Lunar Crest University (Forbidden Fruit)

Chapter Forty-Two

FINLEY

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22ND, 2023

I don’t know how long I’ve been in this dark, stale room, tied to a flimsy wooden chair that gives me splinters as I struggle against my restraints. The fabric covering my eyes has a musty smell that has grown stronger over the past few hours, undoubtedly because my tears keep wetting the material.

Time goes by much slower when you’re panicking, when you don’t know if the people you love are okay. He could’ve gotten to my parents—he’s already got my best friend and set Luca’s house on fire. God knows what they did to Oscar.

My chin trembles at the thought.

As soon as we approached wherever the hell I was right now, Javier wrapped this cloth around my eyes. I’ve been shielded from everything going on around me ever since. His men tied me to this chair and left me here in the dark. For hours .

It’s freezing in here too. Maybe that’s why I keep crying—my salty tears are so warm against my skin, it’s almost comforting. Goosebumps prick my exposed legs, and I immediately regret wearing a skirt to work last night. The least I could’ve done was add some stockings, something to keep me warm now, but I guess I had no way of knowing I was going to be in this position when I was picking out my clothes.

You know when you’re so determined to wear something because you think it’s cute? Where you’ll make any excuse and come up with any reason to wear it? That’s how I felt about this skirt, but now, I wish I could peel it off and burn it, especially after Javier’s dirty hands touched it in the car.

They weren’t actually dirty, but what they’ve done is.

The creaking of the door as it opens drags me back to reality at such a fast pace, my body freezes. My chest doesn’t even move because I’m not breathing. I’m too scared that if I do, I won’t be able to hear anything around me. I have to hear. I have to know what’s coming for me.

Multiple people come into the room—I can make out the sounds of boots scuffling on the floor, almost like they’re dragging something in here with them.

“Didn’t I tell you, muchachos ?” Javier’s voice sends ice down my spine. “Finley wouldn’t try to escape. She’s a good girl.”

I hear a few chuckles bouncing around the room, but I also hear someone growling in protest. Before I can fully make out the sound, there’s a whack, and it’s quiet again.

“I have a surprise for you, pet.”

Pet.

Vomit rises in my throat, but I swallow it down.

A yelp bursts through my dry lips as someone yanks the cloth from my eyes, and I squint from the bright overhead light beaming down on us. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but when they do, they widen at Levi, on his knees in front of me, looking at me with an expression I can’t decipher. Nor do I want to. I can’t bear for him to look at me like this, like a…victim. His mouth is taped shut, and his hands are tied behind his back.

I tilt my head down at him as fresh tears streak my cheeks. I hope he can see how sorry I am, how much I hate that he’s here because of me.

“We’re going to play a game.” Javier claps his hands together, and the sound makes me flinch. “ Este juego es muy divertido . Ready?”

I watch intently as he pulls something from his pocket, pouring a white substance on his hand before he snorts it from his skin. A growl escapes him as he shakes his head aggressively, blinking rapidly as he composes himself. He grasps Levi by his shoulders, hoisting him up off the ground, and I wince as I watch him stagger. Have they been feeding him? He looks like he could pass out, and the bags under his eyes are a testament to his lack of sleep.

Javier whisks out a hunting knife, and my gasp is breathless as he cuts the rope from Levi’s wrists. With a dark laugh, he shoves the knife into Levi’s palm, making him hold it despite his grunts of disapproval.

“Here are the rules…” Javier says, patting Levi’s cheek. “Are you listening?”

Levi glares at him but says nothing against the tape still over his mouth.

“ You stab her, right here.” Javier turns, leaning down to poke my stomach. “Or I slit your throat.”

A sob emerges from deep in my chest as I watch a tear slip down Levi’s cheek. The thought of being stabbed in the stomach doesn’t faze me in the slightest when his life is on the line. I won’t survive if something happens to him. If he dies, we both will, because I won’t be able to live with it. But as stubborn as he is, I can see in his hazel eyes that he has absolutely no intention of stabbing me.

No.

“Do it,” I whisper.

His eyebrows knit so deeply, they tremble.

“ Do it.”

My entire body is shaking. From adrenaline or fear, I’m not sure, but I ignore it as I stare up at Levi. I nod encouragingly, but he still doesn’t make a move.

“You have ten seconds?—”

“ Do it, Levi!” I yell through my tears, yanking on my restraints. “Goddamn it. Please just listen this one time. Listen to me and do it.”

