Avery had no idea what time it was when she woke up. All she knew was that she had a raging headache, a sore jaw and her muscles ached something fierce. It took a few seconds after prying her eyes open to realize why. Her arms were above her head, her wrists tied together. She was tied by rope to something… a pipe, maybe. And she was on the floor. Cold, hard cement. Avery groaned and tried to shift to get more comfortable, but the rope above her was too tight for her to do much but move her butt a little.
Opening her eyes a bit more, Avery’s gaze was drawn to the tiny, narrow window, providing the only light available in the dim room. It was definitely a basement. There were some boxes in the corner. A washer and dryer. It smelled musty and she could hear a slow drip somewhere behind her. The events of what happened in the bar came rushing back, and her heart began to beat faster as she turned her head to her right. Lily was there, tied much like Avery with her arms above her head to round pole that ran from the floor to the ceiling above them. Avery didn’t see Eily anywhere. “Lily,” Avery said, though her voice cracked from how dry it was. She licked her lips, praying Lily wasn’t dead. “Lily.”
Lily stirred when Avery’s voice reached her ears, her eyes fluttering open as she attempted to bring her hands to her head. Her ears were ringing and everything was so fucking blurry, and her head throbbed harder than any headache she had ever experienced in the past. She was confused, her hands not coming even though she was pulling. It took a moment for her to realize her movements were limited because she was tied up to something. “What the fuck?” Her speech slurred, trying to focus on anything she could. Slowly, Avery began coming into focus. “Avery? Avery, what’s going on?” She couldn’t remember much of anything prior to her drink at the pub, especially not where it was they were or how they got here.
There was relief when Lily stirred, although Avery couldn't shake the rusty ball of panic forming in her stomach. Where was Eily? Licking her lips again, Avery glanced around the basement. It didn't seem like anyone else was down there with them. But where were they? Obviously those guys couldn't take them out of the dome. "I don't know," Avery said hoarsely. "Those guys knocked us out at the bar. I don't know where Eily is. Are you okay?" She was betting Lily had as much of a headache as Avery did, but it didn't look like there were any visible injuries on either one of them.
Lily directed her gaze slowly around, pulling again for her arms which failed to come to her sides. She listened to Avery, trying hard to remember but things were so fuzzy. It took several more minutes of concentration to force herself to remember the basic details of what had occurred; there were a handful of guys that entered the bar.. and Eily offered them a drink for later.. the pub was closing. Then, there was talking.. and one of them came at her. Did she fight back? She groaned and rested her head back against the pole she was tied to, squeezing her eyes shut. Hardly. She finally remembered she hardly got anything in before she went down like a little bitch. She felt anger rise inside her at herself for not even getting a punch in. Why didn’t she duck or throw a chair at him or something to stop his momentum at her? She knew how to fight, what the fuck was she thinking? And who the hell took them? Why? Her rage was beginning to serve as a distraction from whatever head trauma she suffered from, pulling harder for her arms before she reminded herself that wasn’t going to do any good. They were pretty secure where they were. “What the fuck.” She repeated, thrashing her legs angrily. “Are you okay, Avery?” She tried to see if there was anything within leg reach that she could use to help free herself or for Lochlan’s sister to use, but this place was pretty clean and hazard free. She pushed herself up onto her knees, at least able to get some wiggle room by sliding her arms higher on the pole. “Are you hurt?”
Avery swallowed hard, but nodded. "I'm okay. Feels like my skull got cracked open, but I'm alive, so..." She breathed in deep and looked up again at the rope tying her wrists together. It was thick, and scratchy. Every time she moved, it bit harder into skin. Unless she had a knife, she didn't think she was getting loose. "They wanted Eily. I don't know why. I don't know where she is." Tears threatened at the back of her eyes, because what if her cousin was dead? Why the hell would those guys come after them in the first place? Squeezing her eyes tight, Avery tried to calm herself and focus. Then she opened her eyes and looked over at Lily. "Lochlan. He's... he should be able to find us, right? If he follows our scent?" Hope sparked inside of her. "He'll find us."
