Through my blurred vision, I can see a few people walk past the alleyway. Why are they not helping a girl out? I think it's clear that I'm in need of saving right now, and yet, they continue on without a second glance. Maybe the fear in me isn't speaking volumes like I think it is. Maybe my crying is silent and I'm only screaming on the inside. I can't tell at the moment. Everything around me feels like it's fading in and out. My heart pounding, my stomach in knots. The tears wont stop falling from my eyes, I can't stop shaking and I keep having to remind myself to breathe.

How could I have been so careless? I just walked down the street without thinking, because I was such a mess over Harry. Why didn't I run across the street to my car? I'm such an idiot. And now, here I am, shoved up against the wall by this douchebag who ruined my life, and there's not a single thing in the world I can do about it.  

Ryan continues to press his body against mine tightly, even when he reaches into his pocket to retrieve his phone. He uses one hand to press buttons on it and the other remains around my wrist, digging his fingers into my skin. The glare in his dark blue eyes doesn't leave my tear stained face as he brings the phone to his ear.

"Where are you?" He spits. "Well get your fucking ass here. Now."

As he's hanging up, his eyes finally look away from me, and I take that moment to try to free myself from him by bringing my knee up to meet his groin as hard as I possibly can. He instantly buckles over, holding himself and groaning in pain.

"Harry!" I scream, the panic in my voice very clear. I'm not even sure where he is or if he can even hear me. I don't even know if he would come if he did hear me screaming, since he apparently doesn't care about me. I want to believe that he would come anyways. And so, I scream again. "Harry please! Help!"

Ryan's hand releases from my wrist and he places it hard over my mouth to cover it to keep me quiet. He's still buckled over and I try to move my face to bite down on his hand and when I do, he removes it instantly. "Bitch. What the fuck?"

I decide it's the right moment to run. I need to run. I need to get away. I just need to get back to my car and I'll be fine. "Harry!" I call out again through sobs. Please let him hear me. Please. Everything around me sounds fuzzy. Through the echoes of my heart hammering in my head, Ryan's muffled voice calls out. I can't understand what he's saying. Everything is so unclear. I just want to get out of here.

Much to my dismay, as I round the corner, I run into someone, who isn't who I'd hoped it would be. No, it's not Harry. Whoever it is, slams me hard against the wall to keep me from going anywhere, holding tight to my shoulders against the bricks. When my eyes meet the stranger's, I'm looking into icey blue's and I realize it's Maddox and I know at this moment that I'm in big fucking trouble for running. "Nice try," he scoffs. His white blond hair is longer than the last time I saw him. The red rings around his eyes, darker. But his eyes are still as cold as they always have been.

A car squeals its tires, and breaks quickly at the curb in front of us. I watch as Ryan pulls Trent out of the driver's seat as he opens the door to the backseat where I'm being thrown into by Maddox. They don't care that the side of my face collides with the door in the process and I wince in pain as the door slams shut behind me. Despite the pain I'm in, I try the door on the other side of the car to run, but it's locked and the handle wont budge and there's no way out. I can feel the blood running down my cheek from the cut. It hurts to touch and I know a nice mark is going to be left there.

Ryan gets in the car, leaving Trent and Maddox on the sidewalk as he skids out of the parking space. How is this happening? I have been so careful to make sure this didn't happen again. My head is pounding so hard. My face hurts and I can't think straight. But when I look out the window and see Harry walking out of Mondo Gelato as we drive by, I instinctively bang my fists on the window, to try and get his attention. "Harry! Harry!" I scream as loud as possible. 

"Shut it, Paisley!" Ryan's voice rings through my ears. Harry doesn't even look up from the ground. Why can't he hear me? I know that I've always needed him, but never as much as I need him at this very moment, and after all the times that he's been there, why can't he be there this time? Why did he have to let me go?

"Harry! Help me!" I sob. I know that we're too far away now for him to hear me, but I can't stop screaming and banging my fist against the window. Realizing I have no options now that he's completely out of view, all I can do is sink into the seat and cry.

"Is that pretty boy your boyfriend?" Ryan asks, laughing. "He's not coming to save you, Paisley. I got you back. And don't even think about trying to get away. You're mine, remember? You don't belong with guys like that. He's too good for you."

