CHASE
22

I sat and stared at the blood that was oozing out of my knuckles, not sure how long I'd been punching the wall but it wasn't enough. Everything was hurting, everything was getting to my head. She'd said it. I heard her say it. The one thing that repeated in my head all these years, she said it out loud. What a stupid caterpillar.

I didn't want to believe it. No, I had to believe it. Her eyes, why had I never noticed her eyes? They were the same eyes I stared into years ago. Those soft delicate words, it was all the same, I had her right in front of me all along and I hadn't noticed, how could I be so blind? Why was she back in my life? Was this all a coincident or was it a part of her plan? I couldn't tell if I was being played. Did she know? My head was throbbing with thoughts, endless amount of thoughts.

She's back to haunt you.

She's back to betray you.

You need to get rid of her.

Why.. why was she doing this? I hoped, I hoped to fuck that she wouldn't come back, I couldn't hold back from hurting her, I couldn't hold back from taking my last revenge. All these years, she'd left me and now, she had stood mere inches from me. I'd kissed her. 'God damn it!' I groaned as my fist collided with the wall again, the same time she walked in. My entire body froze at her presence. I knew she was here, she was back, she had a death wish.

'Omg Chase!' Hearing her little footsteps speed up to me, I knew she was getting close. I closed my eyes and hoped that she wouldn't touch me, all the hate, the rage, it was fuelling me up again and I didn't know what I was about to do if she did touch me.

'Chase! You're hurt.' I internally growled when her soft little fingers reached for my hand, pulling my bloodied knuckles towards her, I turned to look at her, was this really her? It was. 'What are you doing to yourself?' The hurt in her voice was evident but I didn't buy it, she was playing with me, trying to get in my head.

It's fake.

She's fake.

Don't trust her.

'You shouldn't have came back.' I managed to say through gritted teeth. It took every ounce of strength I had not to launch her into the wall and take away her very last breath.

'Now is not the time, you're bleeding.' She quickly ran into the bathroom then rushed back over to me with wet tissues, rubbing away the blood dripping from my knuckles. I watched her, every inch of her, she was as real as it gets. I had even for a second considered her being in my thoughts, in my imagination but I knew, as she stood right in front of me, wrapping my hand with tissues that she was real. She was here.

'I'm going to give you ten seconds to leave. Be smart.' Pulling my hand away from her, I stood back. Waiting, hoping that she'd do what's best for her. The urges were getting unbearable, I couldn't hold them back for much longer, I was going to hurt her.

Something you should've done years ago.

She betrayed you.

She deserves to be hurt.

'Ahhhh.' I growled at the voices, I couldn't stop them now. There was no going back. She flinched, staring at me wide eyed, her face dropped and her eyes focused on a spot on the floor. 'Chase let me help you.' She was talking all that rubbish again. Letting out a small laugh, I had caught her off guard.

'3.. your times running out Bella.' I counted in my head, she wasn't leaving.

2.

1.

Get her.

Make her regret it.

It's your turn to turn your back on her now.

Make her feel what you felt.

I closed my eyes momentarily, all I saw was red. Her childhood figure was stood in front of me. A phone in hand and eyes that said. 'I've betrayed you.'

When I opened my eyes again, it was over. She was done for. Taking deliberate slow steady strides towards her, I studied her reaction, for the first time, I could see the fear that ran through her features, real fear. It was over now. I gave her a chance to save herself, now no one was going to save her.

BELLA—

Ice, cold cold ice. I could feel my skin freezing as though I was covered in ice. I wanted to move, to look around but I couldn't see a thing. My entire body felt numb and sluggish, as if I was on drugs. Drugs.. injected, taser. I jumped up, suddenly my heart eager to fly out of my chest. He'd injected me. Chase. No, no no no.

Vivid images of before I was put to sleep flashed across my mind, we were in his room, everything got intense, he came at me, there was darkness in his eyes, I couldn't recognise him and for the first time I actually feared him, feared for my safety and that's when he attacked me, just then my heat sensor bracelet went off, there was a loud alarm in his room and soon a guard barged in. Chase tackled the guard to the ground and during that time I'd froze up, becoming completely immobile, before I knew it, he'd stole the guards taser and his injection.

No, no no. I tried to take a deep breath. Inhale, exhale. It was a dream. It had to be a dream. But it wasn't, it was real and I was stuck here. Wherever here was. He'd threatened to tase me and rip my throat out with the needle of the injection if they hadn't let him leave, he was quick, he'd left and took me with him before I could even register what was happening. The last thing I remember is him injecting me and then I was gone.

Gone and now I'm here. Where is here? I was for sure about to catch hypothermia and die. I couldn't feel my body, it was that cold. Maybe I really was laying in a tub of ice. I couldn't see, I had to be blindfolded. Why would he do this to me? I didn't even have the energy to panic, I just wanted some warmth.

Heavy footsteps brought me back to life, pulling me out of unconsciousness, suddenly I became very weary of my situation. I hadn't had the time to think it through or to put two and two together since I was spending my time trying not to freeze to death, but the footsteps, the ones that can only belong to nobody but Chase Ashworth, they brought me back to the real world, the real world where I had been kidnapped and most likely about to lose my life.

'Cha...aa.s..e?' I stuttered out, not because I was afraid no, even though I was indeed afraid, but I stuttered from the constant shivering and the chattering of my teeth that wouldn't stop from the coldness that was caging around my fragile body. I heard him stop next to me, a few shuffling around greeted my ears and then I felt his large hands at the back of my head, he silently removed the blindfold from my eyes and instantly I looked around, my mind was at an all time low as I scanned the amount of ice that I was actually sitting in. A tub full of ice. Just the sight of it made me freeze.

