Chapter 7 When Safety Shatters

It had been weeks since that day and i thought i had finally found some peace. I went back to my daily routine, leaving my life...trying to forget about the strange unsettling presence of Victor. But then, everything changed.

One evening in that winter,i had just gotten home from work. I was tired, ready to relax but i had no idea what was waiting for me. I didn't even think to check the locks on my windows or the door, something i never used to do because i lived in a decent neighborhood.

As i walked into my living room, something caught my eye. The light from the kitchen was spilling across the floor casting a shadow near my hallway. The silence was unsettling and then i heard it.....a faint sound, something soft but unmistakable,a scraping noise.

My mind started pounding,my mind raced trying to piece together what i was hearing,i froze.i quickly walked towards the kitchen and saw the broken window. It had been smashed,the glass scattered across the floor in jagged shards, glittering like dangerous confetti.

I didn't even have time to process it when i felt it,the cold chill of dread creeping up my spine,and then i saw him. Victor stood in the doorway of the living room,his figure dark against the dim light. The shape of his body somehow exaggerated by the way the shadows clung to him.

He wasn't wearing his usual casual clothes....no.... tonight he was different,he had on a hoodie,a tight look on his face and in his hands,a hammer.

I didn't understand at first.....why a hammer?....why was he here?. But the instant the questions formed in my mind,he stepped forward and all rational thoughts fled.

His eyes locked with mine,there was nothing in them....just.....nothing. No remorse,no guilt.. just cold emptiness of a man who had made up his mind and that's when i realized that the message he had sent to me earlier,the one that had terrified me so much,it wasn't a warning,it was a promise.

" You shouldn't have ignored me Olivia", he said. His voice low, almost calm. The words dropped from his lips like poison..." i warned you....you should have been careful". Before i could even react he raised the hammer,the hit came fast,sharp and so hard that i didn't even feel the pain at first.

My head snapped to the side and my mind reeling as i realized what was happening. This wasn't a nightmare, this wasn't some sick joke,he was really doing this.

I didn't have time to scream... another hit....and another. The world around me spun as i tried to protect myself,but i was too slow,too dazed. The hammer came down again and again,each hit harder than the last.

I could feel my body breaking,i was slipping in and out of consciousness but somehow,i was still aware of his voice,still taunting me in between strikes.."you should have loved me Olivia", "you could have been mine". But i couldn't fight anymore. The pain was too much.

I couldn't move,i couldn't even speak. I wanted to say something, anything to make him stop but all i could manage was a broken sob,a desperate plea that he couldn't hear and then suddenly it was over. Victor stopped,the pain stopped.

The world become still but it didn't last because i could feel it,his hands were on me again. This time,he wasn't just hurting me,he was.... touching me, violating me. My body couldn't react,my brain couldn't comprehend what he was doing. It probably felt like a twisted game to him,like nothing more than another way for him to have control over me.

I don't know how long it lasted.....minutes?... hours?. It felt like an eternity but then eventually,his grip loosened then he stepped back. I heard the faint sound of his footsteps as he walked away,the door opening and closing behind him with a soft click that felt final.

And in that moment i felt empty. Like everything i had been, everything i was,was gone.