world's Vienna traipsed her way back into the small room that had become her entire universe, body throbbing with each step.

When the door blessedly closed between her and Alec, Vienna braced a hand on the dresser, letting out a long breath through her mouth. It had worked. Truthfully, she was less concerned about the water hitting the wounds on her back than the fact that Alec had said "we need to shower." She knew what that would inevitably lead to.

So she'd invented another excuse. And….it had worked. He'd believed her. Or at least seemed to. Vienna had a feeling he enjoyed her begging enough that he sometimes gave into it as an indulgence, encouraging her to keep it up in the long run.

But. Still. She'd been able to exhibit the smallest bit of agency, make the nightmare just a little less horrific today. And in this place, that felt like a win.

What it was was a scrap. The tiniest, faintest light in the dark that she clung to as if it were the sun itself. But if she didn't — if she didn't try to fan that little spark into something bigger — Vienna was sure that the shadow of humiliation and despair and dehumanization would swallow her whole.

She floated to the bathroom, wanting to at least brush her teeth. With her gaze trained to the floor, hoping to avoid her reflection in the mirror, she spotted the tiniest movement in the space between the sink and the toilet.

A spider. Small, brown, skittering into the corner with its many legs.

Usually she would grab a piece of tissue and snatch it up, flush it down the toilet. But today she just stared at it. It had gone still now, trying to be smaller, trying not to be noticed. Vienna felt a strange tightening sensation in her chest, like her heart was being physically squeezed. She couldn't stand to add one more moment of fear or pain to this place, no matter how minuscule.

"You're okay," she whispered without entirely meaning to.

It reminded her, ridiculously, of Zander. Of their saying, that night at the lake. Better spiders….

And it made her stomach lurch. How could she be thinking of him in this moment? Right after she'd….participated. Moved. Complied. Performed. How could those two memories even exist in the same body?

Better spiders than suspended.

She'd had chosen — if choice was even a word she had access to anymore — the least harmful option. What got her through the day in one piece. What helped her survive in a moment where every option was terrible.

Vienna burst awake with a violent jerk and gasp, half-expecting all her bones to be crushed. But no. She was still here. She was in bed, the same sheets and blanket as the last few months. The lights were dim. The only sound in the room was the quiet hum of the mini fridge in the kitchenette. And she was thankfully, blessedly alone.

She sat herself up, forcing herself to try and steady her breathing. Yes. Still here. It was getting less and less disorienting to wake up in this windowless room, and she hated that. There were a lot of things she was becoming familiar with now that she hated.

Alec's voice. In her dream, in her subconscious, and she'd recognized it immediately. She didn't want him there. Didn't want him that close. But what choice did she have? Knowing him, reading him, interpreting him….. it was keeping her alive.

Like knowing the fact that were different versions of him. None of them were exactly better or worse than the others, not really. Just….different.

There were his moods. Happy Alec, excited Alec, angry Alec, bitter Alec. He didn't show much beyond that. Any crack in him closed almost instantly, like even he couldn’t stand to feel it. It was just as quickly replaced with resentment or rage, as if Vienna had somehow tricked him into showing vulnerability. Long gone were the days of him getting weepy while drunk. He was….happier now. More self-assured. More fulfilled.

Then there was his…. preferences. They sometimes lined up with his moods, but not always. While the overarching theme, always, was that Vienna belonged to him, his use for her varied. Many days she was a sex doll, pure and simple. Other times a stress toy. Or a release valve. Or a punching bag. Or a flesh and blood source of validation, especially the more she learned to sidestep his moods.

What remained a mystery was his public face. How he somehow managed to go upstairs into the world and move through it as if he were the same as everyone else. She knew by now that he worked in house repairs and renovations, and the idea that he was in strangers' homes each day baffled and horrified her in equal measure. The idea of Alec standing in someone’s kitchen, making polite conversation, fixing a cabinet hinge — while his mind replayed the same memories hers did —

The sound of her screaming, echoing off concrete. Her body straining against restraints. The buzz of the toy between her —

She had to bury her head into her hands and scream to get it out of her head. Meanwhile, he would probably smile recalling it.

It seemed impossible that it had been over three months. It felt like she'd lived a thousand different lives in that time, constantly assessing and adjusting and adapting around him. Living through things she couldn't have dreamt up in her wildest nightmares.

She'd kept careful track of the date. She knew what was coming. And maybe…. maybe. Maybe it felt like a lot to him too. Maybe she'd performed well enough. Maybe his appetite was finally sated. Maybe.

Alec came in like clockwork the next evening. Door banging open not long after 8 o'clock, shirt already lifted half over his head, pants undone, hands dragging her to the mattress.

"Finally the weekend." His breath was hot against her neck, his hands already tugging her shirt up. "I've been starving for this."

Despite the sick deja vu, something in Vienna still recoiled, still stubbornly screamed to her how wrong this was. Her hands shot out to put any modicum of distance between them, to cover herself, but all it earned her was her wrists being swiftly restrained above her head.

"You're not fucking stopping me," he said in a low voice. "You don't get to hide this from me."

And it began.

The world quickly became a blur of sensation; mouth, fingers, worse, until her body didn't feel like it belonged to her at all. Alec shifted her body like a doll, propping her on her side, folding her knees up, stretching her out. Every new position made her stomach turn with humiliation, made fresh tears spring hot and sharp. He laughed with every squirm, every choked plea.

Eventually, the edges of her vision started to fade, and Vienna tried to give into it — yes, please, let me leave, let me black out, please — and then he moaned. The sound was torn deep from in his throat, guttural and rasping, and it ripped her back to reality more harshly than his hands ever could. Because it wasn't calculated, wasn't designed to disturb or humiliate. It was just pure desire, raw and unrefined, even as she shook with fear — maybe because of her fear.

Every nerve in her body screamed in alarm, not just because of what he was doing, but the knowledge of how much he loved it. He truly, genuinely just… wanted her. Or her body, at least. Vienna felt a wave of nausea so strong that for horrifying moment she thought she might actually vomit. She forced it down and tried to let her mind float again.

But the moment had passed. And now she was stuck here.

It was a while later when he finally finished for good. Vienna didn't bother to check how long. Every second was one she could never take back.

As soon as Alec shifted away from her, Vienna curled on her side, trying to catch her breath. Her arms hugged her body and she whispered nonsense to herself — you’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay — but the words felt hollow, foreign. Her body trembled with aftershocks of panic, every muscle aching from holding tension too long. She barely caught Alec's words as he walked out the door — shower before I get back — but gave an automatic, jerky nod and a whimpered, "Okay." Verbal responses, she had learned, were important to him.

And she obeyed. It was sick, but part of her was grateful that he cared so much about her being clean. At least she got to scrub him off of her skin as often as she wanted. Not that it seemed to ever really get her clean. She didn't know if anything ever would.

The vagueness of "before I get back" gave her a little hope that he'd be awhile, but it was barely thirty minutes before the beep of the door unlocking sounded through the room again. His trip upstairs had been to smoke a nighttime joint — she could tell from the sickly sweet scent that clung to him, the overly affectionate way he'd nuzzled into her hair and neck like she was something he owned, how he rolled over and fell asleep without too much tossing and turning.

He was sleeping better these days. Lying in bed next to her, snoring, face slack and practically serene.

You did that. You made him that happy.

She turned the other way and fell into uneasy sleep, trying to imagine she was anywhere else.

By the time Monday rolled around, Vienna's mind felt fractured. Her body ached and throbbed all over. As usual, Alec had made the most of his weekend. As usual, Vienna spent most of Monday trying to recover.

The biggest concern was how much her backside still stung, a consequence of this week's "challenge." The challenge had been to withstand at least twenty blows with the wooden paddle without jerking away. She'd failed, and that meant no new book this week. The sting of disappointment, of the small piece of hope snatched away, somehow hurt more than the bruises that covered the back of her hips and thighs. He hadn't stopped after twenty, of course. He'd kept going until she felt numb, until sitting anywhere besides twisted on her side on the bed was completely out of the question.

The rest was more familiar, things she was becoming accustomed to managing. The soreness around her wrists and ankles, the small but sharp ever-present pain between her thighs. Vienna tried to soothe the pain the best she could, rehydrate and feed herself, rearrange the space and clean the sheets so it felt even slightly like hers again.

She knew that something had happened this morning before he left for work — the ache in her jaw and the cracked corners of her lips said as much — but couldn't quite remember it in full. Nearly all she remembered, in fact, was walking among flowers that soared tall as redwood trees. Another lucky instance in which she was able to leave her body. Vienna sent her brain a quiet thank you before she closed her eyes to run the faces of her loved ones through her mind again. A moment of stolen peace.

Then there were nights like tonight. When Alec wasn't touching her, wasn't tormenting her, was just…. there.

It wasn't companionship. Wasn't friendliness. In some small way, she had at first hoped it was loneliness — a vulnerability, a string she could tug on and manipulate if she had to. But that wasn't it either. If she had to guess, Vienna would have said it was more like validation. Living amongst the spoils of his victory, the proof that here, he was all powerful.

Vienna sat on the bed, watching Alec carefully out of the corner of her eye as he sat at the table and ate. He had taken to spending time in the evening in the basement with Vienna even when he wasn't abusing her, eating dinner or watching TV. Vienna hated every second of his presence — but at the same time, she dreaded the moments he left, when silence pressed in like a coffin and she felt so crushingly alone she thought she might go mad.

Tonight, she had something on her mind. Something she had been holding onto like a fragile ember of hope for days. As the show on TV flickered into a commercial break, she swallowed hard and forced herself to speak.

"Do....do you know what tomorrow is?"

Alec glanced carelessly at her, still chewing. "Tomorrow? I have no idea."

"It's my first day of classes. For my junior year."

Alec raised his eyebrows, a smile slowly uncurling on his face.

"Oh, is that so?"

Vienna’s throat tightened. Her voice sounded too small, even to her own ears. “Yeah. And… I really think I should be there. This is the year we really get ready for post-grad. I need to start my student teaching. And — and you’ve had all summer with me. You’ve done everything you wanted to do. I need to go to school.”

Even as she said it, the words sounded pitiful, like a child bargaining for an impossible wish. She dared to look over at Alec, who looked torn between amusement and annoyance.

He turned toward her fully now, wry bemusement glinting in his eyes. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

"I-if I go back to school after this, I can catch up —"

"Jesus Christ." Alec barked a sharp laugh that made her flinch. "Shut up."

Vienna immediately stopped talking and pressed her lips together, her heart sinking.

"Go back to school?" Alec shook his head, grinning as though she had told the funniest joke. "What the hell gave you the idea you're ever leaving here, little girl?"

Alec looked at her expectantly, but she knew better than to reply.

"I don't know how to make it clearer to you, get it through your puny little brain — you're never getting out of here. Never. This is your life now. You wanna go back to school and learn some more? Huh? All you need to know now, slut, is how to please me. And I have to say," he smirked, "you've gotten pretty good at that."

Vienna glared at the floor, her pulse racing with shame and fury. She could already feel his words taking root in her head despite herself. Keep your balance.

"As for 'you've done everything you wanted' — oh, baby, not even close." He leaned back in his chair, stretching like he had all the time in the world. "We still have plenty more to do together. And besides...at the end of the day, what I want, is to have you here forever. To keep you, do whatever I want to you."

His voice dropped, coaxing, commanding "Now look at me. Look at me."

Vienna had been staring resolutely at the floor and forced her gaze upwards, cursing herself for bringing this up in the first place. Useless. Pointless. Stupid. Just another avenue for him to gloat.

"Good. Listen. I am never letting you go. There is no ‘after this.’ You're never going back to college, not seeing your little friends, you're never seeing mommy and daddy again — this is it. No one's coming to save you. You understand?"

“No — you’re wrong.” The words slipped out before she could stop them, sharp and desperate, like a candle flickering back to life after a breeze.

The air between them shifted instantly. A darkness passed over Alec’s face, and he raised his eyebrows with no trace of amusement in his features now.

“I’m wrong? Tell me, bitch, what exactly am I wrong about?”

“I - I - I don’t know,” Vienna stammered. The room suddenly felt smaller, hotter. “I didn’t mean it. I just — never mind.”

“No, I heard you loud and clear,” Alec said coldly, standing up from the table. “You said I’m wrong about you getting out of here. You think someone is going to save you from this. That’s what you meant, right?”

He walked over to the bed so he was towering over her. Vienna backed away from him until she hit the wall, shaking her head nervously.

“Or maybe you meant you’re going to try to escape.”

“N-no, I didn’t — I’m s-sorry —“

Her plea broke into a scream as Alec seized her ankles and yanked her forward. Her body hit the edge of the mattress, her legs dangling helplessly. He bent over her, his face inches from hers.

“Listen to me, bitch. You are here to stay. Not for a couple months, not for a couple years — forever. And when I’m done with you, when I’ve used you all up, you’re still not leaving. Not alive, anyway.”

He grabbed her chin roughly, looking right at her as her eyes filled with tears. “So let me say this one more time, so you really understand: this is your life now. This house — this basement, this room — is your world, and I am your god.”

The words struck her like blows, and something inside her buckled.

He glared at her threateningly for another moment, and then said, “Maybe I need to fuck that into you, so you really remember.”

“No no no,” Vienna gasped, shaking her head. “No, please, I’m sorry, I know!”

“Know what? Say it.”

“I - I’m not going to escape! I promise!”

Panic rose in her as Alec pulled her shorts down, but she didn’t dare fight him.

“And what else?”

“I —“ Her brain felt scrambled with fear as he worked on his own clothes, the dreaded sound of him unzipping his pants.

“And no one is coming! Please, please — WAIT!”

Alec had penetrated her without hesitation, without any preparation. It hurt, burned even more than usual as he forced himself inside her clenched walls.

“OW — ow, please —"

“You forgot something, bitch,” Alec grunted, pinning her hips to the bed as he began to thrust. Vienna was writhing, howling in pain, and he grabbed her face again to force her to focus on him.

“I am your god. Let me hear you say it.”

But she could barely breathe, and his words were so vile Vienna didn’t think she would say them even if she could. Alec saw the defiance mingling with the pain in her expression, and he snarled and began to move even more violently, hips slapping against her in a brutal rhythm. She was screaming now, her hands clutching at his shirt in a combination of wanting to fight him and desperately needing something to hold onto.

“I - am - your - god,” Alec grunted, punctuating each word with a savage thrust. It felt like he was punching the air out of her, ripping her in two. “Look at that — you're bleeding, slut. I’m making you bleed. How long do you think you can keep it up? Fucking say it!”

He changed his method then, pressing himself so deeply inside her that her vision swam from the pain. Vienna's resolve crumbled.

“You’re - you’re my god!” She said breathlessly. “Please, stop, you’re hurting me —“

“Louder!”

“You’re my god!” Vienna wailed.

“That’s fucking right, I am,” Alec growled, and after a few more hellish seconds he began to slowly withdraw. “And what do you do for gods, Vienna, hm?”

“I - I don’t know!” Vienna sobbed. All that seemed to exist was the agony coursing between their bodies, the degradation that cut so deep she wasn't even sure she was human anymore.