I try to swallow his words. Harry was never my boyfriend, no matter how much we acted like we were together. We had never actually made things official. And now this. It makes sense as to why we never did. He was acting this whole time. I wipe the blood that's dripping down my face with my sleeve and realize right now, is not a time to be worry about Harry. I need to think about what's going on, because this is far worse than Harry breaking my heart.

It's not long before we pull up in front of the house I used to be very well acquainted with. It looks the same as I remember it, except the grey paint on the porch is peeling off more than it was before. The white frames around the windows are falling apart. The small lawn on either side of the broken walkway is now just dirt, and I cringe knowing what lies behind that very door. I'm not going to make this easy for Ryan. Not this time.

I watch through watery eyes as he gets out of the car and opens the door to the backseat. I cross my arms, proving to him I'm not willing to play into his games this time. I know this is just making things worse for me in the end, but I don't want to move. I don't want to go inside that house and live through what I know is going to happen to me as soon as the door closes.

"Stop being a stubborn bitch," he says angrily, pulling me out of the car by the arm. His grip on me justifies just how mad he is at me. I can only imagine what he's got in store for me, since I left him without warning before. He more than likely has a lot of pent up anger inside of him, and I am very aware of what he is capable of when he's furious.

He pulls me up the creaky steps of the porch and into the dark house, as I struggle to get away from him. "Stop trying to fight me. There's no point in wasting your energy. I'm not stupid enough to let you get away this time." He slams the door behind us, and more panic sets in as he closes in on me. His hands against the door on either side of my head. His face is so close to mine. His eyes boring into me with his well known smirk on his face. The one that haunted my nightmares for months.

I can't let this happen to me. I have to fight back as much as I can. I'm better now. I have worked too hard to let this to happen again. I take a deep breath and close my eyes to calm myself. To stop myself from crying. To make my heartbeat slow down. I need to stop shaking and get a hold of myself.

"I've missed you," Ryan says quietly, tucking my hair behind my ear and resting his hand on my cheek.

I open my eyes at his unwanted touch, seeing his face come closer to mine. And all I can think of to do, is spit in his face. I thought for sure this would allow me some time to open the door and run out, but I was wrong. So very wrong. He closes his eyes for only a second, but it doesn't seem to phase him and his fist instantly collides with my face, so hard that my head smashes back against the wooden door, and all I'm left seeing is stars as I hit the floor, before everything goes black.

**

I'm very aware of the throbbing in my head and the stinging sensation on the side of my face, as I start to come back to reality, feeling a cold dabbing to my face. The light hurts my eyes as I try to open them, instantly making me shut them again.

"He got her really good." A girl's voice. It sounds familiar, but I can't put my finger on it in the state I'm in. I open my eyes again, blinking a few times, breaking the blurriness surrounding me. I try to sit up when I realize it's Sloan and Ivy hovered over me, but the dizziness takes over me, leaving me to lay back down and press my hand to my throbbing head.

"Where's Ryan?" I groan. The sick feeling in my stomach makes it hard to talk.

"He's upstairs," Sloan answers, dabbing my face a few more times. "I think he's getting high."

It takes a while for me to be able to sit up on the couch and take a drink of the water Ivy handed me. The water soothes my insides as I take in my surroundings. Sloan has two black eyes and a cut lip, her light brown hair is a greasy mess and she looks worn out. Ivy looks the same as the last time I saw her, except black bags reside under her eyes, making it clear to me that she's back on the drugs. "I need to get out of here." I try to stand up, even though I'm dizzy and my head is pulsing, but when my eyes fall upon a girl in the corner chair, I sit back down. Her big sad eyes stare at me through thick lashes. Bruises line her arms that cross over her skinny body and I watch as she takes a long drag of the cigarette clasped between her fingers. "Who's this?"

"This is Justice," Ivy sighs. "Ryan's new girl."

My eyes widen, as I look at Ivy in disbelief. Ryan has a new girl, and she's staring me in the face, and my worst fears have been deemed true. Dad was right. I should've told him where Ryan was. This innocent girl before me wouldn't be in this predicament, and I wouldn't be here right now either. This is all my fault. My selfishness is coming at me full force, making my heart pound in my chest. "I'm sorry," I say, looking back at her.

"Paisley, right?" she asks. "Ryan's been looking everywhere for you. Now that you're back, looks like I get my life back. Everyone knows you're all he wants." Her condescending tone throws me off. I can understand why she'd sound that way, but in this house, us girls somehow try to stick together at all costs. Apparently she has no intentions of trying with me. She's willing for me to take this life back so she can leave.

