Warning: This chapter contains sensitive subject matters.

...♛...

"Let the players play, let the haters hate, and let karma handle their fate."
~ Unknown

...♛...

"Get up," one of Nick's men instructs as he pushes my shoulders against the wall to make me sit up.

The room dark, I can only see half of his face through the light coming in from the door.

"What are you doing?" I question as I see a tray of instruments on the floor.

"You haven't slept for more than three hours in the last four days," he acknowledges.

"Four days? It's been four days already?" I ask shocked. "Where's Nick? Why hasn't he come again?"

He doesn't answer. Instead, he grabs my arm with a tight grip.

"No! Where's Nick?" I try to fight him, but the back of his hand immediately meets my cheek. "Fuck."

"Don't raise your voice here. We're in control, not you," he warns before sticking the needle into my arm.

The dose activates quickly blurring my vision. I try to keep my eyes open but the lids only get heavier, and as the man leaves taking the only source of light with him, I stop fighting and allow the drug to pull me into a deep much-needed sleep.

...♛...

"Morning, Kiddo," I hear Nick's voice as I wake up. My head heavy, I lift it slowly. I try to use my hands to massage my head so that it can ease my headache, but I find them tied underneath me. My ankles also chained to the ground, I'm locked onto my hands and knees with my back fully exposed except for the ripped and dirty t-shirt covering it.

"Would you like some coffee?" Nick extends his cup far enough for the smell to reach me and make me crave a taste, but I don't show it.

I just avert my eyes from the cup to him and he pulls the cup back putting it down next to his chair. The boat creaking, I let the smell of salty ocean take over my sense.

"How are you feeling, sore? Oh wait, you should be used to it by now. I mean you're not the fifteen-year-old virgin I brought in three years ago anymore."

"Ho-" I try to speak, but I can't. My throat is too dry and I don't have it in me to fight against it.

"Here," Nick holds the end of an open water bottle close to my lips. I nod my head declining his offer. "You sure?"

"Yeah," my reply is barely louder than a whisper. I close my eyes and try to swallow my own spit to moisturize my throat. "Where have you been? Mh-mh."

"Did you miss me?"

"You – you could say that," I stutter. I couldn't string the words together and needed to close my eyes to process my own thoughts. The weakness invading my body is too much for me to handle. I don't even know how I'm conscious.

I don't remember waiting anything, but knowing Nick, he probably had vitamins injected into me to keep my artificially healthy.

"I had some things that needed to be taken care of personally. Once you control all of America's black market, you can't just let it fall."

"Let's not forget it has to be done from a ship."

"When you need to keep low and out of everyone's eyes, you learn that there's no better way to hide than to get lost at sea."

"You're quite poetic today."

"Just when I see you," Nick shares.

"You still smoke?" he questions pulling out a cigarette from his pack and lighting it. His eyes curiously watch me eye the cigarette anticipating my answer.

"Occasionally."

"Mmm. I think you should stop completely. Your lips look better around other things anyway."

"Yeah, like on the end of a bottle."

"Well, I had other things in mind."

"I'm sure you did."

"Your family's searching for you," Nick says after taking a hit of his cigarette.

"And they're not gonna stop."

"No one's asking them to."

"Then what's the problem?"

"My brother's taking the lead."

"Does that surprise you?"

"No, because if it came down to it, I'd kill him in cold blood for you, right in front of you."

"I don't doubt it."

"But what I am surprised about, is that he loves you despite knowing that you are like me in every way."

"That's because he doesn't see me for who I am. He sees me as who I was, the innocent fifteen-year-old who was tortured underneath his feet every single day."

"So he avoids the truth."

"Yeah."

"And you let him."

"He's stubborn."

Nick lets out a chuckle, "Who isn't these days?"

After a few moments of silence, Nick loses interest in the cigarette and rubs it out throwing it to the side. His elbows resting on the top of his knees, he leans in with a stern look plastered across his face.

"Tell me the truth Summer, how many men have you slept with in the last three years?"

"Two," I lie. I know his games. The higher the number, more severe the punishment will be.

I've actually slept with Kai, Alessio and Donte. Maybe even more people, but I don't remember and I'm not keen on letting Nick know. He's doing enough damage as is.

"And did you mean any of them?"

"No," I easily word knowing that it was the truth.

"But you enjoyed them?"

"Yes."

His eyes focused on mine, they darken hiding his pupil completely. A few seconds pass before Nick stands up unbuttoning his coat, taking it off and hanging it on the chair, he leaves himself in a black buttoned shirt and grey pants.

Then he walks to the side, around me, and stops behind, somewhere out of my vision.

Eventually, I hear his clothes ruffle as he bends over and I feel his hand hover over my back until it reaches my head pulling it back with a grip on my hair.

