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Oh, she wished someone would come and close this evil place down. Yeah, she might end up on the street again, but right now anything sounded better than being under Geoffrey’s thumb for the rest of her life. She’d had a certain level of contentment here until Mark and his music had awoken her heart again.
She dug her fingernails into the wood paneling behind her. She didn’t want to take Maestro back to her place again, but the alternative, Geoffrey’s wrath, was so much worse an option.
Part of her wanted to call Mark, to beg him to let her hide at his place until...
Until what? She couldn’t hide forever. Geoffrey would find her and punish her. He would hurt Mark.
Or worse.
Her shoulders slumped as the fire faded into a dull ache. There was no escape. Only a few fleeting moments of freedom with Mark, but the harsh reality of her life always came crashing back in.
She wiped away the tears falling down her cheeks and sucked in a deep breath.
It had been easier before she’d met Mark, when her dreams had stayed hidden and unconscious beneath the mud of her present life.
Thirty-Eight
Emily groanedas her phone buzzed near her head. Maestro Novak grunted in his sleep. She opened her eyes and closed them again. The sun streaming through the cracks in the curtains was bright yellow, indicating it was mid-morning... or later.
She reached for her phone and pulled it close to her face.
Mark.
Her heart sped up as she sat up, glancing behind her. Gabriel was still asleep. She stood and hurried out into the living room, closing the door softly behind her. “Hi, Mark,” she said in a soft voice.
“Hi. You sound exhausted.”
“Yeah.” She winced at the pain in her left hand as she picked up a glass to fill with water to drink. Geoffrey had bruised her hand terribly. She sighed, knowing there was no way she’d be able to play for a few days.
It was better that way. She didn’t think she could face Mark after having fucked the man he despised so much. Twice.
“Are you okay?” Mark asked.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” She bit her lip. “What’s up?”
“Oh... it’s lunchtime and I was going to order in. Wanted to know if I should order you something, too... If you were coming over to practice.”
Emily looked at her hand and blinked away tears. “I can’t today.”
“Why not?”
“My fingers are still sore from yesterday,” she said, unable to come up with a better excuse. It wasn’t a complete lie. Geoffrey had hurt her yesterday.
“Then just come over for lunch.”
Her heart squeezed in her chest, wanting to do as he asked, but Gabriel was still here. “I can’t,” she whispered, wishing with all her heart she could.
“Emily, are you okay?” His voice turned serious.
No. “Yeah, I’m fine. Tired.”
“Should I believe you?”
No. “I’m okay.”
Mark didn’t say anything and she couldn’t come up with anything either. The silence lingered and she sighed. “I hope you have a nice trip.”
“Emily, I—”
