- Half an hour earlier - I threw my head back and it collided with his face this time. He reeled back. I jumped back and slammed my chains to his bleeding eye again and again. He groaned in pain as he tried to catch my hands with his eyes shut. He charged forward and used his massive chest to slam me on the table. The back of my head bounced painfully on the wooden surface, causing me to lose consciousness for a few crucial moments. I regained my bearings as I felt his massive hand strangling me and the other securing my hands. With all my might, I slid up the table and pushed my thigh up, kneeing his dick. He crumpled like a piece of paper on the floor. I scrambled down from the table and fell on the floor. He tried to grasp my legs, but I kicked back and crawled. I didn’t look back as I dizzily made my way to the door on my hands and knees. I should have because the next second, my head was lifted as throbbing pain seared at the back of it. He pulled me by the hair as he pus
Austin The distinct smell of iron permeates my nostrils. I scrunch my eyes closed, willing away the fresh memory of seeing my love in agony. Red. There’s so much of it. On my hands, my shirt. My nails are caked in it. Dried blood. Oh god - - her blood. Splattered on the fabric over my knees where I’ve tightly clutched the skin. Anything to help keep me tethered. Anything to keep me from knocking down nurses and interns from getting to her. There’s so much blood. I grit my teeth as I fight the thought that for every ounce splashed on me, less is circulating in her body. I fist my hands, I’d give anything to put it all back. I’d give anything to rewind everything. What could a few more minutes have done to save her? A few seconds? Could I have stopped him from putting that bullet inside my love? I blink back the extreme urge to find him and make him suffer. Bullets wouldn’t do. It won’t be enough. Nothing would be enough. How could he harm her? How could he do this to her? I
He pressed his lips onto mine. And like coming home, I responded. Like coming home, I smiled. My world stopped now that I realized I was finally here with him. I’m safe, I’m really safe. Or that’s what I told myself. But the smile quickly turned into a sob. A quaking, uncontrollable, and horrifyingly unattractive burst of tears. Oh my god, I’m out of that hellhole. The room went silent as I heaved. He slowly ran his fingers through my tangled hair, gently and oh so delicately. I closed my eyes and winced as the pain slowly took hold of my body. Oh, right… everything truly hurts. The slightest movement is so goddamn excruciating.“It’s okay, love. Just let the pain relievers work their way. Just hold on, okay?” Austin whispered into my ear. Reassuring me as I felt drowsy. Did the doctors inject something in me already? I feel so dizzy, the world spinning around me. Oh no, please. It’s… so… familiar. I can feel his heavy breathing on the side of my face. That sick feeling of an
“You’ll never get out of here. Give it up,” the voice taunted. “Don’t even try it. It’s useless. You’re wasting your time.” “N… no, no…” “Now, come here.” The voice sounded nearer. I can feel his hot breath on the shell of my ear. “Don’t move. We’re going to play,” he said giddily. “No!” I yelled out. “Liv, please…” Another voice reached my senses. But it’s so far away. “Get off me!” I lashed, straining my arms against my restraints. “Whoa!” I woke with a start. Austin’s shocked face greeted me. “What happened?” I said as he tried his best to school his expression. “Nothing, I startled you. I’m sorry,” he said calmly. “I shouldn’t have woken you up like that.” “Okay, I’m going to ask once again and I want an honest answer. No sugarcoating, what happened just now?” “You were having a nightmare. I tried to shake you a bit. Well, uhm… it didn’t go that well.” He stroked my arm while saying this. “You were crying, love. And you almost pushed me off. If not for those
Austin “She told you everything she remembers. If that’s all…” I tightened my hold on her hand and she squeezed back. “...you can go now,” I told the police officers. “But we…” the male officer interjected. “Thank you, Ms. Blake. Mr. Cane.” The stern-looking woman beside him threw him a look and he immediately backed away. “He’s in custody,” she added. “He’ll be undergoing psychological evaluation soon.” Olivia winced once again. At the slightest mention of him, a pinprick of something ugly blossomed in my gut at her visceral reaction. I just want her to be free of everything he has done to her but I cannot deny the fact that’s a tall order. Especially when she can’t even talk about what happened. All the police have against him is from my account and the indisputable evidence against his crimes. They have yet to get the full story from her. I don’t even know what really happened. It fills me with dread not knowing. But god, does it terrify me to ask, to prod and poke at
Austin“Nothing’s going to happen to me here. Go, settle things with her. I’ll wait for you. Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Olivia’s voice swims in my head as I head towards the woman whom I used to call mother. She uttered those encouraging words but her eyes told me a completely different story. The hint of panic was there. I saw it when she craned her neck as I slipped out of her room. Every fiber of my being didn’t want to leave her, even for just an hour. The instinctive need to protect her rages in me. What if something happens to her and I’m not there to take care of her? What if he manages to escape and goes after her again? I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her again. As is, I’m not even sure if I have yet to remove the guilt from letting her slip away. He was able to snatch her because I was stupid and useless. I’ll never forget that. And I won’t let it happen again.“Let’s keep this short and simple. What do you want?” My clipped tone brokers no chit-chat. T