Turning my head, there he stood, his frigid masculine body standing at attention, his eyes cold, his demeanour terrifying. He stared at me, not a word coming out his mouth. I tried to move, to get out of the tub, my attempts failed more than once seeing as I was tied up. My wrists and my ankles, both securely restrained with thick ropes. I looked down once more and I'm pretty sure I was stunned. My clothes were gone, I was sat there in just my underwear. I felt sick to my stomach, he'd stripped me bare. I couldn't breathe for a second, my heart rate seemed to increase by the minute. I closed my eyes and did another inhale, exhale. I was freaking out.

'Wh.y..' I looked over to him. I could no longer recognise the man stood before me, for he was no longer Chase, but someone else. For he had become the real psychopath that lurked within the walls of Whitley. For Chase, had long vanished and was now replaced with this, this beast.

The sound of my teeth chattering was the only thing heard in the deadly silence of this dull bathroom. Plain blue walls and white laminate floor. I wondered where we were or how we even got here. I didn't pay too much thought to it, I had bigger shit to worry about, like how the hell I was going to get out of this.

'I..'m free..zing.' I shunned myself for showing him how cold I really was. I didn't want him to get the satisfaction of seeing me so affected by his torture. I didn't understand what I'd done to be here right now, in this bathroom, almost fully nude, covered in ice, while he stood there watching me. I could feel his eyes boring into my naked skin. He couldn't make me feel more uncomfortable if he tried, I was beyond uncomfortable under his merciless gaze.

'Cold huh?' He finally spoke, his voice deeper than usual, his words shaper. Crouching down, he slipped his fingers into the many ices that surrounded my frozen body, picking up a single ice he brought it to my lips, I stared at him for a long moment, expecting him to say something, anything. Instead, he pressed the ice to my mouth, tracing it across my bottom lip, I could barely feel the coldness against my skin seeing as I was already frozen in my place. He pushed the ice between my lips, awaiting entry, I turned my head to the side, not wanting any part in this. I owned myself a yank to the jaw as he pulled my face towards him, pressing the ice harder against my lips now, it was starting to hurt so I opened my mouth, my heart pounding as he held the ice on my tongue, just waiting, watching. I was shaking even harder now, my teeth scraping the ice all the while he pushed it further into my mouth and eventually down my throat. I was choking against the solid liquid, I could feel it icing up my insides making me want to throw up.

I'm pretty sure I was turning purple, my mind had went blank and I could no longer withstand the cold. I closed my eyes, hoping to drown into the tub and disappear. My neck came into contact with the back of the tub as I let loose of my head, I couldn't fight it anymore, it hurt to even breathe. As if sensing my defeat, he grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked me out of the tub, having no support of my legs or arms, I fell onto the floor, shivering more than ever. I didn't even care when he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder, I didn't care where he was taking me, I just wanted to be warm, I just wanted the never ending trembling to end. I couldn't feel my body anymore, I couldn't feel my heart as it beat against my chest.

I welcomed the warmth that was given to me from the towel that he had wrapped around my skin and bones. It wasn't enough to completely warm me up but even the smallest bit of heat was enough to have me getting back my hope. My hope in replaceing out what's going on and how I'm going to escape.

I flinched as I felt his rough hand stroking my damp hair, I wanted to flick his hand off me but I couldn't get out of the tight ropes, so I sat there and bid my time while he pet me like a dog. 'I always liked your hair.' He broke the silence, his hand still touching my hair.

'It always looked so soft, so silky.' He pulled a lock of it between his fingers and slowly pulled his hand back, just standing there analysing my hair.

'But I never got to touch it' I was starting to feel confused. Not entirely sure what he was talking about.

'I was afraid if I touched it then I'd get accused of touching you in a way that I shouldn't have.' I looked up at him, pretty sure he had lost his mind. There was something cold in his eyes, something terrifying, so I looked away, I looked away in hopes of never seeing the evil that I saw lurking behind those brown orbs.

'But now, I can do whatever I want with it.. and with you.' He fisted his hand in my hair and yanked my head back, making me look straight at him. I swallowed down my fear and closed my eyes. This wasn't Chase, Chase would never scare me like this.

'Look at me Bella.' He growled into my face, I could feel the heat of his breath against my lips. When I opened my eyes, he was mere inches away from me, staring right into my soul.

'Good girl.' He planted a small kiss on my lips then backed away, letting go of my hair as he did. He stood there, folding his arms across his chest. I couldn't wrap my head around the situation I was dragged into, it all felt.. like a dream.

'Wake me up.' I could barely hear my own voice, but I needed confirmation that this was real, that Chase really was capable of doing this to me. 'Wake me up, this is a dream. The chase I know would never do this, I don't even know what this is!' I felt my panic rising, my heart was beating rapidly, suddenly it felt like there was no oxygen for me to take in. The walls were closing in on me and I had to get out, I had to wake up.

'Wake me up!' I screamed, yanking and pulling at the ropes that bound my wrists and ankles together. I didn't even notice Chase striding towards me, I felt his hands on my shoulders but I couldn't see him, I had to get out.

'Wake me up!' I yelled again, I was going out of my mind, my reality suffocating me.

'Bella.' I heard his voice, his distant voice, it faded in and out of my ears but I could hear it, he was real. I forced myself to look up and when I did, he was right there, staring at me.

'The Chase you knew is gone.' And with that, I felt a prickle on my arm which instantly made me feel woozy. I looked up at him again, my vision blurring.

'What.. did.. you, do .. to.. me?' I was saying the words but I couldn't hear myself talk. Everything was fading, even Chase.

'Shhh.' He placed his finger on my lips, momentarily distracting me from my fog. Leaning into me, he brought his mouth against my ear and whispered.

'Sleep.'