To me, you are the world.

TRIGGER WARNING ⚠️ : mentions of sexual assault, abuse and torture throughout the chapter.

Chris:

Caleb chuckled and shook his head, "What? There's no Sparklemuffin here! This is all just a dream whooo! Awhooo!" He waved his arms around sporadically and I facepalmed.

"Caleb, just take Sparklemuffin outside." Zack groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Bring him inside ever again and it's a one-way ticket to the animal shelter."

Caleb gasped, clutching his chest. "YOU WOULDN'T!"

Zack glared and aggressively chewed and swallowed his pasta. "Try me."

"Tell him guys! Tell him that Sparklemuffin deserves a safe home just as much as we do!" Caleb cried out.

"Shut up, we're trying to watch the series," Nick grumbled.

"Caleb, you should take Sparklemuffin to the shed. I mean, that is why we built it right?"

"Yeah Caleb, you should listen to Arya," Zack declared smugly.

In sync, our eyes widened and our jaws dropped and we turned to face Arya.

"What?" Her voice was hoarse, but it held the same sarcasm, "Never heard a girl talk before?"

Issac squealed- squealed!- and launched himself at Arya. "YOU CAN TALK AGAIN!" He froze midair, muscles tensed, "Wait, can I hug you?" She nodded and he wrapped his arms around her, shoulders shaking from laughter that quickly turned to tears.

"I've really missed you," he whispered something else so quietly I knew he only wanted Arya to hear.

She smiled and nodded in response and he pulled away, wiping his eyes.

"Sorry," Zack mumbled gruffly, "it's the allergies."

"Yeah they really suck," I forced out, a large lump formed in my throat. I tugged Arya's hand and hugged her tightly. "I've really really missed you Skittle."

"I've missed me too, Kit." She replied hoarsely.

"Okay now it's my turn!" Caleb whined. Arya laughed and hugged him too and his face lit up like a Christmas tree. They quickly chatted about some book they'd read and then Arya turned to Ethan.

She stood and marched over to him, arms raised. "Hug."

"No."

"Hug."

"How about a quick fist bump instead?"

"Hug." Arya wrapped her arms around him tightly. Ethan awkwardly patted her back, a tiny smile on his face. The hug looked stiff and cold, but neither of them seemed to care.

Taking a shaky breath, Arya sat down and turned to us. She bit her bottom lip and fiddled with her fingers nervously, drumming it against her against the armrest, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear or picking at the dead skin around her nails. "Um... I think... I think that I m ready to talk about- about what happened."

Nick paused the TV and we looked at Arya. We didn't pressure her to tell us quickly, but I could feel the impatience and fear buzzing off from the others.

Arya inhaled deeply and clenched her hands into fists. "For the first few days, they kept hitting me. They taunted me, burned me with cigarettes and even tried to make me believe you were dead." A weak chuckle, "Naturally, I knew that was- that it was false. But then... then they started touching me." She looked up and tried to control the flow of tears.

"There- there was one man. His face was covered with a mask, but he had the kind of voice that sounded so familiar. He would keep... keep doing these things-" Unable to keep it in, Arya broke down. Her shoulders sagged and huge, heart-wrenching sobs shook her body.

An unfamiliar feeling exploded in my chest. It warped and twisted into a huge, ugly black thing and spread like an infection through my body. I wanted to kill Valerie and her men. I wanted to put them through the most intense, severe and painful torture I could think of- even the deceptively childish ones like making them walk over a floor full of Lego.

Carefully, I wrapped an arm around Skittle's shoulders and gently tugged her into me. She dropped her head to my chest, her hot tears seeping through my shirt as she fisted the blue material.

"It really hurts," she sobbed.

"I know, Skittle," I whispered, "I know... Just let it all out. We're all here. Just let it out."

X

Issac:

We pulled up in front of our warehouse- a sturdy brick building that looked like it housed a small family rather than a gang.

"After this," I said very softly, "we're all out. Agreed?"

The men nodded and we walked through the front door. It was empty, save for a woman strapped to a chair in the middle of the room.

I took a minute to examine her.

She had long, red curls that were pulled over her right shoulder. Her brown eyes were sparked with madness and rage, along with a hint of fear. A green dress clung to her body by sweat and she screamed and thrashed against the ropes that held her.

"LET ME OUT!" She roared, spit flying from her mouth, "LET ME OUT!"

"Shut up." I said and she recoiled slightly, staying quiet. For a brief moment, the only sound was her laboured breathing.

"Why have you brought me here?" She snarled, "Are you going to kill me?"

"No." I pulled one of the chairs towards me, noticing her wince as the legs scraped against the floor and sat down on it. "That would be too easy an escape for someone like you."

"So what? You're just... You're just gonna keep me here forever?" Valerie spat out, "At least tell me why I am here?"

"Does the name Arya McKenzie ring any bells?" I questioned, tilting my head ever so slightly to the side.

Realisation flashed across Valerie's features and she sagged. "Oh."

"Oh indeed."

"So... I'm guessing you're her friends?"

"Yes."

"Well... I don't regret it. Not really. I needed to hurt Alonzo's son to get back at him."

"You dragged an innocent person to fulfil your crazy obsession," Ethan snapped, "I hope you rot in Hell."

Valerie threw her head back and laughed demonically, "I guess you're gonna torture me now? Huh?"

"No, actually." I took a sadistic pleasure in seeing her expression crumble. "In five minutes, the police will be here and you will spend the rest of your pathetic life in jail. They received an anonymous tip about your trafficking ring."

"We hear that the inmates don't look kindly on child predators. So even if you did make it past the first week, which I highly doubt, you will spend your life in fear and misery." Caleb grinned.

"You- you can't do this!" Valerie shouted as we turned to leave, "No, please! I'll- I'll give you anything! Money? Power? Anything! PLEASE!"

We didn't look back.

End of chapter 19.

Qotc:

1. Think Valerie deserved the punishment?

2. What are your thoughts on the book so far?

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)