Shasha looked at me with pleading eyes as the knife sank deeper into her skin.

"Stop it!" I cried out, my voice hoarse. My body ached violently, every nerve screaming, as if I had no control over myself anymore.

This beast...he had no form of mercy, no heart. Why was he hurting her? Just hours ago, they were together, laughing, kissing, feeding off each other's lust like animals. And now? Now he wanted her destroyed.

I sobbed as I watched her writhe in pain. She didn't deserve this. No matter what had passed between us, no matter the betrayal, my weak and broken heart still found a friend in her.

"Don't hurt her!" I screamed until my throat burned. "Don't you fucking dare!" The words cracked into pieces, swallowed by sobs, but I forced them out, anyway.

My eyes locked on Shasha, trembling and bloodied before me. "You win!" I shouted, the desperation tearing through my lungs. "I'll do whatever you want, just please... please, stop!"

A clap echoed through the room. Slow. Mocking. Followed by a menacing laugh that chilled my bones.

The men who had been on her suddenly stood, fixing their pants, looking down at Shasha's ruined body like she was nothing but discarded trash. Relief cut through me for a moment, I could breathe but it was only replaced by harder sobs. She wouldn't recover from this horror.

My knees buckled. I sank to the cold floor, my body screaming in agony, but I dragged myself forward anyway. Crawling. Every inch felt like a lifetime until I finally reached her. Shasha lay broken, her cries dying down, though her pain bled into every breath she took.

From behind me came a sarcastic laugh. His voice was low, cold, with no hint of real amusement.

"Isn't this a sight?" Jayvin drawled. He struck a match and lit his cigarette, the flame reflecting in his lifeless eyes. Smoke curled from his lips as though the world wasn't burning around him.

"To tell the truth," he continued casually, "I'm not a man who listens to orders."

He exhaled a long stream of smoke, his gaze cutting straight through me.

"But you..." he smiled darkly, "...you are my toy now. Remember that. Let this be the last time I have to remind you."

His words slithered into my bones.

"You have a limit on your life, bitch. Count every breath as a gift," he said, pointing the cigarette at Shasha before flicking the ash carelessly to the floor. His eyes hardened to "be a good fuck toy."

Then, as if none of this mattered, he turned and walked out, the other men following with heavy footsteps. The door slammed shut, rattling the walls.

The silence that followed was unbearable.

My mind couldn't comprehend what I had traded my life for; the numbness spread, knowing I was already ruined even before agreeing to this command. 

Shasha whimpered, the sound jagged with fear, with pain, with everything she couldn't say. My chest tightened. I was terrified too but I forced myself to move closer, to tend to her.

Minutes passed in silence. I sat frozen, my mind a blank slate, trying to process his words, his cruelty. Nothing made sense anymore.

Then a sudden sob shattered the silence. Shasha broke. Her cries tore out of her, raw and unrestrained, and she clung to me so tightly it felt like fresh bruises bloomed where her hands gripped my skin.

"Eli... I'm so sorry," she gasped between sobs, her words nearly drowned by her crying. "You should hate me. You should hate my guts. Kick me down, hurt me...anything!"

My heart began to race. She was right, I should hate her. I should want her to feel the same pain she'd dragged me into. But she'd already had enough pain. More than enough. And yet... she didn't even seem to care if more came.

"I'm a horrible person," she whispered, clutching her head like she wanted to rip her hair out. "This is all my fault. I caused this to happen. I wasn't thinking my mind was consumed with lust, with power and I forgot who I was."

Her voice cracked, breaking into sobs again. I stayed silent, my throat burning, my chest hollow.

Finally, the words slipped from me before I could stop them. "Why did you do it?"

Shasha froze. Her tear-streaked face turned toward me, her expression wrecked with devastation and regret.

I stood up too quickly, my legs weak but fueled by fury, and began pacing away from her. I knew she hadn't expected me to push her off like that, but my mind felt like a storm, cats and dogs tearing at each other inside my skull.

"What was so much better than our friendship," I demanded, my voice trembling with rage, "that you gave yourself over to my nightmare?"

Shasha shuddered, swallowing hard, her throat bobbing. Her eyes dropped to the floor, shame flooding her broken frame.

She didn't move. She didn't even breathe too loudly.

And I realized she wasn't going to answer me. 

But I needed answers. I wanted them now.

I had my problems to deal with; Shasha's answers could wait.

I started pacing the room, every word, his words, my words echoing back at me.

If what I endured was hell... then what is being his toy?

My fingers tangled in my hair as regret clawed at me, but no it was too late. I had already buried myself in this nightmare.

A twisted man like Jayvin carried layers upon layers of misery, and somehow, I was the key that unlocked them.

Shivers raced down my spine, the numbness fading, replaced by a heavy, suffocating stillness as the truth settled in.