“Can I even be sure she’s not pulling something? She might be lying. We all know she’s capable of anything. She might just use it as leverage.” He rapped his knuckles against the fold-out table beside my bed. This Austin, with his blue sweater, black jeans, and sneakers, is one I look forward to on Sundays. His dark hair has grown out. It’s covering his eyes. He swipes it up and away from his eyes frustratedly. I pressed my lips together and squinted at him. He’s adorable, I know it’s a tough topic we’re discussing but in my state, I’ll take whatever I can. I gaze at him while he gestures his worries. I shake my head, it must be my fever. I’m clearly delirious. Yeah, I’ll blame it on the meds. He noticed my grin and stopped mid-sentence. “Don’t mind me, I’m just processing my thoughts. I know you’re loppy.” “No, tell me what’s on your mind. I wanna know everything that’s going on inside your head. C’mon, Mr. Cane.” “Oh no, you don’t. Do not use that on me.” “What? What is it, M
Nothing is easy. If everything were, it would lose its meaning. At least that was what my physical therapist said. The second one, the first one had a little bit of attitude problem. Okay, scratch that. That was me, I was the problem. I couldn’t get my body to function how I’d like it to and poured my frustrations on anyone nearby. Austin had the wisdom to cut ties with that therapist so it wouldn’t get ugly. I don’t get mad, I just sulk. The passive-aggressive treatment lost its touch by my 5th session and instead, Austin got the brunt of it after. I really should get a handle on my emotions. I know that… It’s just that I can’t get myself to talk about it. I just can’t. Every time I try to, it’s like a dark cloud envelops everything and I choke up. The memories quickly turn into reality in my head. The fear of it happening again takes over. In my mind, talking about it means reliving everything, and who would want that? Who would desire to go back to the most painful event in thei
“Get up,” he said. “Now. Hands on the table.” I scrambled up and stood at attention. Slowly, ever so slowly, he put his knee in between my legs from behind. “Legs apart, Olivia.”I was vibrating with anticipation at this point. Everything felt charged. I held my breath as I felt him touch his front slightly on my back. I felt his breath on me, touching my skin as he inspected me. “Where did he touch you?” his soft voice was menacing. “I… Austin…” I stammered while he stood beside me. I felt his choppy breath skirting my shoulder. The goosebumps on my skin were ever prevalent. I couldn’t move, I was stuck as a statue. I couldn’t even if I wanted to. He left me paralyzed just by his presence. “I asked you a question, Olivia.” “I don’t…” “You don’t remember?” “I would rather not,” I exhaled. “How did it feel?” “What? I, I don’t know…” “You’re trying to forget, I understand. But you need to open up for me. “ He said this as he wedged his knee between mine. “Ugh…” “Did he tou
“You’re right. You did a very bad thing, Olivia. And for so long, you tested my patience.” I shivered at the tone of his voice. It sent chills through me. “You made me watch you at your lowest point. You made me endure everything. All because, what? I love you? I watched you, did you know that?” He stood menacingly. My eyes were focused on him undoing his belt, painstakingly slow. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. At this point, these little words have lost their meaning. He stopped beside me. I stared at the bulge in front of me. He gripped my hair. The caring touches at the hospital are long gone now. In its place, he started squeezing my hair. “You had me so worried. I was losing my mind, did you know that?” he gritted out. “I didn’t know what to do, I was so helpless. I couldn’t even get to you. It’s like you were so far away, in your own head.” “I was… I’m…”“Don’t you fucking say you’re sorry. We’re way past that now.” “But,” I struggled to stay in our conversation but I was dis
“I messed up,” I told Austin. We were in our dining table when I got home from the hospital. Somehow, the guilt and the shame pushed me to bare it all out. “Something needs to change. I NEED to change. I royally fucked up and this whole thing is my mess,” I added. He sat there and I knew he was starting to defend my actions again. “You were drugged. He manipulated you…”I stopped him. “That’s true. But what about all the other decisions I made? I decided to continue with the booze. I chose to take what he was giving me, Austin. Even if I was endangering my job, even if I was getting out of control. I chose those things. You can’t… I can’t pin this all on anybody else but me. I have a part in all this mess. A big part, actually.” He lowered his head. Maybe he’s realizing I have a point. “I trust too easily. Call it naivety or just plain stupidity, but I always choose to see the good in people. Even to my detriment.”He looked up at me. “But that’s what I like about you. You chose t
