Silently Falling (ORIGINAL): Chapter Twenty Four

I walk towards my mirror and scan my eyes along my dress while I smooth it out. Alyse went out with me earlier to buy it, but now I'm worried it doesn't look right.

It's a simple red dress that flows down to meet my mid-thigh. It's nothing fancy; nothing spectacular as to not draw too much attention to myself.

"Are you sure I look okay?" I ask, turning to look at Alyse. She's putting mascara on and her face is only a centimeter away from the mirror above my dresser, but she pauses when she catches the movement of my hands through the mirror.

She smiles and closes the tube of mascara as she rolls her eyes. "Raine, you look hot. That dress looks absolutely amazing on you. I promise."

I glance back in the mirror and attempt to pull the dress down past my knees, but it refuses to do so without also showing way too much cleavage.

I huff and pull it back to its original length meeting my thighs halfway.

"It isn't too short?"

Alyse snorts, "It's going to be the longest dress there."

I nod and continue to stare in the mirror. I, Raine Winters, the girl who avoids all social events that include drinking, am going to a party, supposedly the biggest party of the year so far.

My hand comes up to my mother's necklace and I hold it gently between my fingers.

I'm not going to be alone tonight, and I know who to trust. It won't happen again, how could it? I have five great friends that will be there with me the entire time.

West said he wouldn't leave my side, and I know he'll protect me if Warren does make an appearance.

"Knock, knock." I hear from the doorway, and I look through the mirror to see Toby walking into my room.

He's wearing khakis and a dark blue denim button up, open to reveal his white tank top beneath. He catches my eye through the mirror and walks towards me with a concerned smile.

"You sure you're ready for this?" He asks quietly.

I turn around to face him and nod. "It's been two years. It's better late than never, right?" He still seems unconvinced, so I offer a reassuring smile. "Now tell me I look good."

He cracks a small smile and nods, "You do look good. I wish you would wear a dress that extends all the way to your ankles, but..."

I laugh and dart my hand out to shove him, and he chuckles gently. "You look beautiful sis." He pulls me in for a small hug and gives me a quick squeeze.

When we pull apart he looks over at Alyse and I see his eyes soften a considerable amount. "And so do you." He says, walking to her.

She blushes lightly, "You don't look too bad yourself."

Aw.

He grins, "Wow, you actually complimented me."

Her cheeks redden even more and she lightly shoves him back. "Be quiet."

Toby chuckles softly and then looks back at me, "You two ready? Gray and West are almost here."

I tilt my head, "Did they ride together?"

"No, they drive here separately and then we all take West's jeep to the party." Toby explains. The doorbell rings and he begins to walk towards the stairs. "That's them now. I'll see you two downstairs." He sends one last look at Alyse before leaving my room.

Her and I share a look and I take a deep breath to slow my heart rate.

"Nervous?" She asks.

I gulp down the lump that's formed in my throat and nod. "Nervous is an understatement."

She frowns sympathetically and places her hand on my shoulder. "Raine, we won't let anything happen to you. We just want you to have fun."

I stare at her with my eyebrows furrowed and close my eyes briefly before nodding. She smiles softly and pulls me to her for a reassuring hug, and once we pull apart we leave my room. I hear the boys talking animatedly to one another downstairs as we approach the steps. My eyes land on West as I reach the staircase and I take in his apparel; he's wearing his leather jacket over top of a dark red flannel, and his hair looks imperfectly perfect and soft as ever. He's nodding along to something my brother is saying, adding his input to the conversation.

Alyse and I start to walk down the steps and gain their attention. They all look up at us, and when West's eyes land on me, he stops mid-sentence and does a double take. His lidded eyes don't look away from me as they trail down my body and back up again with his mouth half open. I blush lightly and bite my lip to keep from laughing when Gray thwacks him on the back of the head. He flinches and shoots around to glare at Gray, and once I reach the bottom of the steps I walk up to them.

