Her Only Hero

Chapter 20

He crashes backwards, and I land on top of him.

That's as much of a plan I came up with. Where do I go from here? I can't attack him with my hands tied behind my back. I can't even stand up.

I'm pushed off him to land on the floor and Nathan helps him to his feet.

Chris yanks me up to my feet and glares at me with a fierce stare. Clenching his jaw. His fingers curl into fists. One fist twisting up the material of my shirt. He takes a step forward, towering over me.

I try to remain mighty and unnerved, staring up at him like he doesn't scare me.

"You're going to regret that," he says in a deep growl.

Before I can brace myself, his fist hits my stomach and I'm forced over in pain. As I begin to straighten up, a second blow forces me back over. My head jerks to the side violently, a burning pain erupting on my cheek.

The hit to my side causes my legs to give out for a second, but Chris holds me up.

"You can only...blame...yourself...for this," he says, dealing several more blows to my head, stomach and side. 

Unable to hold myself up for any longer, my knees buckle and give out. Chris looses his hold on me and my body crumbles to the floor.

He drives his foot into my ribs, causing me to roll, coming to a rest on the same side.

I groan and pull against the rope until it cuts into my wrists. Both my knees pull up to my chest to protect my stomach, but they do nothing to save me from the foot that stomps down on my side.

My teeth grit together as I cry out through the tape.

"I guess your friends don't care about you either."

The punch to my cheekbone causes my head to bounce off the floor. A blackness takes over before the world swirls back into my vision, allowing me to see the foot swinging towards me stop. Instead of hitting me, it grounds itself and spins around, pivoting on its toes.

Jonah's groans helps me put two and two together. He had gotten to his feet. Nathan had either let him or not noticed. Jonah made an attempt to attack Chris somehow. That got him punched in the stomach again by Chris.

He throws Jonah to the floor at Nathan's feet. "Do something about him."

With everyone distracted, I use the time to take a quick glance over to Wyatt and Axel's hiding spot. The tiny crack in the cupboard door widens enough for me to see Axel's wide eyes peering out at me.

A nervousness and guilt fills them and I notice his hesitant movement to push past the door.

With one last quick check that Nathan and Chris are still distracted with Jonah, I shake my head at Axel encouraging him to stay hidden.

He sinks back into the hiding spot as Nathan drags Jonah back over to the hoops and ties him to one again.

With Jonah dealt with, Chris turns his attention back to me. He delivers that kick that got interrupted before.

I groan and curl up as much as I can. It's frustrating that I can't protect myself with my hands tied behind my back. All I can do is take the beating and suffer through the pain.

Chris kneels down beside me, grabbing my face to force me to look at him. "This friend cares about you," he says, jabbing his thumb towards Jonah, "but he's not the one who can help you."