“Hm.” Alec forced himself so deeply inside her again that she screamed anew. He dug his fingernails into her hips as he restarted his brutal pace. “You fucking pray to them. Pray that I stop, bitch.”

“Please!” Vienna cried immediately, desperation fair outpacing her pride. “Please stop, please! I’M SORRY!”

“Oh, you repenting, too?” Alec laughed and panted as his hips slammed against Vienna’s. “Good girl. Which god are you praying to?”

“You!” Vienna sobbed. “I’m begging YOU! Please — I — h-have mercy, it’s killing me —“

Alec laughed again, loving her choice of words. “Say my name, baby, pray to me nice, and maybe I’ll stop.”

“Alec!”

One last desperate shriek was all it took to send him over the edge. His breath stuttered but he just as quickly turned it into a growl, rageful eyes piercing into her tear-filled ones until finally, blessedly, he stepped away.

For a moment, there was no sound but the noise of Vienna's ragged sobs and Alec's uneven breathing. Her thoughts felt jumbled, broken, like the last several minutes of sudden violence had shattered every piece of her brain into shards. How — how could that innocent topic, the first day of school, led to this? She knew she was bleeding. She would have known even if he hadn't told her. Everything in her felt utterly destroyed.

His voice floated above everything.

"What you crying about? Hm? It all sinking in?"

"I - I ju - I just - I just want to go home!" Vienna sobbed.

His fist hit her with such force that the world went white for a moment. Vienna felt like he'd slammed a brick against her face. Warm blood was already dribbling down from her nose. Alec grabbed her by the chin, yanking her back up towards him. What followed was less a kiss and more a continuation of the violence, his mouth smashed against hers, tongue flicking out to lick at the blood dripping onto her lips, smearing it between them. Vienna felt dizzy, too shocked to even cry out.

He leaned back, but only just enough to speak, grip still tight on her jaw.

"You," Alec breathed, "are not going anywhere."

Then he shoved her back into the mattress, letting her broken body flop back down. A strange mix of disdain and pride mingled in his expression as he looked over her bloodied, shaking form. "Now go clean yourself up. You look disgusting."

And then he was gone.

Vienna's ears rang in the sudden silence of the room. Her body felt like it had been wrung out and left hollow, her breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps. The lock clicked behind him — a sound that usually filled her with despair but tonight landed like a strange, merciful finality. At least he was gone. At least for now. The quiet, analytical part of her mind snapped on as she tried to take stock of what had just happened. There was a painful throbbing in her nose and cheek, but the blood seemed to have slowed or even stopped. Her legs were shaking, and the pain there was sharp and abrupt. The sheets beneath her back still smelled like detergent from the recent wash despite being stained with her blood.

Punishment. Torture. Not just because of what she'd done, but what she dared to believe. Not like the other night, when Alec had been driven by pure desire, or over the weekend where a smug amusement had fueled him. The contrasts were dizzying. She didn't know how her body was made to survive both extremes, just that the message was getting wound tighter and tighter into her being: You are mine to use as I please. Your will could not matter less. You are what I make you.

By the time Vienna had half-heartedly cleaned and cared for herself, her eyes stung, but she had no more tears left as she crawled back into bed.

She hated herself for speaking. For pushing. For reminding him she once had a life outside these walls. The punishment was her fault. It always was. That’s what he wanted her to believe — and sometimes she almost did.

Her chest tightened as his words replayed in her head like a curse: This is your world. I am your god.

She squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to hear them, not to let them etch into her mind. But they already had.

Her heart thudded painfully as the other half of their exchange clawed its way forward — her own slip. No — you’re wrong.

God, why had she said that? Why couldn’t she have just kept quiet? The moment had burst out of her like a flame, hot and reckless, and for a second — just a second —she had felt it. The truth of it.

And that was what terrified her most.

Because beneath the fear and the shame and the bone-deep exhaustion, a thought still flickered in the shadows of her mind: He is wrong. Someone will come. They have to.

Vienna clutched the blanket tighter around her trembling body, curling smaller and smaller as if she could disappear into the mattress. Tonight had made one thing clear: she couldn’t let him see that spark again — not yet. Not until the moment came when she could make it real.

Until then, she would survive. Even if surviving meant swallowing her words, bowing her head, pretending to believe him. Even if it meant taking the pain, crying when he wanted, begging at just the right pitch. Doing whatever it took to placate him from one moment to the next. Performing.

As soon as the restraints loosened Vienna crumpled onto the mattress, unable to hold herself up on her own. Alec chuckled softly.

"That was a rough one, huh? Bet you and your boyfriend never tried it like that."

Don't let him in. It was the same refrain she always repeated to herself when Alec tried to bring up Zander. He didn't exist here. Not like that. It worked, a little. The lack of reaction, she supposed, made it boring, made Alec bring him up less and less. Just every so often, a barb to hit where it hurt.

"That's the fun thing about us, little girl. We have all the time in the world. We can try so much. Keep things fresh. I love seeing your shocked little face every time."

The words echoed in Vienna's ears long after he locked her back in the small bedroom. Because that was it, wasn't it? The time. It's not like he had to be quick before someone came, before someone overheard. As the past weeks had proved, he could stretch it out to his heart's content. Use his imagination to do anything he wanted to her.

Keep things fresh. Yes, she knew that by now. It was why he liked to space out certain types of torments, let her think that just maybe she could survive before whipping out some new torture that had her break down in horror all over again. Maybe the worst part, too, was she knew how much he enjoyed seeing her react, beg, cry, scream, whatever — and yet she still couldn't stop herself. It was as if….almost as if she were complicit. Making it better for him.

Vienna made sure her shower was extra long and scalding that day.

****

The next day, the room was filled with the mindless chatter from the TV. It was Sunday morning, so a talk show was on. Vienna let the sound center her. She was still part of the world. She could ignore the fact that it was a weekend, hours stretching ahead of her.

Sometimes these moments felt like the only shreds of normalcy she had left. Vienna tried not to think about that part too much.

She sat on the floor between the TV and bed folding laundry. It was an unexpectedly soothing activity — the gentle rhythm of it, the sense of actually being able to be productive and accomplish something. Sometimes she found herself folding and re-folding clothes just for that grounding effect.

The door beeped, lock clicking automatically. Vienna's chest seized. She'd been so focused on her little bubble of domesticity she hadn't even heard him coming.

Alec sauntered in as usual, like he owned the very air they both breathed. A smile curled on his lips at the sight of her.

"Laundry again, huh? This is like your new hobby?"

Vienna didn't answer. She was doing her usual rapid assessment of Alec when he came downstairs: he seemed sober. He didn't seem angry, but he wasn't exactly calm either — his body seemed to buzz with a sort of excited energy. That didn't bode well.

She was startled out of her calculations when Alec turned the TV off. He correctly read the dread on her face and grinned.

"We don't need any distractions, do we? I know why you keep that on all the time, you know."

She resumed folding the clothes, hoping he couldn't see the tremor in her hands, the way her pulse picked up.

"You have nothing else. Nothing else to do but wait for me. Do you think about it? When I'm gone?"

She could tell from his tone it wasn't rhetorical. She forced her lips to move. "Sometimes."

"Sometimes," he jeered. "You know you're a shit liar, right? Oh, I bet it's constant. Thinking about me. The way I touch you. What I'll do to you next time I visit."

Fold. Fold. Flip. Fold. That's all the world had to be right now.

But Alec noticed. As usual.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you."

Vienna forced her eyes up to him.

"There you go. I don't want it to get so dull down here your little brain gets even slower. Would you like some more books or games or something?"

It felt like a trick question. Deny it, and set him off, or lose the meager privileges she already had. Admit it, and get taunted or have her words twisted. A split second deliberation — tell the truth.

"Yeah, I would."

"I thought so. Must be getting boring as hell down here when I'm not around."

He wasn't wrong. Her days ricocheted between heart-stopping terror, roiling disgust, and a mind-numbing boredom. The feeling was so deep that it almost frightened her, how her mind could either create entirely new worlds or just give way to a dull, buzzing static for hours on end.

"But you know, nothing comes free."

Her heart dropped like a stone into a deep, deep ocean. That satisfied grin was still pasted on his face.

"I was thinking about our game the other day, you know."

Vienna couldn't help but wince. She knew exactly what day he was talking about.

The first time he'd put the collar around her neck had felt surreal. It was made from the same leather as many of the restraints, meant to hold her tight but not cause too much damage to the skin. It was connected by a chain to the wall, giving her a small range of motion, use of her arms and legs.

Alec ordered her to try and get away. If she could avoid him, he'd said, she'd win a break for the day. She just had to try.

And God, she tried — running in every direction until the chain pulled taut, shoving at him with shaking hands, pleading at the top of her lungs. The tiny possibility of relief fueled her, made her desperate. Alec enjoyed every second, chasing her down, touching her more invasively each time before letting her go to try again. It was a cruel game of cat and mouse, one she was never meant to win. Vienna was sobbing, gasping by the time he finally shoved her to the hard floor to take what he wanted. He drew it out this time, luxuriating in her torment, in crushing the tiny spark of hope he'd planted.

The humiliation of it burned, that same old shame that kept following her like a shadow: you made it fun for him. You gave him what he wanted. You.

"We'll be doing a lot more of that."

His matter-of-fact voice broke Vienna's reverie.

"I — what — the collar —?" The word came out as a squeak and he laughed.

"Ooh, you know I love that little whimper of yours, don't you? Not the collar. The game."

"That wasn't a game." Vienna's voice trembled. "You were just messing with me."

Even speaking to Alec like that was a gamble, but this time it paid off: his lips twitched in a grin.

"Aw, don't be a sore loser, now. I'll tell you what — I'll make them more fair from now on. You could win. That's how you'll get your little prizes, hm?"

"I don't need a prize," Vienna said quickly, heart starting to hammer in her ears. Not like that.

Something flickered in his eyes. He stepped closer, crouched down so they were eye to eye. Vienna forced herself not to look away. In a low voice, he said, "That wouldn't be fair either, though, would it?" He let a finger trail along her jaw, seeming to enjoy the way her throat locked in fear. "I get my prize every single day. Don't you want a little something?" His finger dropped to trace her collarbone. "And I'll tell you something right now — we're doing this whether you like it or not. Don't be stupid and give up your winnings."

His hand drifted lower. "So — are you going to try my little challenge? Yes or no?"

"Yes." The word forced itself past her lips, anything to interrupt this moment.

"That's what I thought." Alec stood cheerfully, all the predatory threat of the last moment gone like it was nothing. "What kind of prize would you like to try for first? Another book? Any particular snack?"

"A crossword book." The words came out without her even consciously conjuring them, but it felt right: something interactive, to get her brain working, to stave off the feeling that her mind was atrophying.

"I could make that work."

The electronic beep of the lock seemed to fill the room as he opened the door again.

"Come on, then. I have a perfect first idea."

"N-now?" Vienna squeaked, clutching the shirt she'd been folding like a shield.

"No, I'll wait for you to decide," Alec said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Yes, now, bitch. Get up."

Even just a few minutes after it was over, Vienna couldn't quite recall the details of what had happened out there in the main room. Just that his "challenge" had been to lie back, pliant, and not push him away while he lowered his mouth between her legs for a predetermined amount of time. When she failed within the first couple of minutes, desperate for it to end, he'd restrained her anyway and doubled the time.

She didn't have a snatch of memory after that, like she'd blacked out. But the bite marks and bruises all over her hips and thighs told her that Alec had not been happy with her dissociation.

By the time he returned her to the bedroom, shoving her into a chair, Vienna was coming back to life enough to know that she had upset him by refusing to participate in the game — but it only vaguely registered. Her stomach was sick, her inner thighs sticky and tender, and she was shivering so hard her teeth chattered.

"We'll have to play another one, then," Alec said, chest heaving with frustration even as he tried to keep his voice smooth. "You don't get to just space out and forfeit"

Vienna wrapped her arms around herself. Like he hadn't done enough already. "C-can't you just g-go?"

SMACK. His palm slapped against her cheek, making her head crack to the side as a startled yelp escaped her lips.

It seemed to soothe Alec's anger a bit. "There we go. That's what we'll do."

Vienna looked back at him in confusion, clutching her pink cheek.

"Five slaps. Count each one. You mess up, we start over. Get through it….you win."

He hit her again before she could even process his words. Vienna cried out again, trying to twist away in the chair, but he grabbed her shoulders and forced her to sit up straight.

"Alright, that one didn't count then."

SMACK.

"Ow!"

"Oh sure, cry. I could do this all day, you know."

She didn't have time to reply before his palm was flying at her face again. SMACK.

"O-one!" Vienna gasped out, looking up at him desperately for approval.

"There it is." The anger faded a little more and his smirk returned. "You're not the brightest, little girl, but I figured even you could get the hang of it."

He slapped her other cheek.

"Ah — two —!"

And the other again.

"Three!" Vienna's hand flew up instinctively to soothe the sting, but he grabbed it and forced it down.

"Ah, ah. No blocking. That's grounds for starting over too."

Vienna clenched her hands around the seat of the chair, willing herself not to move, not to block him. Alec paused this time, letting the awful anticipation build before rearing back to hit her again.

"F-four."

"See? You know how to play. One more. Are you ready?"

Vienna nodded, tears slipping down. He raised his hand.

"Are you sure?"

"Y-yes…."

His hand swung forward as if to hit her and she flinched violently. Alec laughed as he stopped short.

"You're so jumpy, you know that?"

SMACK.

The final slap was so hard she nearly fell out of the chair, saves only by her tight grip around the seat, but Vienna still managed to whimper a "five," and Alec chuckled.

"Well, you're the big winner, little girl. Feel good? Hm?"

Her cheeks stung like fire and she raised her shaking hands to them, wiping away tears and trying to soothe the skin. She'd done it, humiliating as it was. At least she was able to wring some sort of win out of it. Maybe he'd even leave now to go get it.

"So you'll get your little crossword book. And I'll even let you choose how you want it this time."

Before she could process the words, Alec grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her onto the bed. As he loomed over her, Vienna cursed herself for thinking there was ever a way to get out of this part.

****

The crossword book arrived the next day, as promised. "Well played," Alec had said cheerfully, slapping it down on the table.

For days she let it sit untouched, like it was radioactive. To open it felt like admitting the trade had been worth it. Like admitting she had willingly played his game.

But the hours stretched endlessly. She had already paced until her legs ached, already scrubbed the same patch of counter raw. The drone of the television was no more than background noise.

Finally, Vienna's hand moved on its own, dragging the book toward her. She opened it and stared at the neat black squares. Her pencil hovered. The familiar comfort of words, of filling blanks, teased at her.

She hated herself for the relief that trickled in when she wrote the first answer. For the way the silence loosened a little, the way her mind stopped spinning so frantically.

When she was halfway through, she caught herself smiling faintly at a clever clue — and the smile died instantly. Because even this, even here, Alec was in it. She had him to thank for the entertainment in her hand.

Her stomach turned. She pushed the crossword away, burying her head in her arms.

