~TRIGGER WARNING~

This chapter contains VIOLENCE, SEXUAL ASSAULT and DEATH!

*****

Zach's POV

I hang up and instantly grab my black leather jacket, leaving Liv's apartment without hesitation.

I turn right and start running down the street.

Somehow, I have an awfully bad feeling.

I should've picked her up after her shift ended! Why didn't I think of that?!

I turn the corner and look around, but I can't see her yet.

She should've made at least half of the way by now.

Shit!

I ignore the burning pain in my lungs and keep running until I turn the last corner. I spot the Diner, but still, there's no trace of Olivia.

I run both my hands through my hair and spin around in panic.

"Fuck!" I let out a cry of desperation. Some passers-by look at me bewildered.

I don't give a fuck. All that matters to me right now is Olivia. Nothing else.

I pull my phone out of my jacket pocket and dial Liv's number, but it's going to her voicemail.

I clench my teeth and curse under my breath.

If Terrence has harmed only one hair on her pretty head, I'm going to fucking kill him!

My mind goes crazy and starts picturing all possible horror scenarios. I try to push these thoughts away, and start running back towards Olivia's apartment, searching for any hint which indicates Liv's been here.

After minutes of running, I stop at a corner, all out of breath. My hands slide through my hair and I dig my nails into my scalp, closing my eyes in desperation. I lean forward, panting heavily, and try to get my breath back.

What now?

For a second I think about calling the police, but eventually I decide against it. If T is really involved in Olivia's disappearance, which I'm sure of by now, he'd go ballistic if he knew about the police searching for her, and then I trust him to do the worst things. Only the thought of Liv being hurt drives me mad.

Just in that moment, something catches my eye. A tiny and light blue something lies on the concrete next to an old and rusty trash bin. I bend down and recognize it right away as Olivia's scrunchy. The one she's always wearing for work. With trembling hands, I pick it up from the ground.

No...

My fingers slide over the little piece of fabric and I close my eyes, safe in the painful knowledge Olivia is in the dirty clutches of my fucking stepbrother right in that moment.

My gaze wanders around, searching for another hint of Olivia's whereabouts as my attention gets drawn to the old trash bin. I take a look inside, and gasp as I spot Liv's phone in it.

I instantly grab it and go through her last calls and messages but can't find anything suspicious.

The sound of my own phone ringing makes me jump. I promptly pull it out of my pocket and look at the screen.

Terrence!

Without hesitation I pick up my phone and hold it up to my ear.

"Hello, little brother!"

T's deep and cold voice booms through my head, making me feel sick right away.

Why can't I just wake up from this horrible nightmare?

Olivia's POV

I blink sleepily as I regain consciousness.

Where am I?

I close my eyes again and screw up my face since my head aches like crazy.

What happened?

I need a few seconds to remember and suddenly I am wide awake. I glance around, but my vision is still blurred, and I can't make out anything. My mouth is duct-taped and a sharp pain at my wrists tells me my hands are tied together behind my back.

Slowly, my sight gets clearer again, and I examine my surrounding.

I'm lying on an old, musty sofa in a shabby and stuffy room. The walls are moldy and a dusty luster dangles from the ceiling. I clearly don't know this place.

Caleb must have brought me here.

Shit!

The thick cord, which is keeping my wrists together, is impossible to get rid of, yet I make an attempt and tug at it with all my strength. Without success.

In that moment I make out hushed voices coming from the next room. They're too subdued to tell to whom they belong.

After a few minutes, the voices go silent and I hear footsteps stamping over the old and scuffed wooden floor.

Out of the corner of my eye I alertly watch the ajar door with my heart racing.

With a loud bang it gets pushed open and Terrence comes into my view, closely followed by two big, beefy guys. I recognize one of them as Caleb.

Terrence slowly draws closer with an evil grin all over his face.

"Slept well, princess?" he spits out with raised eyebrows.

I look away in disgust as he stops right in front of me. His knees are only inches away from my face since I'm still lying. He firmly grabs my chin and tilts it up. Without hesitation he tears down the duct tape, making me wince of the pain. A strained whining escapes my throat.

"Oops... Did I hurt you, baby?" Terence asks me, pouting, and then grins at me suggestively. With his thumb he roughly trails my bottom lip, eagerly licking his own lips.

"You disgust me!" I scowl, turning my head away.

Terrence eyes me with clenched teeth and crosses his arms.

"Oh, is that so?" He looks down at me, his face full of hate.

Before I know it, I feel a sharp pain on my cheeks. Terrence punched me right into my face.

I screw up my face at the unexpected hit.

"How's that, huh?" he asks and kicks into my stomach with his knee, making me wince. I close my eyes, hoping Terrence won't notice the tears glistening in them.

