Chapter 119

(trigger warning: mentions of torture and abuse)
Her head throbbed. She could feel her pulse in her temples. The low hum of distant conversation could be heard. Her wrists were raw from rubbing against the rope that bound them. The dark room was cold, and her teeth hurt from chattering. The side of her face stung from where she’d been slapped some time earlier. She’d never known how much fear could hurt. It chilled her bones with an ache so powerful it took over her senses. It ate away at her focus and strength. The worst pain of all though, came from her chest. Her breasts were swollen with the milk that should be feeding her baby.
“My baby,” she groaned.
“She’s fine, Emma. Don’t lose hope. You know she’s safe.”
“Jess,” Emma whimpered. “It hurts so much.”
“I know,” Jess winced at the sound of Emma’s voice. The agony she was in was evident. She feared that infection may set it soon. If it hadn’t already. “I know it hurts. But everything is going to be okay. Think of Lizzie, and Will, and Sabrina, your dad, and Spencer. Think of them.”
“He sounded scared,” Emma recalled the brief conversation she had with Will. “But he said… he’d come. He said he’d come,” she said with labored breath.
“He is going to come. All of them. They’ll save us. Just hold out for me, okay?”
“I’m so tired.”
“No, you have to stay awake. Keep talking to me.”
Jess did her best to keep Emma conscious. It was hard enough for her to stay awake, but Emma was growing weaker by the minute. She wasn’t sure if keep Emma up was intelligent or not. But as long as Emma was talking, she was okay.
“Tell me about Lizzie.”
“She looks like him,” Emma’s voice was getting faint. “Like her father. Her eyes are golden… like his.”
“She’s going to be beautiful,” Jess said to encourage her to keep talking.
“She is,” Emma whispered. Jess could hear her sharp intakes of breath whenever the pain seemed to spike. “Are you… okay?”
“Don’t worry about me.”
“They’ve had you longer. They’ve hurt you,” Emma was panting with effort.
“I said don’t worry about me. I’m tough, you know that. I’m fine,” Jess lied.
The kidnappers had gotten her days ago. Probably a week. She had fought hard when they tried to take her. But even she was no match for a group of hired muscle. They beat her. Pretty bad. But she never let on how much she was hurting. Especially not since they brought Emma in.
“You’re bleeding,” Emma rasped. “I saw it when they opened the door.” She was getting weaker and weaker. Keeping her lids open was a struggle. If I could just close them for a while. It’s so dark anyway…
“We’re going to be okay, Em. You hear me?”
No answer.
“Emma?” she still didn’t answer. “Emma! Wake up! Please wake up!”
The door to the room they were being held in opened with a sudden burst. Light flooded into the dark space and a rush of voices came along with it. Jess strained to look around the figure in the doorway, hoping to catch a glimpse of something, anything that might give away their location.
“Quiet in here!” a man’s voice boomed.
“Please! She needs medical attention!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he dismissed. “This will all be over soon. But for now, if you know what’s good for you, you will shut the fuck up!” He slammed his fist on the wall and Jess flinched.
“She’s getting sick. She might have an infection. Please bring her to a hospital,” she pleaded. “You won’t get what you want if something happens to her.”
He rushed into her face and grabbed a fistful of her hair.
“I always get what I want,” he laughed and roughly pushed her away. He marched out of the door and slammed the door behind him. Despair gripped at Jess’s heart for a moment. But she refused to succumb. She had to stay strong for them. It was probably sheer adrenaline keeping her afloat, fueled by her rage.
“I’ll destroy them. We’re going to get out of here and I’m going to ruin them.”
Minutes, hours, or days passed. Jess had no way of knowing. The door opened again, and that woman walked in. The one that brought Emma in. Jess wasn’t sure who she was, but she hated her. It was difficult to make out her features in the darkness. But when she got close, it was easy to see her eyes. Something used to live in there, but now they were just empty.
“What the hell do you want?” Jess spat at her.
“Came here to check on my friend,” she mocked. “Emmie, poo,” she called out. “It’s me.”
“She’s unconscious.”
