R.I.P Elaina

"Elaina," Jace started, sighing. "Don't you dare try to keep me safe," he said, his voice dropping a bit quieter. "If you were to die in here... I don't even know. I've spent the past month mentally preparing myself for the message that you died. I've shed so many tears over you, Elaina, and you don't even realize it. So don't be a hero," he said.

"You don't know what they do, Jace," Elaina said, beginning to shake. She didn't want to say the words out loud, couldn't he imagine? "I'm scarred for life. There's no reason for you to be scarred too, to be afraid of..." She trailed off, not sure if he would get what she meant, but not sure if she wanted him to. Love was a word that had bad connotations for Elaina now. The man wanted her to 'love' him, and his version of love was scary. So Elaina was afraid of love, but she didn't want Jace to be, too.

Jace sighed and laid on the dirty mattress, not saying another word. She was still the stubborn Elaina he knew fron before, even if the circumstances weren't the same. His disregarded what she said, not caring. He wanted her to be safe not matter the price.

"Jace," Elaina called quietly. If he quit talking to her, then she couldn't be sure that he was still there. That maybe she'd just imagined he was here, after all the times of wishing he was. Or wishing that at least she could see him. "So they all know your secret now? About the cancer?"

"Yeah, they all know," Jace said, a hint of pain in his voice. "But after all the other secrets, I don't think any of them really cared. I mean, there were two murders in the bunch," he sighed.

"I'm sorry," Elaina whispered. "If I could have, I wouldn't have let them know. But I had no other way of contacting you. Of letting you know that I was safe."

"It's fine," Jace said, keeping any emotion he had out of his voice. "I think a lot of them are frazzled, though... Not me," he added. He had stayed pretty cool about most of it, except hearing that Zerrick had killed a girl.

Elaina noticed that there wasn't emotion in his voice anymore and frowned, her expression unguarded since he couldn't see anyway. She laid down on her mattress and curled up, covering herself with the blanket. She wondered if he'd found someone else to go on dates with while she was gone. They'd only gone on a few. But if he had cried over her, she guessed not. Not that that was the biggest issue at hand.

Jace laid back, putthing his arm under his head and sighed deeply. He thought he would have had more to say to Elaina, but his mind was drawing a blank. He didn't know what he could say to her.

Maybe the month had driven them apart. Elaina's heart ached at the idea, and she cried softly into her blanket. They were tears of relief at seeing him period, with a trace of unhappiness that maybe he wasn't like she'd left him. She was surprised she still had tears to cry after all these nights of doing just that.

"Hey Elaina... When we get out of here, do you wanna, um, go out with me sometime?" Jace asked, slightly skeptical. She didn't think they they were going to get out... Or at least she sounded like she didn't think they were. He still wanted a relationship with her, though.

Elaina laughed slightly from the...she wasn't sure what the word was, but he was planning for that? He was thinking about that? "You still like me? Like that?"

Jace laughed a bit, too. "Yeah, I still like you. Like that," he said. It couldn't have been that much of a shock. He had expressed interest in the past and Jace wasn't the type of guy to lose interest after only a month.

Elaina smiled, for probably the first time in a month. "Good...that's a yes. If we get out, then I'll go out with you. Definitely."

She was about to get a happy feeling and think that maybe with Jace here, it wouldn't be so bad, but then the man walked in and happiness turned to the cold numbness she got. She hoped that Jace would cover his ears, or try to drown out the noises when the man raped her.

"Hello there girly," The man said roughly, grabbing her and pinning her to the mattress with his hands. "Ready for tonight's treat?"

Elaina grimaced. Treat?

Jace grit his teeth and closed his eyes. He was relieved that she said yes, but now his stomach was coiled to make an attack. He slammed his elbow against the wall to her room, hoping that he'd leave her alone. He didn't think clearly about the cosequences, hoping it would work.

The man had begun to force his mouth onto Elaina's when Jace banged on the wall, but then chuckled and pulled away. "I'll be back."

He stomped over to Jace's room and grabbed him by his collar. "You have a problem, boy?"

Jace effectively placed a knee to his groin and growled as he fell to the ground. He kicked him in the stomach a few times and made a break for the door. His hands were shaking with anger. He just needed to get out of here. The man had been stupid enough to leave the door slightly cracked.

The man yelped, falling to the ground and holding the parts of his body Jace had kicked. He began to stumble to his feet -- Jace better hurry up.

Elaina sat up, hearing commotion, and automatically fearing for Jace.

Jace managed to slip outjust as the man was reaching for him. He slammed the mans fingers in the door as hard as he could and then shut it when he heard a pained noise. There was a faint click and he automatically assumed that the doors had automatic locks. He saw padlocks on the door and he fumbled to snap it shut. He leaned against the door, breathing hard. Then, brushing off his face, he walked to Elaina's door, knocking slightly. The lock was off that door, too, but it was rude to barge in on a woman.

Elaina jumped up, knowing it could only be him -- the other man would never have knocked, he was too rude. She wrenched the door open and a smile cracked onto her face, being able to see him for the first time in a month. See him, not just a memory. She threw her arms around him in a hug to make sure it was real, even though she knew they had to get going.

Jace held her in his arms for an extra minute and then let her go. "Do you have any idea how to get out of here?" He asked, cocking his head. He took her hand and started to walked down the hall, looking for any exits.

"Yes, I watched every turn when he brought me here," Elaina said with a slight nod, glancing over her shoulder to make sure the man wasn't following, and speeding up their pace a little. She turned them right then left, then right again, then straight to the door. She wondered if he would have been stupid enough to leave it unlocked, and checked the handle. "Oh no." It was locked.

Is it like an actual house or like a completely contained building?

House, but it's big and rundown, on the outskirts.

Okay :3

Jace looked at the door a few times and the across the wall. There was one window and it looked like it was made of brittle, yellowing glass. He ground his teeth together and smashed it out with his elbow, feeling the glass bit deep into his skin. "Go," he said, through gritted teeth.