Chapter 7 ½
Wonder Twins
**Author's Note**
Hi everyone, I'm deeply sorry about the mix up with the chapters, there was just something missing and I couldn't move forward until I was able to work out the last half of the chapters and arrange them like I needed the story to go. It didn't flow for me, so after a few sleepless nights, I think I have fixed them.
This chapter is a companion to the previous chapter 7. It didn't belong in chapter 7, yet was the wrong tone for chapter 8, so then we have chapter 7 ½ 🤗 Please enjoy, like comment and review.
When Riley stood there, in front of Aiden, she had been remembering Rico, but then she was able to see the same memory, from Ruben's perspective. That was new, either she had completely lost her mind, or the connection between them was so strong, even death wouldn't break the bond. She had no idea how she was able to see her brother's thoughts from that night. She figures the link between them was never fully lost, as hard as they both tried. She is so consumed with her brother's thoughts and being able to see him so clearly, as if he is standing right next to her. She can't help but take the chance to look at him, but when she does, the memory fades, causing her to quickly look back at the scene in front of her. She sees his perspective on what happened that night; she can't believe she can feel what he felt too. She is so overwhelmed by this information, she had forgotten everything that was happening now in the present and was instead stuck in the past, where she was, who she was with, and what was going on. She simply slipped into the memory and relieved it like it was happening. She stood in front of Aiden and was staring at some place only she could see. She cried silent tears down her face, and she yelled at him for breaking her. Then, instantly, she was at that house again. Riley visibly shakes now; she is praying for God, the Virgin Mary, and all the saints to please help her. She could feel the stickiness of the blood on her hands as it dripped down from the blade over the hilt and the handle; her head is aching from her hair being pulled; and her fresh cuts on her bare legs and arms are stinging with the fresh air and sweat that coat her skin. She thinks she is losing her mind as she shakes uncontrollably, not from being cold but from fear.
She feels paralyzed. The absolute terror those animals caused her will never leave her. She used to have nightmares every single time she closed her eyes. It got better; Ruben and her papa helped her so much. They knew what she needed when she didn't even know herself.
Looking back at it, Riley knows there have only been two significant nights in her life that have fundamentally changed the path and direction she was going. The first was that night with Rico. The second was the night she realized that if she were going to get out from under the sex trafficker and simultaneously save her family, she would have to stop fighting them off when they came to her every night. It was a cold, bitter realization when she had come to terms with it, accepting what she was going to have to do. She knew that as soon as she stopped fighting them, they would relax and get sloppy. She's surprised they have managed to keep her locked up this long; she can only guess the number of days it's been—more than four, but no more than a week. To Riley, it doesn't matter; the second they chose that house to cause trouble in, where Riley and her family were trying to rest and gather supplies, was the day those men decided they wanted Riley to kill them. She already has taken out two of them. That left them with five members.
Riley knows they have more in their group; she isn't dumb, not by a long shot. She knows these animals think because they have her blindfolded the whole time that she can't tell the difference between them. Riley knows that there have been at least fifteen people who have come to her room. They have all been different. From their weight, height, size of their dicks, hairy, bald, sweaty, dry, bad breath, body odor, the type of alcohol they drink, and even the type of cigarette they have been smoking, Riley can tell the difference between each and every one of them.
They had put her in the master bedroom of the same house. She remembers that after they had dragged her inside the house by her hair, the leader, or wannabe leader, Javier, had mentioned something to her brother about not running the show anymore. Then he walked towards Riley, grabbing his cock, and licking his lips. Riley's whole body started to fill with terror and an absolute fear that she had never felt before. Her eyes quickly scan the room, intentionally avoiding her dad's or Ruben's eyes.
They had pulled her up by her hair and made her stand there, never letting go of her hair, and they turned her left and right, twirling her like a damn ballet dancer for that asshole.
Riley was starting to panic. She couldn't do anything but hold on to her hair, so this monster didn't pull it out of her head. She tried to remember her father's words: "Count your enemies, count your exits, count the distance between them, run if you can, don't look back. Escape if you can, and don't worry about me or your brother. They can't do to me or your brother what they can do to you if they catch you, Riley, Remember that please!'
Daryl must have known his daughter would never leave them there while she found safety somewhere else. The thought that the daughter he raised would ever do that was almost comical. The one thing that they all had in spades was their love and loyalty for each other. Riley would never have left her dad and brother behind to fend for themselves.
So, while Riley is being manhandled and twirled around like a rag doll, Ruben is about ready to lose his shit. He is fuming because he is forced to look at what they are doing to her, and he knows beyond a shadow of a doubt what they have planned for her. His blood is boiling. He needs to get free, but every single time he attempts, one of these assholes hits him in the ribs or the head with the butt of their gun. He gets more frustrated because he knows he is fucking useless to Riley right now.
He stares at her, and she is doing amazing; not a tear has fallen from her, and she is holding it together. She is actively avoiding her brother's glare as he is staring at her. He wants to communicate with her like they used to when they were younger. He thinks they still might be able to. even though it's been a long time since they last did it. He can remember the first time they realized they could talk to each other secretly. It freaked them both out, and it was all by accident that they even knew.
Riley instantly believed this was another one of their gifts—being able to see from another's perspective, and not only that, but feel them too. She is so grateful for these pieces of her brother that she can hold on to them. She goes back to that night, in the house, and the heaviness of that night settles around her like a weighted blanket.
