23. Brainwashed

                                    

                                          
"Shhh, it's okay Riley," said Noah as he held onto her tight, running his hands through her hair.
                          
But it wasn't okay. Jason would kick her out and she had nowhere to go but back to Vincent. He was so mad at her and all she could do was cling onto Noah and hope that he didn't hate her as well.
                          
"I..I'm s..sorry Noah. Please don't hate me," cried Riley.
                          
Noah only held her tighter and she could feel his tear drops as they splashed against her head. "Hey, none of this is your fault Riley, none of it and there is no way I could ever hate you for this. Vincent did something unforgivable but none of this is your fault."
                          
"J..Jason h..hates me. He'll make me go back. I don't want to go back there Noah, please don't send me back," Riley croaked as she tucked her head further into Noah's shirt.
                          
Noah pushed her gently back away from his shirt and looked down at her as she whimpered slightly at the loss of contact. He wiped away her tears with the back of his hand. They hated her, was all that was running through her mind as Vincent's words kept playing over and over again. 
                          
Hugging her stomach she felt her heartbeat rising and her throat constricting. She was about to have another panic attack and she didn't have any way to get out of it as Noah grabbed a hold of her hand tightly.
                          
"It's okay Riley, it'll be okay...." she heard his voice fade out around her. Her vision was blurry and all she could do was sit their as Vincent's voice and image crashed down over her mind.
                          
"Mmmm... you taste so good my little slut," said Vincent as he licked his fingers clean. All Riley could do was move her head to the side as the heat subsided from her face and her breathing returned to normal.
                          
Her hands and feet were bound on the bed as Vincent took to moving his hands back down Riley's body. "I think you have more in you though," he said as his fingers took the same position between her legs.
                          
She shook her head violently as the gag in her mouth muffled her cries. She didn't want this. She didn't want to feel pleasure at his hands but she had no choice as he continued his assault on her.
                          
"Riley..." she heard in the distance.
                          
"If your brothers knew how much of a slut you were they would disown you and kick you out on  the streets. They would despise you for being such a pathetic little whore."
                          
"Riley, come back to me," said Noah. She gasped for air as she was brought back to the present with Noah hovering over her.
                          
Noah reached down, moving a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "Are you okay Riley?" 
                          
"I..I'm sorry," Riley whispered out, trying to gather her mind back to the present. "I'm such a worthless piece of trash and I get it if you don't want me here anymore."
                          
Noah's eyebrows narrowed in frustration. "Hey, hey," he said, lifting her chin as her gaze locked on to him. "You are not worthless do you hear me? And I will never ever leave you. There is no way you are ever going back to Vincent." 
                          
Noah pulled Riley into a hug. "You never have to go back there again Riley. You're safe here. I'll keep you safe. I love you so much."
                          
Riley relaxed a bit in Noah's arms as she felt the gentle warmth of his hand run up and down her back. The exhaustion of the evening was catching up with her and the recent panic attack seemed to have zapped away at her remaining strength.
                          
"You're exhausted Riley. Let's get you to bed," he said as he picked her up in his arms and walked down the hallway.
                          
Riley couldn't help but notice the smashed glass and knocked over table as Noah scooted around the edge to avoid it, and it only served to remind her that although Noah didn't seem too mad at her, she had yet to face Jason.