Warnings: Language, cannibalism, forced cannibalism, violence
This chapter is pretty heavy, just giving y'all a fair warning.

Sleep didn't come easy for Ronnie that night. The echo of the shotgun and that man's eyes came for her each time she shut her own. How could she sleep with such guilt weighing heavy on her head? She wondered if he was still down there in that chair unmoving, stiff, or worse. She wondered if they'd taken him to the basement where she should have ended up when she first passed through the front door. He had taken her place. She knew nothing of him, but their stories had been the same. He had taken the same road she had, he was going somewhere, only he ran into her, not Thomas. Ronnie had been the one who led him right into their trap, she had played into their game, whether she meant to or not. Only, unlike Ronnie, maybe he had a family, a wife who would wake tomorrow and the days that followed to an empty space beside her. Those eyes she kept seeing belonged to someone's son, brother, husband, father and his blood was on her hands. She may not have pulled the trigger, but she put him in front of the gun. She put him face to face with death because she wanted to live and he paid the price.

She sat up and peered over the edge of the bed to see Thomas was fast asleep. She had given up on getting any of her own at that point, so she quietly let her bare feet fall to the floor. She kept a close eye on him as she silently turned the doorknob. Once the door was opened, she stuck her head out to make sure the rest of the family was asleep. The silence that hung about the old house reassured her that they were, so she crept down the stairs. Her body felt heavy as fear weighed down each step she took towards the dining room. She had to see if they'd left him in that chair. As she rounded the corner she saw it was empty in its spot at the head of the table. The moonlight from the windows made the blood stains he'd left behind just barely visible. She made her way over to it and let her hand rest on the wood. Luda had done her best to clean the blood, but she could see where it had sunk in deep to leave a reminder of what they'd done. Of what Ronnie had done. Had she just accepted her fate, he wouldn't have met his here. He would never have had that look on his face. She had never seen such terror in someone's eyes before as he begged death himself for mercy. It sent a chill racing through her bones because in watching his death, she feared she saw her own. She not only saw it in the stranger's eyes, she saw it in Hoyt's. That man was just a placeholder for who he really wanted to shoot. His blood would satisfy death for now, but it was her's he'd aimed to spill. She had taken Thomas' loyalty for her own without even knowing it and she knew sooner or later she would pay for it.

She heard the floorboards creak behind her and she held her breath until she felt a familiar hand on her shoulder. She let out a ragged sigh as she tried to tear her eyes away from the empty chair.

"I couldn't sleep," she whispered.

He knew she couldn't, he hadn't expected her to. Death was a way of life here, but he remembered well what it took from him the first time he'd seen it up close. After so much, he'd been left almost numb to it, but the cuts it left were deep. His had long since scarred over, as would her's with time, but the scars would remain until they both met their own end.

She turned to face him, "Will I ever?"

Sleep would find her again, but not easily, not for sometime. He could see she was in desperate need of it, though. He gave her a nod before he took her hand in his to lead her back upstairs. She reluctantly let him pull her away from the table. Just before they reached the bottom of the stairs her eyes landed on the basement door. She felt sick just looking at it. She knew he was down there, she could feel it. Thomas felt her stop and turned to catch her staring at the metal door. He felt a pit in his stomach the longer her eyes lingered there. He knew he couldn't hide it from her forever, but seeing what was down there, especially that night, would break her in ways she wasn't ready for. No, she was too fragile in that moment. Any forgiveness she might find for him would die down there. He squeezed her hand and she turned to face him. He shook his head at her and silently begged her to tame that growing curiosity within her. Ronnie was frightened enough to ignore her desire for further knowledge for now, but her eyes kept wandering in its direction the whole walk up the stairs.

They entered their bedroom and went to their separate resting places. As she stared up at the ceiling she wondered how many hours it would be until the sun rose. The darkness was doing her no favors as she resumed her struggle to find sleep. She knew he must have been doing the same as she listened to him try to find comfort on the wooden floor. She shut her eyes only to find that man waiting for her once more, only this time he was in that basement. She felt tears stinging her tired eyes.

"Thomas," she said quietly into the dark.

He turned his head towards the bed and waited for her to continue. It was a long while until she did as if what she was about to say was something she wasn't yet sure of.

"I can't lay here alone tonight," she whispered.

He knew she shouldn't want that. His own hands had dealt worse than what she'd seen Hoyt do. He was keeping secrets that would hurt her far worse than she knew. He felt more guilt than ever that she had no choice but to ask a monster to lie next to her to ease her mind. But he wanted to. He wanted to badly.

"Please," he heard her say under her breath.

She felt his weight sink the spot on the bed beside her. Though it was hotter than ever in that room, she was surprisingly cold. Her hand rested on his chest and stung his skin through the thin cloth of his shirt. He could feel her tears on his shoulder where she buried her face. He wanted so badly to offer her relief from the pain she felt, but he was so out of his element. She was something so different than anything he'd ever experienced. For anyone else here, she was unbreakable, but for some reason she trusted him enough to see her come apart. He wasn't sure what he was doing to earn more of her, but he had every intention to keep doing it. To know he was what she needed, even if it was just for that moment, made him feel something he wasn't sure he'd ever truly felt before. He felt warm. He stayed awake until he heard her soft snores in his ear. Once she was still, he let his hand rest on top of her's.

