I drag my feet across the living room. The house is deadly silent. Good. Having a fight near midnight had its advantages. Number one, fewer people saw me crying. Tears and snot in public transportation do not in any way paint a pretty picture. Number two, I’m sure my mom is used to it but I didn’t want her to see my puffy eyes and ask me further questions. Number three, if Augustus saw me, he would probably beat the crap out of me for leaving in the first place. No, he’s not worried. He just doesn’t like knowing that I have freedom. And I’m really not in the mood for another confrontation today. I don’t have much energy for anything else. I crash into my bed and like a lovesick teenager, stare into my ceiling. The molds and holes are somewhat comforting. I’ve seen them all throughout my life. The dampness of the room and the old house smell remind me of the times I’ve laid here on the same bed and promised myself so many things. Promised that I would get the hell out of here an
Austin - 20 years ago - “Please, please!” I yell through the gag in my mouth. “Aaah!!” Seb cried out. They’re hitting him with some type of wood. He’s choking on something in between screams of agony. Blood in his mouth, I realize. It must be his own blood by the sound of it. They did something to him, he kept on spitting and gurgling. Should I be grateful that my eyes were covered and that I couldn’t see how they were torturing him? But the sounds, oh my god, the sounds. The blood-curdling sounds of my big brother screaming in pain, the crack of his bones, and the worst part is his whimpering. The way that he's forcing himself not to react. But his body is giving up. I know it is. He can’t endure that much, it’s impossible. Seb has always been the tough one. Sebastian Cane is the golden boy of the family. He can do nothing wrong, he can do everything and be the best in it without much effort. He's the best person I know. Maybe it would have been better if I could see so th
It catches him off guard. I know it does even if he hides it. A minor flinch. He quickly drew his hand away. The water from his hand dripped on the kitchen floor. I take a seat on the kitchen island, facing away from him. Giving him the space he needs. I find something to do with my hands. All the vegetables are peeled and sliced. I take a few more potatoes and begin peeling. Nothing wrong with a few more potatoes. He leans bank on the kitchen sink. I can feel his gaze burning my back. He took his time before he finally answered, “Okay.” I don’t move from my spot, I just wait. Like a feral animal, I wait for him to come to me. Is this what it’s like to tame something so wild? A few more seconds pass. Then a click. Charlie barks. She hates the sound of the coffee grinding machine. I’m done with the first potato by the time he has finished with the monstrosity that he calls his beloved espresso machine. The scraping of the wooden chair on my right alerts me to his movements. S
Lunch with the girls is always the highlight of my day. The sight of their friendly and sometimes goofy faces makes my day a little bit okay. The teasing and banter are something I look forward to even if I act like I don’t like it. I consider them my first true friends. They’ve been my lifeline in the past crappy weeks in the company and I couldn’t have been more grateful. I love them, every single one of them. Except for today, I can categorically state that they’re annoying as hell. “What do you mean he’s sitting with us? Again? Wasn’t he here last time?” Rosie asked through a spoonful of what seemed to be mush. “Girl, let him sit wherever he likes,” Charlie insisted. “This isn’t high school.” “Oh, that’s nice, let the man you’re thirsting for sit here even if he’s trying to bag your friend,” Rosie responded. “It is a girls-only table,” Andrea said beside me. “Charlie’s practically more of a woman than me anyway,” she added. “Agree,” Rosie said. “So why are we letting that
Austin The door slamming makes me swivel my chair back. “Austin,” Samantha Cane said in a way of greeting. I murmur a goodbye to the head of the I.T. Department and switch my phone to silent. I don’t want distractions for this. I raise my head, that’s all she’s going to get today. “That’s no way to greet your own mother,” she said. She stands by the large windows. I don’t respond. She’s baiting me. Why else would she visit me here? “It’s a little cramped in here, no proper ventilation,” she said. Inspecting the room further. “Didn’t you hire Elaine? She’s the best interior designer in town.” I remain passive, looking almost bored. But I know her every move is calculated, precise, and deliberate. She makes herself comfortable on the leather sofa by the window. She purposely disregarded the chair in front of my desk. A power move. Of course, wouldn’t want to seem like a subordinate in any way. “Oh, my… those are just atrocious,” she commented on the antiques on top of my table
Am I still dreaming? I stay still. Maybe if I don’t move, he won’t go away. His intense gaze lingers on my skin. His disheveled appearance against the moonlight reflecting from the large windows gives him an ethereal look, I can’t keep my eyes away from him. He flicks his gaze toward my face, not stopping his ministrations. He dips his finger under. I let him. The intensity of this moment leaves me breathless. All of a sudden, he snaps out of it. Like slowly waking up from a dream, he blinks his eyes. Next, he removes his hands from me. It would have been better if it was abrupt, not this slow and gentle detachment. As if he doesn’t want to, but rather has to. He grips my waist, one last time before standing and quickly turning away. “You shouldn’t sleep here, it’s cold,” his grave voice makes me feel like I’m prey. That I’m in danger and he will pounce anytime. One part of me is curious, and the other part is anxious. Studying him as he strode to his room, his unkempt ap
A split second, a moment of euphoria. Then it all came crashing down. My instincts kicked in, the way he enveloped me. I’m caged in, pinned to the door. I can’t breathe. My heart is pounding and it’s not the good kind. I push his chest. He swiftly pulls back. He gazed at me, the hurt and bewilderment were clear in his eyes. “I thought…” he said. I grasp the doorknob to my left to hold onto something. He tried to reach out but it made things worse. Dark room. Enclosed space. I’m pinned. I blink a couple of times. My eyes searched for anything to focus on to distract myself. The windows. His huge chair. That weird bust of a man on top of his desk over there. This door is an exit. Sharp quick breath and exhale longer. I can get out anytime. I can get out if I want to. There’s no need to panic. “I apologize if I misinterpreted things,” he looked contrite, like a boy who did something wrong. “No, it’s fine, you just surprised me,” I croaked out. My voice was still a little br
A beat. He opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. Another moment passed. “What… who?” He hesitated, “Is that, is it okay to ask?” I nod. “It’s okay now, I think,” I whisper. “When?” “I was a lot younger, a neighbor… he was,” I gulped, “he was my only friend,” I looked away from him. The shame building up is trying to force its way out. The lump in my throat does not allow me to continue. “Was he older?” “No, I mean, just a bit. A year older, maybe. We were in the same school,” I said. “Your parents?” “They didn’t believe me when I told them, my mom brushed it off.” He winced at this. The hurt I felt when my own mom didn’t believe me is still fresh in my mind. “And Augustus, of course, he doesn’t care about anyone but himself,” I said. He clenched his fist. “It was just the one time,” I tried to justify. Make light of the situation, perhaps. So that I don’t inconvenience anyone because of my experience. He doesn’t respond. The visible anger on his face makes me
“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