"You're going to regret ever letting them touch you," he speaks into my ear coldly making the hair on the back of neck stand on their ends.

The instant his hand lets go of my hair, they find a grip on the collar of the shirt, ripping it in half exposing my bare back. The cold air dancing across my back, causes goosebumps and my breath hitches in my throat as I close my eyes preparing myself for the worse.

"The new tattoo suits you," he says as his fingers traces its pattern and I flinch at his touch. He releases a small laugh as he witness my reaction. "But it's so perfect, it's unrealistic. A dragon without scars, isn't a dragon, but I can fix that for you."

And my head turns trying to catch a glimpse of Nick as I hear him unbuckle his belt.

"Three years, two guys, makes six lashes," Nick speaks.

"Nick-"

"Shh," Nick cuts me off and I close my eyes taking in a deep breath as my hands fist. "The more you fight it, the more it'll hurt."

And then there's only a split second between the sound of the belt in the air to the agonizing scream that's empowered by every ounce of oxygen in my lungs. Lowering my front, I whimper as the burn from the lash travels throughout my body and I find it hard to breathe.

My hearing becomes distant.

My eyes fill with tears as my body trembles not being able to comprehend the pain that was inflicted.

"Believe it or not, there was a time where I would've stopped after hearing that, but not after what you did."

Once those words escape his lips, they catch my attention.

"After what I did? I ran away from a monster,"
I defend feeling sick from his accusation.

What did I ever do to him?

Nothing.

I did nothing to him.

"No, Summer," Nick pulls me up with a grip on my hair and I bite down on my tongue holding myself from screaming.

"You took away what was mine," his other hand grabs at my stomach leaving me bewildered. His nails claw at the skin leaving faint scratches on the skin.

"No," I whisper to myself.

Nick backs away and before I have the chance to think, another lash rips the skin on my back leaving me with tears in my eyes.

"Fuck," I breathe. My elbows resting on the floor, I lie my forehead on my fist refusing to believe his accusation, "You killed it."

"No. That's what I made you think," Nick says. "Why do you think you only remember bits and pieces of what happened? Don't you think you would remember if I dragged you out of here for an abortion?"

"I didn't!"

"You did!" he yells as he uses his full strength this time.

"NICK UGH-AH!" I cry. "I- I-"

"You ripped your stomach into shreds that day just to make sure that my baby would never be born, Summer. I took you to the hospital despite knowing that there was no chance it would be alive, because you weren't going to take everything away from me. I wasn't gonna let you go so easily after what you took from me."

"I- I don't remember," I sigh heavily as the tears rush down my face. My spine swivels trying to find an angle that doesn't hurt as much, but it's useless.

Everything hurts.

My mind.

My body.

My soul.

Everything.

"Because I took it all on me! Because I knew you would never be able to live knowing that you killed your own child!" Nick yells.

"No," I shake my head. "You did that knowing that you could use it against me later. You- you don't care about me, Nick. you just think you do- AH! Fuck!"

I feel the blood rushing to my head making me dizzy. Sweat starts to drip from my forehead as I try to keep myself awake.

"That was for fucking other guys," Nick extends.

"Ugh-Ah!"

"That one's for our kid and this one's for me."

"AHH- FUCK! ... fuck," I breathe as my forehead meets the floor for support. The blood tricking through the ripped skin I feel it drip down from my shoulders onto the floor next to my head.

I hear the belt hit the ground and a breath of relief escapes my lips as I remain with my forehead on the ground and my eyes closed.

Nick's hands near my ankles, I flinch immediately turning my head and looking at him. His eyes meet mine without a single remorse before they drop down to his hands. I follow his gaze and watch as he unlocks he cuffs around my ankles.

Once they're undone, I bring my knee closer to my hands and sit on my legs as my whole body shakes uncontrollably. The blood from my back drips on my feet wetting them and I try not to focus on the pain.

Nick gets up and I watch as he makes his way towards the door.

"You should've killed me when father gave you what you needed," I state challengingly.

"I should've," Nick says before exiting. When the door locks, the lights turn off and I break down.

Crying hysterically, my body is mixed with emotions and pain that's indescribable.

My mind is too full to even comprehend what Nick accused me of, so I close my eyes trying to remember that night.

I try and try and try, but the same pictures repeat themselves not hinting me towards anything plausible. My body eventually caves in, before my mind does, pulling me into a long awaited numbness.

A/N:

Ivy: It's 1:26am, I'm most likely gonna go back and make it more intense but...

This was a crazy one & I hope you liked it! It's short, but it shows a bit more of Nick's motives.

From here I only see three to five chapters left, and I know for a fact no one's ready for the ending.

No one.