“I’m so sorry, Austin. Please!” The words fell from my mouth even as I was beginning to wake up. The crushing guilt enveloped me right when I saw his face hovering beside me. “It’s alright, you’re okay…” He kept on saying. “No, no, I-” “Whatever it is, that’s fine. We’re going to be okay.”“No, you don’t understand. He did things… I was…” I tried to explain. I tried to rationalize and did my best to come out with it but he just wouldn’t let me. “I said it’s alright, Olivia. My god, the doctors just gave me a rundown of the drugs circulating in your system. They had to pump it out of you just a few hours ago, Liv. It was that toxic.” “I know, I wasn’t myself. I was so messed up. But it was still me, somehow. I had a decision, I made them, a lot of them. Things I regret.” “What are you... What are you saying? What happened?” His brows bunched and I immediately thought how adorable it was until I was reminded of what actually went down in that room. “He took advantage of me. And
“I fucking hate you. I hate what you’re doing to me. You’re doing this to me when you know what I’ve been through. You’re no better than all the worst men I know.”He laughed when I said this. He grinned like I was a silly little child complaining. Like I was a mere plaything. Like I don’t have any right to disturb him. It made my blood boil and my insides squirm. “You tricked me. You made me believe in all your bullshit. Just so you could, what? Do this to me?” “Isn’t it worth it? I do say so myself.” He smiled like he already won this game we were playing. Checkmate, his face said it all. “I beg to disagree,” my voice was barely a whisper. But my rage was slowly cooking. It’s seeping through my drug-infused senses. It’s waking me up.I scrunched my eyes. “You’re going to pay for this.” “Yeah, sure. You’re saying that as if you’re not dying to fuck me right now. Need I remind you how wet you are? You’re about to put me inside you, sweetheart. Don’t worry, I can prolong this. J
I couldn't focus on anything. My body is on fire. It’s itching to move on its own, seeking pleasure, wanting the release.He was driving me crazy and I felt like nothing was in my control. Somehow, this was everything that I wanted at this moment, and yet… and yet… “What do you want, Olivia?” he whispered. The voice is enticing, making me lose all sense of control.I want to be ravaged. I want to be owned. It’s driving me insane. This animalistic need that’s welling up in me. And yet… “No…” I tried to tell him. “This is…” I tried again. “What?” He pressed his lips on the side of my throat. So light that I barely felt it. Somehow that’s worse. He lifted his other hand, the one that’s not tormeting me and glided it from my face, to my neck to my arms. Right down to my lower back. He pressed on it. Making me slide onto him forward and to his waiting hand. His fingers pressed on my intimate parts. He barely moved it. I was burning from the inside. An internal battle raging in me.
"You want me to fucking relax? Are you… goddamn crazy?" I said, bewildered and very much annoyed. "Just enjoy it. I'm sure you'll love it." He looked at his watch. "20 minutes, and you'll feel it."And just like that, everything started to feel good. Just like he said. The antsy feeling in my gut was starting to dissipated. "Am I… am I floating?" I giggled. I stared at my hand and smiled. "There you are," he smiled back. It gave me this strange sense of peace, like nothing I've ever felt before. The weight on my chest is getting lifted. "I feel floaty, Matthew." "I know. Isn't it great? I mixed those for you. Especially for you, sweetheart." He began touching my hand. My initial thought was to remove it but then… "Do you like it? Do you feel better?" And I did. I was light, I was happy. Finally. My god. I smiled, I really smiled. "You're so fucking beautiful, have I told you that?" He sat down beside me. "Nope. You haven't but I'm starting to feel it. I kinda feel pretty.
‘Sweetheart’, the term made my skin crawl. I never knew such a word could make me want to vomit that much. Or was it just the pills he shoved down my throat? I have no idea at this point. Does it matter? I’m in deep shit. There’s no other description of the situation. I watched him as he tried to hide his triumphant smug grin. “Please…” I pleaded. “Please, what? Let you go?” he shrugged. “Can’t do that.” “Matthew…” “Hmm… I really… really like that,” he confessed. “I just love hearing it from you. Makes me so excited, you know?” I closed my eyes. Everything was spinning. I scrunched them, maybe if I will this whole thing to go away… “Look at me,” he said menacingly. “Just… don’t go away. You like to not be here, I’m fed up with that. Stay here with me, okay?” “Where do I go?” I prodded. Anything to keep him talking. He might not do anything bad if we just talk. Fat chance of that happening but I can try, can’t I? I have no other choice. “Your past. You always go back,” he sa
I went numb. All movements halted as I processed the information he gave me. “I... I should be scared? But… what have I done?” I couldn’t believe the things he was saying. Why is he mad? I should go. I tried to get up once again. He put more weight on my twisted arm, he’s crushing me down the cushion. I felt the panic rising more and more. I wanted to scream and run hysterically but I tried to stamp it down. That won’t help me now. He’s far stronger and angrier, I don’t stand a chance if it will come to blows. One-on-one combat has never gone well for women against men. “Can you release me? You’re hurting me, Matthew.” “No. You’re just going to leave,” he said but somehow his hold eased up. “I’m not, can we just talk about this first? There’s no need to get physical.” I tried to reason with the man, the primal need to escape from danger not letting up one bit. “If you let me go, I’ll stay. I promise.” “You’re too smart for your own good but I guess we could talk.” He releas