239: Renewed Hope

Someone throws a bucket of ice-cold water at Ethan.

He wakes up with a start and a scream caught in his throat. He instantly begins shivering. He was cold before, now he's freezing. Perhaps this is how Ash Rockford plans to kill him. This is where he dies, locked in someone's fucking basement.

He's never been in this kind of pain in all his life. He doesn't know what hurts more, his fucking hand or his goddamn heart. He's lost both physical and mental parts of himself here, and he doesn't know how much he can take. He knows he deserves all this for being a coward, this is his punishment for being disloyal to his family.

"Time to wake up," Paco says. "Ash wants you upstairs. There's someone here to see you."

He tries to get up, but he stumbles. Paco laughs, like the sick fuck he is. Gritting his teeth, he tries one more time and manages to stay on his feet. It's hard to walk when his whole body is shaking, but he pushes on. He's not going to humiliate himself in front of this bastard.