1. Nightmares (Octavia's POV)
"NO! STOP!" I scream as he drags me by my hair down the hard cement stairs. I scream and kick and flail, but there's no use. This is my life. The only thing I've ever known is pain.
I manage a kick to his shin. My mistake. "You stupid little bitch! I'll make sure you pay for that. This round was going to be rough for you, but now, I'm going to enjoy hearing your screams." All of a sudden, I'm floating. No, I'm falling.
The first thing to hit the stairs is my shins, then my forehead, and lastly, my spine before I land face-first on the floor. I pick my head up from the concrete and see stars. Watching him, with his beer gut and scraggly beard, stomp down the stairs with his signature scowl on his face every time he looks at me.
"Dad... please. No, " I whisper, but there's no point. Before I can get to my knees, he grabs my arm and drags me to the wall. The one I've been chained to countless times before for his sick way of 'teaching me a lesson'. All I did this time was speak when I wasn't spoken to, but by now, I should know better. Being 18 and dealing with this, quite literally, all of my life makes this round my fault.
He turns me so my face is pressed to the wall while he shackles my wrists above my head, then walks away. I don't dare turn to see which item he's chosen for punishment this time. It doesn't matter. Pain: That's what it will be.
"I'm already planning on having the men come down and take the only thing I've let you keep all these years. Well, besides your life; your virginity. So if I hear even a squeak out of that pathetic little mouth of yours, I'll double the lashings. Then, if you're even alive by the time I'm through with you, they'll still come down and take it. I've promised it to them and I don't go back on my word."
No... no, no, NO! He's only said 'lashings' once in all of these years. I can't take the whip again. I almost died last time. I'll definitely die this round and my virginity... No! I have to get out of this. I can't let this happen.
I'm frozen in fear until I hear his heavy footsteps approaching. I can't help it. I start thrashing and pulling on the chains, trying to get away. Silent tears flow down my face as he stops right behind me. I hear it before I feel it. The whip slices through the air and then absolutely mind-numbing pain.
"NOOOOO!"
I push up from the floor to my hands and knees, but I'm not where I thought I was. The polished hardwood floor of my new bedroom glistens in the moonlight in front of me. The thick rug under my knees feels like it's almost mocking me. The softness of it. I stay there for a moment, gasping for breath and trying to focus on the comforting feeling of it on my skin to bring me back to reality.
Slowly, the tension in my chest eases, and I can breathe normally. ""Fucking nightmares." I growl out while I push myself to stand. I glance at the clock and give a humorless chuckle. '4:09am'. I actually slept longer than normal. My usual morning routine is: wake up around 3 screaming, work out to relieve the tension, shower, breakfast, and then work. Since I just fully moved into this huge empty house 3 days ago, work isn't exactly in the cards today. It's more like job searching.
I shake out my limbs to rid myself of the tension from falling on the floor and make haste in getting into my workout attire. Spandex shorts, a sports bra, running shoes, and a high pontytail are the only options I give myself since they're the least restricing.
One glance in the mirror, and I'm momentarily frozen. Yeah, I might look alright to most. Long dark brown, almost back, hair that reaches just past my tailbone with big brown eyes the same color. Tan skin, high cheekbones, extremely plump lips, and curves for days in all of the right places.
All I see is my scars, though. Covered by my tattoos, of course, but I can still see them as clear as the day I received them. They scream at me: damaged, broken, traumatized.. at least that's what I hear. 'Alright,' I think to myself, 'that's enough wallowing in self-pity for one day.'
I quickly flip open my laptop to my security system I installed to check all of the cameras and make sure they haven't found me. It's been 3 years of running, and only 3 days that I've fully lived here, but I'm not taking any chances after the last time they got too close. Closing my laptop, I make my way down the stairs and into my in-home gym.
Walking over to the mini fridge filled with water, sports drinks, and protein shakes. I grab a water and start doing the one thing that brings me the closest to peace I've ever gotten. 'Work out till I fall out' is my everyday motto when I hit the gym. It's the only thing that chases the memories away and brings relief, no matter how temporary.