The first time, she'd dared to hope. The way he stumbled into the room, eyes glassy, reeking of alcohol, made Vienna wonder if this was her chance. If he'd be clumsy, thoughtless, make some sort of mistake that would allow her to escape.

But that was never the case. Being drunk made Alec erratic, but never careless. Not about something, as he often told her, he'd worked so hard for. If anything, it just accentuated the most frightening parts of him.

Sometimes he'd come down drunk and mean. His words were jagged glass, his hands rougher than usual, even when she didn't resist. He called her names that stuck in her ears long after he stumbled upstairs again, left her bruised and trembling, braced for the next round. Those nights, she could almost predict the storm: bottle in hand, slurred accusations, rage looking for a target. And her, the only thing standing there.

Other times, he came down drunk and soft. That was worse.

He would drop onto the bed beside her, arm flung heavily across her stomach, face nuzzled into her hair. “You’re mine,” he’d murmur, sloppy and sing-song, demanding kisses that made her skin crawl. When she tried to resist, he’d whine like a child until she gave in, terrified he’d turn sharp in an instant. He often did.

And a couple times — just once or twice — he'd cried. Really cried. His head in her lap, words tumbling out in an incoherent mess about being unappreciated, unknown, unrecognized. About how nobody saw him the way she did. She’d sit frozen, hands hovering over his shaking shoulders, hating him and hating herself more for the way she sometimes pitied him in those moments. A larger part of her, though, wanted to shove him away, wanted to scream, You are! You're pathetic!

But some primal force in her, instinctual and intuitive, knew that she couldn't. She'd sit there, still and silent like a prey animal, knowing that acknowledging his vulnerability in any way could only make him more dangerous. He never mentioned these occasions later, and she didn't know if he'd forgotten it in his drunken haze or just refused to bring it up.

The worst part was, she never knew which version would stumble through the door. Angry Alec, clingy Alec, sobbing Alec — all of them dangerous in their own way. She learned to read the tilt of his shoulders, the glassiness of his eyes, the first words out of his mouth like weather signs, trying desperately to prepare herself.

But it didn’t matter. He always changed direction without warning. She could never be ready.

So Vienna learned the only rule that mattered: never let your guard down. Not even when he was slurring, not even when he seemed half-asleep, not even when he was laughing like they were sharing some private joke.

Especially then.

All her senses were attuned, so much so that on this night, she heard him coming from the first step.

Her chest tightened. Drunk again. She could hear it in the stagger of his steps, the sloppy rhythm that made her skin crawl before he even entered the room.

Vienna's body locked up as he swung the door wide and stumbled in, grinning like he owned the air. His shirt was already half-unbuttoned, a bottle dangling from his hand. The sour stench of liquor hit her throat.

“Hey, sunshine,” he slurred, collapsing onto the bed and slinging an arm around her shoulders. His body was too hot, his laughter sloppy. “Miss me?”

She said nothing. She had learned silence could sometimes keep him steady, like not jostling a glass already overflowing.

But he noticed. He always noticed.

“No hello? No smile?” His voice dropped, suddenly sharp. His hand dug into her arm. “You ungrateful little bitch.”

Her stomach flipped. She forced her lips to move. “Hi.”

For a moment, he studied her — then just as quickly, the anger evaporated. He laughed, pressing a sloppy kiss to her temple. “There she is. Knew you loved me.”

Vienna’s heart pounded. It was like walking on ice, never sure when it would crack and pull her under.

His hand trailed down her side, fingers fumbling against her clothes, pulling, tugging. “Soft little thing,” he murmured. “You never do get used to this, do you? So tense. So fun."

And then, just as her body began to uncoil — smack. His palm cracked against her cheek. The world flashed white.

“Look at you,” Alec sneered, laughing again. “Crying already? I barely touched you.”

Her ears rang. She tasted blood on her lip.

He yanked her chin, forcing her gaze to his, his pupils wide and glassy. “You thought nothing would ever touch you, didn't you? Never thought someone like me was waiting. Watching.”

Vienna squeezed her eyes shut, wishing she could vanish into the mattress, into the dark. But he was still there — his weight, his heat, his voice slurring against her skin, weaving tenderness and cruelty together so tightly she couldn’t tell them apart anymore.

And that was the worst part: not knowing which touch was coming, only that it would.

The sting in her cheek still burned when Alec’s mood swerved again. He laughed, brushing his thumb over the red mark like it was something precious, like he had crafted it just for her.

“Beautiful,” he whispered. “My beautiful little canvas.”

Vienna’s stomach churned. She could feel the shift — the way his weight pressed heavier against her, the way his grin softened into something more deliberate. His hand wandered lower, clumsy but certain.

No.

Her chest seized. She knew that tone, that look. Even drunk, even more so because he was drunk, this was the part that always followed. The part she couldn’t fight, couldn’t outrun.

A tremor shot through her body. She swallowed hard, willing herself to stay silent, but a broken sound slipped from her throat.

Alec caught it instantly. He grinned wider, triumphant. “There it is. That little whimper. I swear, I could live off that sound.”

Her skin crawled. She turned her face away, staring at the wall, at the chip in the paint she had memorized a hundred times already. If she focused hard enough, maybe she could go somewhere else. Anywhere else.

But he wouldn’t let her. He never did. His hand forced her chin back. “Don’t hide from me. You know I like watching your eyes when I take what’s mine.”

The room tilted, too hot, too close. Vienna’s pulse hammered so fast it hurt. She hated how her body shook, how helplessly it betrayed her terror.

And beneath it all was the crushing weight of inevitability.

Because he was drunk, unpredictable, violent — but this part? This part was always the same.

***

Alec shifted against her, groaning like a man after a feast. His weight still pressed down, every inch of him heavy and hot, as though he were branding her into the mattress.

“God…” he breathed, nuzzling into her shoulder. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

His arm slung lazily across her stomach, trapping her even though she hadn’t dared move. She stared straight ahead, face damp with tears, every muscle aching from holding herself rigid.

He tilted his head up, studying her. She felt his eyes crawling over her face even though she refused to look back.

“You’re so quiet tonight,” he muttered, voice thick with liquor. “Not as fun when you don’t fight me.” His fingers brushed her cheek, clumsy and almost tender, except for the way her skin crawled under it. “Still….you look so pretty wrecked like this. My pretty girl.”

She squeezed her eyes shut, bile rising in her throat.

For a moment she thought he might finally roll away, stumble upstairs, leave her in the silence she craved. But instead, Alec shifted again, tugging at the blanket until it half-covered them both. He let out another sigh, content.

“I think I’ll stay here tonight,” he said, almost offhand, like it was a kindness. “Don’t want to miss you if I wake up.”

Her chest seized. No. No, she needed a minute to just breathe….

She swallowed hard, fighting the rising panic. His breathing began to steady, already sinking toward sleep, while hers raced like she was drowning. The sour reek of alcohol, of him, clung to her hair, her skin. Every place he touched burned with the certainty he wasn’t going anywhere.

The thought of hours — long, endless hours — pinned beneath his presence made her stomach twist until she thought she might choke.

She wanted him gone. She wanted to claw herself out of her own body just to be anywhere else.

But Alec only hummed softly, nestling closer, as if he belonged there. The night stretched out in front of her, impossibly long.

***

Vienna lay there, staring at the wall. She didn't know how many hours it had been — just that the sick warmth of Alec was still next to her. Asleep, thankfully, from the way his chest rose and fell, the soft snores rumbling from his chest. So relaxed. So at ease. All while every muscle in her body clenched so hard it hurt. She'd been able to worm herself away from him just enough to avoid touching him, and even that felt like the world's greatest gift.

She wondered, for the millionth time, how this had become her life. The last moments of normalcy played in her head in a loop, haunting her. Chatting playfully with Abigail in the library. Talking with her mom on the phone. Texting Zander.

God, it hurt to think about. To think that they were probably replaying the same moments in their minds. Because the what-ifs were just too strong. What if she had hung back in the library with Abi? What if she'd stayed on the phone with her mom? What if she'd gone to meet Zander instead of head back to her dorm?

Any scrap of a chance at things turning out differently, Vienna clung to. There must be a world where this never happened. She tried to count in her head how long it had been. She knew she was kidnapped on May 9. The television helped her keep careful track of the time, so she knew in the morning, it would be June 14. She swallowed thickly. Over a month….

Wait. A month. A month.

A sick, dizzying feeling hit Vienna over the head like a cinderblock. Time seemed to move so differently here, she was so focused on surviving day to day, she'd barely thought about it….

Her hand went automatically to her stomach, as if she could have felt something growing there already. The urge to vomit surged hot and fast, and she had to stare up at the ceiling, take in shaky breaths to calm herself.

No. Not possible. It couldn't be.

She had stopped keeping track of the number of times he'd assaulted her somewhere after twenty. It had started to become too unbearable, too surreal. But she did know that in all those times, he'd never used protection, not once. Never seemed worried about it in the slightest. What were the odds of it not happening at any given day over the past five weeks?

Her mind spun furiously. There was no good option, nothing that guaranteed her safety. But it had been a while since anything had. She dared to look over at Alec, sleeping peacefully. It was better to get it over with, not live with the anxiety choking her any longer than necessary. In the morning, she would say something. Even if it made her heart sink with dread.

***

Like all things that are looked upon with trepidation, the morning came much too soon. The windowless room made it hard to tell, but Alec stirred, glanced at the clock, then sat up and stretched. Vienna lay still, calculating: he didn't seem too hungover, so maybe he wouldn't be in a bad mood. But at the same time, it was a Saturday, he would probably be down here most of the day —

His hand clamped down on her arm. She froze.

"Wake up. Or don't, I really don't care."

It was quick this time. That's all she could really say.

After he was done, Alec got up, the mattress finally creaking as his weight came off it. Left her shivering form in bed as he got dressed. Vienna watched him carefully, like he was a bomb that might off if handled incorrectly.

These in-between moments always felt like a trap: if she stayed in the bed, it felt like an invitation for him to return. But sometimes movement alone could spark his appetite again, encourage him to drag her out to the main room for something even worse. She compromised by sitting up but keeping the covers wrapped around her body like a shield. Alec moved through the small room without a care in the world, filling up a glass of water in the sink, throwing it back like another shot of liquor.

Now was a good a time as any. At least right now he was….satisfied.

"Can I ask you something?" Vienna tried to keep the tremble out of her voice.

"You can ask," Alec replied, looking at her curiously as he refilled his cup in the sink.

"Do you remember….that second day? When you were asking me all those questions? And you —"

"Oh, I definitely remember that day." His smile was sharp, all teeth.

Vienna let the wave of disgust roll through her as she paused, not daring to talk over him. When it looked like he'd just wanted to taunt her, she forced her throat to unlock and continued, "You asked me if I was taking any medicines. And I said birth control and vitamins. And you got me the vitamins, but you never…." She was too afraid to finish the sentence. Too afraid to voice it into reality.

"What do you need birth control for? You afraid you might be pregnant?"

Vienna's breath caught in her throat at how easily he named it, and Alec cocked his head with a grin, attention fully on her now.

"That's right. You haven't had a period at all, have you?"

And there it was. Dread threatened to overtake her, but she shoved it away, tried to stay calm, not get him worked up. Vienna forced herself to nod, the smallest movement, watching for any sign in his face of what might come next. But he was, to her surprise, still smiling.

"Well, this is no good, little girl. Unless you want to have my baby?"

Her stomach lurched. "No."

"Then we've got to think of a way to take care of this." He leaned back against the kitchenette counter, not seeming worried at all. "Easiest way would be to beat it out of you. See how many kicks to the stomach that takes. Could throw you down the stairs a few times." Vienna shrank in her spot instinctively. He seemed to be reveling in the thought of hurting her, and she knew by now he had no problem doing it for real.

"Or," Alec continued louder, "a week without food might do it. Could also be interesting to see how much alcohol you need to down to kill it."

The images forced themselves into Vienna's brain before she could stop them, and when Alec made a move towards her, she couldn't help it: she let out a strangled scream and scurried backwards on the mattress. He stopped. Laughed out loud.

"Jesus, little girl — I'm kidding." He laughed again, a full body sound that made everything in Vienna recoil. "You are not pregnant. No, baby, I plan ahead. Got a vasectomy a long time ago. Shooting blanks. If anything," he smirked, looking over her terrified form with satisfaction, "your body's just so stressed out it's not working properly anymore."

He stepped closer again, voice practically a purr. "I've got that effect on you, don't I?"

Vienna wanted to deny it. But the fact that she could sleep entire days away, never had a true appetite, the fact that her body could now endure extremes she never would have imagined….her period going away from stress didn't seem so far-fetched. And it was certainly better than the alternative.

"Are you sure?" She hated how small her voice was. Hated that she had to ask him for reassurance.

Alec saw it and patted her cheek with condescending comfort. "Don't worry. I've always had lots of plans for you, little girl, but raising a family is not one of them."

Vienna grimaced and instinctually flinched away from his touch. A smile twitched at his lips.

"No. That's not in the cards for you anymore. You've got one job now. And you just get better and better at it."

He was still chuckling when the door closed behind him.

Vienna tried not to gag as his voice rang in her head. It's not my job. It's not. My job is to survive.

Her hands shook. Her face was flushed with humiliation, though she couldn't even pinpoint exactly why. She just felt….small. Stupid. Naive. Worthless. Gross.

That was it, more than anything. Even the idea that she could be….that he could've…..

She pressed the pillow against her face, hard. For half a second she wondered if she could just smother herself.

But no. Because at the end of the day, it wasn't just about her, was it?

Vienna let their faces and names flash through her head. Mom. Dad. Zander. Abi. Daniela. Kaya. And on and on…..

I'm not just a toy to them. Not a thing to use. I'm Vienna. I can still be Vienna.

And that was worth surviving for.

Time was easily lost in those early days, when Vienna didn't realize yet what a tether to sanity it was. Entire days could be slept away, her mind and body giving into the numb oblivion they so desperately craved until she was roused by the sound of his footsteps coming down the stairs. Sometimes after he left, she'd be so enveloped by panic that she could spend hours sobbing and gasping for breath without any notion of how many minutes had passed.

Some mornings she clung to the idea that maybe he would kill her after all — the thought came with a guilty rush of relief, though she hated herself for wanting it. Other mornings she willed herself to be numb, to drift somewhere outside her body, because that was the only way to survive his hands, his words, the endless cycle. It didn't work nearly as often as she wanted it to.

Survival meant she had to learn a new language. One she never wanted to know — Alec's. Not in the way of words, necessarily, but of footsteps, of tone, of actions. She learned to brace herself for anger and fists when his feet came down the stairs hard. She learned when it was okay to push back at him, when it would amuse him, and when it would just earn her punishment. But sometimes it felt like it was a learning curve she could never catch up to.

The energy in the air changed before she could even blink. One moment they were sitting, almost normal, as he ranted about his day — and then he was on her, yanking her hair, pinning her wrists, pulling at her clothes. "Wait — wait —" she cried, completely caught off guard. He didn't care. He shoved her face into the mattress, muffling her scream as he tore into her with no preparation. Panic spiked as she couldn't breathe for a moment, and she gasped for air as he flipped her over. But it was only to shove into her again, hands holding her in place as he forced a suffocating kiss onto her lips.