Ruben is staring at Riley as she is dragged through the house, by her hair, like a dog on a leash. He is staring at her, practically willing her to look at him in his mind.
"Riley, look at me, please. C'mon, sis, you're stronger than these fucks, you can do this. Just look at me!!!" Ruben yelled in his head as loudly as he knew how.
Riley's eyes jerked towards her brother's, and she just stared at him. She couldn't believe this was happening to him. Her big strong brother had been turned into a beat-up crumpled mess on the floor. Her heart broke at the sight.
"Riley! Stop with the water works, we will be fine if you snap out of it and take these fuckers out!" Ruben thought as his eyes bore into Riley's. Finally, the recognition he had been hoping for came. Her eyes widened, and she sucked in a deep breath. She closed her eyes and started to take deep cleansing breaths. She forgot about the hold the guy had on her hair, blocked out all the pain, and concentrated on her breathing. Deep breaths in, anxiety, fear, and doubt left her body on her exhale. She focused her energy on looking at her options. The main guy is too close, standing there practically drooling while he looks at her up and down. Riley wants to throw up. She is physically sick just from looking at him. She turns and looks around; she can feel her hair loosen, and the guy finally let's go of it. Riley immediately grabs the spot he was pulling and rubs it, trying to massage the pain away. She doesn't like her hair down at all. not even a little bit. She quickly gets it, twists it high on her head, and expertly secures it with another piece of her hair. She feels instantly better now that she has control of her hair again.
"Riley! Enough playing like you're in a damn beauty salon, get us out of here!" Ruben yells from his mind. She can't believe he figured out a way to reattach their link. She's impressed and angry. She looks around, and she sees the main guy move towards her, she recoils at his advance, and that pisses him off.
"Don't ever move away from me again, you little bitch," he says, as he grabs her by the jaw, forcing her to look at him. When he's done, he slaps her across the cheek hard, and her head whips to the side, and she keeps it that way. She hears her brother and dad protest, and then he hears grunts and knows they were hit because of it.
This moment is when Riley knew she was not getting out of this. She realized; her training didn't mean shit. She couldn't save her family. They were all going to die in this house, and horribly too. She tells herself not to give up.
"You got this kid; you can handle this. You are made of some tough stuff, and there is no way some country hillbillies are going to break you! You can handle anything they do to you. Just don't give them the reaction they want. Don't feed their sick fantasy." She is mentally giving herself a pep talk.
"Ri, I'm so sorry I couldn't keep you safe and protect you." Ruben's mind link is strong, she hears his apology like a bullhorn, and she looks his way, but she doesn't see her big brother, she sees a man who looks defeated, and for the first time, she is worried, she won't be able to make it. She won't be able to take what they are going to give her. And she is terrified, but she won't show them. She is the queen of masks.
"Let's go, bitch." The main guy forcefully grabs her by the elbow and steers her through the house and finally up the stairs, to the master bedroom. She starts to panic and doesn't want this at all.
"No, no, no, please don't do this. Please let me go, I promise I will run and never look back."
The guy laughs, he is fucking laughing at her, and she can't believe where her life has gone to. Tears instantly started to fall, and she knew her fate now.
Riley is back at that house, in the master bedroom with the leader. She wants to puke when he comes near her. Her face is red and blotchy from the tears, not to mention the slap she took from that other guy. Her eyes are red and filled with tears that don't stop coming. Her nose is stuffy from crying, and she doesn't care. She lets it run; she doesn't wipe her face at all. All she can think about is What had she done to deserve something so horrific? Why did she have to go all Rambo like Carol from The Walking Dead and think she could take these grown men on? Why didn't she just hide?
That is because she knows who she is. She is a Reese, and her mama is a Rivera; she has both of their blood running through her veins, and that is some strong stuff. They don't know how to quit. They have been fighters since the beginning, always having people count them out before even giving them the chance. She knew she would never be a meek, submissive woman. She was born in the fire, and every time she went through hell, she was purified and became that much stronger.
As she is thinking this, she can feel her body calm, and fear begins to leave her. She's not going to let these pigs break her. She is stronger than all of them put together. She took two down with just one knife; that's all she needed—just one knife and the element of surprise—and she knows she can beat them. She feels the calm come to her center, and finally her heart rate slows, and her breathing is under control. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, pictures her brother, and tries to talk to him.
Ruben suddenly jumps and yells, but then gets control of himself. Riley mentally facepalms herself.
"Ruben, stay strong; please, tell Papa too. Don't worry about me. I've got a plan."
Something breaks up the memory she was in, and she comes back to the present day, Riley realizes she has been looking at Aiden the whole time but has been lost in her past. She can recall his face; slightly hear the words he told her. He stuck next to her the entire time, and never once panicked. He is stronger than most. She knows the next part of the memory will get dark and graphic quickly. She closes her eyes and wipes the last of the tears off her face.
She thought her heartbreak and the recovery from it were the hardest things she ever had to deal with, up until the dead started walking the earth, and then people became worse than the dead. Riley was never one to be with as many guys as she could. She doesn't see the temptation in sleeping with a bunch of random guys, so she never has. She would still be a virgin if it were her choice. But it wasn't, and she is forced to live with that. She has chosen to live with her actions from that night. Not only that, but now it looks like Aiden will have to live with that too. Because this is Riley, and of course she will tell him. She will tell him every part of her blackened soul, and hopefully he can help her cut away the rot in her heart that has formed.