“Same.. they hit us really damn hard.” Lily commiserated with Avery on how she was generally feeling, her brows furrowing at the mention of Eily not being with them. She didn’t want to speculate and cause Avery to worry more, but that probably wasn’t a good sign. And that drove her even more to pull at her bindings again, her wrists beginning to bleed from the rough texture rubbing against her skin. She pushed herself to stand as best she could, falling back to the ground as the room spun quickly around her like a whirlwind. Without skipping a beat, she slowly planted her feet against the ground and pushed herself back up to her feet again until she felt like she was steady. She took slow steps sideways to get a look at what was behind her, hoping that there would be tools or something they could use. She paused, the thought of Lochlan making her heart skip a beat and a dry lump formed in her throat. She missed him so badly and even if she didn’t want to show it so that she could keep Avery calm, she was scared shitless. “Yeah… he was heading to the pub, so he’ll probably see something’s wrong.. and then I’m sure he’ll come. He might even call my brothers.” The words were comforting her to a degree, but not completely. They were still here and had to deal with being here until they were found. She was hoping so badly they would be found.. before it was too late. “Do you see anything sharp around you?”
Avery watched Lily get to her feet. She thought about attempting to do the same, but her hands were bound too tightly. She would have likely ended up breaking her wrist or arm in the effort. Thinking about Lochlan helped ease some of her nerves, but not all of them. She still had no idea where Eily was. But Lochlan was a werewolf. So was Patrick. Maybe they were tracking them right now. Avery looked around the basement again, but shook her head. "Not even a tool chest," she murmured. A dark splotch on her shirt caught her eye and she glanced down briefly before remembering it was blood. The sight of it made her stomach roll and Avery quickly looked back at Lily. Throwing up because of dried blood would not help. And she had to remind herself it wasn't her blood. "I need to find out what happened to Eily." Before she could say anything else, she heard the basement door open upstairs. Her eyes grew wide and she struggled to try and get to her knees, but she couldn't move much.
“I know, I know. We need to get free first.” Lily said, and despite her words still being just slightly slurred, her tone held a sense of calm that she was hoping she could instill in Avery. She seemed to be doing well enough considering the given situation, but how long could they both stay cool and collected? Her head shot up towards the sound of the door, her eyes widening before she looked back to Avery. She kept her voice low as she spoke, focusing solely on her. “Stay quiet, okay? And if anyone tries to touch you, kick with everything you have. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Avery nodded, though she wasn't sure she could promise being quiet. If they had done something to Eily, she was going to scream every obscenity to high heaven. Everyone in the dome would hear her. She didn't think Lily could do much at all, if whoever was coming downstairs wanted to hurt them, because she was just as stuck as Avery. The shoes came into view first, and it seemed like there was only one person coming. Avery swallowed again, trying to keep a sense of calm about her. Assholes fed on fear, after all.
Wes had heard the two girls talking as he stood in his kitchen above. He was finished with Eily and had long since washed the blood off of his hands. Anne Marie would want her soon, which was a shame, but at least he had two more to play with once she was gone. Things got quiet as he descended the stairs, and Wes let a smile play at his lips when he reached the floor and turned to see the two of them. The brunette was on her feet. "You both look well," he said, leaning against the wooden stair banister. "Feeling okay?"
Lily snarled as her eyes set on the guy who had descended the stairs. The fact that he looked at them as casually as if he had invited them over for tea sparked a new sense of rage within her. “Who the fuck are you? Why do you have us here?” She tried to wiggle her arms free again, but to no avail. All that she achieved from the action was more blood to stain the rope that held her where she was. “Where’s Eily?”
Wes's smile widened as Lily snapped at him. "Hey now, you're a lady. Watch your language." He walked closer to them, but kept a comfortable enough distance as he folded his arms against his chest and studied the two of them before his eyes found Lily again. "That's very sweet, that you asked about Eily straight out. She wanted to know about her," he said, thumbing toward Avery. "Didn't bother asking about you at all until I pointed out that she hadn't shown any concern for the pretty brunette. But Eily made it clear you weren't her priority. That being said, Eily is fine. She's resting." His gaze ticked up toward Lily's bounds hands. "You're going to be feeling some pretty bad burns if you keep trying to pull yourself loose. Those knots aren't coming undone unless I want them too, so you might as well get comfortable."