The weekends were different.

There was no clock to count down, no sound of him leaving for work in the morning. He stayed. Hours stretched and folded in on themselves, and she stopped trying to guess how long it had been.

What lingered with her was the way he seemed almost lighthearted. He laughed easily, whistled under his breath, narrated his own enjoyment as if he were sharing a private joke. The sound of her crying never slowed him down. If anything, it seemed to give him more energy.

What unnerved her the most was that nothing about it felt secret or shameful to him. He wasn’t hiding. He wasn’t angry. He was having fun. And she was the toy — not just her body, but her mind, too.

He was making noises deliberately to humiliate her. She knew that. She knew that. But still, Vienna couldn't help but grimace and choke out a sob as Alec moaned, the sound reverberating against her chest. His mouth made a sloppy smacking sound against her skin, and she felt nauseous. "P-please just stop —" she tried to beg, and the groan turned into an outright laugh. "Stop? Oh, sweetheart. Hours before that word matters. I’ll enjoy every second. And it's not like it hurts this time, right?" His hand wedged between their hips, to the stickiness on them both, and shame surged so hot another sob burst out. He laughed again, a grotesque loop as he lowered his lips back to her skin. Every movement was excruciatingly slow, giving them both time to drink it all in.

The television, of all things, became her lifeline. Its flickering light and constant hum were a poor substitute for company, but it was better than silence. She watched everything — sitcoms, game shows, sports, documentaries, infomercials she could recite by heart. For a few hours each day, she could pretend she was somewhere else, anywhere else. The news was harder. She was hit with something that was equal parts dread and longing when her name came up. If he knew it was coming, Alec would invariably be in the basement to watch with her — watching the reporters talk about her “mystery disappearance,” watching her parents’ pleas for answers, watching her watch it all.

He loved boasting about how lost the authorities were, how he'd outsmarted them all. He'd sprinkle in memories of watching Vienna before she'd ever known he existed — so many instances she never knew about, she thought he must be lying, but then he'd drop in a detail, a gut punch that told her it must be true. How she bit her lip while she studied in the library. How she'd worn a blue and green sundress to Zander's last basketball game. How she'd dropped her books one time in the cafe and she and Abi had both bent down to pick them up. Every last thing he'd imagined. And how he could do it all now.

SMACK. SMACK. SMACK. Alec was hitting her hips again and again, in time with his thrusts, and Vienna was sure her skin must be glowing bright red by now. "Please - it h-hurts-" Vienna gasped, stumbling over her words as she realized the admission would just spur him on. And it did. "Good!" he snarled, slapping her again and then holding onto the red flesh, digging his nails into her. "I can beat you black and blue, bitch. All while you fucking beg me to stop."

She quickly learned that for Alec, it wasn't just about the sex. Not only that, anyway. It was about him reveling in his complete control over her, breaking her down over and over, doing whatever he pleased that pushed her to that space that left her crying, begging, screaming.

The rapes almost always brought those reactions out, except on the rare, blessed occasions she was able to dissociate the entire time. But Alec seemed to like to switch things up. Some days he seemed more interest in maximizing any type of violation for her, whether he got physical pleasure from it or not. Other times, it was all about the pain. Vienna began to have visceral reactions whenever he approached the closet doors in the main room, knowing exactly what its doors held. Minutes and sometimes even hours would drag, his laughter and taunts mingling with her cries and pleas like it was the most natural thing in the world. And it always had the same ending: Alec dragging her to one of the beds, or set of restraints, or even just the floor to cap off the day.

Oftentimes, his words were the worst - crude, mocking, smug, unbearably satisfied. They wormed their way into Vienna's head more deeply than any physical torment, ringing in her ears long after he'd left.

"Tastes perfect, feels perfect…. just like I imagined. God, it's like you were made for me." She felt his breath against her skin, making her feel trapped in ways the restraints never could. A sob ripped from her throat, legs shaking, trying to close, and his laugh vibrated between her legs. "That's right. Just like that. Let's see how much more you can take."

At the end of the day, it was hard to decide what was the most painful. Being torn from her loved ones, being treated like nothing more than a plaything, the physical intensity she was forced to endure again and again. But it may have been the way Alec crushed what she knew of the world beneath his fingers. The way he reacted to her tears, her fear, her pain with pure delight shocked Vienna every time, each laugh and taunt made the world shake around her. She had never known a person could be this way.

During the most intense moments, when his laughs and taunts bounced off the walls amidst her screams and pleas, she had trouble reconciling that it was her own voice mixing with his. It sounded nothing like her own, more like a clip from a horror movie, a scene taken from a nightmare. And she knew he loved that.

It was like being buried alive, over and over and over again, and still somehow waking up the next morning. Truthfully, she had no idea how she survived it. The simplest answer was that she had no other choice.

She tried to plead, to beg, but her words slurred with exhaustion. Her throat was raw from screaming, and still he demanded more. “Beg louder,” he growled happily against her. “I want to hear you choke on it. Tell me how bad you want me to stop.”

“I can’t — I c-can’t —” she sobbed, her voice barely there.

“Yes, you can. You can, and you will. You’ll do it all day long for me, little girl.”

One thing became clear: Vienna's life was not her own anymore. She fought the idea that it was ruled by Alec — by his moods, his hands, his visits — but every day he seemed committed to driving her deeper into despair, into helplessness. An average day before might have been going to class, eating a meal with Zander, watching TV with Abi. Now, it was anticipating footsteps above her, counting the minutes until his weight shifted off her, singing songs or sketching landscapes in her head to try and push through the pain and pure violation that had become her daily life.

It was mornings like this. Alec had come down for his usual visit before work. He was in a good mood today, practically giddy, but it didn't make things any better for her. No, instead it meant he wanted to play a game: forcing her to beg for him to stop before clapping his hand over her mouth again and again, enjoying the way her words got muffled against his palm.

"Try again." He grinned, rocking his hips. Humiliated tears streamed from Vienna's eyes as she stammered, "P-please - please stop - it's almost been an hour, you're going to be late for work, please just — mmph!"

Alec laughed, an ugly, delighted sound. "Ohh, I'd be pretty unhappy with that. And you'd be to blame, wouldn't you? You better help me finish quick."

He moved off of her then, took his hand off her mouth, but there was no relief. She knew by now what those words meant.

Ten minutes later, he was finally getting dressed, splashing water on his face at the bathroom sink before heading off to work like nothing had happened. Vienna stayed curled on her knees, arms wrapped herself as the footsteps faded away above. Her new favorite noise sounded: the mechanical scrape of the garage door opening and closing overhead. He was finally gone for the day.

The basement was cold. Her body was wrung out, trembling with the raw, heavy weight of what had just happened. She hated that she could feel every trace of him lingering, that her muscles remembered in ways she didn’t want them to. She felt miserable, used up, like a shell of herself.

But after a few minutes, she took a breath. Sat herself up. At least it was a weekday. At least she had the blessed reprieve of Alec being gone for a few hours. At least her body had a moment to recover. She should take advantage.

The shower was scalding, how she liked it now. In her mind, she organized what her day would be like. Whether it was sane or insane, she couldn't tell, but she had started breaking her days down by hours, themes. Each hour correlated with someone from before. A reminder that life outside these walls existed.

Every morning after he was gone started with a mom hour. Vienna would take meticulous care of herself, even when she wanted to tear off her own skin. She would shower, gently brush her hair, sometimes braid it like her mother did when she was little. Then she'd wash the soiled sheets, remaking the bed with slow, deliberate care, no wrinkles. Clean the bathroom or kitchenette. Try to tell herself one kind thing her mom might say if she were here.

After that was a dad hour. She'd find something to eat, think about what she would have for lunch or dinner. It wasn't possible to really cook like her dad liked to — classic Filipino dishes or cozy baked goods weren't doable with the kitchenette — so oftentimes she'd just pretend, even narrating out loud as if she was on a cooking show. She ate slowly, mindfully, trying to notice flavors or textures she hadn't noticed before. Some days it all tasted like ash.

Next might come an Abigail hour. She'd watch TV. Vienna had almost laughed when she came up with this one, imagining Abi's playful indignation. What, that's the first thing that comes to mind?! But there was a comfort to it, a familiarity nothing else in the basement gave her.

Nearly every day, she did a Zander hour. She'd sit at the table and read, whatever Alec would give her. It didn't really matter what. What was more important was the steadiness of it, how much it reminded Vienna of Zander. Sometimes she'd try to imagine what he might say about a scene, or read a passage in his voice. Even more often she'd stroke her own hair while reading and try to imagine it was him.

And there were plenty of others, too. A Kaya hour — Vienna would do light exercises, trying to give her body some other function. A Daniela hour — she'd play cards by herself, make up new games. A Jay hour — she'd put a random sport on the TV and try to learn the rules.

Anything that made her feel human. Anything that kept her from thinking about what was coming again soon.

Before finally leaving her yesterday — trembling, sweating, soaked in shame — Alec had given Vienna an order. To be in front of the door when he came in the next day. Showered. Kneeling. Naked.

As she sat there, knees digging into the hard floor, Vienna tried to let her mind float away. To something, anything else. But memories of the past few days burned so brightly she felt blinded to anything else. Hands guiding her where he wanted her. Laughter cracking sharp and bright through the air. His voice yesterday, vibrating from between her legs as he nuzzled the soft skin of her inner thighs. You make this so easy for me.

Shame coursed through her, followed by a hot swell of anger. Vienna didn't know if it was towards Alec or herself, and had no time to parse out the feeling before she heard him approaching.

And as the knob turned, she realized for the first time that it hadn't even occurred to her that she could disobey him.

Every muscle wanted to shrink away from Alec walking through the door, the practically gleeful smile on his face as he drank the image of her in. Vienna felt like she was suddenly seeing herself from his eyes - small, nude, kneeling, terrified. Pliant. Obedient.

It's keeping you alive, she told herself fiercely. But another plane of her mind screamed that it was also killing her. Annihilating the part of her that had a voice, that stood up for herself, that dared to love herself, piece by piece.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect, slut, but it looks like you’re a good listener after all. And did you shower for me?”

His voice snapped her back to the present. Vienna nodded stiffly, avoiding his eyes. She had purposefully arranged her hair over her shoulders to cover the red marks her nails had dug in yesterday, but she knew it was only a matter of time before Alec saw them. She'd tried to invent some excuses - that he'd actually somehow made them, that she'd mindlessly scratched herself in her sleep, that they had just appeared for no apparent reason. All flimsy. All bound to be discredited in the first five minutes of him being there.

Sure enough, he was already reaching for her. She couldn't help but give a sharp flinch as Alec threaded his hands through her hair, soft from the wash the night before.

“Very good,” he purred. “Yes, you feel very nice.”

Vienna bit her lip so hard she tasted blood. He shifted her hair off her shoulders, clearly intending to let his touch slip lower - then paused. Lightly ran his fingers over the raw streaks marring her skin.

"Now, what is this?"

All her excuses and stories vanished under his gaze. He studied her curiously, as if he couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or amused, and the uncertainty of it was paralyzing.

"I - I don't know…."

Vienna had to hold back a full-body shudder as Alec traced the scratches, pressing down every so often just to see her flinch.

"Oh, I do. You really can’t keep your hands off yourself, can you?” His grin was sharp, triumphant. “Couldn't stand it last night, huh? Wanted to claw out of your own skin?

“That’s not—” Vienna’s protest strangled before it reached air.

“No, I think it is.” He leaned closer, lowering his voice like he was sharing a secret. “I don’t even have to be here, and look what happens. You fall apart. All on your own.”

The words sank like poison in her stomach. She tried to back away, but he held her in place, studying the marks with fascination, as though they were his handiwork after all. Finally, he took his hands off her.

"Well. I'm afraid we have a problem, little girl. You see, I like my canvases unmarked."

"I didn't mean to." Her voice came out small, trembling.

"Ah. But you did." Alec tilted his head in mock concern. "So what am I going to do with you?"

Vienna's breath caught in her throat, dread choking her.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, it was an accident, it won't happen again." Her words come out in a rush, and she winced at how pitiful they sounded. Still, she added a small, "Please."

Alec smiled again. The shape of it was cruel, mocking, the type of smile that Vienna had never seen before. He crouched in front of her, close enough that she feel the sick warmth radiating off him.

"You're so sweet. Aren't you?" His finger traced along her cheek, catching an errant tear, smearing it along her skin. "God, I knew I picked right. And know the best part? I was watching you long before this. Weeks. You walking across campus, sitting in that little café with your books, headphones in, tapping your pen like you were the only person alive. I sat close enough to hear you humming sometimes. Nobody looked twice at me. Nobody wondered what I was doing there.”

Her chest tightened, nausea swelling in her throat. “Stop,” she whispered. “Please don’t tell me this.”

He ignored her, grinning. “First thing I noticed? Your body. You’re young, healthy, the kind of girl who doesn’t even realize she gets stared at. Jeans hugging your legs, shirts a little too modest like you didn’t want attention but you couldn’t help it. You’d shift in your seat, tug at your sleeves, clueless.”

“Don’t -” The image of herself bloomed in her head, twisted, distorted. "I don't want to hear this."

But Alec didn't stop. “But then I saw more. How wholesome you were. Always smiling at the barista. Always saying thank you. You had this…innocence about you. You thought you were safe. And that’s when I knew.” His eyes glittered. “I wanted to see what it would be like to break that. To take all that light and grind it out of you.”

A dry sob burst out of her, her shoulders trembling. “Please, please stop,” she begged, her voice splintering.

He only chuckled, the sound low and pleased. His hand tipped her chin up until she met his gaze. His voice lowered dangerously.

"And now here you are, trying to ruin my masterpiece."

Vienna's breath hitched. The thud, thud, thud of her heart felt impossibly loud in her ears. Something was twisting inside her with each word, sharp and ugly.

"I guess you'll have to make it up to me."

Alec stood back up, hands working at the buckle of his pants. "You did follow my instructions, so I'll give you one more day of break. But don't worry - there's still plenty of ways to have fun."

He paused there, grinning smugly down at her. Static seemed to fill Vienna's head, and she didn't move. Didn't even blink.

"Suck."

His voice was firm. Vienna’s stomach lurched. Disembodied voices, quick flashes of memory flickered through her - giggling on the phone with Kaya after her first kiss; her mother’s steady whisper after her first heartbreak, you deserve someone who treats you with nothing but kindness; Abi threatening to slash a guy’s tires after they got cat-called, all bravado and loyalty; lying in her narrow dorm bed as Zander murmured, I only want to do whatever you want to do.

"No."

Her voice came out before she even realized she was speaking. For a moment her heart stopped, but then it was as if it began to beat harder, stronger. It felt right to say.

Alec's eyes narrowed. "What did you just say to me?"