"You look beautiful, Raine." Gray comments, ignoring the fact daggers are being glared in his direction.

I smile and give him a small hug of thanks. I walk to West's side and stand next to him, smirking up at him.

"Your turn." I sign.

He raises a brow and smirks back. "My turn to what?"

"Compliment me, you goof."

He tilts his head, "Did I hear a please?"

"You didn't hear anything. In case you forgot, I can't really talk." I sign, nudging him jokingly before walking over to the others. "Where's Tyler?" I ask.

As if to answer my question, the front door opens and in walks Tyler with a huge grin hugging his lips.

"Who's ready for the best party of the year?" He asks, bro hugging Gray and Toby. Then he sees me and stops, his eyes trailing down my body. "You look stunning." He says, smiling at me.

I return the smile and he pulls something from his Letterman-jacket pocket. My brows furrow confusedly as I see a bright red plastic whistle resting in his palm.

"Blow it in case anything goes wrong." Tyler jokes, handing it to me.

My eyes narrow at his hand and then at him. I give him an incredulous look at the fact he would even consider bringing up what happened, much less give me a freaking rape whistle.

Before I can do anything, the whistle is ripped from Tyler's hands from a seething Toby.

"Too far, Ty." He growls, storming into the kitchen to throw it away. Alyse frowns and goes after him, ready to calm him down.

Tyler flinches back and then looks down at me with guilty eyes, but I just shake my head and walk over to West who is watching the scene in interested confusion. Tyler watches me walk away and scratches the back of his head, cursing under his breath.

"What was he handing you?" West asks, glancing at Tyler before he focuses on me.

I shake my head and he takes the hint to drop the conversation, so he starts up another one. "So, are you more nervous or excited?"

"Nervous." I answer easily.

He tilts his head, "Why is that?"

"I told you, parties and me don't go well together." I sign, looking down with a frown.

The more I think about this, the more I realize that I may not be ready.

West frowns and takes a step closer to me, his eyes trying to find mine. "Hey, I told you I wasn't going to leave your side. I won't let you do anything embarrassing, and I won't let any creeps hit on you." He reassures, smiling lightly.

I meet his eyes and smile gently. "I know. Knowing that you will be there is the only reason I'm still on board with going."

He smirks, "Well don't I feel special."

My cheeks heat up and I give him my legendary eye roll to offset his constant smirks. He chuckles and his smirk softens into a smile. "I'm glad you're going."

I smile sheepishly back and tuck some hair behind my ear. I see Tyler watching us from my peripheral vision, but I stop myself from looking at him. He shouldn't be eavesdropping anyways.

"Alright, we all ready to go?" Toby asks, walking back into the Fourier with Alyse.

We exit the house, and instantly the winter air freezes me and I run back inside to get a coat. It was idiotic of me to forget one anyways. Before I open the door, however, I feel a hand lightly take my arm and a familiar feeling of warmth cascades from his touch. I turn and give West an inquisitive gaze, but he just shrugs off his leather jacket and hands it to me.

"No need to run all the way back inside." He says as the others head for his Jeep.

"Well won't you be cold?" I ask as we walk down my sidewalk.

"I have on more than you do, and we are literally like a second away from getting in my car. I think I'll be fine." He says, unlocking the doors so we all load inside. I notice that everyone leaves the passenger seat open for me, and I internally smirk.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" Tyler asks, seeing that all the seats are taken.

West purses his lips. "Oh yeah, I forgot we were going to have an extra person... Just squeeze in." He decides, starting the car.

I turn around and catch Alyse's eye, and I start to smirk. "Alyse, just sit on Toby's lap so that way you all fit."

Toby see's what I sign, and I don't miss the small smirk that falls upon his lips. Alyse looks over at him as if he's going to kill her, and it causes him to bellow out a laugh.

"Come on Alyse, I don't bite." He says, patting his legs.

