Page 118 of The Time It Takes
My eyes scoped my surroundings for my brother, but everywhere they went they landed on faces I’d never seen before. Everyone looked soold. No one was even close to my age here—barely even Ben’s.
My eyes fell on a group of guys in the corner of the room only to find them already watching me closely with insinuating grins. It caused something sick and twisted to grow in my gut, telling me to get the hell out of there. I could have tried calling Ben again and let him know I was looking for him. Maybe he could meet me somewhere.
Deciding I wanted nothing more to do with this place, I made my way through the crowd of people—my shoulders bumping against dancing bodies. I was pulling out my phone from my pocket when something hard slammed into me.
My phone fell from my hand and slid across the dirty floor. I lost sight of it. Warm liquid sloshed over the front of my shirt and from the smell of it, I was now covered in vodka.
“Oh damn, I am so sorry, Hun.”
I looked up into the face of an older woman, probably mid-forties. I brought my eyes back down to roam the floor. “Did you see where my phone went?” I asked over the music.
“I’m afraid not,” she said. “It’s probably been trampled by now.”
I huffed an aggravated breath in defeat. A hand came down on my shoulder and I looked up to see the woman watching me with concerned eyes. I shrugged her hand off me.
“You’re not supposed to be here, are you?” she asked, her eyes glancing down my body.
I furrowed my eyebrows. Maybe she could help me. She seemed nice enough. “I’m looking for my brother. His name is Benjamin. He has light brownish hair and hazel eyes. Probably wearing a rock band t-shirt. He has tattoos—a lot of them.”
She shook her head, looking me up and down. “Don’t know him.” There was a country twang in her voice that I hadn’t caught before. Worry began to bubble up and rose like bile in the back of my throat. Something told me that I needed to find him before something bad happened.
He's fine, I told myself.He has to be.
I couldn’t breathe and I needed a second to think.Where are you, Ben?
I scrambled away from the woman and found a door next to the stairs. I tested the knob, and it was unlocked, so I entered. The scent of piss and vomit hit my nostrils. I scrunched my face in disgust at the drugs lined up on the counter.
I couldn’t believe Ben hung out in places like this.
I took a moment and composed myself. If Ben wasn’t here where else could he be? Maybe he was already on his way home. Yes, that was certainly it. I’d go home and find him sitting on the couch and he’d yell at me for being stupid enough to go to a place like this. I was about to leave the bathroom when the door swung open.
I swear I’d locked it.
There was a man standing on the other side of it. It was one of the faces I saw earlier across the dark room. His hair was black, but I could still tell it was greasy and hadn’t been washed in days. His beard was stubbly, and his face was slightly younger than the others. He still looked to be about thirty though. His eyes devoured my body despite me only wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants. I had rolled straight out of bed when Sadie called.
“Excuse me.” I tried to maneuver around him, deciding I didn’t like the situation, but he blocked me in. My heart sped up and my mouth went dry. I looked behind him to find his friends barricading around the door—or rather the view of me behind it. Their backs faced us, and I suddenly couldn’t find enough oxygen to fill my lungs. I tried to push the door closed, but the man stuck his boot out to stop it.
I looked around for anything—something to grab and hit him with to kill that predatory gaze in his eyes. There was nothing. Not one thing. This wasn’t anyone’s home. It was completely abandoned. Of course, there was nothing. The man stalked toward me, and I clambered backward until my knees buckled as they met the edge of the bathtub.
“Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, his voice taunting.
I tried to dart past him to the door, but he caught me and threw me up against the wall. My head slammed into the concrete. I started to feel lightheaded as I heard him shut the door behind him.
“Help! Someone—” I started to scream out, but his hand covered my mouth. I bit his hand as hard as I could, and his skin tasted like ash. He hissed before slamming his palm across my face. My teeth cut into my cheek and then all I tasted was my blood.
“Shut the fuck up bitch,” he snarled in my ear. His breath smelled like the booze that was covering my clothes and I gagged. He started to slide his hand up my shirt and I shook my head vigorously.
“No,” I croaked as I tried to squirm out of his grasp. This wasnothappening. I needed to leave. I needed to get out of here. I needed to find my brother.
I shoved at his chest, but he didn’t budge. I brought my knee up to his groin and he grunted in pain, releasing me enough that I was able to free myself and run toward the door. The very moment I reached for the handle, his hand gripped my hair and he was yanking me back against his chest. His head dipped down, his beard feeling like sandpaper against my skin. “You’re going to pay for that.”
He shoved my sweatpants down and I scratched at his face hard enough to draw blood. When he turned back to look at me, his eyes were black. I knew that the look on his face would be seared into my brain forever. My world spun and everything blurred. It was like looking through fog and I suddenly saw three of everything.
I was seeing three of the man who was now taking off his belt with one hand while the other held me against the wall with his forearm on my throat.
“Please stop,” I sobbed. I couldn’t think anymore. My head pounded with sharp pain, and it was hard to keep my eyes open.
I was seeing three of him as he rolled on a condom, and I tried to scream again but I couldn’t because I realized I was struggling to breathe. He pressed harder against my throat, and I was gasping for air. I kicked my legs out to try and keep him off of me, but my body was growing too weak. I cried out in agony as the pain burned through me.
