Wow this one got long too. Hastily written throughout the day. Not super detailed. Still. Heed the warnings
CW: nsfw, noncon, noncon kissing, touch, groping, all of it
***
At first, Lea had considered themself lucky. Mason was being forced to fight, he was always injured, always in pain, and his attitude often landed him in even more trouble. All Lea had to do, on the other hand, was cook and clean. They were to have to manâs coffee ready before they started breakfast every day, they were to clean up after meals, and see to it that every room in the house was kept pristine. They didnât love the work, but, they could manage it.
The pair had been there a few weeks at that point, Lea was in the manâs office, dusting off the bookshelves the first time it happened. The man walked by them on the way to his desk, Lea didnât think much of it, until he felt him pinch his ass as he walked by. He whipped his head in his direction, his face red with embarrassment, his mouth hanging open in surprise, but the man didnât even acknowledge him, pretending nothing had just happened. It made Leaâs skin crawl, but he tried to brush it off as an accident, even his imagination. He didnât tell Mason that night.
The next time was less subtle. He was preparing breakfast, when the man walked into the kitchen. Lea didnât pay him any mind, focused on the omelette they were preparing, but then he walked up behind him. Lea didnât bother turning around, but was surprised when the man wrapped his arms around him from behind, very deliberately grabbing his chest as he pulled him closer to him, their bodies pressed together in a way that made Lea panic.
âS-sir, what are you-â They gasped, but he shushed them.
âYou just looked so pretty standing here.â He cooed. âHow could I not?â
âI-I need toâŠâ They trailed off, their eyes wide and their body frozen in fear.
âI know. I just needed a moment.â He said, kissing the back of their head. He squeezed their chest once more before he let go, he left the kitchen and left Lea standing at the stove, their hands trembling. Mason knew something was wrong when he finally served him his food and sat down beside him, but he just told him that he burned his hand, and it had shaken him. He didnât know if Mason believed it, but he didnât question him further.
After that they tried their hardest to avoid being in the same room with him, but it was impossible when they were locked in his house. He seemed to notice too, so he would go out of his way to find him when he was alone. He kept them busy through the day so he and Mason were usually separated, like he knew Mason would act impulsively if he saw this. Lea knew he was probably right.
The next time he cornered them in the living room. He held them against the wall, kissing them forcefully while his hand slipped down their shorts. They protested, they struggled, but the man was bigger and stronger than them. After that they had to sit in the bathroom for half an hour, crying as quietly as they possibly could. They wouldnât let Mason touch them that night, and though he was hurt, Lea couldnât bring himself to explain why.
They werenât sleeping very much after that, sometimes they even felt too sick to eat. They couldnât stand being around him, but there was no escape. It fully escalated when they were in his room one day, remaking his bed after washing the sheets. They tried to work quickly, they feared getting trapped in there more than anything, but just as they turned around to leave, they saw him there in the doorway, smiling at them in such a way it sent shivers down their spine. Theyâd been telling themself what they would do in this situation ever since it became apparent it may happen. They told themself where to hit him, they told themself to run, to find Mason no matter what, to get out, but that turned out to be very different than what they did do.
Lea froze. He froze up as the man approached him, his words caught in his throat, all ideas of calling for help, much less running had disappeared immediately. He was terrified, so scared he couldnât bring himself to move on his own. When the man told him to take his clothes off, he did. When he told him to lay on the bed, he did. When he got on top of him, Lea didnât fight, or cry for help, they did as they were told, tears rolling down their face. Once the man was satisfied, he told them to clean up again, before leaving the room, and Lea numbly did as he said. He slept across the room from Mason that night, snapping at him to leave him alone. He hated himself for it.
He raped them for the first time that day, but it wouldnât be the last. The random cornering and touching did stop, and for a while they thought that was it, he got what he wanted and now things would go back to normal. He even started sleeping next to Mason again. And then, one night as they were getting ready for bed, maybe a week or so since the last incident, their door was opened. Their owner locked them in at night, the locks were controlled electronically, he could grant or deny them the ability to leave their room from his phone. He usually didnât open it again till the morning, when he expected Lea to start on breakfast, but there he was, leaning against the doorframe while the two stared back at him. Mason already looked annoyed, but Lea stared at him with wide eyes, their heart pounding.
âWhat do you want?â Mason snapped at him, but the man was only looking at Lea, motioning with his finger for Lea to come towards him.
âLea. Come here.â He said sternly, and at first Lea wouldnât move, their mind racing. They didnât know what to tell Mason, not when he was standing right there. They had thought this whole time he wasnât even supposed to know, and now here he was ordering them around like this in front of him. âLea. Now.â He said again when Lea didnât move, they finally got to their feet, their legs shaking.
âThe fuck do you want with him?â Mason asked, he stood up as well.
âMasonâŠâ Lea said softly, trying to calm him down.
âCalm down, mutt.â He laughed, while Lea made their way over to him, keeping their head down. âI just like having something pretty to keep the bed warm, nothing wrong with that.â He said. Lea didnât get to see the look on Masonâs face, but they assumed he realized what he meant when he suddenly started swearing at him. The man didnât give him a chance to attack though, as soon as Lea was in reach, he grabbed him by the arm and dragged him out before locking the door behind him. Lea could still hear Mason banging on it as they walked down the hall.
He told them that night that from then on, it would be once a week. Heâd choose one night every week for them to spend with him, while Lea cried silently, trying desperately to pretend they werenât there. He held them close while he explained that they should be grateful, giving him their body one night a week meant that for one night theyâd get to sleep in a bed, and how lucky they were since pets werenât allowed on furniture. He told them that heâd make it worth it to them, whatever they wanted. Lea told him he didnât want to do this ever again, but that wasnât an option. More food, more luxuries for he and Mason, less chores even. He just had to be good. Lea knew he didnât have any real choice in the matter. It would happen no matter what, but if he handled it well, he would be rewarded. He didnât think it was worth it, but he chose to obey.
He held himself together through the next day. It wasnât easy, he couldnât fall asleep in that bed, he couldnât sleep with that man holding him, he was exhausted the next day. He knew Mason was worried too, the way he looked at him made him want to cry, but he held it together, until they were locked up for the night.
âLea, I⊠are you okayâŠ?â Mason asked gently, and at that point they broke, sobbing hysterically. They told him everything that happened, and begged him not to do anything stupid. They didnât want to see him end up hurt over this. If he was angry, he didnât show it, instead holding them while they cried, gently rubbing their back like he used to when heâd calm him down in the training facility. They fell asleep like that, with Lea nestled in his arms protectively.
In the morning, Mason did exactly what they begged him not to. As soon as he saw their owner he attacked him, he actually landed a few good hits on him too, but that was it. Lea had to watch the beating he sustained after that, as well as clean up after it, he was out of fighting shape for the next two weeks. They begged him to never do that again, and he reluctantly agreed.
Somewhere in their three years there, it all began to get to him. The weekly, randomized assaults were wearing on him, he was a constant anxious wreck, just wondering when it would happen again, his body began shaking whenever he was in the same room as their owner. He hated when he touched him, hated how he used him, he hated how it was completely out of his control and it all made him feel disgusting. How he handled it didnât make him feel much better about himself.
One night he finally broke, the night following an assault. He had climbed on top of Mason, kissing at his neck and begging him to fuck him. A part of him knew all along he didnât want this, he didnât want to do this with him, but he just needed it with somebody other than that man, with somebody he knew cared for him, somebody he chose. To his credit, Mason handled it well for the most part. He was shocked of course, initially heâd shoved him off him, but when Lea started sobbing he seemed to realize what was really going on.
He helped him into their bathroom first, encouraged him to take a shower to calm down, and Lea did. Mason didnât leave him the whole time, he just sat on the counter and waited for him. Once he was done he helped him dry off, gave him a change of clothes, and he held him in the nest of blankets and pillows they made to make up for the lack of a bed. He rubbed his back while he shook and cried in his arms, promising him he was okay, that he didnât have to do that with him. Lea never tried it again, though he often still felt that urge to replace the manâs touch with anyone else.
The last time it happened was the night before they were rescued. Hours before they were rescued even. Like usual they laid there awake after, long after the man had fallen asleep, holding them close like they were just an object to keep him comfort. They wondered how Mason was doing. They knew he often didnât sleep when they were away. They thought about what they would make for breakfast in the morning, what chores they should tackle first. It would be an easy day tomorrow, theyâd be given time to themself as a reward. They werenât sure how they wanted to spend it yet.
Theyâd never get to decide. They heard the sound of people entering the house before their owner did, in the early hours of the morning, the sun had just rose. They were scared, they knew the home had tight security, Mason had set alarms off just by opening doors to the yard, but nothing had gone off this time. He wondered if they were breaking in to steal things, there was plenty to take. A part of them wished they would take them as well. Only if they took Mason too, of course, so theyâd be together.
The rescue itself was a bit of a blur to them. Things moved so quickly, their owner was abruptly woken up when they entered the room, he was pulled out of bed while somebody else helped Lea up. He was red in the face, panicking, still naked from the night before, but one of the agents helped find his clothes, he was able to get dressed, the whole time asking them where Mason was. He had to take them to the room he was in, he felt a lot safer with Mason there with him. They kept telling them things would be okay, they were taking them somewhere safe.
