Page 52 of Drowning

And I'll do whatever it fucking takes to bring her home, safe and sound, with me, with us... No matter the cost.

Back inside, we gather around the bar, the flickering neon lights casting an eerie glow over the grim faces of the guys. But in our eyes, I see determination and resilience.

As the rain picks back up, pelting against the bar's roof, and the night stretches on with the hours slipping away into oblivion, we carefully strategize and plan our next move. We'll leave no stone unturned, no lead left unexplored. The thought of Emerson out there, alone and in danger, is fucking unbearable—gut-wrenching, even.

But we won't give up fucking hope. She's out there somewhere, praying, and waiting for us to come save her... and that's exactly what we're gonna fucking do.

twenty-nine

A Promise to Myself

E m e r s o n

Everything on and inside of me fucking hurts. I feel broken—mind, body, and soul. And I know that as long as I'm trapped here with Damon, this shit is never going to end. In fact, it's going to get a lot worse. He's raped me, beaten me, cut me, choked me until I passed out and raped me while I was unconscious, and kept me bound to another bed more securely this time, making sure I couldn't escape.

Once he found out that I had called my brother, he took me away from the first place and brought me to another, now held up somewhere else. I have no phone to use for help. No clue where I fucking am. And with each passing second, hour, and day, the little bit of hope I tried to hold onto is fading.

I've accepted the fact that I might be here forever—that I might die here, but I don't want to. It's been at least two days since I've been missing, and I know my brother and the guys are probably freaking the fuck out. I miss them all, and thinking about them is the only thing keeping me going.

To stay alive, I play the game that Damon wants. He tells me to get on my knees and give him head, so I do. But he still taunts me with the gun and the single bullet that terrifies me every time he pulls the trigger. I've been lucky so far, and haven't been shot yet, but I fear my luck is running out.

I still pray, to God, to my dead parents, even to the fucking devil—anyone I can think of, and all I can do is hope that someone somewhere is fucking listening.

I refuse to give up. I refuse to let him break me completely. I'll keep fighting, keep waiting for the right moment to make my escape. I have to believe that there's a way out of this nightmare. Whether it's through my own strength or the help of someone else, I won't stop hoping for the chance to break free from this house of horrors.

I'll keep playing his sick game until the moment is right, no matter how much it eats away at me. And maybe, just maybe, someone is listening. Someone will come to save me. I have to hold onto that belief, or I'm truly lost.

I never imagined that the boy that I fell in love with would turn out to be a fucking monster… but there had been signs. Unfortunately for me, I didn't see any of them until it was too late. Now I've gotten myself in this twisted, fucked up mess—a tangled, dangerous web that Damon has weaved, and for me right now, there's no fucking way out in sight. Not when he keeps me tied up and chained. He hardly feeds me, says he likes it that I'm so fucking weak that I can't fight back. But I've been saving my strength—what little bit I have—and I'm determined to find a way out of this nightmare of horrors.

I don't know how much longer I can hold on, but I have to keep trying. I can't let Damon win. With each day that passes, I'm filled with more and more desperation. I have to find a way to escape. But the thought of what he might do to me if I fail, terrifies me to my fucking core.

But I can't give up.

I won't give up.

I have to stay strong and focused, even though the pain and fear consume me every moment of every day. I know that I can't let the darkness take over.

Not while there's still a glimmer of hope left in me. And even if it seems like no one is coming to save me, I have to hold onto the belief that someone, somewhere, will fucking find me, or that the opportunity will come when I'll be able to break free of this filthy prison of torture, humiliation, and pain.

And when that moment comes—cus it will—I won't just make a run for it.

No.

I'm going to summon every ounce of evil I have buried deep inside of me, and I'll fucking unleash it.

I'll make him fucking pay for everything that he's done to me.

I'll show Damon that he can't break me, that he can't control me any longer. I'll take back my power and make sure he never has the chance to hurt anyone else ever again.

I refuse to be a victim. It's time for me to become the hero of my own story, no matter what it fucking takes.

Iwillsurvive this horror, and I'll make damn sure that Damon fucking pays for every moment of agony he's fucking put me through.

My strength will be my salvation. And I'll never stop believing that freedom is within my reach, even in the darkest of moments.

With a smile on my face and revenge in my eyes, I'm going to fucking kill him.

I'll make sure it hurts him much worse than he's ever hurt me.