She shoots me a look before crawling onto his lap with a giant blush. I turn back in my seat and try my hardest to hide my smile, but I don't do such a good job. Tyler gets in and takes Alyse's old seat, and West begins driving.

We get to the address of the party just ten minutes later, and we all pour from the cologne encased car. As I step onto the beautifully cut yard, I freeze in place and stare at the shaking mansion. Music blasts outside from any crevice it can, and hundreds of teenagers stand throughout the property.

"Raine, you sure you're ready?" Toby asks, appearing next to me.

I'm able to tear my gaze from the house and to my brother, ready to tell him to take me home, but something else catches my attention in the transition. The others are all walking into the party, but West is standing patiently off to the side, waiting for me before he goes inside.

I smile almost unconsciously and nod. "I'm ready."

I walk over to West as Toby heads for the door, and when I reach him he smiles lightly. We near the door and I begin to feel my chest vibrating with the music, and my nerves sky rocket. I almost freeze in place yet again, but before my legs get rooted to their place, I feel someone take my hand and interlace our fingers. I look up at West, and he offers me a small, crooked smile that reassures me and diminishes all of my nerves.

I start walking a little closer to him, suddenly feeling more confident.

"Toby!" I hear as we enter behind my brother.

He smiles and gives some guy a bro hug. "Hey man, direct me to the beer." He says, and then he's out of my sight.

I gulp rather nervously and shuffle even closer to West as an already drunken couple bombard past us.

"Come on, I know where we can stand so it's not so crowded." West says, leaning down so that his lips are only inches away from my ear. I can feel his minty breath fan across my skin and it makes a shiver burst through my body.

I nod and follow him, his hand still holding onto mine. We weave through the crowd, and a few girls with dresses that barely pass for clothing bump into me. I can feel a lot of eyes on me, but I ignore every stare I get. Once West and I get out of the main crowd, I see where he is walking and I let out a small breath of relief. He leads us to the wall of the almost empty hallway looking into the congested living room.

"And we're through safely." He jokes, leaning against the wall, my hand now missing his warmth. I crack a nervous smile and stand rather close to him. "What are you thinking of the party so far?" He asks.

"We've been here literally two minutes." I sign.

He grins, "I know."

I follow his lead and lean against the wall. "Well to answer your question, I'm terrified."

He frowns and meets my eye, "You don't need to be. Whatever happened before...it won't happen again. Not while I'm around."

I keep my eyes trained on his and try to believe his words. But he doesn't know what happened. The simple reassurance it won't happen again won't take the fear away.

"What do you do at parties if you don't drink?" I ask, changing the subject.

He shrugs, "This."

"Doesn't it get boring?"

He glances down at me and smiles slightly. "That's what people seem to think. But I enjoy watching everyone. I see everything that goes on at these parties."

I furrow my brows in confusion and he looks back at the hundreds of teenagers dancing in the room ahead.

"Like look over there," he says, nodding towards a couple talking with one another.

I follow his line of sight towards the couple, and I watch them for a few moments. I don't see anything unusual and I glance back at West confusedly.

"Just keep watching."

I sigh and do as I'm told, and I soon notice the guy not having a single sip of his beer while his date downs hers. He simply holds the can in his hand while they talk, and every time she turns around or looks away he pours a little of the can into the plant next to them.

"Wait, isn't that Scott Cannon? He's, like, known for drinking." I sign.

West smirks down at me. "I've never once seen him drink beer at a party before."

My mouth drops open, "Really?"

He nods, "Really. It just goes to show that rumors can be the opposite of the truth. Rumors are only what people want to believe."

I shake my head with a disbelieving smile. "Who knew you could get so much from just one couple?"

He chuckles, "This is why I don't drink. If I did I wouldn't have caught onto that."

We continue to watch our drunk classmates, laughing and coming up with ridiculous excuses they will tell their parents when they try to sneak back home.