His whine is muffled as he lunges forward and plunges the knife into my stomach. It’s a disgusting sound, an odd squelching that echoes in my ears. A strangled cry leaves my lips as I stare up at him, my mouth hanging open as my mind catches up to what just happened. It burns so much before it’s sickly cold. My head drops as I look down at the knife lodged into my torso, and I realize my adrenaline is protecting me. It’s taking the pain away for a while, and I’m grateful.

Levi presses his forehead against mine as he cries softly.

“It’s o-okay,” I tell him breathlessly.

I’m scared to breathe fully, to move my stomach even an inch. The thought brings the nausea to the surface in strong waves. I guess adrenaline doesn’t protect you from that, or the strange warmth around an object literally being stuck inside of you, or the sticky feeling from the blood that comes out.

I hate blood. I hate it so much.

Don’t throw up.

“Now, pull it out,” Javier orders.

I don’t know how much my body will be able to protect me. Maybe it’ll protect me until the end.

“It’s okay,” I croak out. “Pull it o-out.”

The corner of his eyes crinkle as he looks at me, his face soaked in tears and his hair drenched in sweat. He places one hand on my thigh, squeezing me gently, as if to comfort me before he grabs the blade and yanks it out as fast as he can.

How can my stomach be on fire and freezing at the same time?

I hang my head as I close my eyes, the tears pooling at the tip of my nose and dripping into my lap. When I open them again, all I see is the crimson liquid that stains my sweater. I can’t even tell where he stabbed me. It’s just a dark red .

More chuckles sound around us, and I weakly lift my head to see Javier tossing the knife around in his hand, showing off my blood like it’s a trophy.

“I love this game,” he boasts.

Pinching his fingers on the blade, he swipes my blood from the silver and puts his fingers into his mouth, tasting me. My stomach heaves, and I gag, which sends an excruciating pain through my abdomen. A low groan escapes me as I sag in the chair.

Levi scrambles to me, leaning down as he grasps my face between his clammy palms. He’s grunting and mumbling into the tape as he brushes my hair from my face before he’s yanked away from me. Javier slams him into the concrete floor, putting the jagged blade against his neck and pressing hard.

“No!” I shriek, tugging on my restraints.

I see a streak of blood trail down Levi’s neck.

“You son of a bitch.” His head twists to glare over his shoulder at that. “Take me . I’m the one you w-want, right?”

He drops Levi to the ground as he stands, cocking his head at me. “I thought you were a good girl, Finley.”

“Stop c-calling me…that.”

“Or what?” he challenges, gripping my chin harshly as he lowers his face inches from mine. “ Vamos . Say it. Or what?”

“Will you just…” I pause as I swallow the cottony wad in my throat. “Fucking kill me already?”

I’m sick of his games. The pain in my stomach is coming in stronger waves with each breath as my adrenaline rush wears off, and I just want it to stop. My sweater is sticking to me from the blood, and it’s getting colder. I’m feeling weaker. It feels like something has shredded inside me. Maybe he hit an organ. I’m bleeding a lot.

My thoughts are as quick as my panting now.

All amusement is gone from Javier’s features as he glares down at me, gritting his teeth as he squeezes my jaw so hard, my cheeks squish. His eyes seem darker this way, and that should scare me, I think, but all I feel is tired. I’m exhausted.

Levi is gawking at me from his spot on the floor, his hand against his neck as the gash bleeds. His eyes plead with me to shut up, but I can’t let Javier kill him. The attention has to be on me, or he’s in danger. Maybe once he has my blood on his hands, he’ll feel satisfied.

I know he won’t.

“You’ve got a mouth on you.” Suddenly, the blade is pressed to my cheek. “Do I need to shove my cock in there to get you to shut the fuck up?”

Levi growls at that, and Javier turns to point the blade at him for a mere second before twisting it around in his hand and stabbing it directly into my thigh.

I scream so loud, my voice gives out at the end, hunching over as my body shakes from the trauma it has endured. It feels like my leg is on fire, like he had pushed the knife all the way through until it jabbed the wooden chair. I’ve never felt pain like this before, and my neck pricks with sweat in response.

I’m going to pass out.

Please let me pass out.

And then, like a saving grace, an explosion rattles the compound, and the alarm system sounds off as a red glow illuminates the room.