"Try again." Ryan emerges from the stairs and leans against the door frame of the living room. His eyes are half shut and he looks angry as he looks across the room at his new girl with his arms crossed.

"Where's Trent and Maddox?" Sloan asks.

"Taking care of something," Ryan answers. "They should be back soon. I see my girl's conscious again." He starts to walk over to me on the couch and sits down next to me. "Did you learn your lesson this time? Or do I need to remind you again who's in control here?"

"I d-don't need reminding," I stutter. The last thing I want is to get knocked out again. I look around the room, hoping my eyes will fall upon my purse with my cell phone in it. I need to get out of here now. I need to call Dad so he can come get me. I hate that Ryan is sitting so close to me. I hate that I'm in this house. And the more I come to my senses, the more I realize how fucked up this is. My head still throbs, but I am very aware of everything going on around me.

"Looks like it's your lucky night, Justice," Ryan laughs as he lights a cigarette. "Maybe even your lucky week. I need to break Paisley in again and remind her where she belongs. By the time I'm done with her, I don't think she'll be walking out the door anytime soon."

I gulp, trying to hold the sick feeling down. I can't believe what I'm hearing. He thinks I'm back and I'm not going anywhere. I'll figure a way out. I did the last time. Even if it did take me two years to get out. I'm stronger this time. I'm in a better frame of mind. I'm not depressed or weak now, and I know that I don't deserve this life. I didn't deserve it the last time either, but surely karma has run its course with me, and I don't need to be taught any more lessons. Especially after what I already had to endure today with Harry.

"Don't look so scared, Paisley," Ryan says, taking me out my thoughts. I seem to have failed to find my purse before my eyes meet his. "I know you like it here. Admit it. You missed me."

The front door swings open, and in walks Trent and Maddox, and after seeing Ivy here, I'm not surprised to see Hunter with them. The look of devastation is seen on his face when his eyes meet mine, but he quickly averts his attention over to Ivy.

"Party time!" Maddox laughs, placing the beer in his hand on the coffee table in front of us. I notice that his knuckles have dried blood on them and wonder if it's just from beating the hell out of Sloan, since she looks rough today, or if something happened while they were out, since the wounds look fairly fresh. I decide not to question it, remembering that we don't question things like that in this house.

"Here Paisley," Ryan says, taking a beer out of the box and handing it to me. "We're celebrating your return."

"I don't think drinking is a good idea right now," I try. "You just knocked me out, remember?" The last thing I want to do right now, is drink. Whether I just got knocked out or not. As much as I want to be numb for what I'm assuming Ryan is thinking will come later, I need for my head to stop pounding. I need to make sure my mind is clear, because if I can find my purse while all these assholes are wasted, I may be able to slip out of here unnoticed before anything bad happens to me.

Ryan takes the bottle from my hands and pops the lid before handing it back to me. "Drink."

Everyone's eyes are on me, watching me closely, to see if I remember who's boss in this house. I sigh, knowing I have to comply, and take a small sip of the cold beer.

It isn't long until things are back to normal in this house. After I took that one little sip, the music was blaring through the smoke filled atmosphere, everyone had a drink in their hand, the coke was lined across the table, along with some blue pills free for the taking. It was the same as it always was. The same pot stench lingered. Trent's girl, Robyn, showed up at some point. I remembered her as being one of Hunter's fuck buddies that came around every so often. She definitely doesn't look as happy as she used to, and I'm assuming that's because she now belongs to Trent, who isn't nearly as nice as Hunter was to her.

I watch everyone from the chair in the corner, and can't believe not a thing has changed. These losers still do the same thing every day as if the world has nothing better to offer them. And these girls stick around and don't even try to leave, and I can't imagine why they wouldn't want to get out. I take sips of my beer every so often, talk when spoken to, and all I can do, is try to think of a way to get out of here.

When a Halsey song comes on, it doesn't surprise me that my mind wanders back to Harry. I've been trying desperately not to think about him since I got shoved into the damn car. But this song takes me back to the very first time Harry and I had to do a photo shoot in the studio together and he was trying to make me comfortable with him. How could it all have possibly been a lie? The feeling of being lost without Harry takes over me, adding to the discomfort I already feel about being where I am at the moment, and I find myself pounding the beer back and getting up to get another one from the fridge.

Ivy meets me in the kitchen and leans against the counter and she stares at me, chugging the disgusting beer. "I can't believe you're back," she says.

