Page 34 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

HAZEL

I’d never felt so violated in my life. The doctor probed and stuck invasive equipment inside of me, digging around in there and collecting samples. Oddly enough, the man had been completely professional and didn’t touch me longer than he needed to. Thank God for small miracles, I suppose.

Afterwards, I was ushered to lunch. It was the same mundane bullshit as this morning.

Nobody so much as paid me an ounce of attention.

I’d eaten in silence and was forced back to my cell when it was all said and done.

I only knew it was the same day because of mealtimes and because of Mason’s final words to me during breakfast about my upcoming doctor’s visit.

The cold wall pressed against my back as I stared off into the distance. Was this what I had to look forward to? Eating horrible food, being probed by doctors, waiting for it to be my turn to get fucked by a nameless stranger? It was bound to happen at some point.

A hiss sliced through my thoughts and my head immediately whipped in the direction I’d heard it.

The lights were on at this point, but I’d tried my hardest not to stare at the other girls.

I didn’t want them to feel anymore ashamed than they did—especially when they were forced to be naked.

Luckily, my clothes hadn’t been confiscated yet, but the time would come, I was sure.

The girl was too far away for me to make out her features, but she had dark hair and was all skin and bones.

“It is you,” she whispered through the shadows with a heavy sigh.

A crease formed between my brows, curiosity niggling at the back of my mind. On shaky legs, I rose, planting my bare feet against the cold, hard floor.

“Do I know you?” I asked, keeping my voice low as I crept closer to the right where her voice was coming from.

Her bony fingers curled around the bars, and she bowed her head forward, dark strands cascading around her like a waterfall of doom. “It’s Stacy.”

My knees buckled and I had to snap my arm out, resting my hand against the bars so I didn’t fall on my ass. “Is Lauren here, too?” I asked with a shaky breath.

“She is. She’s two cells from mine.”

“T-they can’t get away with this,” I stammered, a sob catching in my throat. “The cops are out looking for you and Lauren. Soon, they’ll be looking for me, too.”

A guard chose that moment to walk by, his eyes scanning over me briefly.

If he was concerned with my new position in the cell, he didn’t show it.

He probably didn’t view me conversing with Stacy as much of a threat.

It wasn’t like two small girls could take a loaded man anyway.

His gaze trailed over my body, but he kept moving.

A small breath of relief escaped my lips, and I turned back to the girl on the other side, kneeling so that we were closer.

“They will get away with it.” She lifted her head, her dull, brown eyes clouded with despair. “They never stay long in one location. By the time the police even suspect the operation here, they’ll be long gone, and we’ll either be sold or dead.”

Agony sprouted within me, trickling through my veins like liquid lava. I knew she wasn’t wrong. There were so many predators out there that it would be impossible to stop them all. Still, that small thread of hope I’d been clinging to, died all the same.

“Who brought you here?” I asked? “Did you see their faces?”

She nodded, her face twisting with pain.

It was so odd seeing Stacy like this. She’d bullied me for years.

She was always so put together and beautiful.

Now, she was … sad. Despite all the torment she’d inflicted on me throughout high school, all I could feel for her was pity. She didn’t deserve this—nobody did.

“Hazel … It was?—”

My cell door opened with a loud clang, bouncing against the bars. I whirled around quickly, my heart thudding against my ribcage.

Vincent sauntered inside, his blue eyes sparkling with malice. I’d always thought he was intimidating, but now that I knew he was a part of this sick and twisted shit, those feelings were amplified by a shit-ton. I shrank toward the hard, metal bars, pressing my back against them.

“Why so timid?” he mocked, strolling forward with slow, calculative movements. “Was Dom right about you? You’re just a scared, timid thing with no fight?”

Dominic said that?

Now wasn’t the time to get lost in my feelings, but I couldn’t help that it stung just the smallest amount. He made me sound so pathetic. But perhaps he was right. Fighting would only get me into deeper shit than I was already in. I’d fight, but only when the time was right.

Vincent’s gaze flicked from me to where Stacy was, crouched on the other side of the bars. His lips twitched in amusement, as if he got complete satisfaction out of seeing us this way .

When he returned his attention to me, the amusement had faded from his expression. “I’ve come to collect your clothes. You won’t be needing them from here on out.”