“Can’t have that.” She splashed Emma with a bucket of ice water.
Emma woke with a startled scream as the frigid water soaked her.
“There she is.”
“F-f-fuck you, Grace,” Emma sputtered.
“Grace? You’re the ex-wife!” Jess laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me! All this because you got dumped?”
“Shut up!” Grace screeched. “He loves me! He’s just confused right now! This trollop flounced into his life and messed with his mind. But once she’s gone, he’ll be mine again.”
“You better keep your hands off of her if you know what’s good for you!” Jess fought against her restraints as Grace crept closer to Emma. She slithered like a snake, stalking its prey. The very essence of her sent waves of nausea through Jess.
“What are you going to do? I could just send people in here to beat you again. Clearly you haven’t learned your lesson.”
“Will and I… aren’t even together,” Emma whimpered.
“But he thinks he wants you; don’t you understand?” Grace screamed.
“What happened to you? I remember when I first met you. You were… so elegant. Like a p-p-p-princess. Or a q-queen.”
“It’s funny,” Grace mused. A small glint of light flashed from something in her hand. She twirled around her fingers. “Love makes us do crazy things. But you’d know that if you actually loved him. No one will love him the way I do. No one!”
“No one wants to be loved that way!” Emma yelled back. “You’re insane!”
“Shut up!” Grace slashed at Emma. She felt something cut the skin against her cheek. A scream erupted from her mouth. The cut didn’t hurt much, but it was the fear. The fear amplified everything tenfold.
“Don’t hurt her!”
“Once I’m done with you,” Grace’s voice had a maniacal edge to it. “He won’t be able to love you. He probably won’t even recognize you.”
“Are you going to kill me?” The darkness was obscured by tears.
“No. But you’re going to wish I do.”
“I have a daughter!” Emma screamed. “She needs me!”
“Don’t worry about her. Will and I are going to raise her together. She won’t even remember you.”
Something snapped inside of Emma. The thought of that monster touching her child lit an inferno within her. All of the pain and fear she felt evaporated. It was replaced with wrath and savagery.
“You will not touch my daughter!” Emma launched herself at Grace, tackling her down to the ground.
“Yeah!” Jess cheered her on. “Get that psycho bitch! Fuck her up!”
In the dark, Emma couldn’t see where her blows were landing. Her hands were bound behind her back, and her ankles were tried together. But that didn’t mean she couldn’t use her body to pummel that baby stealing devil into the concrete. However, it wasn’t long until Grace pinned Emma to the floor. Grace slashed at her again, this time in the abdomen.
“This is where you carried her,” Grace said as she slashed at Emma’s belly again. Emma’s screams filled the room. “Right here. This is how you trapped him!”
“If you kill her, he’ll hate you!” Jess yelled, trying to get Grace to stop.
“At first,” another slash, another scream. “But overtime, he will learn to love me again!”
“What the fuck is going on here?” a man’s voice echoed over them, and the door opened again. With the light that streamed in, Jess was able to glance at Emma. She looked to be bleeding everywhere. Her face, belly, chest, arms.
“If Emma dies, your plan won’t work!”
“Dies?” the man seemed annoyed, but then he took in the scene. “You dumb bitch! Get the hell out of here!” he yelled at Grace.
“But…”
“I said get out!”
Grace scrambled off the floor and scurried out of the room.
“Fuck,” he swore. “Now I have to get someone to patch this up. Shit.”
“Please just send her to a hospital!” Jess implored.
“Not until William completes his end of the deal. Then he can take you both to the hospital himself.” He walked out, muttering about sending someone soon to bandage her up.
“No, please! Come back!” But he was gone. “Emma?”
“Jess…” Emma gulped, trying to hold on to the fire she had before. “What do I do?”
“Roll over. Roll over onto your stomach. Press yourself in the floor. It should help to stop the bleeding. Tell me when you’re done.”
“Done,” Emma said after about a minute or so. “It hurts. It’s hard to breathe this way.”
“I know. But we’re going to be okay. We will.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” Emma groaned.
I’m not either. Jess thought. I’m not either.