Avery held her breath until Wes confirmed that Eily was okay. Well, he said she was resting, which Avery took to mean she was alive. Some of the weight pressing in on her chest eased, but she still watched Wes warily. "Why isn't she down here with us?" Avery knew Lily told her to stay quiet, but Avery wasn't able to just sit there and hold her tongue.
"Because she's not sticking around," Wes answered simply. "There's plans for Eily in the works. But you two... I doubt you'll be here very long either, but my plans for you aren't quite the same."
Lily wasn't surprised or hurt that she wasn't the first thought in Eily's mind. Her younger cousin was here and they had just met; of the situation was reversed, she would be in the same exact mindset. Actually, she already kind of was. She was much more concerned with Avery's well being than her own right now, trying to take a step closer to him with a snarl as he approached closer. "If you want us to be comfortable, maybe you should fucking let us go." She didn't appreciate the taunting. Her eyes drifted to Avery when she spoke, looking back to Wes with a quirked brow. "If you touch any of us, my brothers will kill you. Slowly. They'll drain you of all your blood and tear you to pieces. Let us go and I'll make sure they don't even know who you are."
Snickering softly, Wes looked at Lily, assessing her with his eyes. "This is nice. I like variety. See, Eily was calm about things. Trying to reach out to my rational side, I suppose. You, you're all snarls and fight. You," he added, shifting his attention to Avery. "I'm excited to see what way you're going to go with things." He turned away, walking to the other side of the basement. "See, it's admirable that you're suggesting I like you go. Which, we both know, is completely ridiculous and not going to happen. And then, added threats. I'm sure your brothers will kill me. Do you really think I'm not aware of what could happen to me, having the two of you here?" He knelt down at the small box behind his water heater, unlocking it slowly as he shot a smile in the dim light back to Lily. Opening the box, he pulled out a thin blade and straightened again, walking back toward the two girls. "Do you know how many girls said the same thing to me? Promised not to tell. I get it. It's a desperation thing. Bargaining. But I've found the easiest way to deal with the possibility of getting caught is to simply make sure I get rid of every drop of evidence that you two were ever here. I'm pretty adept at it by now."
Avery watched Wes move away, and she could feel goosebumps forming along her skin. It was cold in the basement, but her body's reaction had less to do with the temperature and more to do with whatever it was he was getting out of that box. Her heart began to beat faster, making it more difficult for her to breathe, but panicking was not the best option here. She was an O'Reilly, dammit, and she was going to behave like one. Avery saw the knife in his hand and swallowed hard, but did her best to keep her expression stoney. "Just having us here means you're going to get caught. You can clean, bleach and scrub your ass off. Unless you burn the damn place to the ground, they're going to know we were here."
Wes’ smile made Lily’s skin crawl. She couldn’t see him all that well, her vision still shifting in and out of focus, but she was able to catch a small glimpse of it. Her eyes moved down to the blade he was holding, every muscle in her body tightening as he continued speaking. Great. They were kidnapped by some psychopath who enjoyed murdering girls as a hobby. She turned her head back to look at Avery, shaking her head quietly at her. Lily needed to keep his attention, keep him focused on her as long as she could and hope til she couldn’t hope anymore that someone would come for them before he would even think about focusing on Avery. Lily struggled again with the her wrist bindings, the skin there completely raw now. “So you’re a sick fuck? You couldn’t take up kite flying or bird watching for fun? Worthless piece of shit.” She stared hard at Wes, her jaw clenched.
"Lily, stop," Avery said quickly, understanding on some level that she was trying to piss Wes off enough to leave Avery alone. But she didn't want to see Lily get hurt either, and while she tried to get to her feet, she couldn't do more than shift a little on the floor to face Lily more directly, though her eyes were on Wes. "Don't touch her." She knew how much Lochlan cared about Lily, and whatever the hell was about to happen, Avery wasn't sure she could handle watching it. "Please."
Wes held up a hand toward Avery, as if to quiet her. "It's okay. See, she doesn't understand yet. She can say whatever she wants to me, but it's not going to stop me. Yes, it might make me mad, but that only means it's going to be worse for the both of you. Eily did the same thing. She was willing to sacrifice to keep me upstairs, instead of down here with you both. But I was going to come down here anyway." His gaze ticked over to Avery. "You've got some loyal family. Teenagers don't always appreciate that, you know? So I hope you do. She bought you a little bit of time, I guess." He tapped the blade against his hand and studied Lily again. "So now you get to decide. See, I like leaving little marks on my ladies. So when they're found, it's like... a calling card. But I like to think of it as art. Eily will get to appreciate hers for the rest of her life, however long that might be. I'm not too sure about you two, though. And I guess a flower for you would be cliche," Wes told Lily. "Because of your name. I'm going to do it anyay, unless you've got a request. I can do it now, or I can work on her," he added, nodding over to Avery. "You pick."