He roughly grips my hair and forces me to sit up.

"What do you want from me?" I ask him through gritted teeth.

Terrence flashes at me with narrowed eyes.

"A thing or two," he replies with a wolfish grin.

"But before we talk about my plans for you, I want to tell you something about your pussy-guy," he adds and trails my jaw with his smudgy fingers.

I huff and try to shake off Terrence's hand.

"At that very moment, he's driving to a place where he'll meet some of my... let's say friends, but he thinks I'll be waiting there for him." An evil laugh leaves his throat.

No!

"I told him to bring my money, and of course he accepted, as scared as he was about your well-being. What a wimp!" he scoffs.

Terrence lures Zach into a trap!

"Well, I'm afraid he won't come out of this alive, darling." Terrence shoots me an innocent smirk.

His words resound in my head and all the color drains from my face. I try to say something, but the big lump in my throat won't let the words leave my mouth.

"What, does the cat got your tongue?" Terrence asks me with a smug smile.

Zach wouldn't be that stupid to fall into T's trap.

Or is he?

Maybe his concern for me has dampened his senses.

I close my eyes, trying hard to collect myself since I can't think straight right now.

Terrence, who clearly waited for me to speak, huffs, and bends over so his face is only inches away from mine. I feel his gross breath brushing my face, and I distort my mouth in disgust.

"So, right now I'm just waiting for the message which tells me Zach's worthless body is drowning in his own blood," he hisses.

I blink in panic and feel I'm on the verge of passing out.

"And I know the perfect time killer to shorten the waiting time," Terrence adds and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"I'll fuck the shit out of you!" He licks his thin lips, and his gaze wanders down to my body.

Terrence slides his beefy hands up my thighs and under the skirt of my Diner uniform. Trying to avoid his greedy touch I squirm my body, but Terrence fixes me with his whole body weight, making it hard for me to breathe.

"Please... Don't!" I beg him in a trembling voice.

Terrence eyes me like a predator its prey.

"I show you what it feels like to get fucked by a real dick! Too bad I have to kill you when this is all over!" he states in a low, menacingly voice.

I gasp as he tears off my tights and roughly pulls down my knickers.

Terrence shoves up my skirt so he can get full sight of my most private area.

I squeeze my legs together and try to break free from his heavy weight, which is still pushing me down, but with my hands tied up, all I can do is watch Terrence exploring my defenseless body.

He forcefully shoves two of his fingers into my mouth and watches me eagerly while lowering his hand again.

Without hesitating he roughly thrusts these two fingers inside me, making me wince from the burning pain the sudden motion has caused.

"No!" I scream and try to kick him away.

Terrence draws back his fingers and scowls at me, foaming.

"Don't move!" he hisses through gritted teeth.

I flinch as he spits into my face. His big, meaty hands grab me and turn me around so that I'm kneeing on the couch with my chest bent over the backrest.

I hear Terrence opening his belt behind me and feel burning tears streaming down my face, as I exactly know what he's going to do next.

"Please, don't...," I beg him once again, my voice hardly audible.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Terrence screams at the top of his voice, "This motherfucker is the reason why my fucking Dad hated me. Zach was always his good boy. From the day on his whore of a mother died Zach came always first. He took my Father from me and now I will get even with him!"

I close my eyes, sobbing quietly, still not able to move.

Just when I think he's about to shove his disgusting dick into me, I feel a searing pain on my butt.

Terrence hits me with his belt over and over again, making me whine with every blow.

He grabs me by my hair and roughly pushes me back onto the moldy sofa and starts violently kicking and punching my body with his fists and knees.

With every punch, he lets out a shout of rage, and my vision starts to get blurry from all the pain.

He doesn't stop throwing punches at me, and just as I'm almost passing out, I hear gunfire and soon enough a familiar voice cries out my name.

Terrence is completely out of control and doesn't even notice the screams and gunshots.

"OLIVIA?!" Zach emerges at the door with his gun in his hand.

The moment he spots Terrence beating me up, he points the gun at him and pulls the trigger without hesitation.

Terrence sinks down on his knees and falls forward, on top of my trembling body.

Zach rushes up to me and grabs T's lifeless body, heaving him off me.

With horror in his face, he notices my pulled-down underwear.

"Fuck... Livie!" he breathes.

"Can you hear me? Talk to me! Please..." He cups my face in his hands and looks at me, his eyes full of panic.

I don't manage to say a word and just look numbly into his worried eyes.

Horrible pain runs through every inch of my body, steals my breath away.

Zach pulls up my knickers, throws his jacket over my devastated body and carefully lifts me up.

The next moment, darkness surrounds me once again.