"I bet he's going to make it half way up his sidewalk and then accidentally set off his car alarm." West says, pointing to a boy I recognize from calculus. "Then his parents are going to hurry outside and he will drunkenly say that someone attempted to get into his car and he heard, so he stormed outside to stop him."

I laugh and nod to the girl he's with. "Or, better yet, the two of them will be in his car, parked in his driveway, and his car alarm will go off. His parents will storm outside, but won't be too happy at the sight they see." I sign. "They will just pray to god he used protection." I add, causing West to burst out in laughter of his own.

"Such a dirty mind, Sunshine." He says, smiling mischievously at me.

I laugh, "I've been hanging around you too much."

Before he can respond, a very drunk Kyle stumbles upon us and his eyes may as well be feeling me up. I feel West tense beside me, and I glance over to see him staring at Kyle suspiciously.

"Raine?" He asks, smiling widely at me. "I thought that was you! I haven't seen you at a party since, like, freshman year!" He slurs.

I smile awkwardly and nod. "Yeah, it's been a while."

"Did you come because you heard I was going to be here?" He winks. "I mean, it was mine and Ian's idea to throw it."

"I didn't know you two were friends."

He stares at my hands and then smirks, "Either I suck at sign language, or you just requested that we dance."

"You suck at sign language." West speaks up, stepping in front of me. "Back off man."

Kyle gulps slightly, "The beautiful lady can answer for herself. Right, Raine?" He says, looking at me over West's broad shoulders. "You remember all the fun we used to have."

Yeah, like when you tried to make me talk?

"I'm going to stay here, but thank you." I sign, smiling apologetically.

Kyle deflates and his shoulders slump.

"Now that you've had to be told no twice, why don't you go dance with that girl over there? She seems to be eyeing you." West says gruffly.

Kyle looks away nervously and nods. "Yeah, definitely. Another time, Raine." He says, scurrying away.

I grimace and nod, watching as he stumbles away. "Thanks." I say, looking at West.

He smirks, "I told you I would save you from creeps who try to hit on you. Plus, I was hoping if you were going to be dancing with anyone tonight, it would be me." He adds, his shoe fumbling nervously with the wooden floor.

I frown slightly and attempt a joke. "Maybe in another world." I sign, and he nods awkwardly.

"Right, if you don't like parties then you don't like dancing."

I shake my head. "Just because I don't like dancing at parties doesn't mean I don't like dancing."

He raises a brow, "So Sunshine is a dancer?"

I shake my head, "Not entirely, but I don't suck. I have rhythm."

He smirks, "You're going to have to give me some lessons." He purrs, stepping closer so that there's only an inch of room between us.

I place my hands on his toned chest and gently shove him away, trying my damned hardest to ignore the muscles that my hands had the privilege of feeling. He chuckles at the action and shrugs.

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

No keep trying, because eventually I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to resist.

"All this shooting you down has seriously made me thirsty as hell." I sign, smacking my lips.

West rolls his eyes at me. "Want to go get some water? I'm getting kinda thirsty myself." He says, pushing off the wall. I smile gratefully and start walking with him towards the kitchen, our hands coming back together so that I don't get lost in the crowd. But just as we enter the kitchen, I see Gray walking swiftly towards us.

"Raine, West! I haven't seen you two all night." He says, blocking the entrance. I eye him suspiciously, watching as he fidgets slightly.

"We've literally been standing in the same spot this whole time." West says, raising a brow.

"Oh really? Maybe I need glasses then." Gray says, laughing awkwardly.

"Yeah..." West trails off, looking at him oddly. "Well we worked up quite a thirst with all of our people watching, so we are just going to get some water." He says, attempting to push past Gray, but he holds him back.

"Actually, there are two people kinda getting it on on the kitchen table, I don't think you want to go in there." He says quickly, and from the way he scratches the back of his head I know he's lying.

"Gray?" I sign as best I can with my only free hand. "What are you hiding?" I ask, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.

