Pain.

Pain.

Motherfucking pain.

If my high-tolerance ass is overflowing with extreme discomfort, then I could only imagine what Asiel is feeling. It's been hours—I'm assuming — since Gato wrecked the shit out of us. The heavy chains chafe against the burning lashes on my back and arms. I grit my teeth every fucking time. My lungs ache with every breath.

I'm honestly confused.

Why would Asiel care about what happens to me? He doesn't—shouldn't — want anything to do with me. Asiel needs to fight and worry about himself. I've survived twenty years on my own — I'm sure I have another couple of years in me. Blood trickles down Asiel's back, giving me nausea to see the forming scars on his back.

I got to get us the fuck out of here.

I think I have got a crazy fucking plan for when Gato visits us. It's risky, and I could fucking die by angering him further, but it's better than being treated like an animal. Either I step up, or we die at the hands of these psychopaths. It's a do-or-die situation. I've encountered over a dozen of these, and I'm more determined than ever to save someone other than myself.

Now, if only he come in before Asiel woke up.

I doubt Asiel will let Gato lay a hand on me from his previous reaction. It's something so innocent and insignificant, but the fact that Asiel fights for me tugs at my heartstrings. Even when he's supposed to hate my guts-- he still protects me with his whole heart. My heart blooms like a flower in a garden of unrequited love.

"M-mm-i," Asiel's voice comes out strained, dry, and cracking. "I-Kkk-a?"

I reply, my nerves fading to oblivion when it's just Asiel and me. "I'm here, Muñeco. You should've let Gato do what he wanted. It's nothing I haven't experienced before."

Mainly because I was in the middle of a risky plan, but also because I loathe with every fiber of my being to watch Asiel get hurt. I wish I could do more. Get him water to at least stay awake longer. His body is deteriorating from all the beating with no food or water to nutrients him. Asiel groans, his dark eyebrows crinkling in a frown, pain marring his expression.

"H-How can you say that?" Asiel audibly sucks in a breath. "I would never sit back and watch him force himself on you. I rather take a million fucking beatings than let you experience that."

A ghost of a smile crawls on my lips. "Why does it matter? You're supposed to hate me. You don't need to protect me, but you still do."

Asiel's lips curl into a little grin, causing a strain in his bruise. "The answer is obvious, Mika. It's the same as yours. Turning off everything I felt for you would take longer than a week. Maybe in a lifetime. I'm not sure if it's possible to feel this intimately with another person."

My heart flips like a dog performing a trick. "It's possible, Asiel. After all of this is over, all you have to do is forget about me. It shouldn't be too hard. I'm nothing special. Just a placeholder in your heart until your soulmate comes along."

Asiel exhales harshly. "What--What was Gato referring to before? He made it seem as if he touched you before. Did he, Mika? While we were together?"

Frustration floods my bloodstream. I was hoping Asiel wouldn't question Gato's ramble and assumed he was acting out of pure anger. It wasn't something I wanted to discuss. I don't want to taint his views on his older brother-- he needs something to confine in. It can only be his brother, even if he's six-feet underground.

I close my eyes in defeat. "Remember the story of when the cartel wanted to teach Riley and me a lesson?"

Realization dawns on Asiel's face. "It was my familia? Thirteen years ago? That means Ander was in charge. All of them fucking touched you?"

I stick my tongue to combat the tears welling up in my irises. "Pacho refused to rape me. The only one who walked away. Everyone else had their fun with Riley and me."

Anger glimmers in his emerald eyes. "Not Julian, since he was recruited when I become Jefe. What about Ander? Did he?"

The universe is giving me the final opportunity to come truly clean. To cleanse myself of all the lies and deception I've done for seventeen years. It's my punishment to pay for his brother's sin for being such a heartless fucking bitch. Would Asiel believe me, or would he side with his brother--fighting for his innocence over my recollections? 

I swallow the knot in my throat. "No. He wasn't there. You don't have to worry about him."

"Fucking hell, Mika." Asiel gnaws at his lip. "If you knew this, then why didn't you tell me? I would help you murder the goddamn world if it looked at you the wrong way. We could've taken all of them out. Torture them if it makes you happy. They clearly fucking deserve it."

I laugh silently. "Yeah, I know. But it didn't really matter that much to me. I was finally happy-- why would I revisit all the pain they brought me? Maybe I matured in the few months together, but killing them has been the last thing on my list."

"Fuck maturity," Asiel spats. "I will put a bullet in all their fucking skulls for you, Mika. I can't rest peacefully, knowing they're alive and breathing."

"Asiel seriously." My voice wavers between honey and caution. "It's useless to focus on revenge plans when tomorrow isn't even promised. We need to put our energy towards escaping. Afterward, we can focus our attention on murdering them one by one."