“I said NO. I’m not going to suck you.” Anger was spilling out of her like a cup overflowing, all the shame from the last several days rearing back to face its true owner. Her eyes shot fire up at him and she scooted backwards in the floor. “I’m not going to and you can’t make me. You’re disgusting, you’re evil, you’re old, and I’m not -"

Something in his expression cracked. There was no trace of amusement or lust or smugness now - just pure rage, raw and ugly.

He lunged.

Vienna shrieked, instinct taking over before thought. She scrambled upright and threw herself at him—wild punches, clawed hands, kicking feet. She felt her nails rake across his cheek, felt her fist strike something solid. She had no plan, only the blinding need not to be touched by him again, even if she had to fight for her life —

His arms shot out, shoving hard, and Vienna collided with the nightstand behind her. She nearly lost her footing but came at Alec again with a kick aimed right for his groin, but he was ready for her this time - he grabbed her leg and jerked her off balance so she fell flat on her back to the floor.

The air rushed out of her lungs and for a moment she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move. It was all the time Alec needed. He was on her at once, dragging her up off the rug and pinning her to the bed.

No. Adrenaline still raced through her veins, and even as she gasped for breath Vienna continued to fight, writhing and thrashing, desperate for escape. Alec grabbed her arm and twisted it backwards brutally. Pain and panic shot through her, so sharp that she screamed, feeling that her arm was going to break in his grasp.

"Then stop."

The fight was over. The flash of hope, of determination, faded out of Vienna as quickly as it had come, replaced by a nearly oppressive sense of dread. Terror pinned her more effectively than his hands. Alec released her arm, but the strained, throbbing ache remained. His weight crushed her down, his fury making him seem impossibly huge.

“Who the fuck do you think you are, bitch? Telling me no? Insulting me? Trying to fight me?”

His angry red face was inches from hers, puffing hot air into her face. Vienna felt like she was being crushed under his immense weight, still struggling to breathe.

“And here I thought I was being nice, giving you a little break. Guess you can’t appreciate that, huh? Maybe I need to show you how evil I can really be.”

He drew back only to backhand her across the face, so hard that her ears rang. She choked out words.

"P-please — I'm sorry —"

He just hit her again. Vienna tasted blood in her mouth.

Oh God. What was I thinking?

As if she'd ever stood a chance fighting him. As if he couldn't snap her like a twig. As if he cared at all about what she wanted or felt. Reality hit, cold and sharp: this wasn't her world anymore. It was Alec's. He decided if and what she ate, what she wore, if she lived or died. And she had just provoked him to anger.

"Get up."

Alec didn't even wait for her to try and rise. He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her off the bed, towards the door, yanking at her roots so fiercely she stumbled behind him, terrified he would rip the hair right from her scalp.

But when he led her to the restraints hanging from the ceiling once again, every muscle seemed to lock in fear.

"Wait - please - I'm sorry -"

Her wrists were already bound above her, and he manipulated the chains so her toes dangled above the ground. Her shoulders screamed in protest, but the terror coursing through her was even worse. I should have just done it. The thought hit her like ice cold water. Whatever is about to happen is going to be so, so much worse.

Without conscious effort, her eyes were tracking Alec walking towards the closet, and her fear spiked impossibly higher.

"No, no - Alec -" Her voice cracked on his name, it felt wrong in her mouth, but she needed to appeal to him. "Alec - please. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I was just scared, I'll do whatever you want!"

"You think you're sorry." When he opened the closet door, Vienna saw just a peek of the contents inside, and it made her wish the floor would open up and swallow her whole. "You've never known what sorry is, Vienna. But you're about to."

He was walking back towards her, and in his hands was a whip. Her brain rejected it immediately. Not real. Not real. Not something that happened to people in real life. Not to her.

The first blow stole her breath. The second made her vision go white. By the third, she was already screaming, wordless and desperate. It didn't stop him. It didn't even slow him down. All her other senses seemed to dull out until she could feel nothing but the pain, stinging and burning, lashing against her again and again. Her body moved of its own accord, desperately twisting in an effort to protect itself, but any movement just seemed to open up further targets for the whip. In some distant plane of her mind, she recognized that Alec was targeting specific parts of her body — her hips, her thighs, her chest — and the humiliation piled on top of the agony was crushing. Noises of him cut in through the haze, above her own screaming. He was laughing. Grunting with effort. Taunting her.

"That's right, bitch, dance for me!"

"You think you're sorry now? How about now?"

"Not so tough anymore, huh?

Hits started to dance up and down Vienna's back, again and again, almost musical in their cruelty, and she thought her throat would rip open from shrieking pleas. It wasn't like the pain of the previous days, a byproduct of what he actually wanted: it was the entire point. She had never endured something like this, actions meant purely to hurt, and somehow it made each strike sting even more. Finally, when her screams and struggles wore out to whimpers and weak jerks each time he hit her, exhausted from the ordeal, Alec stopped.

He released her wrists from above her and Vienna crumpled to her knees, her entire body trembling and heaving as if she'd just run a marathon. She had squeezed her eyes shut for the last several minutes, and she opened them with great trepidation, expecting to see her skin shredded, flayed open. Instead, she blinked in faint surprise: while her body was covered with angry red welts, throbbing and stinging, the skin had barely broken. There were several spots where small red beads of blood rose to the surface, but nothing like she expected. The incongruity between it and the chaos of her mind was dizzying.

The whip hit the ground with a loud thump, and Vienna jumped. Alec walked in front of her, sweat dripping down his temple. When he spoke his voice was low, dangerous, and she knew it wasn't over yet.

"And you thought I couldn't make you." He looked her over for a long moment, eyes glittering with satisfaction at the look of agony criss-crossing her body. "I always get my way in the end, little girl. You just decide if you want it the easy or the hard way."

Vienna looked up at him through swollen, bloodshot eyes as he began to undo his pants again.

"I wouldn't mind whipping you some more, by the way, if I have to. That was very fun. I love the little noises you make. So….are you ready?"

And Vienna nodded.

****

The next day came too quickly. The night had passed in a blur of pain and bone-crushing shame, but below it all was the constant, debilitating thought: he'll be back soon.

She had still been in bed, examining her injuries. Alec had varied the force in which he'd beaten her, so everything was recovering unevenly. Some marks were still just as red and angry as the day before, while some were almost completely healed. Others were darkening into nasty bruises, purple and blue against her skin.

And then, the noise she was beginning to dread more than anything in the world: Alec's footsteps descending the stairs.

She sensed it immediately: his pace was too quick, his tread surprisingly light, like he was dancing his way down to her. Her stomach twisted. Excited. Eager.

He was on top of her within seconds of walking in, letting the door slam behind him.

"Enough waiting." His breath was hot against her neck, hands working at her clothes with terrifying precision. "Break's over, little girl. The way you squirmed yesterday….how you screamed for me…you've had this coming."

It was not defiance or anger that moved her this time, but pure panic: Vienna’s hands shoved against him, desperate, trembling. His chest was solid and unyielding, and the low rumble of his laughter rolled through the room like a physical weight.

“Please… please, Alec, don’t -” she gasped, voice breaking, trying to scramble back.

“You really think that will stop me?” he said smoothly, each word deliberate, a slow taunt. “Look at you… pathetic.”

She twisted, clawing at the bedspread, and nearly tumbled to the floor. She scrambled for the door, but a sick feeling wove beneath her desperation: this was hopeless. Her fingers scrabbled desperately at the doorknob. Locked. Panic clawed her chest. Alec watched her from the bed, leaned back on his elbows, entertained by her distress. He rose casually, walking leisurely to her like a man who had all the time in the world.

“Try again,” he said, dragging his fingers over hers as she rattled the knob, “it’s all locked up tight. Nothing’s going anywhere.”

Her stomach plummeted, but she darted into the bathroom anyway, slamming the door behind her. Cold tile bit her feet, the faucet dripping somewhere behind her like the echo of a countdown.

“I… I’m begging you,” she said, voice tight. “Please… just let me -”

“Oh, let you what?” His voice slid under her skin. “Go? Hide? You think that little room makes a difference?”

Vienna pressed herself into the corner, breathing fast as he opened the door. Every whip mark from yesterday seemed to throb in double time as she realized she was once again obeying him. But as Alec came into the bathroom, his head was tilted in amusement, an almost charmed smile on his face. It hit her with ice-cold clarity: it wasn't about what she did. Not really. She was at the whims of his mood. Today, maybe she was lucky. But tomorrow? She could never know.

Giddy excitement was radiating off Alec as he cornered her, hands twitching as if he couldn't bear to not be touching her. His fingers clasped around her wrists.

“No! Please—please! I don't want to!” she cried, voice cracking, every syllable a frantic prayer.

“Cry all you want. You're mine.” he said, pressing closer. “I own this. All of it.”

Her body shook, terror and revulsion intertwining, and he dragged her to the floor. Her chest was pressed to the cold tile as today's lesson crashed in: no corner, no door, no wall could protect her. Not here. Not from him. The pointlessness of her fighting and pleas, the inevitability of it all, drained every ounce of fight from her body. He was shoving, grunting, and all her body could do was jolt limply beneath him.

Vienna didn't know how long it was until he finally rose off her, but eventually he did, giving a final, humiliating slap to her hip before striding out the door. He was gone, and she was left lying on the ground shivering, aching, completely decimated once again. Cold tile beneath her cheek, reminding her she was still alive. For better or for worse.

Her vision unfocused, the baseboard bleary through tear-filled eyes. The spark of hope was still inside her — tiny, flickering, but real — but it was different now. It wasn't hope for rescue, or hope that she could stop Alec from hurting her. It was the faintest wish that a small scrap of herself might survive him.

Vienna's exhaustion was so profound that her sleep had been deep, mercifully dreamless. She awoke suddenly the next morning, and for one wonderful, fleeting moment she didn't remember. Then, the piercing, unfamiliar pain between her legs brought everything back. Without meaning to, she let out a miserable whine and pressed her thighs together, even though it hurt. She closed her eyes again, clenching them tightly shut in the hope that she could just fall back asleep. The brief respite of being unconscious, of being blissfully unaware of her hellish situation, was so enticing.

But now that she was awake it was no use: it seemed like each second of the previous evening was playing rapidly through her mind, a supercut of terror: the feeling of the restraints tight around her limbs, the knife cutting through her clothes, his hands, his skin, his breath… she wished with everything in her that it had been a nightmare, that she would wake up safely in her own bed, but the soreness all over her body reminded her it was all too real.

Vienna reluctantly opened her eyes and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was 8:32 in the morning. If she were home right now....what day was it now, even? Saturday?

A lump formed in her throat. It was supposed to be the first day of her summer vacation. She and her cousin Daniela had been looking forward to it for weeks, finally reunited after months apart at school. Zander's hometown was close enough that last year they'd been able to meet up at least a couple times a week and they'd been planning that again, looking up festivals and breakfast spots and hiking trails to meet at. And her parents. As much as she loved Lakewood, she'd been so looking forward to being home with them, falling into their familiar, happy routine.

What had felt so simple just a few days ago now seemed like a beautiful, impossibly far away dream. Could that ever be her life again, after this? She closed her eyes again, not to sleep, but to focus her imagination on the faces and voices of all of her loved ones: her family, her friends, her professors, her classmates....Vienna ran them through her mind over and over, each time giving a prayer she would see them again soon. But every so often, a terrible image of Alec intercut her mental slideshow - sneering above her, laughing at her, hands all over her, his body rocking in rhythm against hers....what was today going to bring?

As if summoned by the thought, a door slammed above her. Vienna shot up immediately - she knew that sound by now. He was coming back down to the basement, back down to her.

Her heart fluttered so rapidly she thought she might be having a heart attack. Footsteps were approaching the door now. She didn't know what to do. Her brain screamed at her to get ready to fight, to hide, to run, but her body didn't seem to get the message. All she could do before Alec entered the room was wrap the thin blanket around her body, covering every inch of herself but her head as she cowered on the bed.

When Alec walked in, just seeing him again made Vienna feel as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She felt unbelievably small and helpless in his presence as he looked her over with a smug grin.

"Well....good morning."

Vienna said nothing, her chest rising and falling heavily as Alec closed the door behind him.

"How did you sleep? Mm? I gotta tell you, I slept like a baby."

He was so casual it sent a chill down her spine. How could he be acting like this after last night? After he'd torn a piece out of her soul and crushed it?

“Then I woke up, remembered you down here waiting for me, and man, it was like Christmas morning. You don’t look as excited to see me, though. Do you?”

Again, Vienna did not answer. He was crazy, this man. He was a psychopath. The more scared she was, the more pleased he seemed to be.

"You know, you're going to have to talk to me eventually."

Alec grabbed a chair from the small table behind the bed and pulled it out, straddling the back so he was facing Vienna. She was forcibly reminded of how he'd straddled her while she was bound to the chair yesterday, and her stomach twisted.

"I wanted to talk this morning, and you'll probably want to as well, because as soon as we're done, we're going to get started."

Get started? What did that mean? Was he going to....not again. Or did he mean...

"Are you going to kill me?" Vienna blurted it out almost without meaning to, clutching the blanket around herself so tightly her nails were digging into her palms. Alec did not reply at first, but a grin started to twist on his face.

"Because if you're going to kill me, just - just do it now and get it over with!" Vienna meant for her voice to be fierce, but it came out shrill and anxious instead. She flushed as Alec fully smiled, seemingly amused.

"I already told you, I have no interest in killing you. What, you don't believe me?"

"Why should I believe anything you say?!"

He watched her with the same amused expression, as if every word was entertainment.

"I haven't lied to you once since you've gotten here, Vienna."

She cringed at the sound of her name coming out of his mouth. He'd said it before, but it felt different today, crude and predatory and wrong.

"Yes, you have! You said you didn't want to hurt me!"

Alec cocked his head like a curious child. "Did I? When did I say that?"

"You -" Her voice died in her throat. She had been so sure that he'd promised it…but when she tried to conjure up the memory, she came up blank.

"Am I supposed to have said that when I told you I was holding you for ransom, too?" Alec sneered. "No - that was all your invention. Desperation is a crazy thing, huh?"

Shame rose hot and fast in Vienna's face. Because she realized - he wasn't wrong. Her fear had been so strong that she'd allowed herself to believe what was clearly not reality. Alec didn't even have to say the words for them to immediately ricochet around her head - foolish, naive, stupid. And now, she was paying for it.

Alec was still talking. "It was nice to have you believe all that, though. It wouldn't have been so fun last night if you really knew what was coming."

Fun. As if it had been a game, light recreation, not the most devastating moment of her life.

"So, I haven't lied. I'm not going to kill you." Alec finished simply.

"Then...then what are you going to do?" Vienna asked in a small voice, hoping against hope that now that he'd have his way with her, he would let her go.

Nothing could have hit worse than the words he spoke next. His tone, smug and satisfied, only made it worse.

"I'm going go keep you."

For a moment, everything disappeared. All that existed was her aching body, his terrifying closeness, and those words floating between them. The walls pressed in as if forcing them all closer together, claustrophobia and nausea rising in Vienna's throat like acid. No. No no no.

A part of her, twisted and guilty, had clung to the hope that maybe once he got what he wanted — money, revenge, something — he’d be done with her. Maybe he’d kill her afterward, and that thought had been terrifying, but at least it had an end.