Lily looked to Avery then back to Wes, her expression remaining hard. She didn't doubt for a second what she was asking for by egging him on, but she couldn't let Lochlan's little sister be hurt. He would be devastated. Besides, she was so young and sweet.. she didn't deserve any of this. Her eyes drifted down to Wes' blade, a pit of nausea forming in her stomach as he explained what he just loved to do. At least it seemed Eily would survive this, so that was one less person she had to worry about. Surely she would be mentally scarred, yes, but alive. "Fuck you." She spit at him, her eyes shooting poisonous daggers in his direction. "Don't you dare touch her.”
"Or... what, you'll rage like a tough bitch? Rip up your wrists by thrashing around some more?" Wes lifted his brow, appearing fairly bored for a moment. Then he lowered his hand and the knife to his thigh, patting it against the denim of his jeans to an unheard rhythm. "Let's try this a different way. You and I, we can talk a bit. I like having a conversation while I work. You can scream, if you need to, that's fine. But we'll have a chat, and you can cooperate with me. If you don't, then I'll just make it that much worse for her," Wes said, nodding toward Avery. "The choice is yours."
"Don't," Avery said sharply, thinking it maybe they argued a bit, he wouldn't touch either of them. Maybe Lochlan and Patrick were close. Maybe they were right outside? Maybe they just needed time. "You don't need to do anything to her. She's got enough tattoos, doesn't she? I'm... my middle name is Rose. You know how to make those?" She sounded calm enough, but maybe for a little tremor in her voice. Maybe if she saw blood, she would just pass out and that would be that.
Lily wanted to scream. She wanted to kick and scream and cry because this seemed to be more and more hopeless as time went on. But how long had it been? What if no one even knew they were missing yet? What if no one would be able to find them? She refused to let her doubt show and she kept strong with withholding her tears. "What do you even want to talk about?" She forced the words through her mouth, wanting to do nothing other than tell him what a fucking loser he was. But she couldn't. Not if that meant he was going to torture Avery as a result. Lily's eyes turned to Avery, widening. "No, no. Nothing on her. Put whatever the fuck you want on me. Don't do anything to her.. please." She softened her expression, licking her lips which seemed so incredibly dry now. "Please." She knew begging wasn't going to do shit, but if she could get him close, maybe she could do manage to get free somehow. Strangle him with her legs. Something.
Wes rolled his eyes and threw up one hand in exasperation. "See, now you're going for the quiet pleas, which are actually a little bit annoying than the tough girl but you've got going." Sighing, Wes ran his hand through his hair before smiling again, all irritation gone from his eyes. "All right, honey, we'll start with you."
"No!" It was Avery's turn to pull at the rope binding her wrist together. It hurt, and burned her skin, but she did her best to ignore the pain. She felt like she might start hyperventilating. Why couldn't Lochlan by psychic instead of a werewolf? Please find us. Please. Please. Avery felt like her stomach was going to bottom out. "I swear to God, if you hurt Eily, or if you hurt Lily, I'll fucking cut off your balls myself!" Her voice wavered with panicked anger, but she had to do something. Wes merely laughed, as if pleased with Avery's reaction.
"Yes, you and Eily are definitely related." Then he turned back to Lily. "Here's what we'll do. I'm going to fuck you up. And you're not going to fight back, because if you do, there's a chance this knife his deeper than its meant to, which means you did a lot faster than I'd like. If you fight back and I manage to keep from dying you to death, I'll make you watch as I gut this one." He pointed the blade toward Avery. His eyes grew cold and steely, his smile gone. "Do we understand each other, or do you need me to show you I'm not bluffing?"
