Renee yawned, and rolled over. She had, surprisingly, slept through the night almost peacefully, which was a relief. She sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Morning,” greeted a voice. She turned to see Will crawling out of his corner. To her surprise, she found that she could see him. She looked up at the tiny window, and saw a strip of bright light streaming through it. She turned back to Will and examined him more closely.
He was taller, thinner, and yet more muscular than she remembered.
His light brown hair had grown out to shoulder-length. There was thick stubble emerging on his cheeks, and there was the beginnings of a beard on his chiin. As she noticed this, he groaned, running a hand over his face.
"I haven't shaved in forever. You haven't somehow sneaked a razor in here, have you?" he said, turning to her hopefully. She laughed, and shook her head.
He sighed comically, but then leaned his head back against the wall with his eyes closed. Renee noticed that there were deep bags under his eyes. However, his piercing blue eyes were still the same as Renee remembered, which she was glad about. As they looked at each other, Renee’s stomach growled. Will smiled. “We’ll be fed in about—oh—” He glanced at the shaft of light falling into the tiny room. “Say, a half an hour.” Renee nodded. They watched each other for a few more minutes. Renee was slightly uncomfortable with this, because she had a suspicion that he was checking her out.
She fidgeted with her torn camisole. It had barely covered her before it became torn and ripped, and now hardly covered anything at all. She stole a glance at him, and watched his eyes travel from her chest--in which area she hadn't been denied anything--down to her long, shapely legs. Renee tugged grimly at her tiny shorts that the gang had made her wear. She was very conscious of the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath her nearly see-through camisole, and of the skimpy lace underwear she had been given. As she thought these things, Will grinned at her.
“Gosh, you look a lot different than I remember, Ella.” She yawned, crawling over to sit beside him.
“How?”
He glanced down at her.
“Well, you’re finally taller than five foot four, for one thing. Another—” here he paused to dodge the swipe she aimed at him— “Another thing is that you look—well—it’s hard to explain, I guess.” He sat back and frowned at her.
“You look really sad. You used to be so bouncy and happy, and now you just look depressed.”
Renee shrugged, staring at the floor.
“Is that all?”
Will grinned now, moving over to bump her shoulder. “Nah. You’re way hotter. I mean come on, have you looked in a mirror lately? Your legs have gotta be about a mile long. And geez, girl--I'm not even gonna try to describe any other places, there's way too many.” Renee slapped him. He laughed, catching her hand in his. “But seriously, Renee. You look so pretty.”
Highly against her will, Renee blushed.
“No, I don’t.” He started to protest, but she cut him off. “I know I don’t. I haven’t taken a shower or bathed in about six months, I’m underweight, and I’ve been beaten. I’ve been taunted, molested, and every other thing that perverted guys do to girls. Last night when I was thrown in here I was given at stomachache and a sore and black and blue chest. I really can’t imagine why you think I’m pretty.” Renee stared at the floor, shuddering as memories flashed through her head of horrible things that had been done to her, things she had been made to do, or things that she had witnessed. But then she felt a warm arm go around her shoulder, chasing back the cold memories.
“Renee, honey, I’m so sorry for all that stuff that happened to you, and if I could knock the lights out of the people who did it to you, I would. But I really think that you look beautiful, gorgeous. Here’s why. First of all, the fact that you even survived all of that stuff makes you pretty sweet, in my opinion. Second of all, even if you are underweight, your eyes still look just exactly like the ocean.” He gazed into those ocean-colored, tear-filled eyes. “Third, you’ve always been the hottest and most stunning girl at Willow Grove. Ask any guy there. Fourth, I don’t care how dirty you are, it can’t cover up how pretty you are on the inside, which shines through to the outside. And fifth—” he reached out, and pulled her onto his lap, and then put a hand on her waist through her ragged and ripped shirt. “Your skin is still as soft as it ever was,” he murmured, putting his face into her neck. Renee frowned.
“You’re making it sound like you’re in love with me.”
Will shrugged.
“I’m just saying what’s true. Ask anybody.”
Renee sighed, and then ran her hands through Will’s tangled hair. He smiled up at her. She rolled her eyes, and then put an arm around his shoulders. However, as she did, she felt bumpy scabs under her skin. With a frown, she pulled herself out of his arms, and then pulled back the collar of his own torn shirt, ignoring how he tensed up as she did so. She stared in horror. His entire back was covered in horrible scars, scabs, and trickles of dried blood.
IMAGREY 
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