Lea sat in the back of a car with Mason, the two being sent to an unknown place with only the word of complete strangers to go off of. He held Masonâs hand tightly in his own, and told himself that even if they were lying, it could not have been worse than what heâd already endured.
5. talk about the scene from a wip that you're most excited about
Ooh yay thanks for asking!! I always appreciate you being around <3
Hmm I'm gonna answer this in two parts! I'm most excited for a nsfwhump wip but I'll put that under a cut so no one has to read it, and I'll give a second sfw answer above cut <3
Answer 1. I'm excited for a small but impactful scene a few chapters from now where Baz really finds out how cruel that humans can be, not out of ignorance or excuse but just pure, cold, apathetic cruelty. It's very eye-opening for him and just overall really terrible, definitely a low point in his life. I'll share a snippet for fun!
"Still, he cried out for an end to it. Stop, he had begged. Get off of me. Just let me go. Over and over he said, please. One last call of humanity.
But there was no humanity in the room."
The other that I'm most excited for tbh is nsfwhump so I'm putting it under the cut!
Answer 2. I'm really excited for a little bit in the future, after Baz meets The Creator and is spoiled / love-bombed for a while, when the mask finally slips and Baz realizes two important things: one, The Creator is interested in a sexual, romantic relationship with him, and two, he is not going to take no for an answer. The scene is a gradual shift from what feels like normal sex, to manipulation, blatant refusal to respect consent, and eventually a very scary, aggressive assault. I really like the current wip where Baz tries to make excuses for the behavior and red flags, and tries to convince himself that his fears and boundaries are unreasonable.
A snippet:
"The Creator had saved his life. He had performed medical miracles on him, taking away his pain. He gave him a place to rest, a warm bed, a place to finally be comfortable and safe. He showed him kindness when no one else did. If all he wanted in return was sex, Baz supposed it wasn't that unfair of a trade. Really, Baz felt he was being a bit unfair by saying no, after all that had been done for him. It would be over quick enough, he thought. There was no reason to feel so scared. He had dealt with sex he hadn't wanted before."
Wait you know what I'm a sucker for. When rape and sexual assault are like a punishment or a means to an end. The rapist isn't SUPPOSED to get any gratification from it, it's for humiliation/ a warning/ an experiment...
ESPECIALLY if the rapist is lying/in denial. They want whumpee. They crave them, so theyll have them regardless of what THEY want. But they won't admit that so they pretend it's entirely impersonal
i am ALSO a sucker for this. a humiliation/warning/experiment/punishment. a sexual assault framed as discipline. as a consequence. "you knew what would happen if you broke the rules/failed/etc. bend over/lay down. spread your legs. if you fight me, i will make you bleed."
ohhhh and the detail of them lying about it, too. they want them like this but they're pretending it's just business, just discipline. training. and maybe part of it is punishing whumpee for 'making' their attacker want them like this, too. it's a punishment, a warning, a way to humiliate and degrade them. but it's about whumper's own desire for them, too, which is in itself something whumpee needs to be punished for.
i wouldn't have to punish you like this if you hadn't made me want you.
Whumpee who tells themselves "It wasn't my fault, I didn't deserve to be raped" and for the first time actually believes it
Whumpee thought it was the goofiest thing they'd ever heard. But because it was Caretaker's idea, they said they'd try it anway.
Caretaker had stuck the first sticky note to the bathroom mirror a few weeks ago. Written on it was a simple note: I am loved. "Just a reminder," Caretaker had told them in that simple, cheerful way of theirs. "I've heard if you read them to yourselves in the morning or before bed and stuff, you'll start to believe them more."
Right. But they'd been so earnest, Whumpee couldn't not go along with it. And at first, it hadn't been so hard -- the messages were simple, easy to digest. I am loved. I can do hard things. I am enough.
"How about, 'it's not your fault?'" Caretaker asked them one day over lunch. "I think that'd be a really good one."
Whumpee's chest seized. They glanced at Caretaker over the table. "....Sure. Go for it."
"Nah." Caretaker passed them the sticky notes and a pen. "It should come from you, don't you think?"
"Yeah. Whatever." Whumpee wrote the words quickly, sloppily, like they didn't mean much. Like they didn't make shame and denial rise in their throat just by thinking them.
The note joined the rest on the bathroom mirror. At first, Whumpee didn't even include it in their morning ritual -- just let their eyes skirt by it, allow it to take up space. After a few days, they let themselves say it, monotone, robotic.
And every day, it felt just a little more natural. A little more right, a little more true.
It was a random Tuesday when it happened. When the words finally stuck.
"I am loved, I can do hard things," Whumpee was reciting. "I am emough, it wasn't my fault. It wasn't my fault."
Their breath caught. Because for once, their mind didn't reject the sentiment immediately....it embraced it. Whumpee said it again. "It wasn't my fault. I didn't deserve it." Whumpee's eyes flickered up to meet themselves in the mirror. They were red-rimmed, tired, but there was something fierce behind them too. "I didn't deserve to be raped. I didn't."
The gallery, up above the tiled room stared down through tinted glass as Aziphem dropped his small amount of privacy, his hospital gown, to the floor. Ko watched him keenly, then turned his eyes to the screen to receive the next round of orders.
Aziphem read them before Ko could say it. âPresent on the table.â He shivered, not liking where this was going. The cold air brushed his body, yet he laid down on the steel table. This was the time to follow orders. Ko could be punitive but the council was sadistic with their punishments. So he spread his legs and allowed his pussy to open.Â
Ko, to his credit, did not stare. He instead stared at the screen behind Aziphemâs head.
Being albino, Ko was pale. Yet he somehow lost what little color he had as he read the words.Â
âI am not sure that is appropriate for this test.â
Another pause.
âIf- that is what the council decides.â He squeaked, suddenly much meeker than normal. Aziphem felt a shiver. What would make Ko afraid?
The angel positioned himself between Aziphemâs legs, too close for comfort. A pelvic exam? They were fond of those for the humiliation.
A zip and Aziphem yanked his legs back, only to have his ankles grabbed. âDonâtâ the angel hissed in a tone quiet enough to avoid the microphones.Â
âNo. No no I- Not this- this is- angel this isnât you you wouldnât-â
âSakamoto. Control your ward.â A voice crackled over the intercom. Ko cringed.
âAziphem. Behave and this will be easier.â Ko almost pleaded, not doing anything to calm the panicking demon.Â
âYou- canât-â
âThis is nothing that has not happened before.â Ko said feigning calm. Aziphem could see his hands shaking as he pulled down his pants. He was barely hard, obviously enjoying this as little as Aziphem was. He slowly stroked himself, hardening until he was ready.
Ko grabbed the lube from beside the speculum, coating his finger and sliding them into Aziphem. He scissored, trying to open him up gently. Aziphem made a little whimper and tried to pull away.Â
âDonât- they will make it worse-â Ko went pale, reading the screen again. He took a deep breath and reached out, touching Aziphemâs throat. âDeep breath little demon.â
âN-no-â
âYou donât get that word.â Ko clamped his hand down, cutting off Aziphemâs air. The demon struggled for a moment before looking up with his dark black eyes. âThere you go. Submit.â He began to slide himself in.
Aziphem closed his eyes, pain touching his core as Ko pushed in and began to move. It was long, ramming up against his deepest parts and pushing further. Ko finally bottomed out, pressing his hips to Aziphemâs. He released his throat. âDeep breath.â He said calmly.
Aziphem gasped for air, putting his hands on Koâs wrists.
âDown.âÂ
Aziphem obliged, pushing his hand into the bed beside him. He tried not to think about what was happening inside of him.Â
Ko clamped his hand down again and began to fuck, making soft groans as his hardness grew. It was hard to find his pleasure with all of the eyes on him yet he managed. Deep thrusts slammed into Aziphem until Ko felt himself burst, cumming hard inside of the demon. He released his throat and let him gasp for air. Koâs eyes lingered on the screen, waiting.
The command came in, ko sighed in relief and pulled his pants up. âThat will be all. Stand.âÂ
Aziphem remained laying on the table, crunched in the fetal position until Ko grabbed him and pulled him off, wrapping an arm under him to lift him. Aziphem wobbled, legs barely holding weight. As they exited the room, Ko pulled Aziphem up into a carry. âThat was hard. You did well my little demon.â
whumpee who canât tell if something in the bedroom is a kink or a trigger or both because it is ultimately, more than anything at this point, a habit. like yes, these circumstances cause Both arousal and dread in a complicated tangle bc thatâs the form of having sex thatâs been normalized to them by their abuse, and they havenât yet had the time or awareness to unpack it
The rest of the night spiraled into nothingness. Even by the next day, it all felt like a blur, and Vienna barely remembered how she got from one moment to the next. All she knew was that at some point she had gotten out of the shower. She had dressed, using the clothes she had sworn to herself she'd never wear. She had collapsed back into bed, the bloodstained sheet pulled to the floor. And she had somehow fallen asleep, body curled tight, wrapped in a thin blanket she'd found in the dresser.