Now she understood there wasn’t an end. Not unless he decided one.

She was glad to be alive. And horrified that she was still breathing the basement air. Because that meant he was going to keep doing this. Over and over. Until there was nothing left of her.

"And before you ask, I'm going to keep you for a nice long while," Alec was continuing cheerfully. "You're the exact type I wanted - sweet, innocent, healthy. Built to last.”

"You can't!" Vienna burst out, her body shaking all over. She knew she should feel more relieved that he wasn't going to kill her, but in this moment, it seemed like a fate worse than death.

Alec laughed. "Who's stopping me? Hmm? You see anybody breaking this door down to save you?"

Vienna swallowed thickly, her eyes darting to the door, thick and impenetrable as ever. Let someone come... she thought desperately. Anyone....

"No one is coming," Alec said, and she was disturbed by how he seemed to read her mind again. "No one is going to stop this, or stop me from raping you again. And again. Nobody can."

His frank words sent a terrible chill down her spine. Vienna forced her eyes back to him. This couldn't be the way it was going to go. Maybe.…maybe she could talk him out of it.

"Please - my parents. I'm their only child. They need me back. This will kill them!"

Her eyes filled with tears as she acknowledged the reality of what she was saying. She had known, always, that she was her parents' world, that they loved her more than anything. What would happen to them if she really never came home?

"Maybe," Alec said lightly. "That's their problem."

"They'll do anything if you let me go," Vienna pled. "I - we could make it work. I wouldn't tell anyone about last night. I can say that you - that you were nice to me. And they'll give you however much money you want."

"I don't care about money," Alec said with a taunting smirk. "I think you know what I want."

"I..." Vienna groped desperately in her mind for something that would get through to him. "I told you last night. I've only really done that a handful of times. I won't...I won't be good at it. You-you could find someone who w-wants to do it with you."

Alec's grin widened. "Maybe you're still not understanding. Let me make myself clear. Your struggling, screaming, begging last night? That's what I'm interested in."

A full body shiver overtook Vienna at his words. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to suffer. She had never felt so vulnerable or defenseless in her life. She didn't know what to do, and couldn't help but continue to beg.

“Please, you don’t have to do this…”

“I know I don’t have to - I want to do this. I get to do this.”

Vienna didn't know what else to say. She had never heard anyone speak like this before. It seemed like nothing was going to change his mind. She began to breathe heavily, unable to stop the panic overtaking her. Alec seemed to enjoy this, and continued, "I get to keep you. I get to touch you everywhere. I get to tie you up and fuck you however I want. I get to hurt you."

The words hit her like spears of ice. She finally broke down in tears, heaving, full-body sobs.

"I - I ca - I can't!" She wailed. There was no way she could survive this.

"Maybe not. But I can. And I'm going to make you." Alec said pleasantly. She simply wept harder, and he continued, "You know, it took a lot of self control to not to touch you these last few days. I can't tell you how many times I thought about just tearing off your clothes and going at it. We're going to make up for lost time today. And I don't work today, so we have all day to catch up."

Alec smirked in satisfaction as Vienna continued to cry, now rocking on the spot in an effort to soothe herself. He let her go on for a minute, and then said, “Alright, that’s enough. I need you to calm down so you can listen to me.”

Vienna gave no indication that she heard him, his crude words taking up too much space in her brain for anything else. For the first time he began to sound irritated.

“Hey - calm down. Or I’m going to start getting angry, and you aren’t gonna like that. Deep breath.”

Vienna looked up at him fearfully and obeyed, sucking in air and clasping her hands to her mouth.

"Another one. In and out."

Vienna took a shaky breath, forcing herself to swallow her tears. He was right - if he was like this in a good mood, she definitely didn't want to see him get angry. He nodded approvingly.

"Like I said...I didn't lie to you. And all my rules remain the same. You are going to stay clean, well-groomed, and fit for me. You'll have access to food just like the last couple days. I'll be giving you more clothes and bedding, too. You'll have some things to pass the time - the TV, doing my laundry. Maybe if you're good, you can have some books or games or something. But mainly," he smiled, unbearably smug, "you'll be waiting down here for me. Whatever I want. Every day."

Vienna bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying again. Every day felt beyond her comprehension.

"You're going to be good for me. If you want to cry, or beg, or struggle a little - fine. In fact, I'll like that. What you're not going to do, is try to escape, or try to really hurt me. If that happens - well, you know I don't want to kill you, but I’ll have to punish you. And I’ll make sure it hurts. Bad - worse than anything you’ve felt before, believe me."

He let the threat hang in the air a moment, her imagination already running wild. "I'll remind you: you're in the basement of my house, which is soundproof, with multiple locks, with no neighbors around for at least a mile. Trying to escape would just be stupid. Do you understand me?"

A strange buzzing filled Vienna's ears. All her strategizing, calibrating, furious calculating - for nothing. It didn't matter. He didn't care. She wasn't getting out of here unscathed. She forced herself to nod stiffly.

"Use your words."

Alec's voice was dripping with condescension, but there was also an edge of threat to it. Vienna whimpered, "I understand."

"Good. Now…take that blanket off yourself. I want to see you."

Vienna's stomach plummeted. "Wait, I - I have a question." She needed to keep him talking. Anything to prevent what was coming next.

"Alright, make it quick."

"I - um -" Vienna's mind scrambled anxiously. "Wh-where are we?"

"I just told you. My house." Alec arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but - what town?"

"Doesn't matter."

"Do you - do you own the house?"

"Yeah?" Alec said, bemused. She knew he was seeing straight through her.

"Okay...um...how long have you owned it for?"

"Alright, now you're just stalling," Alec sneered. "No more questions. Take the blanket off."

"Please, don't make me," Vienna whimpered, clutching the fabric tighter around herself.

"Would you rather I come and rip it off you?"

Vienna shook her head frantically.

"Then go on."

Desperately wishing that something, someone, would somehow stop this, Vienna pulled the blanket off herself and let it fall to the floor next to the bed. Alec grinned. "That's right....now the shirt."

A despondent mewl escaped Vienna's throat. She wrapped her arms around herself. There was no way....

"Okay then, I"ll do it."

Alec rose and pushed the chair back to the table.

"NO!" Vienna cried "No - I'll do it."

She couldn't believe she was doing it, but Vienna began to lift her shirt over her head. Alec hadn't left a bra for her after cutting through her other one, so her torso was completely bare under the t-shirt. She clutched the fabric to her chest, shaking.

"Drop it. On the floor, with the blanket."

She obeyed, gulping audibly. She could feel Alec's eyes on her and it felt like a violation in itself. There was a pause as he drank in the image of her topless before continuing.

"Very nice. Do you know what's next?"

His eyes glittered with excitement. Vienna was positively trembling now, and shook her head as a sob built in her throat.

"Mmm, I think you do know, baby."

"Please," Vienna's voice was small and strangled sounding as she looked pleadingly up at Alec.

"Yeah, you know. Take your pants off, now."

"I can't," Vienna whined, shrinking under his hungry gaze.

"Alright, fine."

Alec started towards her and Vienna screamed in terror, scrambling away on the mattress. She was afraid that she had made him mad, but as he climbed onto the bed towards her, he didn't look angry - if anything, he looked excited, an eager smile on his face as he reached for her. He grabbed her by the hips and yanked her towards him with an unsettling ease.

Alec took hold of the waistband of her sweatpants and began to tug them down. Vienna wailed in protest and shoved at his hands, trying to pull the pants back up over her exposed skin. They tussled like this for several moments before Alec decided he needed to try another tactic - he straddled her to pin her to the bed and forced each of her wrists into the restraints.

"No, no, stop!"

But he was too strong, too unrepentant, and before she knew it Vienna's wrists and ankles were locked into the restraints again, the sweatpants discarded to the floor.

"That’s it..."

Alec slid atop Vienna's desperately writhing body, panting with exertion.

"Well...here we are again."

Alec looked so excited and eager, greedy and hungry, and it terrified her. A broad smile was on his face as he settled above her, straddling her hips and effectively pinning her down. "This is exactly as I always imagined you. I can't believe I finally get to have you."

Vienna flushed red as he slowly ran his eyes down her body, taking in every inch of her exposed skin. She felt frozen in dread, scrutinized like a bug under a microscope.

Alec continued, “You know, yesterday was great. Don’t get me wrong. I do feel like I rushed it a bit, though. But that’s alright….I’ve got you right where I want you and we have hours. Today, I’m going to take my time.”

Vienna’s look of horror made him smile. “Mmhmm….by the time we’re done today, there’s not going to be an inch of you I haven’t touched. Inside and out.”

Vienna heart was racing so hard she couldn't believe Alec couldn't see it slamming against her chest. Every nerve in her body felt alight in fear and trepidation, knowing that soon he would be touching her again and she had no way to stop him.

Still smiling down at her, Alec said, "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I - I'm scared. I don't want to do this," Vienna whimpered.

"Perfect."

Alec cupped her cheeks in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. Vienna cried out in disgust and turned her face away to avoid his lips, desperately twisting her bound limbs. Alec laughed at her and licked a stripe up the side of her face, causing her to burst into tears.

"Don't touch me!"

"My tongue's gonna be a lot more places than that, Vienna. Remember, I can do anything I want to you."

The thought seemed to give him power, his chest swelling as he dragged his mouth lower.

“Anything I want…” Alec hummed as he kissed all over her neck and chest. Vienna squirmed and squealed as he trailed kisses down her body. “I get - to - do - any - thing - I want - to you.”

He punctuated each word with a disgusting kiss down her torso, approaching the apex of her hips.

“STOP!” Vienna screamed, absolutely panic thrumming through her body. Each place his lips had touch felt burned, skin crawling unbearably.

"Alright, alright....we'll start nice and slow." Alec settled kneeling between her spread thighs so they were face to face again. He reached up and lightly touched her bound hands and wrists. "That's not so bad, is it?"

Vienna’s stomach twisted and she said nothing, still breathing hard from the panic of Alec kissing her.

“Well, if it is, we can just get right to it -" His hand drifted lower.

“No!” Vienna cried, jerking in the restraints. “No, it’s - it’s n-not so bad.”

“Very good.” Alec smiled, tracing his fingers along Vienna’s, making good on his promise of touching each and every part of her. “You wanna be good for me, Vienna, don’t you? You don’t want me to have to hurt you.”

“I’ll be good,” Vienna said quietly.

“Yeah, you will. Tell me you’ll be a good girl.”

“I…I’ll be a good girl,” Vienna practically whispered, her face flushed in humiliation.

“I bet you will,” Alec purred, running his fingers across every nook and cranny of her hands. “Mmm…can you guess what I’m imagining these wrapped around?”

He laughed softly as Vienna grimaced, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.

“Let me tell you what’s going to happen next. I’m going to ask you some questions. Some I don’t know the answer to already, but some I do - so you’re not going to lie to me. If you do, I will know, and I’ll need to punish you. Understand?”

Vienna nodded meekly, and he continued, “Good. I’ll start with an easy one - tell me your full name.”

“Vienna DeNova.”

“Good. And how old are you, Vienna?”

“I…I’m only twenty,” Vienna whimpered, and Alec smiled wickedly. His light touch moved further down her arms and her entire body shuddered.

“And when did you turn twenty?"

“M-May 1st.”

“Ah, just missed it. Well, next year we'll be able to celebrate it together."

Alec chuckled at the look in Vienna’s eyes. Relief and terror tangled in her chest - relief that he planned to let her live that long, terror that she might still be here in a year.

Time stretched into something unknowable. Vienna tried to answer his endless questions - about her family, her life at college, her friends, every last detail about her sexual history - while his hands slowly roamed her body. When she hesitated — like when he asked for her parent's address — he would press harder, move his touch threateningly closer to the places she least wanted him near.

By the time he seemed to run out of questions, there was only one place on her body he hadn't skimmed his hands over. Vienna trembled from head to toe, but the sensitive valley between her legs seemed to scream with awareness as he settled his gaze there.

"I noticed you bleeding last night." His voice was casual, as if they were discussing the weather. "You look okay now, though."

"I'm not." Her voice wobbled like jelly. "I'm not, please, I can't again."

"Don't tell me you're worn out after one go at it?" Alec smirked, letting one finger trail down where she feared most. She let out a staggering gasp. "Don't worry. I'll get you ready."

As he went further, fingers pressing and flicking and stroking, Vienna found herself wishing for the pain instead. Every nerve was was alight, firing not in agreement but in pure reflex. It felt as if her entire lower body belonged to someone else, hips jerking and twisting, a stranger's hand invading.

He lingered so long she wondered if that was all he had planned, savoring her breathless gasps and cries. But then he stopped. Pulled back, fingers slick. Turned her onto her stomach.

"Wait." Her mouth was dry as he dragged her hips up. "Wait - please."

"Why should I?" His voice was a purr. "I've waited long enough already, Vienna. I've been waiting ever since I saw you in your little volleyball outfit down at Freestone State."

Her heart stuttered. That game had been over a month ago, at least. Had he really been lurking in the shadows of her life that long without her noticing?

“Then I saw it all. College girl. Dorm room. Boyfriend. Coffee dates.” Something like venom began to lace his words. “You were living in a fucking commercial.”

His hands were on her hips. "But not anymore."

"Please. Please don't do this,” Vienna begged as she felt him moving behind her. She couldn't decide if had been worse last night when she had to watch him, or right now when she couldn't tell what was coming next. Her mind whirred, throat closing. “Please, I - I’m just a little girl, I just want to go home and see my mom and dad and -“

Alec cut her off with a sharp laugh and smacked her hip.

“You’re just a little girl, huh? I think I like that. You ready to get raped again, little girl?”

“No!” Vienna said shrilly. “No, please - PLEASE!”

She wailed in pain and terror as she felt Alec began to enter her again. He hummed in satisfaction as she felt an unbearable stretch in her already sore muscles. Vienna's cry turned into an outright scream - she couldn't believe that it hurt even more today, like needles stabbing from the inside.

"STOP, STOP - YOU CAN'T!"

"Mmm, seems like I can."

Vienna broke into frantic, pained sobs as he continued, slower than yesterday but no less agonizing. She begged, she bargained, she prayed, she struggled - and was only met a mixture of moans and laughter.

It was then that she realized her miscalculation: she was trying to appeal to him as if he were human. Like there was some shred of decency buried deep enough to appeal to, some thread of empathy she could tug on if she just said the right thing.

Now she understood - there was nothing in him to reach.

Every plea only seemed to spur him further, like her pain was oxygen feeding the fire. But she still couldn't stop herself, words tripping over each other, begging please and no and stop until they lost meaning.

And the shame of that seared deeper than anything he could have done with his hands.

Because the trap she was in was deeper than the locked door or the restraints. He fed off this. Off her tears, her panic, the way she shrank from his touch. Her fear wasn’t just incidental - it was the point.

Vienna clung to one desperate thought, even as her chest squeezed tight and her tears blurred her vision: If I can just stay alive. Just one more minute. One more hour. Someone will find me. I just have to survive him.

And that thought felt both like a lifeline and like a life sentence.