Hunger woke her earlier than she hoped. She winced as her stomach tightened in on itself with an angry growl. Other than the scraps here and there that Luda had offered her, food wasn't something she'd had in what felt like ages. Though this morning, her hunger felt the worst it had been since she got there. She lifted her head off of Thomas' shoulder and realized it was due to the smell wafting up the stairs. She breathed in and a mixture of seasonings filled her nostrils, which drew another growl out of her empty stomach. A wave of relief had just started to wash over her until it was stopped short by a horrifying realization. The man from the night before. She suddenly felt overcome with nausea and hopped up from the bed. Thomas woke to find her heaving. He sat up, concerned, then he smelled it too. He was just as hungry as she was, but he had a feeling he wouldn't be partaking in the day's meal. If he wanted to keep her trust, he couldn't. Ronnie stood back up and he could see she was back to her stubborn self from the look in her eyes.

"I know you're just as hungry as I am, but Thomas," she said as she shook her head, "this is wrong. We can't."

He silently agreed with her as he got out of the bed. He was well aware going down there and refusing the food that was made would only cause more tension between the two of them and Hoyt. Then again at this point, what didn't. He had a feeling Hoyt was beginning to realize his plan to force Thomas into a life of misery with this woman had gone more than awry. She was changing him and quickly. The more he saw of that, the worse he would become. He hoped Ronnie could handle it as well as he could, because it wasn't going to be easy. Hoyt ruled this roost. He had a way of doing things and he didn't like to be challenged.

Before he opened the door, Ronnie grabbed his arm, "I don't wanna go down there," she said as she held her nose to keep the sickly sweet smell of that meat out.

He took her hand in his and squeezed. They couldn't stay up there, it would only disrupt things further, but he'd be right beside her. She let out a frustrated sigh and relented. She followed him down the stairs and the smell only got more intense. He could feel her dragging her feet behind him the closer they got to the kitchen. Mama was setting the table in the dining room when they walked in. Thomas did his best not to allow himself to look at the full plate she set down at his usual spot. This time it was Ronnie who squeezed his hand to remind him not to give in.

"Glad y'all are up, I just finished cookin'," Mama said as she motioned for him to take a seat.

He heard Hoyt's footsteps behind them and didn't have to look to know he was leaning in the doorway, watching. Thomas gave his Mama a pained expression, he knew she wouldn't quite understand why he would refuse the meal she had prepared.

"I know you ain't tellin' me you're not hungry, Thomas," Mama responded, concerned.

"He's not," Ronnie cut in as she folded her arms, "neither am I."

"Bullshit," Hoyt said as he walked past them.

He had a plate in his hand that he set at the head of the table where blood from the night before stained the spot underneath it. He looked right at Ronnie with a grin.

"Sit down," he ordered the two of them, "and eat."

"I ain't eatin' that," Ronnie said as she glared at Hoyt through darkened eyes.

He clenched his jaw before he took a few painfully slow steps towards her. Thomas tensed as Hoyt got close enough so that he was almost touching her. Ronnie refused to back down as she craned her neck up to hold his unsettling gaze.

"Hoyt," Mama said sharply, "they'll eat if they're hungry enough."

Hoyt lingered a moment more before he scoffed and went to take his seat.

"Why don't you both just sit for awhile," Mama said in an attempt to break the tension.

Thomas looked to Ronnie who reluctantly nodded her head. Hoyt watched the exchange and shook his head.

"You're so whipped, boy and you ain't even gotten any," he muttered.

Mama shot him a disapproving look as Thomas walked towards the head of the table.

"No," Hoyt said before he could sit down, "she's sittin' there today."

Ronnie briefly imagined breaking that damn plate over his ugly head as he waited for her to move. She could tell he wanted her to protest, but she wouldn't give in, not just yet.

"Hoyt," Mama said again, agitated this time.

"No," Ronnie said firmly, "it's fine. I'll sit."

She marched over to the chair and sat in it. She kept her eyes forward to ignore the deep red stains on the wood. She was glad to see that grin didn't spread across his face this time. He only glared back at her until Luda instructed him to say grace. He pushed his seat back and stood to bow his head.

"Lord, we bow our heads in prayer to thank you for providing food when we were hungry. We especially want to thank you for Ronnie," he said.

Ronnie cut her eyes up to him. She knew she wasn't going to like where he was going with this.

"She proved she may be quite the provider herself by bringing us the biggest meal we've had in ages," he continued.

Ronnie felt her stomach turn as he opened his eyes to study the sickened expression on her face with satisfaction. She silently hated the victory he'd achieved by playing on her guilt.

"We sure are thankful for her, lord. Amen," he finished before he took his seat again.

He kept his eyes on her as he tore into the meat in front of him. She had to look away, she'd never seen something so vile.

