Page 42 of The Boy I Loved (Eternal Hell #1)

CHAPTER NINETEEN

HAZEL

Exhaustion settled into my limbs, the chair pressing against me uncomfortably.

I was sick of these stupid training sessions.

They were just another way to torture us.

Stacy sat beside me, wrapping her arms around herself.

She looked awful. The welts across her chest were red and inflamed, leading me to believe they might get infected if they weren’t already.

Lauren had been rushed to the infirmary after our last session due to a bad panic attack and she still hadn’t returned.

My mind whirled, bile rising to the back of my throat.

I knew these places were awful, but I hadn’t expected severed limbs to be used on any of us.

Vincent did it so casually, like it was just a normal afternoon.

How could someone be so fucking demented?

My thoughts broke off when Cody and one other guy strode to the front of the room, lowering themselves on the sofa they all seemed to favor. A third man joined them next, followed by?—

My lips parted and my eyes widened, fear punching through my chest. No. There was no fucking way. He’d been so sweet, so nervous, so kind. His lips tilted into a smirk, one that was foreign on his face—far from any of the looks I’d seen him sport yet .

“Black looks good on you, Hazel.” He grinned, raking his eyes over my skimpy outfit.

“Go to Hell,” I bit out, unable to calm the rage swirling within me.

Stacy visibly tensed from beside me, but I’d had enough surprises by now. Was anyone genuine anymore? Would Tory come storming through next. Hell, maybe she owned the goddamn operation.

Rodney stepped toward me, malice swirling through his eyes. “You know…” he began. “I’m going to let that one go. But I assure you … you don’t want me on your bad side.”

I glared in response, but heeded his warning and rolled my lower lip between my teeth so I didn’t say anything stupid.

He must have been another plant Clay had stored at the school.

It made sense. He arrived toward the end of my junior year, and this year, he’d been partying it up with Dom and his friends—guys he shouldn’t have even known.

Rodney turned and walked away, sinking down on the sofa between Cody and the other dude I didn’t know. I’d seen him around but wasn’t privy to his name. So far, he’d left me alone, and that was all I really cared about.

Rodney took the clipboard from Cody, skimming over it briefly before flipping through some of the pages. He must have spotted something there, because his gaze shifted to mine again, his dark eyebrow rising.

After a few moments, he cleared his throat and settled back against the couch. “I’m in a good mood today,” he started, placing the clipboard down on his lap. “Let’s watch a movie.”

I reeled back in surprise, turning to glance at Stacy who just lifted a shoulder in a shrug. This had to be some kind of joke.

Rodney motioned toward Cody, who quickly got the hint and took off to mess with the flat screen at the end of the room.

I couldn’t believe we were doing something as normal as watching a movie.

Under different circumstances, I wouldn’t have minded, but here …

it was the last thing I wanted to do. Then again, it was better than the alternative. Watching a movie versus being raped…

Yeah. It was a pretty easy decision.

I settled back in my seat once the TV started up. Cody messed with the volume before crossing the room and flicking off the light, blanketing us in complete darkness.

Stacy scoffed under her breath and shook her head as the credits rolled. It took me a moment to realize why, but it became very apparent once more.

The movie started with a naked girl sucking off some guy, but his face was blurred out. She had long, dark hair and expertly sucked him like her life depended on it. My stomach twisted with disgust, her large tits swinging back and forth from the position she was in.

This wasn’t a movie.

It was a fucking porno.

“Why are we being forced to watch this?” I hissed, making sure to keep my voice low.

Stacy shrugged, annoyance cresting her features. “Because we’re surrounded by a bunch of horny guys who have nothing better to do.”

That checked out. For being so vile and malicious, some of the guys still seemed to possess that boyish charm. Like Mason for example. Either he was a phenomenal actor, or he still had some humanity deep, deep, deep, deeeep, down. Maybe even deeper than that.

Some of the guys had whipped out their dick, stroking themselves in plain sight like it was normal and they couldn’t control themselves.

It was too dark to tell who was doing it, or if they all were.

But I could make out Cody’s light blonde hair and stocky frame through the dim light of the TV and could see his arm moving up and down .