Vienna's exhaustion was so profound that her sleep had been deep, mercifully dreamless. She awoke suddenly the next morning, and for one wonderful, fleeting moment she didn't remember. Then, the piercing, unfamiliar pain between her legs brought everything back. Without meaning to, she let out a miserable whine and pressed her thighs together, even though it hurt. She closed her eyes again, clenching them tightly shut in the hope that she could just fall back asleep. The brief respite of being unconscious, of being blissfully unaware of her hellish situation, was so enticing.
But now that she was awake it was no use: it seemed like each second of the previous evening was playing rapidly through her mind, a supercut of terror: the feeling of the restraints tight around her limbs, the knife cutting through her clothes, his hands, his skin, his breath⊠she wished with everything in her that it had been a nightmare, that she would wake up safely in her own bed, but the soreness all over her body reminded her it was all too real.
Vienna reluctantly opened her eyes and looked at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was 8:32 in the morning. If she were home right now....what day was it now, even? Saturday?
A lump formed in her throat. It was supposed to be the first day of her summer vacation. She and her cousin Daniela had been looking forward to it for weeks, finally reunited after months apart at school. Zander's hometown was close enough that last year they'd been able to meet up at least a couple times a week and they'd been planning that again, looking up festivals and breakfast spots and hiking trails to meet at. And her parents. As much as she loved Lakewood, she'd been so looking forward to being home with them, falling into their familiar, happy routine.
What had felt so simple just a few days ago now seemed like a beautiful, impossibly far away dream. Could that ever be her life again, after this? She closed her eyes again, not to sleep, but to focus her imagination on the faces and voices of all of her loved ones: her family, her friends, her professors, her classmates....Vienna ran them through her mind over and over, each time giving a prayer she would see them again soon. But every so often, a terrible image of Alec intercut her mental slideshow - sneering above her, laughing at her, hands all over her, his body rocking in rhythm against hers....what was today going to bring?
As if summoned by the thought, a door slammed above her. Vienna shot up immediately - she knew that sound by now. He was coming back down to the basement, back down to her.
Her heart fluttered so rapidly she thought she might be having a heart attack. Footsteps were approaching the door now. She didn't know what to do. Her brain screamed at her to get ready to fight, to hide, to run, but her body didn't seem to get the message. All she could do before Alec entered the room was wrap the thin blanket around her body, covering every inch of herself but her head as she cowered on the bed.
When Alec walked in, just seeing him again made Vienna feel as if the wind had been knocked out of her. She felt unbelievably small and helpless in his presence as he looked her over with a smug grin.
"Well....good morning."
Vienna said nothing, her chest rising and falling heavily as Alec closed the door behind him.
"How did you sleep? Mm? I gotta tell you, I slept like a baby."
He was so casual it sent a chill down her spine. How could he be acting like this after last night? After he'd torn a piece out of her soul and crushed it?
âThen I woke up, remembered you down here waiting for me, and man, it was like Christmas morning. You donât look as excited to see me, though. Do you?â
Again, Vienna did not answer. He was crazy, this man. He was a psychopath. The more scared she was, the more pleased he seemed to be.
"You know, you're going to have to talk to me eventually."
Alec grabbed a chair from the small table behind the bed and pulled it out, straddling the back so he was facing Vienna. She was forcibly reminded of how he'd straddled her while she was bound to the chair yesterday, and her stomach twisted.
"I wanted to talk this morning, and you'll probably want to as well, because as soon as we're done, we're going to get started."
Get started? What did that mean? Was he going to....not again. Or did he mean...
"Are you going to kill me?" Vienna blurted it out almost without meaning to, clutching the blanket around herself so tightly her nails were digging into her palms. Alec did not reply at first, but a grin started to twist on his face.
"Because if you're going to kill me, just - just do it now and get it over with!" Vienna meant for her voice to be fierce, but it came out shrill and anxious instead. She flushed as Alec fully smiled, seemingly amused.
"I already told you, I have no interest in killing you. What, you don't believe me?"
"Why should I believe anything you say?!"
He watched her with the same amused expression, as if every word was entertainment.
"I haven't lied to you once since you've gotten here, Vienna."
She cringed at the sound of her name coming out of his mouth. He'd said it before, but it felt different today, crude and predatory and wrong.
"Yes, you have! You said you didn't want to hurt me!"
Alec cocked his head like a curious child. "Did I? When did I say that?"
"You -" Her voice died in her throat. She had been so sure that he'd promised itâŠbut when she tried to conjure up the memory, she came up blank.
"Am I supposed to have said that when I told you I was holding you for ransom, too?" Alec sneered. "No - that was all your invention. Desperation is a crazy thing, huh?"
Shame rose hot and fast in Vienna's face. Because she realized - he wasn't wrong. Her fear had been so strong that she'd allowed herself to believe what was clearly not reality. Alec didn't even have to say the words for them to immediately ricochet around her head - foolish, naive, stupid. And now, she was paying for it.
Alec was still talking. "It was nice to have you believe all that, though. It wouldn't have been so fun last night if you really knew what was coming."
Fun. As if it had been a game, light recreation, not the most devastating moment of her life.
"So, I haven't lied. I'm not going to kill you." Alec finished simply.
"Then...then what are you going to do?" Vienna asked in a small voice, hoping against hope that now that he'd have his way with her, he would let her go.
Nothing could have hit worse than the words he spoke next. His tone, smug and satisfied, only made it worse.
"I'm going go keep you."
For a moment, everything disappeared. All that existed was her aching body, his terrifying closeness, and those words floating between them. The walls pressed in as if forcing them all closer together, claustrophobia and nausea rising in Vienna's throat like acid. No. No no no.
A part of her, twisted and guilty, had clung to the hope that maybe once he got what he wanted â money, revenge, something â heâd be done with her. Maybe heâd kill her afterward, and that thought had been terrifying, but at least it had an end.
Now she understood there wasnât an end. Not unless he decided one.
She was glad to be alive. And horrified that she was still breathing the basement air. Because that meant he was going to keep doing this. Over and over. Until there was nothing left of her.
"And before you ask, I'm going to keep you for a nice long while," Alec was continuing cheerfully. "You're the exact type I wanted - sweet, innocent, healthy. Built to last.â
"You can't!" Vienna burst out, her body shaking all over. She knew she should feel more relieved that he wasn't going to kill her, but in this moment, it seemed like a fate worse than death.
Alec laughed. "Who's stopping me? Hmm? You see anybody breaking this door down to save you?"
Vienna swallowed thickly, her eyes darting to the door, thick and impenetrable as ever. Let someone come... she thought desperately. Anyone....
"No one is coming," Alec said, and she was disturbed by how he seemed to read her mind again. "No one is going to stop this, or stop me from raping you again. And again. Nobody can."
His frank words sent a terrible chill down her spine. Vienna forced her eyes back to him. This couldn't be the way it was going to go. Maybe.âŠmaybe she could talk him out of it.
"Please - my parents. I'm their only child. They need me back. This will kill them!"
Her eyes filled with tears as she acknowledged the reality of what she was saying. She had known, always, that she was her parents' world, that they loved her more than anything. What would happen to them if she really never came home?
"Maybe," Alec said lightly. "That's their problem."
"They'll do anything if you let me go," Vienna pled. "I - we could make it work. I wouldn't tell anyone about last night. I can say that you - that you were nice to me. And they'll give you however much money you want."
"I don't care about money," Alec said with a taunting smirk. "I think you know what I want."
"I..." Vienna groped desperately in her mind for something that would get through to him. "I told you last night. I've only really done that a handful of times. I won't...I won't be good at it. You-you could find someone who w-wants to do it with you."
Alec's grin widened. "Maybe you're still not understanding. Let me make myself clear. Your struggling, screaming, begging last night? That's what I'm interested in."
A full body shiver overtook Vienna at his words. He wanted to hurt her. He wanted her to suffer. She had never felt so vulnerable or defenseless in her life. She didn't know what to do, and couldn't help but continue to beg.
âPlease, you donât have to do thisâŠâ
âI know I donât have to - I want to do this. I get to do this.â
Vienna didn't know what else to say. She had never heard anyone speak like this before. It seemed like nothing was going to change his mind. She began to breathe heavily, unable to stop the panic overtaking her. Alec seemed to enjoy this, and continued, "I get to keep you. I get to touch you everywhere. I get to tie you up and fuck you however I want. I get to hurt you."
The words hit her like spears of ice. She finally broke down in tears, heaving, full-body sobs.
"I - I ca - I can't!" She wailed. There was no way she could survive this.
"Maybe not. But I can. And I'm going to make you." Alec said pleasantly. She simply wept harder, and he continued, "You know, it took a lot of self control to not to touch you these last few days. I can't tell you how many times I thought about just tearing off your clothes and going at it. We're going to make up for lost time today. And I don't work today, so we have all day to catch up."
Alec smirked in satisfaction as Vienna continued to cry, now rocking on the spot in an effort to soothe herself. He let her go on for a minute, and then said, âAlright, thatâs enough. I need you to calm down so you can listen to me.â
Vienna gave no indication that she heard him, his crude words taking up too much space in her brain for anything else. For the first time he began to sound irritated.
âHey - calm down. Or Iâm going to start getting angry, and you arenât gonna like that. Deep breath.â
Vienna looked up at him fearfully and obeyed, sucking in air and clasping her hands to her mouth.
