*Vic*

I open my eyes and groan when a harsh throbbing pounds through my head and a wave of nausea washes over me. It doesn't dawn on me where I am until I lift my face off the cold, hard floor of an unknown place and see Rose laying across my chest, sobs shaking through her body.

I can't fathom an explanation for my whereabouts or why Rose is crying, but then I see the bruises lining her jaw and throat.

And then everything comes flooding back to me...

I see Rose's apartment block in front of me and I start to run, the fear of her not being there when I get there consuming me.

I see someone coming out of the building and I take the opportunity to run through the doors, knowing that if I had to buzz then there would be no chance of me getting to her in time. I don't know what is going on with her right now but from what she said I know that it can't be good, and as far as I'm concerned, if Rose is in danger then I will do anything within my power to help her.

I push the button for the lift violently, tapping my foot and running my fingers through my hair in frustration when the number lights above the doors slowly go down from floor 15 to the ground floor.

14...

13...

I push the button again multiple times and punch the metal doors in anger when it goes even slower than before, obviously stopping on every floor on its way down.

I run towards the stairs, my patience being pushed to the limit. I take them three at a time and reach Rose's floor in next to no time.

I sprint to the end of the corridor to her apartment and bang on the door, shouting her name.
"Rose! Rose, I'm here, open up!" I bang on the door some more times and contemplate kicking it down when it starts to open slowly. "Rose-" I start and push the door open to see a man I have never seen before standing before me.

"You must be Victor." He smiles at me.

"Who the hell are you?" I say, my voice fierce and my posture tense.

"Why don't you just stop shouting and come in?" He says, his voice much harsher now.

"Oh, I'm coming in alright." I shout and push him out of the way, heading into the apartment. "Rose?"

The man clears his throat behind me and I turn around and scowl at him, his image sickening me. Of course. This is the guy Rose was talking about on the phone. "Charlie is going to love you."

"I don't know who you are talking about, just tell me where Rose is." I say and he points towards a closed door and folds his arms across his chest, an evil glint in his eyes.
I head straight towards where he is pointing and open the door aggressively.

I see Rose lying on the floor, unmoving. I quickly go over to her, kneeling down and trying hard to hold back tears. "Rose, come on. Wake up." I say softly and stroke her cheek with the back on my hand.

I brush her hair away from her neck and gasp when I see purple and black bruises around her throat and littering her jawline. I try not to cry when panic takes over me, the bruises an obvious sign of strangulation.

I lift her hand gently, feeling for her pulse, and only just realise I was holding my breath when I exhale deeply in relief. Her pulse beats subtly against my fingertips, the beats irregular and faint but nevertheless there.

"What have you done?" I whisper when I feel the man's presence behind me. Anger rises through me again when he replies with a silence, but I can sense the grin on his sly face.
"I told her not to test me. And guess what? She tested me." He says smugly, and I have to use everything in my willpower not to turn around and rip him apart.

"Rose, wake up. Please." I whisper and brush her fringe out of her eyes. I see her eyelashes start to flutter and my heart stops beating for a second. "Rose?"

She starts to cough but a tear escapes her eye when the pain obviously takes over from her damaged throat. "Vic?" She chokes through her tears.

"Sh. Yes, I'm here. I'm here." I say and she makes an attempt to lift herself up, but her weak arms give way and she falls back down again. I lift her up myself and when she opens her eyes fully she throws her arms around me and cries quietly into my shoulder.

"What has he done to you?" I say rhetorically and she stops crying and lifts her head to face me.

"I'm so sorry, Vic." She says sincerely and I give her a confused look.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." I say and I can tell she is holding back more tears so she doesn't answer. I turn around and see no sign of the man who answered the door to me. "Okay, we need to get out of here. Come on, I will lift you up."

"Vic..." She starts and looks over my shoulder, a panicked expression on her face.

"What's wrong?" I ask her and she doesn't answer. I start to get up and she starts to shake her head.

"No!" She shouts and I turn around, a vision of the man standing before me only lasting a few seconds before the impact of the baseball bat knocks me out on to the floor...

"Rose?" I say, my voice croaky. I clear my throat as she lifts her head off of me.

"Vic? Oh, thank god!" She sighs and wraps her arms around my shoulders, the action causing a tear to fall from my eye.

"Hey, it's okay." I soothe her and hold her close to me.

"I thought... I thought you were-" She interrupts herself with her crying and I shush her.

"I know. It's alright." I say and she pulls away from the embrace, her stained glass eyes boring into mine. She leans in and kisses me softly on the lips.

"I love you." She says after pulling away and her words pierce through me.

"I love you too." This is the first time she has said that she loves me, and although I have been thinking it for a while now, this is the first time that I have said that I love her. And that hurts me.

Because of our situation, we have told each other that we love each other. And it makes me feel as if something bad is going to happen to the both of us.

"I am so sorry about all of this, Vic. I'm so, so sorry." She says quietly.

"I don't know why you're sorry."

"Because all of this is my fault. In reality, I should have never gotten involved with you." Her words hurt me but I try not to show it. "But it was also one of the best decisions I have ever made."

"I don't understand." I say, silently willing her to carry on explaining.

"I-I don't know where to start. I don't want you to hate me." She says, getting choked up.

"Hey, I could never hate you." I say and stroke her cheek affectionately. "You can tell me anything, just take your time."

"Okay." She nods. "You were going to find out soon anyway."

I look at her and listen intently as she starts to explain what happened to her and why we are both in this situation, and I find myself growing more and more protective towards her. She has gone through an unbelievable amount in her life and all I want to do is make her happy again.

That is, if we ever get out of this place...

Notes

Sorry, i know i said i would update yesterday but i literally had no time whatsoever, but here is an update for you anyway and hopefully it was worth the wait :)