Lily fixed her attention on Avery and shook her head lightly, trying to keep her tone steady and reassuring. “Avery, it’s okay. It’s gonna be okay, sweety.” It was hard to get the words out because absolutely none of this was okay. It was fucking horrific. But, this was part of the plan. Then again, she wasn’t sure she could go through with the plan now because the chances of being able to do anything besides anger him more were slim to none with her hands bound. She refused to look at him for a moment as her mind ran through the possibilities, coming up with a whole lot of nothing. While her kicks would certainly hurt, she wasn’t going to be able to kill him with them and then she would have to face the very real consequence of him slaughtering Avery before her eyes. She looked to him finally, swallowing hard as she clenched her jaw again. She didn’t say a word, but she didn’t move either. She thought that would be communication enough that she was going to cooperate.
No, it wasn't going to be okay. They both knew it. Avery knew Lily was just trying to calm her, but that was pretty fucking impossible at this point. And there was nothing either of them could do about it. Avery looked around her desperately, trying to find some way to get loose. Yanking her wrists at the ropes only served to tear up her skin more. She tried to keep breathing through her panic. Was Eily really alive, or was he just lying to them? Was she really upstairs? If she screamed for her, would Eily hear it? Then again, if Eily was tied up somewhere like this, there wouldn't be much she could do anyway.
Wes took Lily's silence as agreement and he moved around the pole behind her. Grabbing the hem of her shirt, he slid the knife through it and then used his hands to rip it apart. Then he paused and his lips twitched again. "I was going for a blank canvas here, since I'm guessing you wouldn't want your tats fucked with. Then again, I'm betting it won't matter in the long run. But tell me about your brothers. What are they like?"
Lily stared forward as Wes moved around her, tying to avoid looking at Avery because she didn't want her to see her eyes. They would give away how terrified and devastated she was right now, nearly all hope diminished that she would get to live past today. She tried to think of Jack, of Mannix, of Lochlan, anyone's face that would distract her from the current situation and give her the strength to face this. When her shirt was cut off of her though, she squeezed her eyes shut and forced back tears, forcing herself to focus on happier times. The high hide with Lochlan, the night in the lake, their first night together, how happy he was about seeing what the future held for them. She did find some courage with him, but also another depth of sorrow that she didn't get to say goodbye. "I love them and they love me." Her voice waivered more than she would have liked. "They'll make you pay for this." It wasn't really a threat, but more of a fact she was sharing with him. She may not have had all the details on her brothers work before the dome, but she knew they were resourceful. She knew that their father wouldn't allow them to be anything less than brutal and that they would avenge her.
"I'm sure they will." Wes didn't sound overly bothered by that particular fact. "See, I have nothing to lose. I've got a cousin here, in the Dome. Her name is Hannah. Pretty thing. I think I creep her out. She tends to avoid me." Wes smirked a little and looked over at Avery before he ran a palm down Lily's side. He always loved pretty, flawless skin. "You O'Reilly clan, though. You're all over the damn place. I can never tell how you all are related. You got any brothers or sisters?"
Avery stared at Wes, her jaw clenched so tight it hurt. If he thought she was going to gab with him like they were friends, he was insane. Well, obviously that was already true. Wes lifted a brow at Avery's silence before poking Lily hard enough in the side with the knife to draw blood. "We talk, and that means you too," he said coldly.
“You don’t care about living?” Lily asked, not bothering to sound concerned by that; she would love for this guy to be dead. If she could maybe appeal to some side of him that yearned for life, though, maybe they had a chance. Then again, he must have heard this all before if he really did have previous victims. Lily looked to the ground, her heart breaking for those girls and their loved ones. Her heart breaking for hers and Eily’s and Avery’s loved ones. What if they were just going to end up like the others? She was pulled out of her thoughts at the feel of Wes’ hand on her, recoiling at his touch. And then she could feel the tip of his blade sinking deep enough into her flesh to draw blood, a small gasp of pain coming from her as she inhaled sharply. “You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” She told Avery, shaking her head. She worked hard at keeping her voice level, surprising herself with the accomplishment.
"I care about living," Wes remarked, rolling his eyes slightly. "I just don't care much about dying." It probably helped that he had been getting away with having his own brand of fun since before the zombies and the domes. He felt invincible in a way, like everything would work out for him in the end. And if it didn't? He felt oddly detached to the possibility of dying. He shot a grin at Avery. "She's right, you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. But remember that she's letting me do this so I don't slit your throat in front of her. Eily was the same. More worried about you than herself. So you can sit there quietly and watch this one be tortured because you want to be stubborn, or you can talk to us."
