I was so tired of running – trying to run from fate had led me here. Huddled in an alley, hiding in the shadows during the darkest part of the night, rain pouring down. Praying he would make a mistake but knowing I had never been that lucky.
A car door slammed shut at the entrance of the alleyway and his voice rose loudly over the pounding rain. The forced lightheartedness that did nothing to hide the cutting edge of his tone. "Come on out now… I know you're there. You're not going to like what happens if I have to come in after you..."
Hell, did I know. Currently three broken fingers and a busted rib were acquainting me well with the repercussions.
"Arissa …" His sing song call made me cringe. I hated how he made me loathe my own name. "Come out, come out, where ever you are..." His tone shifted, his impatience shattering the thin veneer of nonchalance. "Now, Arissa."
Shit. To my horror, I felt my strength to fight fade as I straightened from my huddle. My body betrayed me as I reluctantly took one step toward him, my breath starting to come in high and tight. All I could see was his shadow against the dim illumination of the streetlights but I could feel his smug satisfaction growing as my feet carried me steadily toward him.
"That's a girl. That's my sweetheart. Come to Vaughn." That innocent pet name that could sound so playful and caring had always been a slur from his lips. He shortened the syllables to sharp, cutting pops of sound that raked across my nerves.
God, I hated him. I fucking hated him with every fiber of my being but I couldn't stop following his demands. Not a single inch of my body was reacting to my instincts, I couldn't even force my mouth open to spew my defiance. I approached the end of the alley, self-loathing competing with my hatred as I moved closer and closer to the monster that haunted my dreams and waking life alike. His sharp features started to become distinguishable in the darkness and his bulky form grew more menacing as I moved into his looming shadow.
"I'm not happy with you, not even a little bit." He scolded venomously, reaching out and grabbing my hair, using the ponytail to draw me in close. His dark eyes glared down at me furiously. "You're my girlfriend. You're supposed to be there for me. I woke up and you were nowhere to be found, Arissa. I didn't like that." His grip tightened, drawing my neck into a painful arch and a whimper escaped my throat. "You're supposed to be where I want you, when I want you, and however I decide I want you, is that clear?"
Fear overrode the hatred but not by much. I managed a tiny nod within his grip and a malicious smile crossed his face.
"Now that we have that clear, you have to deal with the repercussions of failing to meet my expectations." His grip changed and my neck popped against the new pressure. "Where do you want them?"
Damn the bastard to hell. Him and his fucking mind games.
"I said …" His hand twisted, shifting pressure until my back arched uncomfortably, rain spitting down on my face, "where? You know the rules. If I'm in a good mood, I let you choose. Make me ask you again and I'll put them wherever I like. You push me hard enough and you'll get them all over." His glare sharpened. "Answer me."
"Ribs," I gritted out, instantly regretting it. One busted rib was wreaking havoc on me, I could only imagine – but why spread the pain? If I kept it centered, maybe I would be able to hold it together –
The sharp edge of his anger shifted at my response. His thin lips curved into a smile and I could see the sick pleasure growing in his eyes. "There's my pretty girl. Good choice. Because I like that answer, I'll only give you eight instead of the usual ten." His other hand came up and cradled my face softly, pulling my mouth to his for a tender kiss. My body betrayed me again as I responded to his lips and touch automatically. He released my chin only to slap my face roughly. "I don't want to hear any noise from you. You break the rules again, you deal with the consequences."
I didn't have enough time to take a breath before the first punch hit my broken rib. The second landed in the exact same spot and I heard something shift, a crack or a snap, I wasn't sure. I just knew that white light filled my head and a hot pain filled my chest. Third and fourth he spread a bit, one hitting high and the other low enough to glance off my hip bone, throwing me back into his grasp. "Steady, now. I know you can do better than that." The harsh tang of blood filled my mouth and I did my best to hold still. It's almost over, it's almost over…
The next impact slammed full force into my busted rib and in horror I felt myself buckle, wrap around the pain and a horrible snarl of pain escaped me. No, oh no, oh no—
"What the fuck's going on?!" A growling masculine voice shouted from farther down the street. Great, just what I needed. A concerned do-gooder that was just going to rile Vaughn up more.
"I'm disappointed in you, sweetheart." Dissatisfaction dripped from Vaughn's low words, doing nothing to disguise the underlying threat. "You have one chance to make it up to me before you start adding consequences. Convince this bastard you're fine. Make him go away."
I gurgled, struggling to get my feet back beneath me.
"Arissa, tell him you're fine. Now."
"I'm fine!" I managed to gasp out, throwing an arm out to keep the stranger away. "Please, everything is fine here - just go away!"
"Like hell! That bastard is hurting you—"
Vaughn growled, his meaty fist tightening in my hair.
"Please, sir, it's fine. I – I—"
Vaughn leaned closer, hissing in my ear, "Tell him you deserved it. Tell him why."
I lifted my chin, making sure my voice would carry. "It's fine, I … deserved it." The words tasted like acid in my mouth but I couldn't stop them from pouring out. Self-loathing drowned me but still I couldn't stop following his orders. "I—I disobeyed him. It's not his fault, I left the apartment without permission."
The stranger growled, making steady progress toward us and I could feel the tension growing in Vaughn.
"Please, just go away," I pleaded, only one thought still circling in my mind. Three more to go, three more to go, three more to go…
"Let her go, man," the stranger warned, his steady gait bringing him closer to the light, his short-cropped brown hair and green eyes coming into view.
Vaughn dropped his free hand to my ribs, digging his fingers in and forcing a shrill cry of agony from behind my gritted teeth. "Convince him," he hissed in my ear.
Suddenly the stranger brought up a gun and pointed it directly at Vaughn's face. "I said let her go."
Vaughn snarled, spinning me around as his shield. "What I do with her is none of your business, asshole. Move along."
"Look, you son of a bitch - the girl is coming with me. I'll give you one last chance to keep breathing. Let her fucking go." The stranger's voice hardened.
"She's mine," Vaughn snapped. "I'm the only family she has, you want to take her away from that? She's a fucking handful, trust me, you don't want her. She isn't worth it." His fingers dug in again angrily and I stopped breathing altogether, white filling my vision as pain eclipsed everything.
The crack of a gunshot, the bullet whizzing past my ear and hitting the center of Vaughn's head was the single most beautiful thing I had ever heard. The stranger pulled me free of Vaughn's clutching grip as he fell backwards, crashing into the wet pavement heavily. The choking hold of obedience that tied me to that bastard for so long suddenly vanished, the abrupt freedom opening the floodgates of hatred burning in my chest. Horror and anger raced through my veins and I turned on Vaughn's body in a rage, suddenly fighting my rescuer's grasp in an effort to reach the corpse. "Damn you! You took everything from me, you bastard! Everything! That bullet was too fucking quick – you should've suffered like you made me suffer! I hope you rot in fucking hell, you sick fuck!"
"Easy there, tiger, easy!" The stranger's arms tightened around me. "He's gone. He's dead. He'll never hurt you again."
"He—he made me do things … I couldn't … why couldn't I just say no?!" I fought mindlessly against the stranger's protective hold, unable to tear my gaze from Vaughn's glassy eyes that rolled back in his head and his gaping mouth. It took several racing heartbeats for it to fully sink in that the stranger had finally ended Vaughn's reign of terror.
"Calm down, it's okay. Everything is going to be all right. Come on, tiger, let's get you out of this rain. My name is Dean Winchester and you're safe now."