He stares at me for a few seconds and then sighs, "Fine, West you go ahead in and see what you want, but I'm going to have to be a good friend and keep Raine away." He says, moving out of West's way and walking directly to me. "She's too young for that sight."

West glances at him as if he's grown three heads and then at me and shakes his head. "Alright... Water or soda, Sunshine?"

"Water works, thank you." I sign as Gray pulls me back to where West and I were standing before. "Gray, what the hell was that about?" I exclaim incredulously.

He lets out a puff of air, "Warren was in there."

My blood runs cold and I tense.

Oh.

"I don't think he's seen you yet tonight, and I didn't want him to. Nor did I want you to see him."

I swallow nervously and nod slowly, looking down at my hands. I had forgotten all about Warren through the course of the night. West kept my mind off of what happened at the last party I went to.

"Good news is that what I said wasn't a complete lie. Dylan from our calculus class actually was getting it on with some girl from a few towns over." Gray says in attempt to lighten the mood.

I chuckle, "Good, maybe then West won't interrogate me when he comes back."

"Oh yeah, how's y'all's little date going?" Gray asks, nudging me with a knowing grin.

I snort, "Date?"

He shrugs. "I mean, he did ask you to come here with him. Doesn't that count as a date?"

I shake my head, "Trust me Gray, this is no date. But to answer your question, I'm actually having a lot of fun. Who knew people watching could be so enjoyable?"

"It can be when you're with the right person." Gray says, continuing to insinuate things that aren't happening.

I narrow my eyes at him. "You're a little drunk, aren't you?"

He grins, "It wouldn't be a party if I wasn't."

"West doesn't have to get drunk and he's still having a good time." I point out.

"Because he's with you. I've seen him at other parties and he's always just the brooding man in the corner." He says, winking at some girl that walks by.

I bite my lip to keep from smiling at that confession, but he notices.

Gray smiles and tilts his head. "You really like this guy, don't you?"

I shrug sheepishly and don't reply, but that's enough of an answer for him.

"Well all I can say is he had better not screw up. Or else he's got me and your brother to watch out for." Gray says, causing me to laugh lightly. He glances over at the party and sighs. "Here comes Ty. I think he owes you an apology for the stunt he pulled back at the house, so I'll leave you two alone."

He sends me another small smile before he walks away.

"Hey, Raine." Tyler begins, looking down at the ground awkwardly. "Look, I'm sorry I did what I did earlier. It wasn't cool of me, but I honestly didn't think it was that offensive. I kind of meant it as a 'fuck Warren' type of gift."

I nod and look down, pursing my lips. "I know you didn't mean it in any rude way, Tyler. But you shouldn't have done it in the first place."

He sighs and nods, "I know. I'm sorry, Raine."

I offer him a small smile, "It's okay."

"So we're good?" He asks hopefully.

I smile gently and nod, "Yeah, we're good. I could never stay mad at you."

He smiles back. "Awesome. And I didn't just come over here to apologize; I was wondering if you wanted to dance?" He asks, nodding over to the living room West and I have been watching all night.

All of the sudden my smile drops and I avoid his gaze. I didn't even want to dance with West... I don't really want to dance at all.

"Yo, Ty! Beer pong in the dining room! We need one more player, you in?" Ian asks, appearing out of nowhere to slap Tyler's back with a drunk smile.

He turns and grins, "Yeah man, I'll be right over."

Ian nods and dances away, lifting his beer into the air as he starts grinding on some girl from a few towns over. "Wanna come?" Tyler asks me.

I purse my lips and shake my head. "No, I'll just wait here for West. Thanks though."

If Warren is in the kitchen, then he obviously can't be here too. Which ultimately means I'm safe until West gets back.

"Alright, well I'll see you later." Tyler says, deflating a little.