"God, that's good," Hoyt said with a full mouth, "he had enough meat on him to last a good few weeks, don't you think, Mama?"

Luda and Monty hummed in satisfied agreement as they too helped themselves to large forkfuls of the poor man. Thomas couldn't look either, he was so hungry, but he was determined not to let it show. It hadn't bothered him like this in awhile, but watching them eat with a full plate in front of him when he hadn't eaten in ages was more than painful. The worst part was not knowing when either of them would get the chance to eat something again. If she hadn't realized by now that food, especially anything other than what the rest of his family was eating, was a rarity around here she was about to find out the hard way. If he wanted a happy wife, he knew he'd have to be right there with her. Starving. He wasn't quite sure what Hoyt had meant by saying he was 'whipped', but he reckoned he probably wasn't wrong, cause he'd starve with her if that's what she wanted.

Hoyt finished his plate and leaned back in his chair. He curled his lip as he looked at the untouched food in front of Thomas and Ronnie.

"It'd be a shame if you two dumb asses let that go to waste, 'specially after Mama spent all morning slavin' over it for you," he said as he eyed Thomas specifically, "and you don't wanna hurt Mama's feelin's do you, Tommy?"

Thomas could feel his gaze heavy on him, but he refused to look up. He heard him shove his chair back to walk around the table to him. He rested his hands on his shoulders before he began to speak again.

"One bite ain't gonna kill you now, is it?" He said smugly.

"He doesn't want it," Ronnie said sharply.

Hoyt looked right at her as he leaned down to whisper in Thomas' ear, "What's she gonna do about it, boy? Not like got somethin' to lose, we all know she ain't fuckin' you."

"Hoyt," Luda snapped.

"If they ain't gonna eat it, hand it over," Monty said through his already full mouth.

"No," Hoyt said as he moved from Thomas to Ronnie, "they're gonna eat it."

He stood behind her and grabbed her jaw. Thomas quickly pushed himself up from his chair, but Hoyt stopped him where he stood.

"You sit the fuck down or I'll break her damn neck," Hoyt said as he eyed Thomas.

Thomas looked at her frightened eyes, but he did as he asked. He knew he meant what he said and he wouldn't have time to stop him if he tried. He had no choice but to listen. Hoyt tore off a piece of the meat on Ronnie's plate and brought it to her. She did her best to keep her mouth shut, but he dug his fingers through her lips so forcefully that she couldn't. She screamed in protest, but she was helpless to stop him just as Thomas was.

"You'll thank me later, girl," Hoyt muttered as he shoved the meat in her mouth, "now chew."

Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head no, but Hoyt wouldn't budge. He took her jaw and forced her to chew.

"If you don't swallow it, I'll push it down your damn throat myself," he said through gritted teeth.

"Hoyt, stop it," Luda finally chimed in, though her voice wasn't as sturdy as it usually was. It sounded shaky as if she was just as frightened to challenge him as Thomas and Ronnie were.

"Hush up, Mama. I'm teachin' her a lesson," he said with a grin as he watched Ronnie swallow the food, "you don't bite the hand that feeds."

He looked over to Thomas who had his fists clenched, "Same goes for you, boy. Wipe that damn look off your face and eat or she ain't leavin' this table breathin'."

He looked to Ronnie once again. It broke his heart to see her relent this time. She nodded as much as Hoyt's grip would allow and Thomas ate as fast as he could.

"That's right. Clean the damn plate," Hoyt said smugly before he ripped his hand from Ronnie's face, "fuckin' ingrates."

Ronnie stood quickly and ran out of the room with tears rolling down her face. Hoyt went to follow her, but Mama was quick to stop him.

"That's enough. You let her be," she said sternly with a disgusted expression on her face, "Thomas, honey, you go to her. Make sure she's alright."

"Go on to your master, boy," Hoyt muttered as he watched Thomas with a wicked grin.

Thomas clenched his fists tighter than ever. He'd never wanted to lay a hand on him more than he did in that moment. He left the room without so much as a glance in his direction. He couldn't stand to see him look so pleased with himself after what he'd just done to her.

"What is wrong with you?" He heard Mama say as he exited the room.

He found Ronnie in the bathroom forcing her fingers down her throat. She sobbed through her gags, but her body refused to give up the only sustenance it had been offered in weeks. She slammed her fist against the wall beside her so hard he was afraid that she might have broken bones and the scream she let out sounded so pained. The sobs that came from her were frightening. They weren't like the ones he'd heard before, they were almost unnatural they were filled with so much grief. What had just happened had taken a part of her, that was evident. What little sanity she had been holding onto thus far was now dangerously close to slipping. He knelt down and grabbed her by her waist. He let himself fall against the wall as he held her. He couldn't watch her hurt herself more than she already was. Her fingers dug into his arm as she continued to dry heave. He rested his forehead on her back and winced as he felt her tear into his skin. He knew she didn't mean to, her body tensing was far out of her control. After a long while she finally let her head fall back onto his shoulder, exhausted.

"Thomas," she said in between breaths, "I'm. Gonna fucking. Kill him."