My throat bobbed with a heavy swallow. “Y-you want me naked ?” I asked incredulously.

“The only time women are allowed clothes are when they eat or when it’s otherwise required,” he clipped dryly, his tone holding no room for argument. “You’ll also learn to obey without questioning. Let this be your one and only warning.”

Defeat washed over me, shame filling every crevice of my body. Slowly, I reached for the hem of my shirt and tugged it over my head. Embarrassment settled into my limbs when my nipples pebbled from the cool gust of air wafting through the vents.

Vincent hummed thoughtfully, his gaze raking over my chest. Quickly, I hurried to cover them with my arms, repulsion bubbling through my veins.

“I’ll be seeing a lot more than your tits, Hazel. Might as well get used to it. You and I, we’re going to be very well acquainted in the near future.”

“Why?” I whispered, my voice trembling.

Vincent’s lips twitched, but not from amusement this time. His arm snapped out, the back of his hand connecting with the side of my face. A searing pain radiated through my cheek, and I had to bite back my whimper.

My breathing was ragged when I turned to look at him again, confusion clouding my thoughts.

“No questions, remember?”

I nodded, shaking as I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my pajama pants, and shoved them down past my knees. They pooled around my ankles, goosebumps pricking over my thighs from the change in temperature. With slow movements, I stepped out of them and did the same with my panties .

Once I was completely bare, I knelt, scooping up the discarded clothes and rose with shaky movements.

“Good girl,” he praised. “I knew you’d be a fast learner.” He reached forward again, and this time, I flinched away, knocking my head back against the metal bars. His thumb brushed over my lower lip slowly, flipping it downward in an almost intimate gesture.

“As soon as your lab results come back, you and I are going to have a lot of fun together.”

I recoiled from him, pressing against the bars as far as humanly possible. He was fucking deranged—he and Mason both.

It wasn’t that he was bad looking. He was pure, fucking evil. It all made sense now. Why I’d felt so wary around the two of them. This was what they did in their spare time. Beating and raping women—possibly even selling them and killing them.

Vincent smirked before stepping away. The added space between us allowed my breaths to come in easier and my shoulders relaxed a fraction as a result.

He took the clothes and turned on his heels, making his way out of the cell.

He closed the door and locked it before disappearing, a breath of relief rushing from my lungs.

“Be careful,” Stacy murmured lowly. “Vincent and Tristan are the worst out of all of them.”

“Tristan?” I queried, turning to look at her again.

She nodded, keeping her head lowered. “You haven’t met him yet. You’ll know when you do.”

A chill swept down my spine. They were all the same in my book—monsters. “What’s he like?” I asked.

Stacy situated herself on the thin mattress she was positioned on and straightened her back the best she could.

That was when I saw it. The dim lighting shone down on her body, revealing a series of welts spreading from one shoulder blade, over her small breasts to the opposite hip.

They looked like … lash marks. When she angled her head just right, I could make out a single black eye, rimmed with purple bruising, and a busted lip .

Horror swept through me, tugging at my heart until I could almost imagine the pain she must have endured. But I knew that even my own imagination couldn’t compare to what had actually happened.

“W-who did this to you?” I demanded.

Stacy arched a sharp eyebrow in challenge. “You care?”

I blew out a breath and lowered myself to my knees, wincing slightly at the discomfort it brought. “Why wouldn’t I?” I snapped, slightly annoyed that she’d suggest I didn’t.

“Never mind.” She blew out a breath and glanced away for a moment, collecting her thoughts before giving me her attention again. “Tristan likes new girls. He’s obsessed with them. I-I couldn’t get him off. I wasn’t tight enough for him.” She winced as if it was truly an insult.

“Maybe he’s just too small,” I offered in an attempt to make her feel better.

She huffed a soft laugh, but I could tell it was forced. “As punishment…” she trailed off. “He beat me with a whip until I bled.”

My stomach bottomed out at that admission, sympathy tugging at my heartstrings. What kind of monster would do something like that? Then again, what kind of monster would do any of this?

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, genuinely meaning it, and not having anything better to say.

“It is what it is.” She shrugged, but even that seemed to pain her if the wince was anything to go by. “As for the black eyes … Vincent can get pretty rough. I mean, they all can, but Vincent is rougher than most.”

“He did that during sex?” I whisper-shouted.