LatinosUSA

Content Warning: Violence

A prisoner again

Now, I’m here in this dark and humid basement, tied to a pipe. I’m sure Gavin will come soon to finish me off and end this misery. I’m sick of it. I just want all the pain to stop. If I die, it will all be over. That’s what I need, and that’s what I want. I can hear rats scurrying around me, and it becomes even colder than before. Then I hear a door opening and footsteps approaching.

“Look what the cat dragged in,” Gavin’s voice says close to me.

Then I feel his foot slam into my stomach. I whimper in pain, but I don’t say anything.

“Did you miss me? I know you did. Look at you—you gained weight. That’s not okay. In a couple of weeks, you’ll go back to your old self.” He laughs like an idiot.

I stay quiet and perfectly still. Gavin hits me over the face several times, but I don’t feel the pain anymore. I’m immune to his torture.

I don’t know how long I stay like this—days, weeks, months. I only dream about seeing my parents again. That’s the only thing I think about. And how sorry I am that I didn’t kiss Robert. I really wanted to know what his lips tasted like. But now it’s too late. Soon, I’ll be dead, and there’s nothing left to do. I shift slightly and notice that one rope around my wrist is looser. I twist my hand and realize it’s looser than I thought. I was probably hit so many times that it frayed in several places. I manage to free one hand. I free the other one.  Blood starts to flow, but I don’t care. I need to find a way out. I release my legs as well, and then look for a door or a hole where I can hide.

I hear voices, and then a loud explosion. I find a crack in the wall and squeeze myself into it. Then hell breaks loose— screams echo, and gunshots ring out nonstop. I cover my ears to block out the noise.

After a few minutes, I hear someone calling my name.

“Eve! Where are you?” I know that voice.

“Robert?” I ask faintly, my voice raspy and weak.

“Yes. I came for you. Everything is alright. Gavin won’t hurt you anymore. He’s dead,” Robert says.

“I don’t believe you. I need to see him,” I say, stepping out of my hiding place toward the voice.

He’s dressed in black and looks at me as if I’m the most precious thing in the world. I’m bruised but unbroken, and we both know it. Robert wraps a blanket around me and helps me climb the stairs. Upstairs, the place is filled with FBI agents and bodies scattered across the floor. The air smells like raw flesh and blood. Robert speaks to someone, then leads me toward another body lying on the ground.

“Are you ready?” he asks, his blue eyes steady.

“Yes.”

When he uncovers it, I flinch slightly, unprepared for the sight. The body lies  motionless, limbs unnaturally still, as if frozen in the moment everything ended. A dark stain spreads across the fabric of his clothes. His eyes are open but empty, fixed on nothing, the life behind them already gone. The air around him feels heavy and silent, broken only by the smell of gunpowder lingering from the shots. Whatever struggle had existed moments before is over now—violence reduced to stillness, breath replaced by absence.

I feel relieved, light like a feather. My knees give out, but Robert catches me just in time and pulls me into his arms. I cry out all the pain—everything I’ve been through and more. I’m finally free. He can’t touch me anymore, and I’ll always be thankful to the people who helped me. I hope one day I can repay them.

Robert holds me close, stroking my hair and whispering beautiful words in my ear. Yes, there might be light at the end of this tunnel.

Previous Chapters:

Chapter 1, February 9: 
https://latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/02/09/chapter-1-of-bruised-but-unbroken-by-alissa-brown/

Chapter 2, February 16: 
https://latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/02/16/chapter-2-of-bruised-but-unbroken-by-alissa-brown/

Chapter 3, February 23:
https://latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/02/23/chapter-3-of-bruised-but-unbroken-by-alissa-brown/

Chapter 4, March 2:
https://latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/03/02/chapter-4-of-bruised-but-unbroken-by-alissa-brown/

Chapter 5, March 9:
https://latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/03/09/chapter-5-of-bruised-but-unbroken-by-alissa-brown/