"Mika." Asiel's emerald irises fall on me, flickering a look of his signature puppy heart eyes. "We will make it out of this. Maybe with a few broken bones, but we aren't going to die. We will kill them--promise me, Mika."

My stomach flip-flops like a leaf swaying in the pool with uneasiness. "I can't promise something I'm unsure of."

"Mika..."

"You know what?" I lick my dry lips. "If one of us dies, the living one has the task of completing the revenge. Deal? Promise?"

"Mika..."

I purse my lips. "Just promise."

"Fucking hell! You know I'll promise, but." His eyes fall shut. "You can't die, okay? I need to know you're still here, even if we are worlds apart. Promise me that. Promise not to fucking leave me."

My heart crumbles like sand in my hands. "Asiel, I-."

My attention snaps to the locks on the door, unlocking and opening an inch, letting the light yellowish tint of the hallway wander in. Fuck. Of course, they come back when Asiel gains consciousness. Asiel can't catch a fucking break, but this is it-- if Gato removes the chains from around me, then I'll gladly scratch his name off our revenge list.

"Asiel, listen nice and clear," I say, darting my gaze between the entrance and Asiel. "When Gato tries to rape me again... Let him. I have a plan. It's fucking risky, but it's our best bet, so just sit back in silence."

Concern washes over Asiel's face. "You can't seriously ask me to do that, Mika? It's killing me to let them touch you and hurt you. Just look at your face and arms."

"Muñeco," I whine, nibbling on my lip. "You should look at yourself. You're bleeding left and right. The worse that can happen is Gato catches me and kills me."

Asiel's eyebrows pull together in taut. "That isn't making me feel any better."

"Just trust me, okay?"

He sighs. "It's hard to do that too these days."

I sport a convincing smile. "Just one last time. I won't disappoint you this time. It's my last gift to you. To save you."

We both grow eerily quiet as Gato's bulkier body slips through the door. The aroma of smoke follows him like a dark shadow of death with a cancer stick in his hand. He inhales the smoke into his lungs, morphing them into tar as he blows the hazy smoke in Asiel's face.

Asiel coughs, scrunching his nose with disgust. After one last puff, Gato drops the cig and stomps on it, turning it into dust particles. He sports an amused smirk as he circles around us as if we were circus animals in a cage.

"It's time for me to have some fun," Gato states, angling my face toward his by grabbing my chin. "Who should I do first? It's almost too hard to pick just one. Maybe it's time we finish what we started."

He winks, puckering up his nasty ass lips. Vomit crawls up my throat. Gato gives me the heby jebbies. For being distantly related to Asiel, you would think he would have some of his genes, but he's uglier than a fucking pig.

Excuse me— that's an insult to pigs.

"Or I can start with pussy pants over her," He ponders, forcibly grabbing a hold of Asiel's face from all his squirming. "My ex-wife keeps being a fucking bitch because you gave her power that a woman doesn't deserve. You took my kid away."

"It's not my fault you're a shitty dad," Asiel spats through gritted teeth.

Gato bobs his head, sporting an unbothered expression with his lips protruding as he pounces his fist into Asiel's bruised stomach. Asiel grunts under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut as he tries to fight through the pain. He sways in the air, losing his footing with only the chains holding him.

"You think you're better than me?" Gato ridicules, landing another hit on Asiel's abdomen. "You fucked a used-up stripper who happened to murder your brother! Nobody is as pathetic as you." A strike bashes him across his cheek and knocks the bleeding saliva from his mouth.

"Please stop hurting him." Panic seizes my lungs. The blood, bruising, gloss over eyes slice my heart into a million mother-fucking pieces. "You're going to kill him. Please stop. Just punish me instead. If you want to hurt Asiel, then hurt me."

Gato's irises glow with a crazed frenzy, like he's feasting for a meal as his tongue lathers his nasty lips with moisture. He loosens the tie around his neck and stalks towards me, using his finger to tilt my chin upward to face him.

"You're going to love this." Gato leaves a trail of kisses from my jaw to my neck, causing bile to rise up my throat. "I'm going to show you how a real man fucks a woman."

"Really?" I cock my head to the side with an arched brow. "I doubt that. Do you ever wonder why no woman stays with you?"

His eyes narrow. "You sound better when you're quiet." He rolls his tie into a ball and shoves it in my mouth.

Saliva collects in my mouth, soaking up the tie. Gato unravels the chains one by one, lightening up the stress on my muscles. I could easily spit the moist tie in Gato's face, but decided against it. It might come in handy when I bash my head into Gato's. Asiel observes with a stoic expression, panting harshly from the beating.

