AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What time?” I ran after Michael as he walked towards the front door. “Michael, where are you going?”
“Like I’d tell you,” Michael said tartly. He grabbed his jacket from the hall closet and slammed the door so loud I heard the echo in my brain. He turned around and glared at me one more time.
“Michael, I’m sorry,” I said. “I really didn’t mean to upset you.”
“Just try thinking about someone other than yourself for once,” Michael snapped. “You think you could do that for me, Beth?”
I didn’t answer. Michael gave me one last withering glance, then slammed the door behind him.
--
I spent the rest of the night meticulously cleaning the kitchen until there was no trace of the burned sausages. I cleaned the living room, too – I didn’t stop until the white paint gleamed on the baseboards and every single book was perfectly in place.
I
’d completely lost my appetite, but I knew that I’d be sick if I didn’t eat anything. Finally, I grabbed a bowl of cereal and ate mindlessly in front of the television. Michael hated when I ate in the living room (and watched reality TV) but I figured since he wasn’t there, he’d never know. Afterwards, I washed my dishes and went upstairs.
The longer Michael was gone, the more panic I felt. Even a long, hot shower didn’t help. Finally, I dug through the closet and pulled out my new nightdress. I figured that maybe I needed a little bit of luck tonight – besides, the wedding was two months away, and I could always go shopping for more stuff. I ripped the tags off, then pulled the nightgown over my head and climbed into bed. The clean cotton against my skin felt relaxing, and soon, despite my anxiety, I was drifting off to sleep.
The next thing I knew, Michael was holding on my shoulder and breathing noisily in my ear.
“Michael?” My voice was thick and clogged with sleep. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”
“Beth,” Michael grunted. He put his hand inside my cotton nightgown, pawing at my breasts. Normally the touch of his fingers on my nipples was enough to send my heart racing with desire, but it felt wrong all of a sudden.
“Michael, I’m not really in the mood,” I said as I shifted under Michael’s body. Instead of taking his hand away, he slipped his fingers to my other breast, pinching and rolling my nipple between his thumb and index finger. Pleasure raced through my body but my heart felt numb and wooden in my chest.
“C’mon, baby,” Michael pleaded. The sour smell of whiskey washed over my face and I groaned, turning away.
“I’m not in the mood,” I said again, more loudly this time. “Why don’t you just go to sleep?”
“Come on,” Michael grunted. He grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer. Climbing on top of my body, Michael forced my legs apart and shoved a muscular thigh against my crotch. Panic exploded in my chest and I cried out as I pushed him away. For a moment, Michael stared at me in drunken lust. Then he narrowed his eyes and glared.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’m just not in the mood. We fought earlier, Michael. I want to make things right before we have sex again.”
“Goddamned bitch,” Michael muttered under his breath. He pulled his hands away from my body and rolled over in bed, making the whole mattress leap into the air. For a moment, we lay together in silence. Then Michael got to his feet and stumbled out of the room, cursing me under his breath the whole time.
My heart was racing and tears filled my eyes as Michael slammed the bedroom door behind him. I knew that I should be a good fiancée – that I should chase after Michael and make him see that I loved him, that I’d do anything for him.
But all I could do was cry. Everything will be okay, I thought to myself. Everything will be fine, it’s all going to work out.
Deep down, I wasn’t so sure.
Chapter Four
Alessio
Silvio and I sat in my car, breathing heavily. The air was thick with the scent of grease – we’d gotten burgers and fries to kill our nervous appetites – but otherwise silent. I reached for my diet cola and took a long sip, letting the carbonated liquid flow over my tongue and down my throat. Normally, soda helped calm my stomach whenever I was upset. But today, I had a sinking feeling that nothing would do the trick.
“Boss, I ain’t so sure about this,” Silvio said. He fingered the intricate silver pistol in his lap. “Why don’t we just kidnap the kid and hold him hostage? What the fuck does this kid know about his Daddy and Daddy’s grudges towards you?”
I glared. “Your patronizing tone isn’t exactly helping here,” I snapped. “You were the one who told me that Douglas wasn’t ever gonna take me seriously until I did something big.”
“I didn’t mean kill his son,” Silvio said heavily. “Alessio, this is bad. This might be so bad you could never come back from it.”
“Well, what the fuck else am I supposed to do?” I groaned. “Every other idea wouldn’t work – it’s either too much or not enough. If I kill his son, Douglas is gonna know that I’m fucking serious about getting my money. He ain’t gonna fuck with me.”
“Michael is Douglas’s only son,” Silvio said slowly. “You wouldn’t try murdering someone who killed your only son?”