I watch as he walks away and hug my arm to my body, watching the party all alone. I suddenly feel entirely vulnerable and I scan the crowd for Toby or Alyse to talk to. My eyes spot Alyse dancing in the center of the room with some guy on the football team and I start to push off the wall to go grab her, but before I can a large figure stands in front of me and stops me.

"Fancy seeing you here."

Warren.

How is his timing so impeccable?

My entire body seems to shut down and my heart drops. My breath gets caught in my throat, and while I try to remember how to breathe I also focus on calming my heart rate.

"What do you want, Warren?" I sign nervously, scaling the wall to get away from him.

"Oh I just wanted to talk; see how you're enjoying the party." He says with an eerie smile that makes disturbed shivers run up my spine.

Where the hell is West?

I gulp and continue to back away from him. "Why don't I believe that?"

He smirks and continues to slowly advance on me. "Because you're smarter and a lot more sober than you were three years ago."

"Look Warren, just leave me alone."

"You are alone, just...with me." He says, his icy blue eyes dancing with fire.

I furrow my brow in confusion and look around. My eyes widen when I don't see anyone else from the party around, I don't even recognize the room we are in.

"You may not be as naive and you may not be nearly as drunk as you were before, but you still made this way too easy." Warren says, finally lunging forward and pinning me against the wall.

A scream burns in my throat, but before I can let it out his grimy hand covers my mouth. I fidget in his grasp and try to shove him off of me, but his other arm holds my wrists above my head and his body keeps me firmly and painfully against the wall.

"Now I'm going to move my hand, and when I do you had better not scream." He growls into my ear, and I can feel his erection growing with every second that passes.

I am not letting this happen to me again.

I narrow my eyes and bite down on his hand. Hard.

I'm not going to make this as easy for him as it was last time.

His eyes widen and he yanks it back with a angered yelp, blood pooling around my teeth marks. I smirk at him, but just seconds later a searing pain takes over half of my face and my entire head whips to the side. I whimper from the stinging pain that flows throughout my cheek.

Warren harshly grabs my throbbing face in his tight grasp and forces me to look at him.

"Pull a stunt like that again and I'll make this even longer than I originally planned." He spits, throwing my head to the side yet again.

He begins to unzip his pants and hitches my dress up, making the cold air hit my thighs. His lips attach to my neck and I close my eyes tightly as the trail all around, disgusting me to no end. His other hand continues to painfully grip my wrists above my head, and I hold back a sob.

I can't believe this is happening again. West said he wouldn't let me out of his sight. He said nothing would happen to me. Toby said I would be okay. I thought I would be okay.

I thought lightning never struck in the same place twice.

I feel Warren's hand coming closer to me, and I try to shut my eyes tighter than they already are, praying that this is just a messed up nightmare. Tears build beneath my eyelids and somehow find room to pour out as I feel his hands on me, trailing around until his fingers enter me.

Then he's gone.

"Get the fuck off of her!"

My eyes snap open at the sound of West's voice, and I see him throwing Warren onto the ground, his eyes ablaze with fire. Warren lands with a large thud and falls into a confused daze, but when he realizes what happened his eyes widen slightly in fear.

"No man, you got it all wrong. It's not what it looks like." Warren says quickly as he scrambles backwards and into the wall.

"Then what was it?" West seethes.

Warren gulps and fumbles about to find an excuse.

Just moments ago he was towering over me, brooding and threatening, and now he's cowering back like a fool.

"Let me handle him." My brother growls, stepping forward.

West's eyes snap to Toby, his entire body heaving with his anger, but my brother's doing just the same. Then West's eyes move to me and I shrink further into the wall. The fire in his eyes flickers from rage to concern and he rushes over to me.

"Are you okay?" He rushes out, trying to catch my eye. As his eyes scan my face, they zero in on the red mark expanding across my cheek and he clenches his jaw. He lifts his hand and I close my eyes, taking in another ragged breath. I let it out as I feel his gentle touch on the raw skin, timid and concerned. I slowly open my eyes and see all the emotions running through his dark brown pools as he stares at the wound.