When he was done, his weight crushed her against the mattress. She weakly flexed her fingers, her toes, the only parts of her she could still move. Proof that she was still there. Surviving.

But his next words made her wish she wasn't.

"All day," Alec breathed against her ear. "That was the first of many. I could do this to you forever."

Against her will, a strangled sound left Vienna's throat. She had been focused on enduring minute to minute. The stretch of the entire day ahead of her felt like eternity.

"Let's get up." His voice was soft. "Clean up a bit. Then I have something to show you."

"Cleaning up" meant Alec wiping her down with a wet wash cloth, purposefully lingering on the places that made her tremble. When he handed the towel to Vienna, telling her with a wolfish grin to clean him, she could have vomited.

She should have known better than to hope for her clothes back. Alec marched Vienna back to the door from the bedroom to the rest of the basement, unlocked it, and began to push her through the doorway.

"No -" A tremor of pure fear ran through her entire body, and she turned, trying to shove against him to get back into the bedroom. Because the larger room in front of her was worse than anything her mind could have conjured up.

In one corner, a huge bed decked out with every manner of restraints.

In the other, a wardrobe, one door open as if on display. There were whips, cuffs, sex toys she couldn't even name.

Attached by a chain to the wall close to them was a collar. A collar. Like a dog would wear.

In the center of the room, a pair of handcuffs hung from the ceiling.

And beyond all of it lay the staircase. A couple of minuscule windows on either side of it, placed strategically so if anyone peered in all they would see were stairs and concrete walls. A sliver of sunlight glittered near the foot of the stairs, practically cruel in its golden light.

Around the room there were rugs carefully strewn about, softening the hard floor. But it didn't make a difference. She knew what this was.

It was a torture chamber.

Alec held her steady, one hand tightly clutching her arm while the other grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at the space.

"It's really something, isn't it? And it's all for you."

Vienna's knees buckled. He chuckled softly, starting to drag her across the room.

"I think we'll start here."

She couldn't move. Couldn't fight. Her veins had turned to ice, her entire body frozen. Alec pulled her arms up, cuffing her wrists above her head so her entire body was stretched out, even more defenseless than before. He moved behind her then, pressed up against her back, skin on skin.

“God, you’re so tiny,” he marveled, cupping his large hands around her waist. “Must be pretty scary to be locked up here with a big guy like me. Especially now that you know I’m big in lots of ways.”

He pressed his crotch up against her, snickering as she let out a fearful whine. She was going to vomit. She was going to pass out.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful not to break you…not too bad, anyway. I didn’t go to all that work just to have you last a short time. I think we have years of fun ahead, little girl, if you keep being this good.”

He let his hands roam her body, enjoying the way she flinched and twitched and whimpered. Her shoulders. Her chest. Her ribs. Her hips. Then….

Vienna's entire body jolted as if she'd been electrocuted, and he laughed.

“Are you going to get this upset every time I touch you here?”

Her mind tried to float up and away, tried to detach the way it had last night - but every cell in her body screamed danger, and if anything she was more alert and hypersensitive than ever. And Alec wouldn't stop. She tried everything - crying, fighting, begging, screaming, cursing, going limp, going silent. It didn't matter. Every hint of desperation or resistance seemed to goad him on.

Hands skimmed back over her ribs, up to her breasts. He whispered crude words into her ear that made her want to burst out of her own skin.

Hands wandered back down, rubbing and pressing while he called her names that seemed to make the air harder to breathe.

And on and on, and back and forth, and in between, as if tormenting her was a compulsion. When he finally stepped back, she should have known better than to be relieved. He'd said they had all day.

The second time he raped her, Alec simply bent Vienna over at the waist where they stood, her shoulders aching as her wrists stayed cuffed on the chain to the ceiling. He alternately slapped her hips and rubbed between her legs, as if experimenting with all the ways her body could tremble and jerk.

The third time he raped her, Alec had Vienna pinned in the middle of the huge bed that occupied the left hand corner of the basement. His whole body pressed to hers and he forced her into painfully intimate direct eye contact as he took his time. “You are mine…mine…mine….” he grunted repeatedly in her face. He seemed to relish studying the microexpressions of pain, humiliation, terror, misery, and helplessness as she had no choice but to look him in the eye as she was assaulted.

The fourth time he raped her, Vienna felt like she had completely lost her mind from the endless abuse. She fought him wildly, screeching and kicking and writhing when he made it evident he intended to rape her once again. Alec only enjoyed the struggle, chasing her all over the bed and forcing her into various positions as she unsuccessfully resisted him, rutting in and out of her with a gleeful violence.

The fifth time he raped her, Vienna felt completely broken, mind, body, and soul. She finally lay limply as Alec leisurely thrust into her from behind, at last losing energy from all his exertion over the last several hours. Vienna cried uselessly into the mattress, her entire body aching and bruised. She began to wonder if he would ever stop raping her, or if she had entered some kind of hellish purgatory of 24/7 abuse with this man who had to be some kind of demon.

But then, almost inexplicably, he did stop. He wasn't on her anymore. In fact, she was on her back again. At some point, he realized her mind must have clouded over, accepting her body's helplessness and protecting it the best way it knew how. Flashes of memory came back to her — too many, more than she wanted — but much of the day was a blur.

Alec was by the bed, pulling his clothes back on. She had become so accustomed to the pain and horror of the day that her mind barely registered the relief at first. He smirked as he saw her eyes tracking him.

"There you are. You went away for a little while, you know."

His shadow seemed to swallow her as he leaned back over her, tugging her legs apart again.

"God, no!" Vienna's voice was an exhausted, strangled scream.

"Shhh....we're almost done. You can go to your room in a minute. Let me just take a look."

Given how exhausted and sore as she was, it didn't take too much mental fortitude not to move, but her body quivered all the same. The feeling between her legs was somewhere between raw agony and utter numbness, and if she let herself focus on it too much panic spiked. Her blood speckled on the sheets.

"That looks painful," he chuckled. "Does it hurt?"

"Y-yes," Vienna replied tremulously. "Please, I can't anymore..."

"I know. We're done today, little girl."

Tears spilled down her cheeks, this time of utter relief. She had survived the day. Despite the hundreds of times she thought she wouldn't.

"Mmm. Have you had enough? Would you like a little break, just a couple of days?"

"Yes, please," she blubbered, not caring how pathetic she sounded.

"I think that's probably a good idea. I want to use you for a long time, can't wear you out too soon," Alec said casually. "I'll leave you alone tomorrow, and then we'll see after that. But listen carefully. Look at me."

Vienna forced herself to look up Alec's face. Something about his eyes was so disturbing - like he was barely human, barely there at all.

"You need to remember my rules. You're going to clean yourself up tonight, and I expect you to keep yourself clean and shaved and your room clean. Otherwise you might not get a room anymore. Is that understood?"

Vienna nodded mutely. Please let me go back in. Please leave me alone.

"Alright then, I'm gonna lock you in. Get up."

Vienna immediately complied, more than ready for him to leave. Her legs almost crumpled beneath her, pain searing, but she forced herself forward back towards the bedroom. Alec noticed. Of course.

"I'm surprised you can even walk after all that. I think you'll hold up just fine." She didn't have to look at him to know he was sneering.

When the door locked behind him and his steps faded away, Vienna thought she had never heard a sweeter sound. The bathroom door was only steps away, but the distance stretched like a mile. She dragged her feet forward. The rote, mechanical part of her brain told her this was the next step. Survive this minute. This hour.

The bathroom light was too bright. Vienna leaned against the counter, staring at her reflection but unable to hold her own gaze for long. Her face was blotchy, her hands shaking. Everything ached in ways she didn’t have words for.

She shifted her weight and winced. The pain shot sharp, unfamiliar, and her breath caught. Oh God. Something’s wrong. What if I can’t fix it? What if he broke something inside me?

She slid down to sit on the cold tile, hugging her knees despite how it made her sore thighs protest. Panic rose in her chest, hot and choking. She wanted her mom. She wanted a doctor. She wanted anyone to tell her this was survivable.

But somehow, there was no one.

Sparks bloomed in Vienna's vision as she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes.

What if they were here?

She hadn't thought about any of them all day. She couldn't. It had seemed too painful, the idea of the world of her loved ones existing alongside this one. But now, for just a moment, she allowed herself to pretend that she could be comforted. That she was home. That she was just sick, or in an accident, not…..this.

Like the time she had a nasty cold on New Year's and had to stay home. Her dad had made her endless cups of her favorite lemon tea, the steam swirling around as cozily as the blanket he wrapped her in, whistling Christmas carols.

She thought about the fierce protectiveness of her mom - while her father comforted her, she was sure her mother would be dragging Alec to the police station herself by the ear, letting Vienna know no one would ever hurt her again.

Her cousin Daniela would be there, too. Mixing together her signature snack of M&Ms and popcorn, turning on their favorite childhood musical. Her heart ached at the thought, the simple innocence of it.

And Zander. She remembered how she'd been so sore from volleyball last year, barely able to lift her arms after a day of serving drills. He'd offered to give her a massage, all earnest confidence until his first attempt made her yelp.

"Oh, okay - ow! You're not kneading dough here!" she'd gasped between giggles.

The next week, he'd tried again, gentler this time, focused, quiet. She'd turned her head back to thank him and stopped short - he had one headphone dangling from his ear, his phone showing a YouTube video titled "How to Give a Back Massage (For Beginners)."

He'd caught her noticing, and for one moment his cheeks flushed pink - until they both broke into laughter, almost falling off the narrow dorm bed in hysterics.

The corners of her lips twitched up, almost reflexively, at the memory. She screwed her eyes shut again, trying to let the warm light of it glow inside her as long as possible. She was cared for. She was loved. No matter how far away it felt.

The mantra rang out once more: Just survive this night. This hour. This minute.

Tomorrow. That means he has a plan. They've come to an agreement. He's going to get the money, and he's going to let me go.

It was the news broadcast that had sparked it, probably. Alec had seen how desperate her parents were, knew that they would pay any amount it took for her safe return, and had taken moves to make it happen. That's why his behavior had been so odd yesterday. That's all.

But she couldn't stop the other voice, the one she tried to smother, whispering in the back of her mind: liar.

It was "tomorrow," now, and he still hadn't appeared. There was a low ache in Vienna's muscles from the constant tension in her body as she shifted on the bed, trying to distract herself with the drone of the television. She couldn't remember a time she had felt this exhausted, wrung out physically and emotionally. She had slept fitfully last night, afraid to close her eyes but unable to stave off the creeping fatigue any longer. Every so often she would jerk awake, expecting to hear the unlocking of the door, for whatever shadowy doom she had in store to come walking through - but it never did.

As the day stretched on, she figured Alec must be at work again and took solace in knowing the house was empty. Still, even when he wasn't around, his voice bounced around in her head. Unease sat like a brick in her stomach, but she forced herself through the motions of showering, of feeding herself, of tidying the room, so when Alec returned he might once again appreciate her "good" behavior. Even when the memory of his praise made her skin crawl.

And so here she sat, hair drying in waves over her shoulders, waiting for whatever came next. The helplessness was crushing, and she constantly oscillated between trying to keep herself calm and steady and feeling like a complete idiot for just sitting and waiting.

When his footsteps finally began to echo down the staircase, she knew the answer was coming. It was almost a relief.

Almost.

Her ears strained, trying to discern any difference in the rhythm of his steps, the weight if his tread, but she came up with nothing.

As the door opened she tried to greet him carefully, neither eager nor defiant, but his expression was more unreadable than ever, and when he spoke his voice offered no clues. The only thing different was he didn't close the door behind him this time.

"Stand up."

Vienna obeyed instantly, every nerve buzzing. When he slipped the fabric over her eyes, tightening with a firm knot against the back of her head, her chest seized.

"Wait - why? Where are we going?"

"You'll see." His tone was infuriatingly calm.

"D-do I need my shoes?"

No answer. He led her by the elbow, his grip firm but not rough, across the room and out the door she’d never been through. The air changed; she could feel the larger space, hear her own steps echo. Her heart leapt: this was it. She was leaving. He was finally taking her out of here. She stepped forward carefully, anticipating the moment she'd have to change her stride to walk up the stairs.

But then he stopped. The scrape of a chair dragging against the floor sounded out.

"Sit."

Bone-crushing disappointment seemed to force Vienna down into the chair more than anything else. Why? Why, when they had been so close to leaving this place forever?

Her wrists were being bound behind the chair with practiced precision. She vaguely recognized that the material, whatever it was, was much less abrasive than the zip ties, but no less effective when she pulled and twisted her arms. Then the gag - rubber stuffed between her teeth, the shock of it forcing a strangled yelp from her throat before she could stop herself.

"Shhh." Alec's breath close to her ear made her freeze. "I have a few things I need to do. I need you to stay here for a little while."

As if he were comforting her. As if she had any say in this at all.

His steps faded away, but not far, and she could hear him messing with something back towards the bedroom. Until even minutes ago that place had felt like a prison, a nightmare - but Vienna was already aching for it back. In this state, she couldn’t see, couldn't swallow properly, couldn't move her arms, and the fear was already threatening to swallow her whole. When the noises told her Alec was walking back towards her several minutes later, she braced herself, realizing her helplessness had peaked - but he walked right by without a word.

His footsteps echoed up the stairs, and then the door slammed behind him. Vienna finally allowed herself to sag in the restraints, for just a moment, as confusion muddled her thoughts. The question rang out again, clear and bewildered: Why?

He's getting things ready. To take me home. The thought burst into her mind, no longer logical but wild and pleading. She clung to it. It started like this - blindfolded and gagged and tied up - and now it'll end like this. So I don't see the inside of his house. That's why.

Minutes passed. Then more. Vienna tried to count her breaths, to keep track of how long she'd been tied to the chair. At least an hour.

Thoughts of everything she would do when this was over carried her through the indeterminable stretch of time she sat there, unable to move or see or speak. Tell her parents she loved them, over and over and over. Run through the widest field she could find, sun warm on her skin. Have a classic Bad Movie Night with Zander, lean against his shoulder in the way that always made her feel safe. Get an ice cream cone with Abi or her cousin Daniela or virtually any other girl she knew, free to exist in simple sweetness without feeling as unbearably small and powerless as she had the last few days.

Then, finally, the door at the top of the stairs opened again.

Maybe that’s the police, she tried to tell herself. And they’re going to untie you and take you away from here and to your parents and it will be like none of this ever happened.

But the footsteps were slow, incredibly deliberate, as if he wanted her to count each one. By the time they finally dragged in front of her, Vienna thought her heart might explode in terror.

He didn’t say a word. Fingers brushed the side of her face as he loosened the blindfold. The world flooded back in dim light and concrete walls.

And him. Standing in front of her, calm as ever, eyes drinking her in, a satisfied grin tugging on his lips.

"You've been so curious, haven't you?" Alec's voice was practically a purr. "I think we've both waited long enough."

And when his hand brushed a lock of hair from her face, so soft it made her sick, Vienna knew.

Her stomach dropped like she’d stepped off a cliff.

No.