"Another one. In and out."
Vienna took a shaky breath, forcing herself to swallow her tears. He was right - if he was like this in a good mood, she definitely didn't want to see him get angry. He nodded approvingly.
"Like I said...I didn't lie to you. And all my rules remain the same. You are going to stay clean, well-groomed, and fit for me. You'll have access to food just like the last couple days. I'll be giving you more clothes and bedding, too. You'll have some things to pass the time - the TV, doing my laundry. Maybe if you're good, you can have some books or games or something. But mainly," he smiled, unbearably smug, "you'll be waiting down here for me. Whatever I want. Every day."
Vienna bit the inside of her cheek to keep from crying again. Every day felt beyond her comprehension.
"You're going to be good for me. If you want to cry, or beg, or struggle a little - fine. In fact, I'll like that. What you're not going to do, is try to escape, or try to really hurt me. If that happens - well, you know I don't want to kill you, but Iâll have to punish you. And Iâll make sure it hurts. Bad - worse than anything youâve felt before, believe me."
He let the threat hang in the air a moment, her imagination already running wild. "I'll remind you: you're in the basement of my house, which is soundproof, with multiple locks, with no neighbors around for at least a mile. Trying to escape would just be stupid. Do you understand me?"
A strange buzzing filled Vienna's ears. All her strategizing, calibrating, furious calculating - for nothing. It didn't matter. He didn't care. She wasn't getting out of here unscathed. She forced herself to nod stiffly.
"Use your words."
Alec's voice was dripping with condescension, but there was also an edge of threat to it. Vienna whimpered, "I understand."
"Good. NowâŠtake that blanket off yourself. I want to see you."
Vienna's stomach plummeted. "Wait, I - I have a question." She needed to keep him talking. Anything to prevent what was coming next.
"Alright, make it quick."
"I - um -" Vienna's mind scrambled anxiously. "Wh-where are we?"
"I just told you. My house." Alec arched an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but - what town?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Do you - do you own the house?"
"Yeah?" Alec said, bemused. She knew he was seeing straight through her.
"Okay...um...how long have you owned it for?"
"Alright, now you're just stalling," Alec sneered. "No more questions. Take the blanket off."
"Please, don't make me," Vienna whimpered, clutching the fabric tighter around herself.
"Would you rather I come and rip it off you?"
Vienna shook her head frantically.
"Then go on."
Desperately wishing that something, someone, would somehow stop this, Vienna pulled the blanket off herself and let it fall to the floor next to the bed. Alec grinned. "That's right....now the shirt."
A despondent mewl escaped Vienna's throat. She wrapped her arms around herself. There was no way....
"Okay then, I"ll do it."
Alec rose and pushed the chair back to the table.
"NO!" Vienna cried "No - I'll do it."
She couldn't believe she was doing it, but Vienna began to lift her shirt over her head. Alec hadn't left a bra for her after cutting through her other one, so her torso was completely bare under the t-shirt. She clutched the fabric to her chest, shaking.
"Drop it. On the floor, with the blanket."
She obeyed, gulping audibly. She could feel Alec's eyes on her and it felt like a violation in itself. There was a pause as he drank in the image of her topless before continuing.
"Very nice. Do you know what's next?"
His eyes glittered with excitement. Vienna was positively trembling now, and shook her head as a sob built in her throat.
"Mmm, I think you do know, baby."
"Please," Vienna's voice was small and strangled sounding as she looked pleadingly up at Alec.
"Yeah, you know. Take your pants off, now."
"I can't," Vienna whined, shrinking under his hungry gaze.
"Alright, fine."
Alec started towards her and Vienna screamed in terror, scrambling away on the mattress. She was afraid that she had made him mad, but as he climbed onto the bed towards her, he didn't look angry - if anything, he looked excited, an eager smile on his face as he reached for her. He grabbed her by the hips and yanked her towards him with an unsettling ease.
Alec took hold of the waistband of her sweatpants and began to tug them down. Vienna wailed in protest and shoved at his hands, trying to pull the pants back up over her exposed skin. They tussled like this for several moments before Alec decided he needed to try another tactic - he straddled her to pin her to the bed and forced each of her wrists into the restraints.
"No, no, stop!"
But he was too strong, too unrepentant, and before she knew it Vienna's wrists and ankles were locked into the restraints again, the sweatpants discarded to the floor.
"Thatâs it..."
Alec slid atop Vienna's desperately writhing body, panting with exertion.
"Well...here we are again."
Alec looked so excited and eager, greedy and hungry, and it terrified her. A broad smile was on his face as he settled above her, straddling her hips and effectively pinning her down. "This is exactly as I always imagined you. I can't believe I finally get to have you."
Vienna flushed red as he slowly ran his eyes down her body, taking in every inch of her exposed skin. She felt frozen in dread, scrutinized like a bug under a microscope.
Alec continued, âYou know, yesterday was great. Donât get me wrong. I do feel like I rushed it a bit, though. But thatâs alrightâŠ.Iâve got you right where I want you and we have hours. Today, Iâm going to take my time.â
Viennaâs look of horror made him smile. âMmhmmâŠ.by the time weâre done today, thereâs not going to be an inch of you I havenât touched. Inside and out.â
Vienna heart was racing so hard she couldn't believe Alec couldn't see it slamming against her chest. Every nerve in her body felt alight in fear and trepidation, knowing that soon he would be touching her again and she had no way to stop him.
Still smiling down at her, Alec said, "Tell me what you're thinking."
"I - I'm scared. I don't want to do this," Vienna whimpered.
"Perfect."
Alec cupped her cheeks in his hands and leaned down to kiss her. Vienna cried out in disgust and turned her face away to avoid his lips, desperately twisting her bound limbs. Alec laughed at her and licked a stripe up the side of her face, causing her to burst into tears.
"Don't touch me!"
"My tongue's gonna be a lot more places than that, Vienna. Remember, I can do anything I want to you."
The thought seemed to give him power, his chest swelling as he dragged his mouth lower.
âAnything I wantâŠâ Alec hummed as he kissed all over her neck and chest. Vienna squirmed and squealed as he trailed kisses down her body. âI get - to - do - any - thing - I want - to you.â
He punctuated each word with a disgusting kiss down her torso, approaching the apex of her hips.
âSTOP!â Vienna screamed, absolutely panic thrumming through her body. Each place his lips had touch felt burned, skin crawling unbearably.
"Alright, alright....we'll start nice and slow." Alec settled kneeling between her spread thighs so they were face to face again. He reached up and lightly touched her bound hands and wrists. "That's not so bad, is it?"
Viennaâs stomach twisted and she said nothing, still breathing hard from the panic of Alec kissing her.
âWell, if it is, we can just get right to it -" His hand drifted lower.
âNo!â Vienna cried, jerking in the restraints. âNo, itâs - itâs n-not so bad.â
âVery good.â Alec smiled, tracing his fingers along Viennaâs, making good on his promise of touching each and every part of her. âYou wanna be good for me, Vienna, donât you? You donât want me to have to hurt you.â
âIâll be good,â Vienna said quietly.
âYeah, you will. Tell me youâll be a good girl.â
âIâŠIâll be a good girl,â Vienna practically whispered, her face flushed in humiliation.
âI bet you will,â Alec purred, running his fingers across every nook and cranny of her hands. âMmmâŠcan you guess what Iâm imagining these wrapped around?â
He laughed softly as Vienna grimaced, her hands unconsciously clenching into fists.
âLet me tell you whatâs going to happen next. Iâm going to ask you some questions. Some I donât know the answer to already, but some I do - so youâre not going to lie to me. If you do, I will know, and Iâll need to punish you. Understand?â
Vienna nodded meekly, and he continued, âGood. Iâll start with an easy one - tell me your full name.â
âVienna DeNova.â
âGood. And how old are you, Vienna?â
âIâŠIâm only twenty,â Vienna whimpered, and Alec smiled wickedly. His light touch moved further down her arms and her entire body shuddered.
âAnd when did you turn twenty?"
âM-May 1st.â
âAh, just missed it. Well, next year we'll be able to celebrate it together."
Alec chuckled at the look in Viennaâs eyes. Relief and terror tangled in her chest - relief that he planned to let her live that long, terror that she might still be here in a year.
Time stretched into something unknowable. Vienna tried to answer his endless questions - about her family, her life at college, her friends, every last detail about her sexual history - while his hands slowly roamed her body. When she hesitated â like when he asked for her parent's address â he would press harder, move his touch threateningly closer to the places she least wanted him near.
By the time he seemed to run out of questions, there was only one place on her body he hadn't skimmed his hands over. Vienna trembled from head to toe, but the sensitive valley between her legs seemed to scream with awareness as he settled his gaze there.
"I noticed you bleeding last night." His voice was casual, as if they were discussing the weather. "You look okay now, though."
"I'm not." Her voice wobbled like jelly. "I'm not, please, I can't again."
"Don't tell me you're worn out after one go at it?" Alec smirked, letting one finger trail down where she feared most. She let out a staggering gasp. "Don't worry. I'll get you ready."
As he went further, fingers pressing and flicking and stroking, Vienna found herself wishing for the pain instead. Every nerve was was alight, firing not in agreement but in pure reflex. It felt as if her entire lower body belonged to someone else, hips jerking and twisting, a stranger's hand invading.
