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“Just put it on the coffee table. Let’s go to bed. I’m sure you’re tired.”
As she puts the plate onto the table, I can see her hands shake. The porcelain wobbles slightly before it touches the smooth wood.
Getting to my feet, I hold out my hand to her, but she just looks at it like I’m trying to drag her to hell. Maybe I am, or maybe I already have.
It takes a few minutes before she places her hand in mine. I pull her up gently and walk her up the stairs and to the bedroom.
When I tie her up, I leave her hands in front of her body, so she’ll be a little more comfortable tonight.
“Do I have to sleep in the bed with you?” she asks softly, looking everywhere besides my face. “I can sleep on the floor.” Her words bother me more than I can explain. The fury that had simmered down returns full force like a raging bull.
“You will sleep in this bed with me, or you will sleep in the cell naked and with the light turned off. Which one do you prefer, princess?”
“I want to stay up here,” she answers, her voice breaking at the end, and I know she is about to cry.
“Lie down then. Do you want something to help you go to sleep?” I offer, but she shakes her head right away. She awkwardly crawls into bed and curls up onto her side.
I tie her ankles together before I strip down to my boxers and climb into bed.
Turning off the light, I pull the blanket over both of us as I settle into the spot next to her. It takes a few moments for my eyes to adjust, and I can just about make out her blonde hair and delicate shoulder. She is turned away from me, quiet as a mouse, until a tiny sob escapes her.
Fucking Christ. Why does that bother me so much?
Huffing in frustration, I reach for her. Wrapping my arms around her slender body, I pull her into mine. She goes stiff before trying to wiggle out of my hold. I pull her closer until her back is pushed up against my chest. For good measure, I throw my legs over hers, rendering her completely immobile.
When I have her wrapped up like a cocoon, she loosens up slightly, but it isn’t until minutes later that she finally gives in. Instead of trying to get away, I can feel her relax into my hold.
Maybe I’m imagining things, but when she turns her head and moves her shoulder slightly, I almost think she is cuddling into me.
Not long after that, her breathing evens out, and I know she’s going to sleep. Only then do I allow myself to close my eyes and drift off into a dreamless sleep.9FallonThey say things get better with the start of a new day. That yesterday’s sorrows fade with the rise of a new sun, but I think that’s a lie. You can’t forget the bad that happened the day before. Not when it plays on repeat like a record in your mind. Not when the man holding all your fractured pieces together is the cause for such evilness. I knew Markus was bad. I knew he was evil. I even knew he was a killer, but knowing and seeing are two different things.
I’d seen him kill before, but that was different in my mind. He killed someone bad, someone who’d hurt me. Hurt all the girls. An evil even greater than Markus himself… or so I thought. Witnessing the true darkness he harbors ignites a new fear.
No matter what I do, I can’t forget the feral look in his eyes. I can’t forget how little he cared when he raised the gun and pulled the trigger. It was like the man wasn’t even a person at all, but instead a nuisance. A fly that wouldn’t stop buzzing.
But the worst feeling of all is knowing how I acted, that I came. I gave in to his touch, enjoyed the way he took me roughly in front of that man. I knew who Markus was; I just didn’t know I was capable of such things.
All night I stayed cocooned in his warm arms, feeling hopeful and safe, but it was a false sense of hope, safety. I’m not safe with him; he’s proven it again and again.
I’m so ashamed of myself. I shouldn’t have accepted his kindness. I shouldn’t let him soothe me. Nothing good will come from this.
“Are you hungry?” His voice startles me, and if I wasn’t wrapped up like this, I would have probably jerked to a sitting position. The thundering of my own heartbeat fills my ears.
“Yes,” I whisper and wait for him to release me.
We get up, and he undoes my restraints. I’m glad he tied my wrists together in the front last night. Even with him adding ropes around my ankles, it allowed me to sleep much more comfortably.
