I thrashed from side to side, trying my damndest to dislodge him, failing miserably. My haggard body protested at the movement, radiating with pain. Louis Armstrong began to croon out the words toWhat A Wonderful Worldfrom the truck’s cassette player, overshadowing my pleas and sobs.
“Hold still,” Noah growled, flipping me over so I was on my back, forcing my head to lie in my own vomit.
My shoulders screamed in their sockets, and twine cut into my wrists.
“Please don’t do this,” I begged as he settled between my legs. He covered my mouth with his hand and managed to shove half his length inside me.
Vigorously shaking my head back and forth, I freed my mouth and sucked in a breath, releasing it on a broken scream as he pulled out and pushed back in. Friction coupled with dryness tore the delicate tissue, making me bleed. My mind blanked, unable to believe that this was happening, that my sweet little brother wasn’t moving inside me, moaning his pleasure in my ear.
Nausea tossed my stomach. I couldn’t get out from beneath him and I was wasting all my energy trying, but I had to do something. No one was going to save me.
Adrenaline had my pulse racing at a hazardous speed. I could hear my heartbeat thundering in my ears. With a single-minded focus, I lurched up and brought us nearly mouth to mouth, catching him by surprise.
I snagged his lower lip between my teeth and bit down as hard as I could.
“Ah, fuck!” he garbled, immediately pulling out of me.
His fist and pain simultaneously hit the right side of my face. The impact forced me to let go, but not without tearing a soft piece of flesh from the inside of his mouth. I spat it out, along with the blood I tasted on my tongue.
He jumped up and swiped his face with the back of his arm. With nothing to balance me, I fell off the gate of the truck. Before I could get my bearings, his boot kicked me square in the stomach.
Gasping, I managed to roll onto my side, receiving another kick to my back. I bent my spine, pulled my shoulders in, and tucked my chin to my chest to form a protective ball.
“Fucking bitch, you’re not even worth it.” A glob of spit landed on my cheek, and his hand came down and attempted to tear the necklace from around my neck.
When he failed to remove it, he kicked me one last time in the back of my head. Pain exploded in my skull, and I saw stars.
A door slammed, and then they were gone. As the taillights faded, darkness eagerly swallowed me up.
CHAPTER TWO
When the sun rose, the heat rose with it.
Sawdust and little bits of grass clung to my sweaty, swollen face. I was still on the side of the road, battling with myself not to give up.
My father would never expect me to survive and that had me realizing for the first time in nineteen years that I was free. This was not where my story would end—not when it hadn’t even begun yet.
I was so goddamn tired, though. The thought of moving almost gave me anxiety, but I couldn’t continue to idle on the side of the road. If someone out here found me in such a pathetic condition, I stood no chance against them.
I tugged at the twine around my wrists for the hundredth time to no avail. Gritting my teeth against an onslaught of pain radiating from my ass, I used my core muscles and legs to push off the ground, hissing as my ribs protested.
Once on my feet, I swayed and fought to stay upright. Glancing around through one good eye, I took in the scenery surrounding me.
I’d never been to the Badlands before.I’d never been allowed to venture away from The Order. I had no idea where to go. Left and right were both long stretches of road surrounded by fields of…nothing.
Taking a gamble, I chose right. I avoided the smoking blacktop by walking along the edge of the street. I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do, but at least I was moving—albeit slowly. I walked and walked and walked.
My chest heaved with every strangled breath I took as I attempted to get some saliva in my mouth. Sweat rolled from my brow to my cracked lips.
How long would it take for my heart to give out? Every pump of blood it pushed through my veins was like a solid rasp on a bass drum reverberating in my brain. All the aches and pains from the day before were now stiff and sore. My left eye had swollen to the size of a golf ball, limiting visibility. My habit only added to my struggles, the heavy black garment weighing me down and serving as a beacon for the sun.
Eventually, I stopped to rest against a tree that offered some semblance of shade, telling myself it was just for a few seconds. My vision was fuzzy and my legs could barely hold me up. The view looked the same as when I started, making me feel like I hadn’t really gone anywhere.
I knew that I could survive this. I just needed to keep walking for as long as I could without falling down. I willed myself to believe that everything would be all right; no negative thinking, no analyzing or processing anything that had happened.
When I began to doze in and out of consciousness, my inner voice failed to get me moving again. It wasn’t until a cool rag was placed over my face that I woke enough to realize I was in a moving vehicle and my hands were free.
“Is that her?” a man whispered. I think my head was on his lap.