He lingered so long she wondered if that was all he had planned, savoring her breathless gasps and cries. But then he stopped. Pulled back, fingers slick. Turned her onto her stomach.
"Wait." Her mouth was dry as he dragged her hips up. "Wait - please."
"Why should I?" His voice was a purr. "I've waited long enough already, Vienna. I've been waiting ever since I saw you in your little volleyball outfit down at Freestone State."
Her heart stuttered. That game had been over a month ago, at least. Had he really been lurking in the shadows of her life that long without her noticing?
âThen I saw it all. College girl. Dorm room. Boyfriend. Coffee dates.â Something like venom began to lace his words. âYou were living in a fucking commercial.â
His hands were on her hips. "But not anymore."
"Please. Please don't do this,â Vienna begged as she felt him moving behind her. She couldn't decide if had been worse last night when she had to watch him, or right now when she couldn't tell what was coming next. Her mind whirred, throat closing. âPlease, I - Iâm just a little girl, I just want to go home and see my mom and dad and -â
Alec cut her off with a sharp laugh and smacked her hip.
âYouâre just a little girl, huh? I think I like that. You ready to get raped again, little girl?â
âNo!â Vienna said shrilly. âNo, please - PLEASE!â
She wailed in pain and terror as she felt Alec began to enter her again. He hummed in satisfaction as she felt an unbearable stretch in her already sore muscles. Vienna's cry turned into an outright scream - she couldn't believe that it hurt even more today, like needles stabbing from the inside.
"STOP, STOP - YOU CAN'T!"
"Mmm, seems like I can."
Vienna broke into frantic, pained sobs as he continued, slower than yesterday but no less agonizing. She begged, she bargained, she prayed, she struggled - and was only met a mixture of moans and laughter.
It was then that she realized her miscalculation: she was trying to appeal to him as if he were human. Like there was some shred of decency buried deep enough to appeal to, some thread of empathy she could tug on if she just said the right thing.
Now she understood - there was nothing in him to reach.
Every plea only seemed to spur him further, like her pain was oxygen feeding the fire. But she still couldn't stop herself, words tripping over each other, begging please and no and stop until they lost meaning.
And the shame of that seared deeper than anything he could have done with his hands.
Because the trap she was in was deeper than the locked door or the restraints. He fed off this. Off her tears, her panic, the way she shrank from his touch. Her fear wasnât just incidental - it was the point.
Vienna clung to one desperate thought, even as her chest squeezed tight and her tears blurred her vision: If I can just stay alive. Just one more minute. One more hour. Someone will find me. I just have to survive him.
And that thought felt both like a lifeline and like a life sentence.
When he was done, his weight crushed her against the mattress. She weakly flexed her fingers, her toes, the only parts of her she could still move. Proof that she was still there. Surviving.
But his next words made her wish she wasn't.
"All day," Alec breathed against her ear. "That was the first of many. I could do this to you forever."
Against her will, a strangled sound left Vienna's throat. She had been focused on enduring minute to minute. The stretch of the entire day ahead of her felt like eternity.
"Let's get up." His voice was soft. "Clean up a bit. Then I have something to show you."
"Cleaning up" meant Alec wiping her down with a wet wash cloth, purposefully lingering on the places that made her tremble. When he handed the towel to Vienna, telling her with a wolfish grin to clean him, she could have vomited.
She should have known better than to hope for her clothes back. Alec marched Vienna back to the door from the bedroom to the rest of the basement, unlocked it, and began to push her through the doorway.
"No -" A tremor of pure fear ran through her entire body, and she turned, trying to shove against him to get back into the bedroom. Because the larger room in front of her was worse than anything her mind could have conjured up.
In one corner, a huge bed decked out with every manner of restraints.
In the other, a wardrobe, one door open as if on display. There were whips, cuffs, sex toys she couldn't even name.
Attached by a chain to the wall close to them was a collar. A collar. Like a dog would wear.
In the center of the room, a pair of handcuffs hung from the ceiling.
And beyond all of it lay the staircase. A couple of minuscule windows on either side of it, placed strategically so if anyone peered in all they would see were stairs and concrete walls. A sliver of sunlight glittered near the foot of the stairs, practically cruel in its golden light.
Around the room there were rugs carefully strewn about, softening the hard floor. But it didn't make a difference. She knew what this was.
It was a torture chamber.
Alec held her steady, one hand tightly clutching her arm while the other grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at the space.
"It's really something, isn't it? And it's all for you."
Vienna's knees buckled. He chuckled softly, starting to drag her across the room.
"I think we'll start here."
She couldn't move. Couldn't fight. Her veins had turned to ice, her entire body frozen. Alec pulled her arms up, cuffing her wrists above her head so her entire body was stretched out, even more defenseless than before. He moved behind her then, pressed up against her back, skin on skin.
âGod, youâre so tiny,â he marveled, cupping his large hands around her waist. âMust be pretty scary to be locked up here with a big guy like me. Especially now that you know Iâm big in lots of ways.â
He pressed his crotch up against her, snickering as she let out a fearful whine. She was going to vomit. She was going to pass out.
âDonât worry, Iâll be careful not to break youâŠnot too bad, anyway. I didnât go to all that work just to have you last a short time. I think we have years of fun ahead, little girl, if you keep being this good.â
He let his hands roam her body, enjoying the way she flinched and twitched and whimpered. Her shoulders. Her chest. Her ribs. Her hips. ThenâŠ.
Vienna's entire body jolted as if she'd been electrocuted, and he laughed.
âAre you going to get this upset every time I touch you here?â
Her mind tried to float up and away, tried to detach the way it had last night - but every cell in her body screamed danger, and if anything she was more alert and hypersensitive than ever. And Alec wouldn't stop. She tried everything - crying, fighting, begging, screaming, cursing, going limp, going silent. It didn't matter. Every hint of desperation or resistance seemed to goad him on.
Hands skimmed back over her ribs, up to her breasts. He whispered crude words into her ear that made her want to burst out of her own skin.
Hands wandered back down, rubbing and pressing while he called her names that seemed to make the air harder to breathe.
And on and on, and back and forth, and in between, as if tormenting her was a compulsion. When he finally stepped back, she should have known better than to be relieved. He'd said they had all day.
The second time he raped her, Alec simply bent Vienna over at the waist where they stood, her shoulders aching as her wrists stayed cuffed on the chain to the ceiling. He alternately slapped her hips and rubbed between her legs, as if experimenting with all the ways her body could tremble and jerk.
The third time he raped her, Alec had Vienna pinned in the middle of the huge bed that occupied the left hand corner of the basement. His whole body pressed to hers and he forced her into painfully intimate direct eye contact as he took his time. âYou are mineâŠmineâŠmineâŠ.â he grunted repeatedly in her face. He seemed to relish studying the microexpressions of pain, humiliation, terror, misery, and helplessness as she had no choice but to look him in the eye as she was assaulted.
The fourth time he raped her, Vienna felt like she had completely lost her mind from the endless abuse. She fought him wildly, screeching and kicking and writhing when he made it evident he intended to rape her once again. Alec only enjoyed the struggle, chasing her all over the bed and forcing her into various positions as she unsuccessfully resisted him, rutting in and out of her with a gleeful violence.
The fifth time he raped her, Vienna felt completely broken, mind, body, and soul. She finally lay limply as Alec leisurely thrust into her from behind, at last losing energy from all his exertion over the last several hours. Vienna cried uselessly into the mattress, her entire body aching and bruised. She began to wonder if he would ever stop raping her, or if she had entered some kind of hellish purgatory of 24/7 abuse with this man who had to be some kind of demon.
But then, almost inexplicably, he did stop. He wasn't on her anymore. In fact, she was on her back again. At some point, he realized her mind must have clouded over, accepting her body's helplessness and protecting it the best way it knew how. Flashes of memory came back to her â too many, more than she wanted â but much of the day was a blur.
Alec was by the bed, pulling his clothes back on. She had become so accustomed to the pain and horror of the day that her mind barely registered the relief at first. He smirked as he saw her eyes tracking him.
"There you are. You went away for a little while, you know."
His shadow seemed to swallow her as he leaned back over her, tugging her legs apart again.
"God, no!" Vienna's voice was an exhausted, strangled scream.
"Shhh....we're almost done. You can go to your room in a minute. Let me just take a look."
Given how exhausted and sore as she was, it didn't take too much mental fortitude not to move, but her body quivered all the same. The feeling between her legs was somewhere between raw agony and utter numbness, and if she let herself focus on it too much panic spiked. Her blood speckled on the sheets.
"That looks painful," he chuckled. "Does it hurt?"
"Y-yes," Vienna replied tremulously. "Please, I can't anymore..."
"I know. We're done today, little girl."
Tears spilled down her cheeks, this time of utter relief. She had survived the day. Despite the hundreds of times she thought she wouldn't.
"Mmm. Have you had enough? Would you like a little break, just a couple of days?"
"Yes, please," she blubbered, not caring how pathetic she sounded.
"I think that's probably a good idea. I want to use you for a long time, can't wear you out too soon," Alec said casually. "I'll leave you alone tomorrow, and then we'll see after that. But listen carefully. Look at me."
