“Alright,” Harry says, leaning against the doorframe with a satisfied smirk. “I think our business here is done.” His gaze darts between Priscilla and me, something dark and menacing gleaming in his eyes. “Tomorrow, we will try again after work. I have work in the morning,” he adds. “So it will be much later. Get some rest.”
I don’t acknowledge them, and neither does Ronnie.
The last thing I want to do is give this scum the satisfaction of seeing any hint of emotion in my eyes. But I'm sure he knows. Finally, the door closes with a resounding thud behind them, sealing Veronica and me in the gloom of the basement. I can breathe again, or at least something that resembles it. The silence presses in around us, stifling and suffocating. She sits on the ground, her kneestucked under her chin, her hair a curtain of onyx falling around her, the red ends in dire need of a touch-up. Still, from where I’m standing, she looks utterly beautiful.
I rise from my spot and walk towards her until the chain forces me to stop.
“Do you think our baby will call youtioor daddy?” A soft chuckle escapes her lips as she clenches her knees together, her eyes puffy from crying. She’s angry, and all I can do is take whatever blow she delivers. So I listen. “For so long… I pushed my feelings for you aside like a second skin. I cheated.…” She trails off. Her words pierce the thick silence, hitting me with a force that leaves my heart pounding. “I know…. I know I said we could be. Fuck.” She sobs. “I can’t do this. I can’t.”
“You didn’t cheat on anyo—”
Her laughter cuts me off. “I enjoyed it. Isaac. I—”
“You protected yourself,” I mutter softly, feeling a sudden knot in my throat as I struggle to find the words, any words, to offer her. What could I possibly say that would make any difference now? Still, I try. “I…” I begin to say, only for my voice to trail off into the silence. Knowing I can’t offer her anything right now. The pain in her eyes is unbearable, and I force myself to meet her gaze. All I can do is acknowledge her pain. Be here so she knows she’s not alone. “I don’t know what the future holds for us all. I can do is swear to you... I swear I’ll be there.”
A mirthless laugh escapes her lips, a sound devoid of any joy or humor. “And how exactly do you plan on doing that, chained up in here with me?” She waves a hand around the dim room, gesturing at the dank cement walls and the heavy metal chain that binds my ankles and wrists. “Look… weeks… fucking… weeks…” she snaps. The despair in her voice strikes me like a physical blow. Her hands go between her legs, and her finger slides with ease into her. “I have your cum leaking from inside me, and tomorrow and the day after. Who knows who it’ll be? I didn’t want to be a mother…”
“We didn’t…,” I stutter, frantically trying to find the right words. “I mean, we didn’t plan this. I wish I could make it all better, but all I can offer is my shoulder for you to lean on. To cry on.”
She shakes her head, wiping salty tears from her face. “I don’t know.” She whispers softly. I wish I could reach out and hold her, comfort her. But I’m fucking chained, unable to do so. Unable to comfort my heart as it breaks down right in front of me. “Harry did this to us. He forced this on us.”
She scoffs. “NO!… I wanted you…” The raw emotion in her voice rattles me. “For so long, I betrayed Max. Alexa.” She whimpers softly. “My mom. I don’t know if I can face all of that out there.”
“I know,” I respond, my voice barely above a whisper. “You’re not alone, I’m here.” I allow my head to fall between my hands. Resigning myself to the fact that we will never happen, things have changed for us, just not in the way we would have hoped. It’s only become more painful.Confusing.
“I… This is sick. What if….What if I’m pregnant?YOURchild, Iz. I have your father’s last name, Iz. What the fuck, Iz? How do we go back to normal?”
“I don’t know. It’s twisted and wrong on so many levels. But we can’t change what happened, Ronnie.” There’s a thick silence in the room, only punctuated by our ragged breaths. “There are choices for you outside this place. I’m with you, Ronnie, whatever you need from me. I’ll be here. Hate me, use me. Whatever you fucking need,” I tell her. “We will get out of this. I promise I will get you out, and we don’t know if you’re pregnant. Not yet. But either way, I will protect you, and if you are pregnant, I will stand by you. And if you want to end it, I’ll still stand by you. I'm here. Fuck. I wish I could hold you.”
She stares at me, a mixture of disbelief and desperation welling in her eyes. “How?” she asks, sarcasm dripping from her voice. She tugs at her chains sharply, the motion making me wince. “You've been saying this, but how? HOW? Clearly, your brilliant plan isn’t working.” That stings. I’m also a victim… I’m also hurting. My jaw clenches, biting back the urge to snap back at her. It's not her fault that she feels this way. It’s her body that’s completely lost its agency. I lost mine a long time ago…
“It will work, trust me, please,” I say, my gaze never leaving hers. A regretful smile twitches at the corners of her mouth.
“And then what? Max… Alexa… Mom… Dad… Nixie? What then?”
“We’ll figure it out,” I respond, trying to sound more confident than I feel. “I’ll be with you through it all. You’re not alone. Allow me to carry some of the weight for you. Lean on me, Ronnie. I’m not your enemy. We can help them understand. I’ll be your voice.”
She is silent for a moment, her expression unreadable, before letting out a hollow laugh. “Make them understand? Make them understand that we fucked each other? Max will hate me. He’s always thought our relationship was too odd for stepsiblings…. And.. And… My best friend is in love with you. Your cum is leaking out of me.” Her words turn into more pained sobs. Each one landing like a bullet straight to my chest. I collapse then, my knees giving in to the weight of everything, and all I can do is take it.
Words leave my mouth, but she’s not hearing them. “I don’t give a fuck about any of that. Only you… only you. Fuck, Ronnie. Can’t you see that? Haven’t I been clear enough about that?”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” she snaps, her voice is harsh, but it trembles with the intensity of her emotions.
“No,” I agree quietly, my gaze meeting hers. “But it’s the truth.”
For a long time, we sit there in silence, each lost in our own tumult of thoughts and feelings. The air is thick with regret and sorrow, hanging heavily in the room. Finally, she breaks the silence.
“Is it… is it really?” she asks quietly, a haunted look in her eyes. “The truth?”
“Yes. It’s the truth. Hasn’t it been obvious all these years? It’s been you. It will always be you. I don’t care what they think. Sure, I don’t want to hurt anyone. But what about us? Don’t we matter?”
The silence falls again, oppressive and heavy. The chains that bind us seem to grow heavier with each passing moment, pressing into our skin and holding us in a cruel embrace. The chill of the basement seeps into my bones. “This is so fucked, Iz,” she finally says, her voice barely above a whisper.
“But it’s the truth,” I repeat, my words resonating in the dank, cold air. “No matter how much we try to run from it.Tu eres mia… solo mia.”
She’s silent again.
This time, it’s not filled with bitterness or regret but with quiet contemplation, like a calm before the storm. Her eyes are distant, lost in thoughts I can only guess at. Ronnie finally speaks, her voice quiet and shaky. “I'm so scared… Here, things are simple. Fucked up… But out there in the real world, you’re my brother. We might not share the same blood, but I'm a Vargas just like you. Like Nixie. Like my mommy.” Her voice breaks a little. Using her hands, she wipes up the tears and sobs into her hands. “Fuck, Iz. Isaac, I enjoyed you inside me. Does it make me a monster now? ”