Compared to the other sessions I had to sit through, this one was a walk in the park. I didn’t have to do anything with anyone, and I didn’t have to see the girls get assaulted with severed arms. It was sad how drastically my limits had stretched.

After training , we were ushered back to the basement.

Tristan collected our clothing and walked off to wash them or do something with them.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he’d collected them and kept them for personal use.

A shudder rolled through me, a chill sweeping down my spine from the cold basement.

Before I could even think of moving to take a seat, a shadow fell over the floor, not far from where I stood.

My gaze shifted, connecting with a pair of steel gray eyes. A mixture of emotions flooded me—some relieved, some scared, some angry, and some … repulsed.

“Hazel,” he whispered, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Tristan had actually left.

I swallowed thickly, stepping forward to meet him at the bars. This was probably our only chance to talk, and as much as I was confused and hurt, I was also curious.

He released a ragged breath, curling his fingers around the bars. Dark hair fell over one of his eyes when he tilted his head down, as if he were trying to summon the strength to speak with me.

“Why?” I demanded, keeping my tone as low as his. “What the fuck do you get out of this?”

He met my gaze again, a current of emotions swimming through his orbs. “Nothing good,” he admitted.

I shook my head. That wasn’t enough and he knew it. “Then why?”

“I don’t have a fucking choice.” He growled, curling his lips back into a snarl. I could see his wrists flex as he tightened his grip. Somehow, I’d hit a nerve, and I hadn’t even insulted him yet. “You think I’d be doing this shit if I did? You think I would have risked you like that? ”

Repulsion bubbled up inside me. “Everyone has a choice,” I countered, tilting my chin so we were eye to eye. “And risked me ? What about all of the other girls you risked ?”

Did he really think that made him a good person in my eyes? That I’d magically be okay with his part in all of this, simply because he wanted to ‘protect’ me? If so, he didn’t know me at all. I knew something was going on with him, but I never in a million years would have suspected this .

He narrowed his eyes, his jaw ticking with restrained anger. “I would risk the entire fucking world if it kept you and Alice safe.”

I shook my head, my stomach curling with a multitude of things I couldn’t quite place.

It sounded nice when he said it, but it wasn’t right.

A woman had been stripped from her child and was thrown right back into a cell without proper care.

Lauren was assaulted with an amputated hand.

None of this was okay. Stacy … She’d been beaten.

How could Dominic stand there and tell me that he’d do anything to protect me when there were so many others who needed that same protection?

“You see me differently now, don’t you?” he asked, though it didn’t sound like a question. He seemed to already know the answer.

“Yes,” I admitted. “I don’t think you’re any different from Mason, Vincent, Clay, Cody, Rodney, Nicholas—any of them.”

He was silent for a few moments but finally nodded. “Good. Because I’m not.”

I knew that already but hearing him admit it had my stomach dropping. How could the boy I loved turn into this … this monster ? I should have listened to him when he told me to stay away. I probably wouldn’t be here now.

The door opening at the end of the hall had my shoulders drawing tight. Dominic quickly stepped away, casting me one last glance before leaving my cell altogether.

I blew out a ragged breath, attempting to steady my racing heart.

The conversation went a little better than expected.

A part of me thought he’d be as callous as his friends, but he did seem to care for me still—in his own, twisted way.

That didn’t redeem him or make anything he was doing right, but it offered a tiny amount of relief.

I made my way to the mattress and lowered myself on it, drawing my knees to my chest. At this point, it felt like I was just going through the motions.

There was no hope for me, not anymore. When people got sucked into trafficking, they were usually never heard from again.

I wanted to be realistic here, otherwise I’d let myself down immensely.

I’m sorry, Mom.

I’m sorry, Dad.

I’m sorry, Tory.

I’m sorry, Katrina.

I’m sorry, Alice.

I’m sorry, Hazel.

My parents would never see me again. They’d never watch me graduate or fall in love.

They’d never be blessed with grandchildren.

Dad couldn’t walk me down the aisle while Mom sobbed in the crowd.

Katrina couldn’t stuff baked goods down my throat when she was lonely—which had been frequent with Dom’s absence and her husband’s passing.

She still had Alice, but maybe it wasn’t the same.

Fuck … Alice.