Vienna forced herself to look up Alec's face. Something about his eyes was so disturbing - like he was barely human, barely there at all.
"You need to remember my rules. You're going to clean yourself up tonight, and I expect you to keep yourself clean and shaved and your room clean. Otherwise you might not get a room anymore. Is that understood?"
Vienna nodded mutely. Please let me go back in. Please leave me alone.
"Alright then, I'm gonna lock you in. Get up."
Vienna immediately complied, more than ready for him to leave. Her legs almost crumpled beneath her, pain searing, but she forced herself forward back towards the bedroom. Alec noticed. Of course.
"I'm surprised you can even walk after all that. I think you'll hold up just fine." She didn't have to look at him to know he was sneering.
When the door locked behind him and his steps faded away, Vienna thought she had never heard a sweeter sound. The bathroom door was only steps away, but the distance stretched like a mile. She dragged her feet forward. The rote, mechanical part of her brain told her this was the next step. Survive this minute. This hour.
The bathroom light was too bright. Vienna leaned against the counter, staring at her reflection but unable to hold her own gaze for long. Her face was blotchy, her hands shaking. Everything ached in ways she didnât have words for.
She shifted her weight and winced. The pain shot sharp, unfamiliar, and her breath caught.
Oh God. Somethingâs wrong. What if I canât fix it? What if he broke something inside me?
She slid down to sit on the cold tile, hugging her knees despite how it made her sore thighs protest. Panic rose in her chest, hot and choking. She wanted her mom. She wanted a doctor. She wanted anyone to tell her this was survivable.
But somehow, there was no one.
Sparks bloomed in Vienna's vision as she pressed the heels of her hands to her eyes.
What if they were here?
She hadn't thought about any of them all day. She couldn't. It had seemed too painful, the idea of the world of her loved ones existing alongside this one. But now, for just a moment, she allowed herself to pretend that she could be comforted. That she was home. That she was just sick, or in an accident, notâŠ..this.
Like the time she had a nasty cold on New Year's and had to stay home. Her dad had made her endless cups of her favorite lemon tea, the steam swirling around as cozily as the blanket he wrapped her in, whistling Christmas carols.
She thought about the fierce protectiveness of her mom - while her father comforted her, she was sure her mother would be dragging Alec to the police station herself by the ear, letting Vienna know no one would ever hurt her again.
Her cousin Daniela would be there, too. Mixing together her signature snack of M&Ms and popcorn, turning on their favorite childhood musical. Her heart ached at the thought, the simple innocence of it.
And Zander. She remembered how she'd been so sore from volleyball last year, barely able to lift her arms after a day of serving drills. He'd offered to give her a massage, all earnest confidence until his first attempt made her yelp.
"Oh, okay - ow! You're not kneading dough here!" she'd gasped between giggles.
The next week, he'd tried again, gentler this time, focused, quiet. She'd turned her head back to thank him and stopped short - he had one headphone dangling from his ear, his phone showing a YouTube video titled "How to Give a Back Massage (For Beginners)."
He'd caught her noticing, and for one moment his cheeks flushed pink - until they both broke into laughter, almost falling off the narrow dorm bed in hysterics.
The corners of her lips twitched up, almost reflexively, at the memory. She screwed her eyes shut again, trying to let the warm light of it glow inside her as long as possible. She was cared for. She was loved. No matter how far away it felt.
The mantra rang out once more: Just survive this night. This hour. This minute.
Whumpee who's always been super helpful to their friends and feels uncomfortable asking for help themselves, but after being assaulted and trying to act like everything's fine their friends tell them, "You've always been there for us, let us be here for you."
ouuuuuoouough yeah that hits that really REALLY hits. it hits so good.
there's the culmination of the love they've shown - love they've never asked to be paid back for, asked to be returned. they've cared for their friends and shown up for them because they wanted to, but now they're in their worst moment and they have no choice but to need help. they just can't do this on their own. they're physically hurt or emotionally devastated and the trauma is unbearable.
but their friends are their. it's their turn now. "you never judged us for a minute," whumpee is told. "do you think we're going to think less of you now? do you think that little of us?"
the reflection of their own care shown back to them. that's a moment i'm always crazy about in role reversal type stuff - just. oh. oh, is this how they felt? is this what it was like to look at me when they opened the door and i was there to help?
Vienna was trying to make it make sense. She could force it into a reasonable shape, into something understandable, something she could comprehend, could survive. She focused her energy on the task like her life depended on it.
And she felt like it did.
Tomorrow. That means he has a plan. They've come to an agreement. He's going to get the money, and he's going to let me go.
It was the news broadcast that had sparked it, probably. Alec had seen how desperate her parents were, knew that they would pay any amount it took for her safe return, and had taken moves to make it happen. That's why his behavior had been so odd yesterday. That's all.
But she couldn't stop the other voice, the one she tried to smother, whispering in the back of her mind: liar.
It was "tomorrow," now, and he still hadn't appeared. There was a low ache in Vienna's muscles from the constant tension in her body as she shifted on the bed, trying to distract herself with the drone of the television. She couldn't remember a time she had felt this exhausted, wrung out physically and emotionally. She had slept fitfully last night, afraid to close her eyes but unable to stave off the creeping fatigue any longer. Every so often she would jerk awake, expecting to hear the unlocking of the door, for whatever shadowy doom she had in store to come walking through - but it never did.
As the day stretched on, she figured Alec must be at work again and took solace in knowing the house was empty. Still, even when he wasn't around, his voice bounced around in her head. Unease sat like a brick in her stomach, but she forced herself through the motions of showering, of feeding herself, of tidying the room, so when Alec returned he might once again appreciate her "good" behavior. Even when the memory of his praise made her skin crawl.
And so here she sat, hair drying in waves over her shoulders, waiting for whatever came next. The helplessness was crushing, and she constantly oscillated between trying to keep herself calm and steady and feeling like a complete idiot for just sitting and waiting.
When his footsteps finally began to echo down the staircase, she knew the answer was coming. It was almost a relief.
Almost.
Her ears strained, trying to discern any difference in the rhythm of his steps, the weight if his tread, but she came up with nothing.
As the door opened she tried to greet him carefully, neither eager nor defiant, but his expression was more unreadable than ever, and when he spoke his voice offered no clues. The only thing different was he didn't close the door behind him this time.
"Stand up."
Vienna obeyed instantly, every nerve buzzing. When he slipped the fabric over her eyes, tightening with a firm knot against the back of her head, her chest seized.
"Wait - why? Where are we going?"
"You'll see." His tone was infuriatingly calm.
"D-do I need my shoes?"
No answer. He led her by the elbow, his grip firm but not rough, across the room and out the door sheâd never been through. The air changed; she could feel the larger space, hear her own steps echo. Her heart leapt: this was it. She was leaving. He was finally taking her out of here. She stepped forward carefully, anticipating the moment she'd have to change her stride to walk up the stairs.
But then he stopped. The scrape of a chair dragging against the floor sounded out.
"Sit."
Bone-crushing disappointment seemed to force Vienna down into the chair more than anything else. Why? Why, when they had been so close to leaving this place forever?
Her wrists were being bound behind the chair with practiced precision. She vaguely recognized that the material, whatever it was, was much less abrasive than the zip ties, but no less effective when she pulled and twisted her arms. Then the gag - rubber stuffed between her teeth, the shock of it forcing a strangled yelp from her throat before she could stop herself.
"Shhh." Alec's breath close to her ear made her freeze. "I have a few things I need to do. I need you to stay here for a little while."
As if he were comforting her. As if she had any say in this at all.
His steps faded away, but not far, and she could hear him messing with something back towards the bedroom. Until even minutes ago that place had felt like a prison, a nightmare - but Vienna was already aching for it back. In this state, she couldnât see, couldn't swallow properly, couldn't move her arms, and the fear was already threatening to swallow her whole. When the noises told her Alec was walking back towards her several minutes later, she braced herself, realizing her helplessness had peaked - but he walked right by without a word.
His footsteps echoed up the stairs, and then the door slammed behind him. Vienna finally allowed herself to sag in the restraints, for just a moment, as confusion muddled her thoughts. The question rang out again, clear and bewildered: Why?
He's getting things ready. To take me home. The thought burst into her mind, no longer logical but wild and pleading. She clung to it. It started like this - blindfolded and gagged and tied up - and now it'll end like this. So I don't see the inside of his house. That's why.
Minutes passed. Then more. Vienna tried to count her breaths, to keep track of how long she'd been tied to the chair. At least an hour.
Thoughts of everything she would do when this was over carried her through the indeterminable stretch of time she sat there, unable to move or see or speak. Tell her parents she loved them, over and over and over. Run through the widest field she could find, sun warm on her skin. Have a classic Bad Movie Night with Zander, lean against his shoulder in the way that always made her feel safe. Get an ice cream cone with Abi or her cousin Daniela or virtually any other girl she knew, free to exist in simple sweetness without feeling as unbearably small and powerless as she had the last few days.
Then, finally, the door at the top of the stairs opened again.
Maybe thatâs the police, she tried to tell herself. And theyâre going to untie you and take you away from here and to your parents and it will be like none of this ever happened.
