02. Inner Struggle

                                    

                                          
Riley began to struggle in Vincent's grip, disgusted by how close he was but this only egged him on further. He pushed her forward, and she went stumbling to the ground. Vincent slammed the door shut and walked over, kicking her in the stomach.
                          
He then lifted her by the arm and started dragging her up the stairs.
                          
"Pl..please...!" cried Riley as she stumbled on the steps.
                          
"I love it when you beg," laughed Vincent as he dragged Riley to her bedroom.
                          
Shoving her into her bedroom, he closed the door behind him and turned the lock. "How long do I have?" asked Vincent as he sauntered up to Riley, who backed herself against the wall.
                          
"Not long, Jason will be back any minute now," lied Riley, with her heart beating hard in her chest.
                          
Vincent placed his arms on either side of Riley's body, trapping her in while dipping his head to her eye level. "I think my little birdy is lying to me," he smirked. "Now tell me. How long do I have?" he asked again, pulling out a knife from his pocket and sliding it across Riley's back, underneath her hoodie.
                          
He pressed the knife into the flesh of her back and started to press down, cutting slowly into her skin. "Tell me," he repeated.
                          
"Thr..ee h..hours," sobbed Riley. Vincent was pleased with the answer, and the knife was removed from her back, leaving a lingering sting and a long cut.
                          
"Now, you can remove your clothes, or I can cut them off," Vincent's sinister voice whispered in her ear. He ran the knife along the front of her hoodie, stopping at the bottom in preparation to cut it.
                          
"I..I'll ta..take it off," replied Riley in a shaky voice, fearful that her brothers would see any evidence of what was about to happen.
                          
Vincent stood back, giving her some space and looked her body up and down. Riley felt disgusted. This wasn't the first time Vincent had forced himself on her, and it probably wouldn't be the last. No matter how hard Jason and Noah tried, they could never be with her all the time. She never told them, though. It would break their hearts to learn that they weren't there to protect her like they had promised a million times before.
                          
"Now, Riley!" Vincent shouted, getting annoyed at having to wait.
                          
Riley shakily lifted her hoodie and shirt over her head and let her jeans drop to the ground. She was left there in only her plain black underwear while Vincent gazed up and down her body. He grabbed her arm and dragged her over to the bed, throwing her against the purple sheets.
                          
"Stay," he ordered, walking over to her closest. She knew what he was looking for. He purposely left a box of his in her closet, hidden at the very back under a pile of old clothes. Walking back with his box, he sat down on the edge of the bed and opened it up.
                          
"You remember our rules?" he said in his dark gruff voice. "Tell your brothers about this, and I'll gut them both. Then you and I will be spending a lot more time together."
                          
Pulling out a set of handcuffs, he straddled over the top of Riley, grabbed her wrists, and attached them to the bed frame. Riley looked up to the ceiling, trying to block out everything around her, but it didn't work as Vincent trailed his hands down her body.
                          
What made it even worse was that Vincent could see the cuts she inflicted on herself. They littered her body, mainly across her stomach and thighs. She tried to keep them hidden, but there were still a few on her arms from when she first started. It was humiliating having this vile man be privy to her darkest secrets.
                          
"Still cutting yourself I see. You're pathetic," said Vincent with his gaze and fingers trailing over the freshest cut marks on her stomach. His eyes lingered on a newly-formed bruise he inflicted on her stomach, which he pushed on harshly, causing tears to prick at the corner of Riley's eyes.