Authors Note: Sorry for the delay Guys and Gals. I've been super stuck on this one. Shout Outs to Sam, Whit, Lori and Rock for helping through! Enjoy!
Luke finally reached the top of the attic stairs, officially relieving himself of the struggling girl that had been pined to his shoulder, by tossing her to the floor with all his might. Both she and floor groaned in protest when she hit the rickety boards with a solid thud. To him it was a satisfying sound. It meant that she was getting some of the punishment that she, in his mind, deserved. Maybe it would finally knock some sense into her. Maybe it would finally put her on the path to being fixed. Lord knew she needed both.
The silence of the attic was a stark contrast to what was happening below him. The sounds of screams and voices shouting were faintly seeping up through the old floorboards, penetrating his otherwise now silent world. He could hear Erick screaming for Lila. He could hear Bray yelling for him to stop. He could even hear the faint squeaks from Lila's broken throat as she sobbed in pain. He could hear all of it, but he simply wasn't inclined to listen.
He reached down, wrapping his fingers in her long tangled hair. With far less of an effort than what it took to carry her up here, he began to drag her across the floor towards the center of the small space. Again he felt satisfied to give her what she had earned. He had advocated for Bray to save her, mainly because they all had loved her; but now that love had all but vanished on his end. It was clear that the Lila they all had loved was gone. She had been taken from them by that idiot sheriff and his two moronic deputies. In her place was the vile creature that was now at his feet.
For seven months he had silently stood by and watched her fragrantly disobey Bray. For seven months he had heard nothing but excuses as to why she was to be coddled rather than be made to understand her place here. For seven months he had watched his leader stand by while she had run rough shot over his house. Enough was enough. In his mind, he was done with the excuses. Memory or no memory, it was time. If Erick and Bray were too weak to bring her into line, then he was more than happy to step up and pick up the slack.
By the time he reached the middle of the attic, which was really only a minute or so after he'd thrown her down, she had recovered slightly. He could feel her faintly clawing at his hand to try and make him let her go. Again he obliged her, watching her upper body fall with another satisfying smack, stunning her again. This gave him time to kneel down, rolling her onto her back. He easily straddled her, pinning her down with not only his body weight, but also by wrapping his hand around her throat.
Below him he hear the footsteps rushing up the stairs. Both Erick and Bray were in pursuit. Both were now yelling for him to stop. Both of them were frantic. Doors being slammed and someone pounding on the plaster below him barely phased him. By now he was too far gone. He had his target in his sights and he was prepared to finish what he started at all costs.
Again she clawed at his hand weakly struggling to throw him off of her, but it made no impact. If anything it encouraged him to tighten his grip on her throat. A croak escaped her throat as she desperately fought to breath. That desperation became all too clear when she brought her knees up, one at a time, kicking him as hard as she could manage in his lower back. This time he let out a low laugh. Luke released his grip on her throat, only to bring his hand down across her face with all the force he could muster. Again it felt good. It felt right to him to take his frustrations with her out on her. Order, discipline, obedience. They would all come from this. They had too.
Under him, he felt her fall still, clearly unconscious after the blow. Her head was lying to one side, blood trickling from her nose and lip. He relished the sight of it, burning it into retinas. Is was enough to sate him. Enough to make the last seven months feel as if they had somehow been worth it.
The door to the attic was kicked open, shattering the silence of the attic. Behind him he heard both Bray and Erick's heavy footsteps coming up the last of the stairs. "Enough!" Luke turned, wildly looking behind him at Bray. It was all too evident that his leader was furious with him.
"She needed to learn." Something dangerous flashed in Bray's eyes. He stormed up to Luke, grabbing hold of his hair and yanking him off of Lila's unconscious body with all of his might. The larger man grimaced, but only for a second.
"And it's your place to teach her that?!" When Luke didn't answer he received a slap of his own for his disobedience. "I'm talking to you boy. I asked you if it's your place to teach her such a thing." Luke matched Bray's glare, standing to his full height, looking Bray square in the eye.
"It's my place when you won't." That earned him a fist to the side of his face rather than a slap.
"Get downstairs!" Bray turned glaring at Erick. "Both of you!" He turned as Luke stumbled to get up. Bray reached out, yanking him over by his beard. "You want me to deal out a lesson? You want to see my hand fall when it comes to her?" His voice was calmer now, but not any less harsh. "Fine." Bray let go of Luke, pushing him towards the stairs. He stepped over to Lila's side, kneeling down beside her, staring down at the damage that had been wrought.
Bray reached out, stoking her cheek with a loving caress. What a terrible waste, but Luke was right. Something had to be done, if nothing else then for the good of the family. She could no longer be put above anyone else; not even himself.
"Since Brother Luke has saw fit to beat the lesson into her, then I see fit to leave her here to allow it to soak in." A small smile crossed Luke's lips. "We'll give her a few days on her own to see if it takes."
"A few days?" Bray's eye's snapped up at Erick's sudden intrusion. "She can't be on her own for that long. Dr. Newell said…" Bray stood up, his eyes hardening again as Erick spoke.
"I don't give a damn what Dr. Newell said! He is not is charge, I AM! She is mine to do with as I please." Bray stormed over to Erick pulling down by the back of the head. "And it pleases me to leave her here. Do you understand me?" Erick shook his head no.
"I can't leave her here. She'll…." Bray pulled him closer. Resting his forehead against Erick's.
"You will leave her where I say and you will do with her what I want or you will never see her again. I will have Luke put her out with the others. Is that what you want to become of her?" Erick adamantly shook his head no. "Then never question me again when it comes to her. Do you understand?"
"Yes Bray." He smiled at Erick's affirmation, slowly letting him go.
"Good." The smaller man stepped away. "That's good." He paused looking at Lila one more time. "We'll send Maggie…." Luke spoke in a low voice, quietly correcting him.
"Molly." Bray smirked.
"Whatever. We'll send her up in the morning to check in and see if Lila's still with us. If she is then she can stay up here till I see fit to bring her back down. I'm sure it will be good for her to learn firsthand what life would be like without our…generosity." The last part came out with a sneer. "And since I know you won't stay away from her." Bray turned looking at Erick, seeing the fear spread across his face. "You'll stay in your room."
"No…" Erick began to charge towards Bray, reaching out for Lila. He was almost to them when Luke grabbed Erick by his jumpsuit collar, aggressively pulling him away from Bray. "You can't!"
Bray only laughed at that.
"Oh believe me, I can. As for you Luke, we'll discuss what's to become of you later." Luke stiffly nodded, understanding what Bray meant when he said discuss. "Though I'll let you decide which strap you think you deserve. We'll see if you're right or if you have a lesson of your own you need to learn. Till then" Bray gestured at Erick "Put him in his room." Luke nodded again, pulling back on Erick; dragging him towards the stairs. The two wrestled a bit, Erick doing everything to get Luke away from him, but the older man was too clever for him. Eventually Luke got Erick down the stairs, his cries echoing off the stairwell walls and eventually filtering up through the floorboards.
Bray stood by silently waiting. Thankfully it wasn't long until he heard Erick's door slam shut and Luke's footsteps fade from the lower stairwell. When he was sure Luke was gone, he closed the small distance between him and Lila, staring down at her once more. "My sweet girl. Maybe now you'll love me again, or better still, fear me. Maybe you'll finally come around to everything we've been telling you." He knelt down beside her, stroking her cheek one last time. "Or maybe you'll just die." He laughed. "Either way, we'll finally have an end to this, won't we?" He leaned over, using his hand to turn her prone face upwards, lovingly kissing her forehead. "Pleasant Dreams."