But the footsteps were slow, incredibly deliberate, as if he wanted her to count each one. By the time they finally dragged in front of her, Vienna thought her heart might explode in terror.
He didnât say a word. Fingers brushed the side of her face as he loosened the blindfold. The world flooded back in dim light and concrete walls.
And him. Standing in front of her, calm as ever, eyes drinking her in, a satisfied grin tugging on his lips.
"You've been so curious, haven't you?" Alec's voice was practically a purr. "I think we've both waited long enough."
And when his hand brushed a lock of hair from her face, so soft it made her sick, Vienna knew.
Her stomach dropped like sheâd stepped off a cliff.
No.
The word screamed in her head, but her body stayed frozen. She had tried so hard â so hard âto tell herself that this wasnât what he wanted, that she could hold onto the idea of ransom like a lifeline. She couldnât stop clinging to it, even as the truth stared her down.
His body only came closer, hands reaching, and she felt it: this was the moment her world ripped in two, more violently than she could have ever imagined possible. Not when his car had pulled up beside her, not when the stun gun had rendered her body useless, not even when he had pulled taut the ropes that bound her to this chair. It was this, the moment she could no longer deny what he wanted, what was about to happen.
The last tatters of denial tore away. And for the first time since sheâd opened her eyes in this place, Vienna wished desperately not for rescue, but simply not to exist at all.
Alec was horrifyingly close now, virtually straddling her in the chair. A petrified squeal broke loose through the gag as Vienna tried to shrink, to twist away, and for a few minutes, the world broke into fragments.
Hands, skimming her waist at first, then pressing, caressing, crudely squeezing up to her breasts. Not a hint of hesitation or remorse, easily moving under her clothes and bra as if he owned her down to the skin.
His lips, warm and surreal against her neck. Vienna felt them pull into a smile against her, and she wasn't sure if she would throw up or pass out or both.
The rope, digging deeper into the skin of her wrists as she struggled, keeping her pinned in place as he did whatever he wanted.
Her voice â was it her voice? She hadn't even meant to speak â muffled behind the gag, thin and panicked and incoherent.
When she heard the next sound, ringing bright and cheerily in the room, she jerked back. Because that couldn't be what he'd really just done, couldn't be any human's response to the raw panic and terror pouring out of her. But she caught a look at his face, and sure enough: Alec was laughing.
She couldn't reconcile it, couldn't make the pieces fit in a way that made sense - the cruel, bizarre contrasts of it all. The way he was touching her like a lover, even as she tried to twist away. The way every one of his motions telegraphed delight, even as she fell apart beneath him. And the way his laughter echoed around the room, even as she cried, as she begged.
His hands slipped out of her bra, leaving it crooked and barely covering her. She didn't have any time to feel relieved before his hands began to slide lower.
Vienna cried out and struggled even harder - she thought she would die on the spot if he touched her down there. But just as his thumbs slid under the waistband of her jeans, he stopped.
Alec leaned back to look at her, and through her tears Vienna thought his eyes looked like black holes, devoid of empathy, of anything she recognized as vaguely human.
âWhat do you say we take this somewhere more comfortable?â
Dread struck like lightning down her spine. Alec took the gag off, carelessly throwing it to the floor alongside the discarded blindfold.
âPlease,â Vienna begged instantly, wincing as her jaw adjusted to being free. âPlease - you donât have to do this.â Alec ignored her, moving behind her to unbind her wrists.
âWhat I said before about my parents is still true!â Vienna said desperately. âI wonât say anything about this, they can pay you -â
âI donât want your money,â Alec said shortly, and his blunt denial of her only bargaining chip made her so hopeless that she broke down crying again.
She felt the ropes around her wrists fall away, and before she could even think about running Alec had yanked her to her feet and was half dragging, half shoving her towards the bedroom that now loomed like a death sentence.
When he shoved her into the bedroom, she stumbled to the back of the room, wanting as much space between them as possible. She spun around as he shut the door behind them, feeling like a cornered animal as she looked for an escape. Alec grinned and circled her, as if they were playing some kind of sick game.
âWhere you gonna go? Huh?â
Vienna ran past him, ducking under one of his outspread arms and lunging for the door. She rattled the doorknob, but it was locked. She heard his huff of laughter as she spun back around, heart hammering in her throat.
"P-please -"
He caged her with his body, hands braced against the door on either side of her. Vienna had never felt smaller in her life. She looked up at him, breath catching in her throat, body trembling so intensely she thought it might split apart.
"Has anyone ever hit you before?"
"I - what?!" It was not the question she expected. She hated how tiny her voice sounded, as if it belonged to someone much younger. "No, of course not!"
She only had a moment to digest his exhilarated grin before he reeled back and smacked her across the face. Her head bounced off the solid wood of the door, her cry ringing through the room alongside his laugh. Her head swam, more with humiliation and shock than in pain. Alec grabbed her face then, fingers digging into the pink sting on her cheek, and smashed his lips onto hers.
It was violent and revolting and Vienna cried out in disgust into his mouth. He only pressed deeper, his tongue shoving past her lips as her hands desperately pushed and pulled at his shirt. When Alec leaned back, panting and grinning as if he'd just won a race, he rested his forehead against hers. He was so close she could feel his hot, humid breath wash over her face, could see the feverish excitement glittering in his dark eyes.
"And you thought I wanted money. I thought you might - that's the only language a girl like you speaks, isn't it? Let me show you what I really want."
He manhandled her body easily, spinning her around, and Vienna realized with a lurch what he'd been doing in here while she'd sat bound: the bed was stripped of everything but a dark sheet, and leather restraints adorned each of the four corners.
Restraints. As if this were a twisted horror movie, not her real life. And she was forced to reckon with the terrible fact again: this was not impulse. Not a mistake. This is what he'd been planning all along.
She shrieked, fighting back, kicking, pushing, nails scraping against his clothes, against whatever edge she could reach. But he was calm, unhurried, effortlessly overpowering her and guiding her toward the bed.
When he shoved her down onto it she immediately started back up, and Alec hit her again - harder this time, so much so that she fell back, dazed. Before she could catch her breath, her wrists and ankles were forced into the restraints. Spread. Trapped.
Vienna's voice burst out, choked, desperate, still spiraling in on one thought: "Why? W-why?"
He hovered above her, completely changed. The teasing calm was gone. The controlled, almost polite amusement vanished like smoke. What remained was something raw, electric - a giddy, predatory excitement that radiated from Alec in waves.
"I wanted to see what you would do," he breathed, his words wrapping around her like chains, "if you thought that you were safe. And you were so sweet. But none of that matters now, does it? It just means I have more of you to break."
And then he was on her, everywhere. Hands, breath, weight, all swirling together in a cacophony of horror she couldn't begin to process. She was writhing, screaming, until she saw a flash of metal. Every muscle froze, locked in place as he held the knife up to her throat.
"Remember this? I don't want to use it on you, Vienna, but I will if I have to. Stay nice and still and maybe you won't get cut."
Her body went rigid, tense and trembling at the same time. That knife had haunted her thoughts, drawing up terrible images of blood and pain. But as the blade began to slice through the fabric of her clothes, she knew this was even worse. She felt like she was floating far above the room as he tossed aside her torn shirt. Pants. Bra.
The sound of her torn clothes hitting the floor vaguely hit her ears, and â even as her mind tried to reject it â a soft groan from Alec.
"Stop it. Stop. Don't touch me."
The voice (hers? It only distantly sounded like it) came out staccato, practically robotic, and he ignored it completely. It was like she wasn't there at all, only a body. She tried to imagine her parentsâ faces, Zander's laugh, her dorm room â anything to push against the enormity of what was happeningâ but every memory felt like it belonged to someone else. A girl who had been alive yesterday and who was now gone.
His words broke through the fog. He'd been talking throughout, but a particular phrase caught her attention. Her eyes refocused, the room swimming back into view. Door, locked. Limbs, restrained. Him, perched above her, grinning excitedly. He said it again.
"You're afraid I'm going to rape you?"
Viennaâs breath caught in her throat and she didnât reply. Her horrified expression was answer enough. He looked practically gleeful and it terrified her. She thought it couldn't get worse. She was wrong.
Still looking her in the eye, Alec began to slowly move his hands down her stomach, going an inch at a time towards her underwear.
âNnnnooOOO!â Viennaâs wail crescendoed as his fingers brushed the top of the fabric. âStop it! Get off me!â
Alec smirked and lightly ran his fingertips around the edges of her underwear, as if the way her hips jerked and twitched was just a delightful game rather than annihilation.
âWhatâs under here, hm?â
âGod, stop, stop, please -â
Vienna gulped, her eyes squeezed shut in horror. This couldnât be happening. He couldnât be touching her like this. It wasnât real, it just couldnât be -
But the feeling of his fingers gliding under her waistband was inescapably real, and she jolted and screamed louder than ever as he slid his touch lower.
âNO! No no no no - just stop!â
He was rubbing her and she thought the emotional overwhelm would kill her. The feeling of this strangerâs fingers there was completely surreal. Then, she felt one of his fingers probe at her entrance, and he leaned forward to speak in her ear.