The word screamed in her head, but her body stayed frozen. She had tried so hard — so hard —to tell herself that this wasn’t what he wanted, that she could hold onto the idea of ransom like a lifeline. She couldn’t stop clinging to it, even as the truth stared her down.

His body only came closer, hands reaching, and she felt it: this was the moment her world ripped in two, more violently than she could have ever imagined possible. Not when his car had pulled up beside her, not when the stun gun had rendered her body useless, not even when he had pulled taut the ropes that bound her to this chair. It was this, the moment she could no longer deny what he wanted, what was about to happen.

The last tatters of denial tore away. And for the first time since she’d opened her eyes in this place, Vienna wished desperately not for rescue, but simply not to exist at all.

Alec was horrifyingly close now, virtually straddling her in the chair. A petrified squeal broke loose through the gag as Vienna tried to shrink, to twist away, and for a few minutes, the world broke into fragments.

Hands, skimming her waist at first, then pressing, caressing, crudely squeezing up to her breasts. Not a hint of hesitation or remorse, easily moving under her clothes and bra as if he owned her down to the skin.

His lips, warm and surreal against her neck. Vienna felt them pull into a smile against her, and she wasn't sure if she would throw up or pass out or both.

The rope, digging deeper into the skin of her wrists as she struggled, keeping her pinned in place as he did whatever he wanted.

Her voice — was it her voice? She hadn't even meant to speak — muffled behind the gag, thin and panicked and incoherent.

When she heard the next sound, ringing bright and cheerily in the room, she jerked back. Because that couldn't be what he'd really just done, couldn't be any human's response to the raw panic and terror pouring out of her. But she caught a look at his face, and sure enough: Alec was laughing.

She couldn't reconcile it, couldn't make the pieces fit in a way that made sense - the cruel, bizarre contrasts of it all. The way he was touching her like a lover, even as she tried to twist away. The way every one of his motions telegraphed delight, even as she fell apart beneath him. And the way his laughter echoed around the room, even as she cried, as she begged.

His hands slipped out of her bra, leaving it crooked and barely covering her. She didn't have any time to feel relieved before his hands began to slide lower.

Vienna cried out and struggled even harder - she thought she would die on the spot if he touched her down there. But just as his thumbs slid under the waistband of her jeans, he stopped.

Alec leaned back to look at her, and through her tears Vienna thought his eyes looked like black holes, devoid of empathy, of anything she recognized as vaguely human.

“What do you say we take this somewhere more comfortable?”

Dread struck like lightning down her spine. Alec took the gag off, carelessly throwing it to the floor alongside the discarded blindfold.

“Please,” Vienna begged instantly, wincing as her jaw adjusted to being free. “Please - you don’t have to do this.” Alec ignored her, moving behind her to unbind her wrists.

“What I said before about my parents is still true!” Vienna said desperately. “I won’t say anything about this, they can pay you -”

“I don’t want your money,” Alec said shortly, and his blunt denial of her only bargaining chip made her so hopeless that she broke down crying again.

She felt the ropes around her wrists fall away, and before she could even think about running Alec had yanked her to her feet and was half dragging, half shoving her towards the bedroom that now loomed like a death sentence.

When he shoved her into the bedroom, she stumbled to the back of the room, wanting as much space between them as possible. She spun around as he shut the door behind them, feeling like a cornered animal as she looked for an escape. Alec grinned and circled her, as if they were playing some kind of sick game.

“Where you gonna go? Huh?”

Vienna ran past him, ducking under one of his outspread arms and lunging for the door. She rattled the doorknob, but it was locked. She heard his huff of laughter as she spun back around, heart hammering in her throat.

"P-please -"

He caged her with his body, hands braced against the door on either side of her. Vienna had never felt smaller in her life. She looked up at him, breath catching in her throat, body trembling so intensely she thought it might split apart.

"Has anyone ever hit you before?"

"I - what?!" It was not the question she expected. She hated how tiny her voice sounded, as if it belonged to someone much younger. "No, of course not!"

She only had a moment to digest his exhilarated grin before he reeled back and smacked her across the face. Her head bounced off the solid wood of the door, her cry ringing through the room alongside his laugh. Her head swam, more with humiliation and shock than in pain. Alec grabbed her face then, fingers digging into the pink sting on her cheek, and smashed his lips onto hers.

It was violent and revolting and Vienna cried out in disgust into his mouth. He only pressed deeper, his tongue shoving past her lips as her hands desperately pushed and pulled at his shirt. When Alec leaned back, panting and grinning as if he'd just won a race, he rested his forehead against hers. He was so close she could feel his hot, humid breath wash over her face, could see the feverish excitement glittering in his dark eyes.

"And you thought I wanted money. I thought you might - that's the only language a girl like you speaks, isn't it? Let me show you what I really want."

He manhandled her body easily, spinning her around, and Vienna realized with a lurch what he'd been doing in here while she'd sat bound: the bed was stripped of everything but a dark sheet, and leather restraints adorned each of the four corners.

Restraints. As if this were a twisted horror movie, not her real life. And she was forced to reckon with the terrible fact again: this was not impulse. Not a mistake. This is what he'd been planning all along.

She shrieked, fighting back, kicking, pushing, nails scraping against his clothes, against whatever edge she could reach. But he was calm, unhurried, effortlessly overpowering her and guiding her toward the bed.

When he shoved her down onto it she immediately started back up, and Alec hit her again - harder this time, so much so that she fell back, dazed. Before she could catch her breath, her wrists and ankles were forced into the restraints. Spread. Trapped.

Vienna's voice burst out, choked, desperate, still spiraling in on one thought: "Why? W-why?"

He hovered above her, completely changed. The teasing calm was gone. The controlled, almost polite amusement vanished like smoke. What remained was something raw, electric - a giddy, predatory excitement that radiated from Alec in waves.

"I wanted to see what you would do," he breathed, his words wrapping around her like chains, "if you thought that you were safe. And you were so sweet. But none of that matters now, does it? It just means I have more of you to break."

And then he was on her, everywhere. Hands, breath, weight, all swirling together in a cacophony of horror she couldn't begin to process. She was writhing, screaming, until she saw a flash of metal. Every muscle froze, locked in place as he held the knife up to her throat.

"Remember this? I don't want to use it on you, Vienna, but I will if I have to. Stay nice and still and maybe you won't get cut."

Her body went rigid, tense and trembling at the same time. That knife had haunted her thoughts, drawing up terrible images of blood and pain. But as the blade began to slice through the fabric of her clothes, she knew this was even worse. She felt like she was floating far above the room as he tossed aside her torn shirt. Pants. Bra.

The sound of her torn clothes hitting the floor vaguely hit her ears, and — even as her mind tried to reject it — a soft groan from Alec.

"Stop it. Stop. Don't touch me."

The voice (hers? It only distantly sounded like it) came out staccato, practically robotic, and he ignored it completely. It was like she wasn't there at all, only a body. She tried to imagine her parents’ faces, Zander's laugh, her dorm room — anything to push against the enormity of what was happening— but every memory felt like it belonged to someone else. A girl who had been alive yesterday and who was now gone.

His words broke through the fog. He'd been talking throughout, but a particular phrase caught her attention. Her eyes refocused, the room swimming back into view. Door, locked. Limbs, restrained. Him, perched above her, grinning excitedly. He said it again.

"You're afraid I'm going to rape you?"

Vienna’s breath caught in her throat and she didn’t reply. Her horrified expression was answer enough. He looked practically gleeful and it terrified her. She thought it couldn't get worse. She was wrong.

Still looking her in the eye, Alec began to slowly move his hands down her stomach, going an inch at a time towards her underwear.

“NnnnooOOO!” Vienna’s wail crescendoed as his fingers brushed the top of the fabric. “Stop it! Get off me!”

Alec smirked and lightly ran his fingertips around the edges of her underwear, as if the way her hips jerked and twitched was just a delightful game rather than annihilation.

“What’s under here, hm?”

“God, stop, stop, please -“

Vienna gulped, her eyes squeezed shut in horror. This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t be touching her like this. It wasn’t real, it just couldn’t be -

But the feeling of his fingers gliding under her waistband was inescapably real, and she jolted and screamed louder than ever as he slid his touch lower.

“NO! No no no no - just stop!”

He was rubbing her and she thought the emotional overwhelm would kill her. The feeling of this stranger’s fingers there was completely surreal. Then, she felt one of his fingers probe at her entrance, and he leaned forward to speak in her ear.

“Pretty dry…but I think I can still fit myself inside.”

“NO!”

It was happening. It was happening, and one of her very first thoughts was, I fucking knew it. And she had, despite the denial, despite the desperate bargaining, she had known from the moment he pulled up beside her. A surge of emotion reared in her like a roaring dragon - terror, rage, despair, and a deep twisted helplessness, all mixing together until an animalistic wail escaped her throat.

"That's right, nice and loud," Alec purred, and she realized he was taking off his own clothes. Vienna's stomach lurched and she whipped her head to the side, eyes squeezed shut. Let it stop let him get off let it stop let me wake up in my own bed let it stop let me die -

A loud ripping noise interrupted her thoughts, the last bits of defense literally torn away by Alec. Every nerve felt alight, buzzing with trepidation. The cool basement air against her exposed skin felt like being pierced with a thousand needles.

“Oh my god.”

Alec practically groaned as he looked down at her naked body. For a moment, he didn’t touch her at all, and Vienna wondered if maybe he would stop - maybe he realized how scared she was, how wrong this would be? But when she looked up at his face, another wave of nausea overtook her: he was looking down at her trembling body rapturously, hungrily.

“No, don’t look!” Vienna said tearfully, arms jerking uselessly with the overpowering desire to cover herself.

Alec chuckled, “Oh, I’m going to do a lot more than just look.”

Still with a practically reverent look on his face, Alec slid his hands up her thighs. She screamed desperately, but it might as well have been a whisper. His hands converged between her legs, fingers prodding, exploring. Again she screamed, fighting in anguish to close her legs to the intrusion, but the restraints made it impossible. Alec moaned huskily.

“God, so soft…”

He continued to feel between her legs as she let out a paroxysm of shrieks and cries. Vienna felt hollow, but not in the way she craved, where she might actually escape the sensation of his touch, fingers moving as if he meant to touch every inch of skin between her legs. Instead, it was as if someone had scooped out her soul from the inside, her sense of self shattered, breaking further with every deliberate exploration of his hands. His voice cut through the air again, sharp as nails.

"You ever done this before?"

Her mind flashed, almost unbearably, to Zander: to soft touches, shared giggles, tender murmurs. Those moments could not have felt farther away from this, and Vienna shook her head, a strangled noise escaping her throat.

"At all?" Alec's voice was delighted, practically giddy, and she realized with a lurch what he really meant.

"I - I have - but only a few times - never like this - please…"

She thought it might deter him, but he only grinned wider. "Well, this is going to be very special for you, then."

She could feel him. She could feel him. He was rubbing himself deliberately against her thigh, forcing her to feel how he was aching with need. She saw him bring his fingers to his own lips, wetting them, and then they were between her legs. Muscles jerked involuntarily. Words spilled out almost involuntarily.

"Please don't do this please don't I don't want to please stop -"

He gripped her thighs like iron, as if there was any way she could close them with how she was tied. His expression was excited, hungry.

"Oh, I love this part. Where you realize you can't stop me."

Before Vienna could protest again, he began to push himself inside her. She howled, looking between her legs as if she couldn’t believe what was happening. Alec drew back a bit, and then shoved himself inside her. Again. And again. And again -

Her screams burst through, and it was impossible to tell if it was more from pain or horror or pure helplessness, but they filled the room. Every motion was a violation, every touch a death. Her mind and body screamed in unison: this was wrong, this was agony, this was torture.

When she tried to tell him, voice rising and quivering hysterically, he only sneered. Pushed harder. Grunted, "Oh yeah? Good."

Vienna’s wrists burned against the restraints, every frantic pull digging the leather deeper into her skin. The bed frame creaked with each of his movements, the steady rhythm unbearable, louder than her own sobs. She tried to twist her face away from his mouth, from the sound of his breathing, but there was nowhere to go.

The searing pain shot through her body like a knife, but the horror in her mind was somehow even worse. Stop, stop, stop, she thought, but the words tangled in her throat and slipped out broken, barely recognizable even to herself. They were whimpers, sobs, screams.

Alec laughed, a low, delighted sound that cut through her begging like a knife. She couldn’t quite catch what he said at first - only the tone, bright and mocking, as if her terror was the funniest thing in the world. When the words did land, they made her stomach clench. So cute…so pathetic when you cry.

It felt endless. Not even because it was long, but because each second dragged out like time itself was trying to break her. She lost track of when he’d started - or if he ever would stop. It's like it wasn't even her body anymore. Just something he was using.

Then his voice, jarringly close, gasping in her ear. "Do you know what's about to happen? Do you know what it means?"

I'm going to die. The thought was clear, almost matter-of-fact. Not even because she thought he would outright kill her. There's no way I can survive living with this.

His grip became harder, his motions more violent. "It means you belong to me. You are mine - mine -"

The world tilted. Some distant part of Vienna knew what was happening, as if overhearing it from another room. He was finishing.

Finally, Alec collapsed onto her, heavy and slick with sweat. His breathing was harsh in her ear, hers ragged and broken. She didn’t flinch, didn’t move. She couldn’t.

His voice reached her like an echo underwater. Holy fuck…you have no idea how good that was. The words barely registered. Just…noise.

When he rolled off, the mattress shifted beneath her like she wasn’t anchored to it at all. She stared at the wall, her vision unfocused, her chest rising and falling like it belonged to someone else. Her body was still here, but she was far, far away from it.

The restraints came off her wrists and ankles, but the freedom meant nothing. She couldn’t have moved even if she wanted to. The weight of his touch lingered like a brand - every place he’d been on her still felt occupied, claimed.

She didn't think of her family. Or of sun on her skin. Or of comforting touch. Or of anything at all. It was as if her brain had turned to liquid, spilling out of her ears, unable to hold a single thought. Silently, she thanked her mind for the protection.

And then, like it was nothing, he broke straight through it.

Alec was looming above her, evidence of his exertion glimmering all over his body, clothes balled up under his arm, an undeniable spectacle of what had just occurred.

When he forced her chin up, the tears that slipped down her cheeks weren’t deliberate. They felt automatic, like breathing. He smiled fondly at the sight of them, and sighed contentedly as if he'd just finished a feast.

"You couldn't have made that more perfect if you'd tried, sweetheart. Get some rest, because I'll be back in the morning for round two."

When he leaned closer, his forehead kiss turned her stomach inside out, her body jerking in disgust even as she stayed limp beneath it.

And then he was gone.

Silence spread like fog, swallowing everything. She lay there rigid, the damp sheets cooling against her skin, unable to tell how much time passed. Seconds. Hours. She imagined if she stayed still enough, maybe she would stop existing. Maybe she already had.

But then the smell hit her — sweat, metal, him, clinging to her skin. A wave of nausea dragged her upright, though her legs felt hollow and unsteady. When she looked down, she saw the stain blooming beneath her, dark and wet, and the room tilted.