"He slapped you." He says, his voice tight.

I can't keep my tears inside or hold my shaking body up anymore, and I collapse into his arms; a sobbing mess. His arms instantly wind around me and hold me to him, providing me with comfort that I didn't realize I needed.

I take in a bunch of deep breaths and keep gulping air down as my body violently shakes with sobs and fear and relief.

I can hear the hits and blows Warren is receiving from my brother, and each hit makes me cling to West a little tighter. Memories are appearing behind my closed eyes, so I fight to keep them open and the flashbacks away.

I take in more ragged breaths as a futile attempt to calm my heart rate, but I can't seem to stop my heart from pounding painfully against my chest or the deep headache that has risen from my hurtful sobs. It doesn't help that I can hear Warren groaning from every blow to his face from my brothers vengeful hands.

I swallow deeply and pull away just enough to shakily sign something to West.

"Please take me home."

He reads my hands and instantly nods. "Of course, Sunshine." He says, keeping me tucked securely into his side. We begin to walk out of the room, and from the corner of my eye I can see Warren taking the beating from my brother, and I quickly look away.

West takes us through the party and to the front door, keeping me as close and as shielded as possible so no one can see me completely breaking down. Flashbacks still pound through me and they only result in making me feel even more violated than moments before.

Before we reach the front door, West stops walking and I look up. I see Alyse, Tyler, and Gray all standing before us watching me with regretful eyes.

They know exactly what happened.

"Where is he?" Gray forces out, his jaw clenched.

West nods behind us and Gray storms towards the room. West doesn't question how he knew what happened or who to be angry with.

My eyes meet Tyler's, filled with guilt and regret. "Raine..."

I swallow down another wave of tears and hide back into West's side, silently pleading for him to continue walking and get me the hell away from this party. He continues to walk, pushing past Tyler with Alyse following us.

As we leave the house, a flashback hits me with the same force as the winter air and I'm too emotionally weak to fight it down. So I cling to West tighter than before and let it take me over, praying to god it doesn't last long.

I whimper loudly as Warren completely rips my bra off of me, the straps snapping on my skin as the throngs that held it together give way. I can feel them dig into my skin as they break apart, creating an open wound soon turning wet with blood. I arch my back from the pain and groan, clenching my eyes tight.

I keep my eyes closed and bite my lip to the point that it bleeds as I feel Warren's slimy lips trail down my neck and to my newly exposed skin. I whimper again as his mouth encases me and start to kick and struggle, attempting my very hardest to lift my arms from where he has them pinned against my sides.

His response is to grip my wrists tighter, cutting off my circulation and making me cringe deeply.

"Get off of me Warren!" I yell shakily, continuing to struggle against him.

"Shut up." He growls, lifting his hand long enough send a quick and painful slap across my face.

I snap back into the present with an audible sob and West tenses. The searing ache of Warren's hand across my face doesn't fade with the flashback, nor does the throbbing pain of my wrists.

Because it all happened again.

"It's okay, Sunshine. I'm here." West whispers against my hair, attempting to calm me down as he caresses the back of my head. The gentle tone of his voice is able to keep back another unwanted memory and I let out a small sigh of relief.

I jump slightly when I hear my brothers frantic voice and I look over to see him running towards West and I.

"Raine!" He yells, practically pulling me from West's arms and into his own.

I don't protest to the change but I don't melt into my brother's arms as I had West's.

"I'm so sorry, Raine." Toby mutters into my hair, his arms shaking around me.

I hear the Jeep unlock and next thing I know I'm being lifted inside, still tucked into Toby's side. West starts the car and we begin to drive away, and I let out a deep, shattered breath.

Why did this have to happen to me again?

I curl further into Toby as another wave of tears comes and his arms tighten around me. I try to remind myself that it didn't happen again. West was there to stop him this time before Warren could go through with his threat.

West was there.