"And I can't believe you're back." I raise my eyebrows at her. "I thought you and Hunter left and went to rehab. What the hell are you doing back here?"

"We had nowhere else to go," she sighs. "We couldn't get jobs because we were living in a shelter. And we couldn't live in a shelter forever. So—we just sort of had no other option."

I roll my eyes at how pathetic she sounds.

"I'm happy you're back though," she tells me. "I missed you."

It's hard to tell if I can trust her. I don't know what's safe to say out loud. I should keep my mouth shut about wanting to leave. About my plans to get out of here tonight. And so I take another few swigs to keep me from talking. I know that I shouldn't be trying to get drunk right now, but I can't handle this feeling inside of me anymore. I can't handle knowing that even if I do figure out a way out of here tonight, I still wont have Harry to go home to, and that in itself makes everything hard to swallow. How did my life turn around to be this all in one day? It's too much for one person to take in.

"It was me," Ivy says quietly. I watch as her eyes look to the broken tiles on the floor, unable to look me in the eyes as she speaks. "I'm the one who saw you today."

"What?" I ask. Please tell me I heard her wrong.

"I saw that guy you were with the last time I saw you, go into Mondo Gelato," she continues. I take a swig of my beer and walk closer to her. "And so I waited to see if you would show up."

"And, so what?" I ask. "You thought you'd be nice and give me this life back?"

"I missed you, Paisley," she tries, finally looking me in the eyes. 

"So, you called Ryan?" I scream, and she nods. "You're the reason I'm back here? I can't even believe this!"

"I'm sorry. I had to."

She had to? With this, I know that she didn't do this because she missed me. No. She had an ulterior motive. "What did you get in return?" I ask. "What did he promise you if you found me?"

She stares at me as I chug my beer. I can't believe what I'm hearing. This is such bullshit. "Money," she finally answers. "A lot of it. Me and Hunter will be able to leave now that you're back."

"Fuck you!" I slam my beer on the counter. I need to get out of here. These people think it's okay to play with people's lives. I don't understand it. I can't be here another second. To think Ivy would just give me up to Ryan, knowing how bad he is, just so she could finally leave. She was already gone. She didn't need to come back here. My eyes start to water and my hands begin to shake, and once again, for the second time today, my heart feels heavy. All the shattered pieces weighing me down, making it hard to breathe. How could she do this to me? How could she think it's okay to put someone's life in the hands of Ryan? It's not okay. None of this is okay. "Fuck you, Ivy!"

Without thinking what I'm doing, I make my way through the smokey living room and to the front door. I don't notice if I've caught anyone's attention. I just have the door in sight, and once I reach it, I plan to run. Run as fast as I possibly can. With the rage built up inside of me, I know that I can get away at this very moment. After all, the plan was to get away anyways. No better time like the present.

I don't make it past the front lawn though, when a hand grips my wrist and I swing around and slam into Ryan, who's apparently quick on his feet no matter how fucked up he is. The fear in me rises when my eyes meet his. He's angry. His eyes are back to his evil darkness, and despite the death grip he has on me, I try to get out of his hold. I can't see through the tears anymore. Everything is blurry as I scream as loud as I can.

"Bitch. You think you can get away from me," Ryan spits through my cries. "Think again, Paisley."

I can hear my cries for help echo through the dark empty streets. I know there's not a soul around to save me. I know that I'm alone in this, and even when Ryan will eventually get me back through that door, no one in that house will help make this stop. I try and try to get away from him, as he pulls me up the porch steps. I do everything in my power to fight myself off of him, but just like always, he's stronger than me. There's nothing I can do.

The energy in me subsides, making it easier for him to pull me into the house. I know that everyone's eyes are upon me as I hysterically cry out for someone, anyone, to help me. They're just watching without a care in the world. Why wont they make it stop? Why wont they do a single thing about this? They're allowing for Ryan to pull me up the stairs, knowing what's going to happen to me, and they just sit there.

I can't believe this is happening to me again. Ryan slams his bedroom door behind us, and I know the fight in me is over. When Ryan's hand meets my face, reopening the cut on the side of my face, I try to picture Harry. I try to think of the lesser of two evils. And I pray to God, that somehow I get through this. Because, as Ryan rips my shirt off of me and throws me on his bed, I want nothing more than to die.

A/N: This chapter was very hard to write. Thoughts? Opinions?

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