Avery wished her hands weren't completely numb. She might have flicked him off. But she knew that would only make it worse for Lily. It felt like a stab to the gut that Eily had tried to protect Avery. On some level, Avery knew she would have, because that's what family did, but Avery hated that Eily might have been hurt because of her. "I have both," Avery said finally, her voice hoarse from fear and emotion that had formed in her throat. "A sister and brother. They're probably out looking for us too."
Lily shot Wes a glare, absolutely hating this man. How could a person be so cruel? So evil? She nearly lashed out against him again, her leg twitching, but she reminded herself that she couldn’t for Avery’s sake. Even if she was able to disarm him somehow temporarily, he would be able to get the knife back or some other kind of weapon and that would just seal their fate. She looked up to her hands and tried to lightly pull with her wrists again, the action causing her to wince in pain but she didn’t want to accept that all it would do was tear up her skin and muscle. “I guarantee you they are. Along with the rest of your family.” She figured since he already was aware of the fact that O’Reillys were numerous, there was no point in trying to hide that fact. “Please just let us go.”
Wes sighed and shook his head. "God, please don't become a cliche," he told Lily. "Asking me to let you go, promising you won't tell anyone who I am... it's all bullshit, and we both know, so just stop." He was starting to lose patience, which was unlike him, so he decided to take a step back and get back to it. "If they find me, they find me. They're not going to find you." He took his blade and cut into her skin, carving the first petal of what he decided would be a flower. He didn't cut too deep. He never did. Just enough to make it hurt, to make it bleed and leave an everlasting scar. Wes wasn't ready for her to die just yet.
Avery kicked her leg out when she saw Wes cut into Lily's skin. She screamed at him to stop, but the word got caught in her throat. The sight of blood immediately hit her stomach and she paled before forcing her eyes away from what Wes was doing to Lily's face. "He'll come," Avery forced out, despite the nausea rising in her. "My brother. He's coming." Lochlan. He had to be. Maybe wolves had some weird sixth sense to find their mate, if that's what Lily was.
Lily cried out at the feel of the blade slicing through her skin, the weapon leaving a burning sting in its wake. His curving it to form the first flower petal was considerably painful, her instincts kicking in to act upon without thinking much about it. She pulled away from him and kicked hard with the heel of her boot, aiming to make contact with his body to cause as much pain as possible while she let out a frustrated and pained yell. And then Avery's voice pulled her back and she tried to find comfort in her words. That Lochlan would find them and save them both from this. She slowly relaxed her body as tears began building in her eyes, trying harder to control her desire to kick the shit out of this bastard.
When Lily kicked, Wes stepped back, huffing with extreme impatience as her heel caught his shin. The pain annoyed him more than anything and he reached out to grab a fistful of her hair. “Calm the hell down,” he snapped. “If you move too much, you’re going to get a blade to your kidneys. I’m pretty sure you’re not ready to die yet, are you?” He shot Avery an irritated look, but at least she had said something to calm the bitch down.
Avery was trying to avoid watching the blood. She wanted to close her eyes and turn away but she didn’t feel like she could do that to Lily. Completely shut her out just to avoid her own phobia. But like a horrible accident, Avery’s gaze was drawn back to what Wes was doing to her. She tried to think of something, anything, to make it better for Lily, or to get Wes to stop. Maybe if she started screaming really loudly, or pissed him off enough to distract him. But it was the fucking blood that had her attention. Her heart was beginning to race and she could feel her palms and parts of her skin starting to sweat. Avery knew she was going to be sick, and her head lolled forward a bit as dizziness began to overtake her.
Lily’s head bent sideways with her hair as Wes grabbed it, hissing at him. She was quickly losing her resolve to try and be calm about this and wasn’t at all okay with putting up with this shit. If he was going to cause her pain, she wanted to cause him just as much. But then her gaze fell on Avery and her head was dipping, the action causing a streak of panic to run through her. Was she succumbing to some type of trauma? “Avery?” She asked, her panic running through her voice. “You fucking sick piece of shit, I’m going to fucking kill you! I’m going to feed you your own fucking heart!” She kicked at him more, even harder than before, her rage causing her to not care if he stabbed her with that damned knife now. Well, she did care. But she couldn’t just stand here anymore.