Gato flings my body onto the ground, forcing me onto all floors with my ass angled upward. I grunt, collapsing onto my face and chafing my chin against the floor. Years later, Gato is still as aggressive, ripping my sweaty thong off my body. He grunts as a front and back motion comes from him.

"Finally, it's time to break this tight pussy in again," he taunts, grabbing a handful of my messy hair.

My lips twitch. Gato's hand in my hair eases as I spread myself further on the floor, giving him the illusion of excess. Disgust spreads like a virus in my body when he rubs his hardened dick on my lips. Slowly, I turn my head to see in the corner of my eye, Gato gaping at the view of my ass and slams his palm against it.

It's now or never.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I go backward in full force, colliding my head with Gato's skull. He stumbles back, shouting curses into the air as he grips his forehead. Using the floor as catalysis, I boost myself up and land a potent kick to Gato's skull. His eyes darken. His jaw clenches, ticks. A callous smile forms on his lips and the look in his gaze is so deranged like he's sold him to the devil-- which wouldn't be a surprise to me.

He lunges at me, causing my body to hit the floor. I spit the tie in his face, distracting him for a moment. It's enough for me to bust my knee into his ballsack, causing him to fall limp from the severe pain. It's almost saddening-- men would never survive a period if they cry over being kneaded in the balls.

Cracking my neck as I tilt side to side, I jump in the air for extra adrenaline and slam my elbow into Gato's head, causing him to knock out. The cold smile on his face switches to me as I kick his face side to side to make sure. Nothing--he's out cold. Kneeling back down, I feel through his pockets, piercing my finger against a sharp blade.

Bingo.

"You never fail to amaze me, Mika." His big, round, emerald eyes admire my movements as if I was superwoman.

I shrug, sticking my tongue out as I slice through the ropes on my wrist. "It's nothing."

Finally, my eyes nearly roll from the sensation of being free when the ropes slip off like a loose towel. My nose scrunches up with repulsion at the sight of Gato's baby penis-- how embarrassing. He's knocked out cold with pants at his ankles.

Quickly, I investigate Gato's pockets for anything that breaks Asiel off his chains. A cigarette pack (useful for me, but not Asiel), crumbled-up paper, a ziplock bag of cocaine, random string, and a pin. Basically shit. The pin could be useful.

With pinched eyebrows, I straighten the pin into a straight line and twist it side to side. This could work.

"Okay, if this works, I'm only going to be able to unlock one hand," I explain, tilting the pin at an angle in the lock. "If Mateo comes back, we're going to need him to think we're still tied up. Only for a minute or two before I tackle him, then you unlock yourself-- okay?"

Concern washes over Asiel's facial features. "B-But I never picked a lock before."

Relief inflates my lungs when the lock clicks and slips off his wrist. "It's easy. All you have to do is play around with it at an angle. Eventually, it will click-- it's the easiest way I can explain the process. You can do it."

"You don't have to do this," Asiel says, anguish flickering in his irises. "You're free, Mika. Just leave me. You don't have to save me when all I've done is treat you like shit."

I gently grasp his chin with my fingertips. "Don't feel guilty, Muñeco. I deserved every single thing you did to me. I'm a monster, remember?"

His eyelids drop. "Mika, I-I didn't mean anything I said that night. If the whole world says you're a monster, then the whole world is fucking wrong. Despite everything leading up to this, you were the one good constant in this horrible place."

Heartfelt tears fill up my eyes as my attention snaps to the door opening, revealing a cast of Mateo discussing something with his soldiers. I stuff the pin in Asiel's hand and close the chain around his wrist.

"He's coming," I whisper, darting my eyes toward the door. "Just act according to the plan, and everything will be okay."

At lightning speed, I shove Gato into the corner, hiding him enough to not catch suspicion as I wrap the chains around my body. I don't remember the order nor have time to spend trying to recall the pattern--all I can do is hope for the best.

Everything is in the universe's hands.

Woah woah one guys down— only another hundred to go 🙈🤭🤭🤭do you think they can do it? Mika should've stepped on Gato's penis 😂😂made him be in more pain

Holy shit I'm excited for the next chapter— Imma just say grab popcorn and tissues because it's a long, crazy rollercoaster of a chapter 🤭😋

Thank you for seriously giving Mika so much love!! I'm so happy to see a lot of you really come to love Mika and Asiel (as individuals and as a couple) I don't ever ever want to say goodbye to them 🥹🥹

This is going to suck

Plus I'm going through post concert depression too 🥹😭😭I'm just going to be extra sad these next few days!!

Love ya and thank you for every comment and vote ❤️💜💜❤️🤍❤️