Relentless (Book 3)

Chapter 8: Bethany - The Second Day

When I woke up, I was chained to the wall, wearing only a thin bra and underwear, and I was freezing cold. Before I was sedated, my guard had taken my shirt off of me, but I was still wearing the pants, and I shuddered to think about someone removing them when I was unconscious.

I blinked slowly, trying to  fight off the headache that came with the sedative and having my head slammed up against a metal wall. My vision was blurry and unfocused and I hoped that was from the sedative and not from a concussion. I was dizzy and barely able to see, but I could tell that the glass between my cell and Benjamin's was opaque again and I couldn't see him. 

That really worried me. Why would they hide him from me? Had he been punished for my actions? But if he had, they'd want me to see it. Why were they keeping him from me? I squinted and continued to blink until my vision cleared. The whole time, straining my eyes to see if I could see through the glass. Desperate to get a glimpse of  Benjamin to see if he was okay. 

Shortly after I woke up, my cell door opened, and again I wished I had just pretended to stay asleep for a little while longer. For just a few more minutes of peace. My guard walked through the door and I got a good look at the number I did on his face. One of his eyes was swollen half way shut and both were bruised underneath. His nose was set and splinted. 

I felt my mouth twitch up into a small smile upon seeing what I'd done to this man who has already caused Benjamin and I so much pain, and who had plans to continue to do so for eight more days. Unfortunately, he noticed my smirk. 

"You think this is funny?" He asked. 

"No." I responded immediately, the smile falling from my face as quickly as it appeared there. 

He walked forward and ran his hand down cheek, causing me to cringe and lean my head as far away from him as possible. "I'm not gonna lie, princess, that was some of the most fun I've had in awhile." He brought his hand away from my face and down to my throat. He dug his nails into the side of my neck. "But don't think it will go unpunished. And don't believe for even a second, that I will allow it to ever happen again." 

He released my throat and shoved my head back against the wall before  walking toward a small door in the wall and pulled a hose out. I was praying he'd forgotten about this. He dropped the hose onto the floor and walked to the glass between my cell and Benjamin's and scanned his ID badge, causing the glass to become clear once more. 

I immediately forgot my own fear for what was coming to me, and searched Benjamin for wounds. He too was hanging from his wall and they had not given him enough time to put his shirt back on before chaining him up. His head was was down so I couldn't see his face, but I quickly scanned the rest of his body to make sure they hadn't hurt him anymore since I'd be unconscious, and noticed angry red blisters covering his chest from his shower. I was furious. And afraid for what was coming my way. 

My guard gave me a moment to take in Benjamin's appearance while he checked and readjusted the temperature of the water. Once he had the temperature of the water to his liking he turned the hose on full blast and turned it on me. 

I yelped as the water hit me and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Benjamin jerk his head up and look at me. I was unable to focus on him, however, because the water that was assaulting me, was ice cold. I was trembling from the cold air in my cell before this, and I now understood that the temperature in the cell was done in order to make this punishment even more unbearable. 

As my shower continued, Benjamin began screaming, begging him to stop, demanding that he stop. I was so cold, my muscles so tense, that I couldn't even open my mouth to tell Benjamin that I was okay. That the temperature of the water was frigid, not scalding. That my punishment was no where near as bad as his. But the cold water took my breath away, so even if I was able to unhinge my clenched jaw and open my mouth, I wouldn't be able to draw in a breath to speak.