Wes grit his teeth, feeling his patience start to fray. He hated losing his temper. It so rarely happened, but when it did, he tended to lash out violently and make quite a mess. He was more angry that Lily was ruining his fun and being so damn uncooperative. "Stupid bitch." With his jaw clenched tightly, Wes shifted around and slammed his fist into the side of Lily's head before turning to walk over to Avery. He knelt down beside her and grabbed a fistful of her hair, yanking her face up so he could see her. She had a greenish tint about her, and he could see her swallow when her gaze shifted to the bloody knife he still had clenched in his other hand. It dawned on him that she had a problem with the blood and Wes cocked a brow. "Don't like blood, huh?"
Avery tried hard to focus when Lily started screaming, and she tried to swallow down the nausea that had overwhelmed her senses. She felt helpless. Useless. She couldn't do anything with her hands tied. She wasn't even in a positon where she could stand up and try to kick Wes away like Lily could. When Wes pulled her face back up by her hair, she winced, but said nothing when he mentioned her dislike of blood. She couldn't help how she responded to the sight and smell of it. Blood terrified her. It was stupid, sure, but how many phobias were rational? It had been something she dealt with since she was a kid, and she had thrown up or cried over the sight of it in the past. It was nothing she was proud of. The bloody knife being so close to her made her gag, though she tried not to show it. She kept her eyes on Wes instead before finally speaking. "You're an asshole. And I hope my brother tears every single one of your limbs off when he finds you, including your tiny dick."
Avery's words calmed him down some, and Wes smiled at her. Then he let go of her hair and wiped his palm against the bloody blade of the knife. Then he dropped the knife to the ground with a soft clatter, grabbed Avery's hair again and tightened his hand in it to keep her still. She thought he might slap her, but instead he wiped his palm along her cheek and nose, smearing Lily's blood across her face in the process. Avery tried to jerk away, not caring about any damage to her scalp, but his hold was too tight. The smell of it, knowing what he did, was too much and she heaved before throwing up onto the ground between them. Wes released her immediately, grabbed the knife and stood, watching with satisfaction as Avery retched. Then he turned to Lily. "I'm disappointed you didn't want to cooperate. Half a flower is going to look really terrible." He pointed at her with the knife before turning to walk toward the basement stairs. "I'll be back later. Might as well get some rest, because you'll need it."
Lily had done a good job pulling herself out of whatever daze she had experienced from her previous head trauma back at the pub, only experiencing the symptoms randomly and in short bursts, but being knocked hard against the head again brought a new sense of pain, confusion, and vision blur. Her knees shook and she slowly slid down to them, avoiding a heavy fall only because her hands were secured above her. She could vaguely make out his standing near Avery, pulling hard at her bindings again as she tried to tell him to get away from her. Her words were coming out slurred and quiet, however, and things were growing darker. “Avery?” She forced herself to yell out, leaning forward as much as she could. “He’s coming, Avery. They’re coming.” She managed to get the words out before her head drooped down, the basement spinning into a black pit of nothing.
Avery coughed, her throat burning from the vomit. Exhausted, she watched Wes leave under heavy lidded eyes before turning her gaze to Lily. "Lily?" Her voice was weak, so she paused and coughed again. "Lily?" The woman's side was bloody and her skin was raised and welting. The sight of it turned Avery's stomach again but she didn't think she had much else to throw up. She was more concerned with Lily, and the fact that she looked like she had passed out. Avery didn't know if it was from the knife wound or that asshole hitting her again. "Lily, can you hear me?" Avery asked before looking up to tug at her wrists again. They didn't budge. "Dammit!" She couldn't even inch closer to Lily. Despite feeling sick, Avery felt anger rise in her and she looked upward, wondering if Eily really was in the same house. "Eily," Avery screamed. She paused, waiting for an answer. Then she tried again. "Eily!" All she heard in response were footsteps above her. Avery slumped back down, turning her attention back to Lily, keeping her eyes on the woman's chest to make sure she kept breathing. She prayed her family was close to tracking them, because Avery sure as hell didn't plan to die down here.