Dylan stomps over to where I lie in the fetal position. I can smell the polish on his boots, see my reflection in their shine. His foot connects with my ribs and the sound of bones breaking fills my ears.
"This is all your fucking fault!"
His boot comes down again. More cracking. I rock forward and grab my bare foot, pain shooting up my shin bone. I don't know what he is referring to, but by the look in his eyes, he just might kill me over it.
I look around for something to shield myself with but there isn't anything within reach.
"Please st-" The air is knocked from my lungs and my body goes rigid. I have endured plenty of abuse from Dylan, but it has never been as bad as this.
His hand fists in my hair and he bends down and pulls my head toward him. My scalp burns where the hair is torn from my head as he brings his face closer to me, smashing our noses together. His breath is stale and sour. My stomach lurches.
"You have ruined every fucking day of my life since I met you. I've lost my job over your stupid ass, and you're going to pay." His voice is low, controlled, and scarier than if he was screaming.
I don't know how I could have caused him to lose his job. I open my mouth to question him, but the words are knocked from my mouth when his fist connects with my jaw and the metallic taste of blood rushes over my tongue. I barely have time to take a breath before my head slams into the hardwood floor.
"You fucking owe me some relief after this shit."
Dylan grabs my legs, one in each hand, and begins to pull me. When we reach the stairs he doesn't stop but continues to drag me, not paying attention to the sickening sound as my head crashes against each step on the way up. He's talking to me but I can't hear him over the ringing in my ears.
I groan when we reach the hallway and feel the soft carpet under me, the friction between the fibers and my skin rubbing me raw. The break is short. Dylan drags me into the bedroom, dropping my legs and grabbing me once again by my hair. I'm so lightheaded that when he forces me to my feet, I can't balance and fall to the side, sobbing as I spy long dark hair dangling from his fingers, no longer attached to my head.
Dylan swings me so I land on the bed face down, and as my chest hits the edge of the mattress, jabbing my ribs, I cry out, blood spattering over the white sheets. "You're going to give me what I always fucking wanted. I am going to fuck you every way possible, then, if you're lucky, I'll leave your worthless ass alone."
He grabs the back of my sundress and tears it from my body, the fabric biting into my chafed skin. Next, he shreds my panties and his hand comes down on my ass, the force reverberating up my spine, my jaw snapping together, making me see stars. I lose track of how many times he smacks me, but my entire lower body is burning by the time he's done.
He backs off and goes silent. His loud pants fill the room. He's exhausted. I hold a sliver of hope that he is done; that he has grown bored of me. That's when I feel both his fingers dig into my ass cheeks, cutting into the raw skin as his nails dig in.
"Dylan, please, no." I don't even care that I'm begging. I taste the salt of my tears as it mixes with the blood and I try to stop him. "Please don't do this to me."
His face is suddenly right in front of mine, and I gasp. His eyes are bulging. Sweat pours from his hairline and down his cheeks. His teeth are clenched as he bites out, "Jasmine, you belong to me. I want this ass and I'm gonna take it. So fucking deal with it."
I feel the bed shift as he moves behind me and I bite down on the comforter to stop myself from vomiting. Then he thrusts forward and the breath is stolen from my lungs. My body feels like it is being ripped in half. His hands are so rough, his pace so fast, and at one point he leans up to drag his nails down my back. I can feel the blood running over my skin, see it as it drips off my back and onto the sheets, and when I hear him groan from his release, I have to hold back the bile threatening to spill out.
There is no reprieve as he forces me to my knees on the bed and makes me suck his dick until he's hard and ready again. The whole thing feels like a dream-no, nightmare. I'm going through the motions. It's almost like I'm watching the scene from above. Because I'm no longer inside my body. I'm elsewhere. It's the only way I will be able to endure the horrific scene unfolding.
Dylan pulls out of my mouth and disappears for a second, coming back in with a set of handcuffs. He tosses me onto the center of the bed. The air is thick with the smell of sex and sweat and despair. I pull in air through my nose; small, shallow breaths that won't hurt my ribs too much.