âPretty dryâŠbut I think I can still fit myself inside.â
âNO!â
It was happening. It was happening, and one of her very first thoughts was, I fucking knew it. And she had, despite the denial, despite the desperate bargaining, she had known from the moment he pulled up beside her. A surge of emotion reared in her like a roaring dragon - terror, rage, despair, and a deep twisted helplessness, all mixing together until an animalistic wail escaped her throat.
"That's right, nice and loud," Alec purred, and she realized he was taking off his own clothes. Vienna's stomach lurched and she whipped her head to the side, eyes squeezed shut. Let it stop let him get off let it stop let me wake up in my own bed let it stop let me die -
A loud ripping noise interrupted her thoughts, the last bits of defense literally torn away by Alec. Every nerve felt alight, buzzing with trepidation. The cool basement air against her exposed skin felt like being pierced with a thousand needles.
âOh my god.â
Alec practically groaned as he looked down at her naked body. For a moment, he didnât touch her at all, and Vienna wondered if maybe he would stop - maybe he realized how scared she was, how wrong this would be? But when she looked up at his face, another wave of nausea overtook her: he was looking down at her trembling body rapturously, hungrily.
âNo, donât look!â Vienna said tearfully, arms jerking uselessly with the overpowering desire to cover herself.
Alec chuckled, âOh, Iâm going to do a lot more than just look.â
Still with a practically reverent look on his face, Alec slid his hands up her thighs. She screamed desperately, but it might as well have been a whisper. His hands converged between her legs, fingers prodding, exploring. Again she screamed, fighting in anguish to close her legs to the intrusion, but the restraints made it impossible. Alec moaned huskily.
âGod, so softâŠâ
He continued to feel between her legs as she let out a paroxysm of shrieks and cries. Vienna felt hollow, but not in the way she craved, where she might actually escape the sensation of his touch, fingers moving as if he meant to touch every inch of skin between her legs. Instead, it was as if someone had scooped out her soul from the inside, her sense of self shattered, breaking further with every deliberate exploration of his hands. His voice cut through the air again, sharp as nails.
"You ever done this before?"
Her mind flashed, almost unbearably, to Zander: to soft touches, shared giggles, tender murmurs. Those moments could not have felt farther away from this, and Vienna shook her head, a strangled noise escaping her throat.
"At all?" Alec's voice was delighted, practically giddy, and she realized with a lurch what he really meant.
"I - I have - but only a few times - never like this - pleaseâŠ"
She thought it might deter him, but he only grinned wider. "Well, this is going to be very special for you, then."
She could feel him. She could feel him. He was rubbing himself deliberately against her thigh, forcing her to feel how he was aching with need. She saw him bring his fingers to his own lips, wetting them, and then they were between her legs. Muscles jerked involuntarily. Words spilled out almost involuntarily.
"Please don't do this please don't I don't want to please stop -"
He gripped her thighs like iron, as if there was any way she could close them with how she was tied. His expression was excited, hungry.
"Oh, I love this part. Where you realize you can't stop me."
Before Vienna could protest again, he began to push himself inside her. She howled, looking between her legs as if she couldnât believe what was happening. Alec drew back a bit, and then shoved himself inside her. Again. And again. And again -
Her screams burst through, and it was impossible to tell if it was more from pain or horror or pure helplessness, but they filled the room. Every motion was a violation, every touch a death. Her mind and body screamed in unison: this was wrong, this was agony, this was torture.
When she tried to tell him, voice rising and quivering hysterically, he only sneered. Pushed harder. Grunted, "Oh yeah? Good."
Viennaâs wrists burned against the restraints, every frantic pull digging the leather deeper into her skin. The bed frame creaked with each of his movements, the steady rhythm unbearable, louder than her own sobs. She tried to twist her face away from his mouth, from the sound of his breathing, but there was nowhere to go.
The searing pain shot through her body like a knife, but the horror in her mind was somehow even worse. Stop, stop, stop, she thought, but the words tangled in her throat and slipped out broken, barely recognizable even to herself. They were whimpers, sobs, screams.
Alec laughed, a low, delighted sound that cut through her begging like a knife. She couldnât quite catch what he said at first - only the tone, bright and mocking, as if her terror was the funniest thing in the world. When the words did land, they made her stomach clench. So cuteâŠso pathetic when you cry.
It felt endless. Not even because it was long, but because each second dragged out like time itself was trying to break her. She lost track of when heâd started - or if he ever would stop. It's like it wasn't even her body anymore. Just something he was using.
Then his voice, jarringly close, gasping in her ear. "Do you know what's about to happen? Do you know what it means?"
I'm going to die. The thought was clear, almost matter-of-fact. Not even because she thought he would outright kill her. There's no way I can survive living with this.
His grip became harder, his motions more violent. "It means you belong to me. You are mine - mine -"
The world tilted. Some distant part of Vienna knew what was happening, as if overhearing it from another room. He was finishing.
Finally, Alec collapsed onto her, heavy and slick with sweat. His breathing was harsh in her ear, hers ragged and broken. She didnât flinch, didnât move. She couldnât.
His voice reached her like an echo underwater. Holy fuckâŠyou have no idea how good that was. The words barely registered. JustâŠnoise.
When he rolled off, the mattress shifted beneath her like she wasnât anchored to it at all. She stared at the wall, her vision unfocused, her chest rising and falling like it belonged to someone else. Her body was still here, but she was far, far away from it.
The restraints came off her wrists and ankles, but the freedom meant nothing. She couldnât have moved even if she wanted to. The weight of his touch lingered like a brand - every place heâd been on her still felt occupied, claimed.
She didn't think of her family. Or of sun on her skin. Or of comforting touch. Or of anything at all. It was as if her brain had turned to liquid, spilling out of her ears, unable to hold a single thought. Silently, she thanked her mind for the protection.
And then, like it was nothing, he broke straight through it.
Alec was looming above her, evidence of his exertion glimmering all over his body, clothes balled up under his arm, an undeniable spectacle of what had just occurred.
When he forced her chin up, the tears that slipped down her cheeks werenât deliberate. They felt automatic, like breathing. He smiled fondly at the sight of them, and sighed contentedly as if he'd just finished a feast.
"You couldn't have made that more perfect if you'd tried, sweetheart. Get some rest, because I'll be back in the morning for round two."
When he leaned closer, his forehead kiss turned her stomach inside out, her body jerking in disgust even as she stayed limp beneath it.
And then he was gone.
Silence spread like fog, swallowing everything. She lay there rigid, the damp sheets cooling against her skin, unable to tell how much time passed. Seconds. Hours. She imagined if she stayed still enough, maybe she would stop existing. Maybe she already had.
But then the smell hit her â sweat, metal, him, clinging to her skin. A wave of nausea dragged her upright, though her legs felt hollow and unsteady. When she looked down, she saw the stain blooming beneath her, dark and wet, and the room tilted.
Legs like jelly carried her to the shower, where she turned the water as hot as it could go and sank to the floor. Vienna stayed there, her entire body trembling, long after the water had gone cold and the red from between her legs had stopped swirling down the drain.
Whumper was someone who Whumpee used to respect and look up to. Someone they thought was safe to be around. Someone who might've talked a big game about respecting people's boundaries and getting consent but didn't practice what they preached. And now Whumpee has to learn how to trust people and themselves again after Whumper rapes them.
some of the things that make sexual violence in whump so compelling and affecting to me are so rooted in stuff like this - betrayal, taking advantage of trust, abuse of authority or power or respect. the emotional impact of the violation not just of their body but of the previous relationship they had with this person, the trust and vulnerability that they gave to this person who is now hurting them so intimately.
and then the propping up of this person using a shield of advocacy or just vocal support and education around sexual assault⊠the gaslighting that could come with that. âhow could you say that, you know how important consent is to meâ âno, youâre wrong. you didnât tell me to stop, I would have stopped if you told me noâ âyou wanted this, see? youâre enjoying this.â
the fear of telling anyone. âwho would believe me? who would be able to accept that THIS person hurt me like that? maybe they were right and I didnât actually say no in a way that mattered.â
and how do they trust. how do they trust their own judgement, other people. itâs a hard, awful, painful, lonely road to opening up but once they do, god, it really is worth it.
a very specific scenario of one of my favourite iterations of nsfwhump, which is a whumpee who was previously sexually assaulted being abused again by a whumper who knows about it. AND an evil twist on one of my fave tropes of sex after trauma.
but thinking of a situation where whumper knows that whumpee has sexual trauma. they were sexually assaulted, maybe a long time ago, maybe more recently. but whumper now begins coercing, manipulating, and sexually abusing them and framing it specifically as something theyâre doing to help whumpee get over their trauma. like:
you have to learn how to be okay having sex again. itâs not this healthy to be so fixated on something in the past. iâm not [previous whumper], you canât act like everyone is them because of your trauma. you canât stay scared of sex forever. stop flinching, nobodyâs gonna think itâs hot to touch you here if you keep jerking away like that. you canât just never have sex again, time to get back on the horse, you NEED a good fuck to remember what itâs like. iâm helping you. weâre gonna help you get over what happened to you. you were raped but you can still have sex, see, you canât hide from it forever, thatâs not real healing, how can you heal if you donât ever fuck anyone again?
why are you crying? iâm not hurting you. come on. that ruins the mood.