I watch as he gets to me in a few quick strides.
“You’ll fucking pay for her,” he yells. Spittle flies out of his mouth and lands on my cheek. Enzo nods at his henchman.
“What did I do?” Shit, does he know I saved Dallas? How does he know? What gave it away?
His henchman lunges toward me, his right hand coming up and grabbing me around the throat. He throws me back toward the wall, another jab of pain sears through my body.
But I’m transported into a vision.
I’m standing in my living room, at home. Mom and Dad are sitting at the dining table, eating dinner. They look so sad. Mom’s lost so much weight, and Dad’s pushing whatever’s in his bowl around.
There’s no talking, or laughing, or even living.
I know what’s about to happen. Enzo knows my power, and by having his henchman grab me by the throat, he’s showing me what my parents are about to endure.
“RUN!” I yell at the top of my voice.
They both drop their cutlery and stand in haste. The chairs topple over, they stand so quickly. “Did you hear that? It sounded like Lexi,” Dad says with hope in his voice.
“Run! Run out the back door! they’re coming for you!” I scream again.
But they stand still, looking at each other. Why aren’t they running? “It was Lexi, where’s it coming from?” Mom asks.
“Mom, Dad, please run. They’re going to kill you. Go, leave. Trust me, run!”
“Sweetheart, where are you?” Dad asks.
There’s a knock at the front door. They both look, they’re faces break out into ecstatic smiles. “Lexi,” Dad calls as they both run to the door.
“No! Don’t open it,” I plead.
They open the door.
And within a second of them opening the door, they’re both dead.
They fall backward, collapsing on the floor.
“NO!” I cry as I run and throw myself on them. I can’t feel them, I can’t touch them. But I don’t need to, because I love them with all my heart.
The henchmen steps inside. His black gun has a long silencer on the end. Enzo enters behind him. A smug and satisfied flash appears on his face. “You bastard,” I yell as I lie on the floor with my parents. “You killed them.”
His lips drag up into a conceited smirk. “No, you did this, Alexa. You brought this on them.”
Crying, I try to hug my parents.
I wish I could feel them.
Suddenly, I’m back in the room. Struggling to breathe, I gasp for air as I slide down the wall. Smiling, the henchman steps back from me.
There are a few feet between us.
“You’re going to kill them,” I say once I’ve regained my breath.
“Don’t betray me again,” Enzo says in a low, poisonous voice.
My throat closes as my head falls into my hands and I cry. I hear the door slam shut, and I’m left alone.
Alone is exactly what I am.
I may be getting fed, I may even have a bed to sleep on, but I’m so alone.
When Dallas was here, it made it easier to survive. But this isn’t a life I’d want anyone to live. I don’t want it for myself either. I can’t merely exist. I was given this gift for a reason, and I’m sure it’s not to help a vile criminal further himself in the underworld community.
It’s in this moment I really feel like I’ve lost everything. My parents will die in a few hours. My best friend is gone, escaped, for which I’m grateful.
But as long as I live, there’ll always be a target on her back, and I’ll always be someone’s property. I’ll always be a possession. A trophy for the next asshole to obtain because he wants more power.
A living, breathing trophy.
My sobs ease as I consider what my options are, realistically.
In my head, I’m hoping Jude will find me and rescue me. But I have to face the truth. In order for him to do this, he’ll have to go to war with Enzo.
Enzo has no moral compass, and I’m positive he’ll destroy Jude if it comes to a fight. And no one in their right mind would sacrifice everything they’ve built to rescue a girl who means nothing to them. So, I do the only thing I can. I push that ridiculous thought out of my mind.
There really is only one other feasible option.
My heart beats quicker as I think about my future.
I feel sick. I know what I need to do to get out of this situation. It’s the only way I can control my own destiny. Granted, it’s not ideal. But it’s my only choice.
I need to come to terms with my actions, and decide how I’m going to end my life.
It really is the only way for me to be guaranteed of death.
I have to wait for the opportunity, and run. Run so Enzo sees me running, and gives the order to kill. It’s the only way to stop this nightmare.
Crawling up on the bed, I cry myself to sleep. I don’t want to eat or drink. My parents’ lives will be over shortly, and if I’m lucky, my life will end soon too.
I can’t stay here, and be a potential threat to Dallas and her family.
There is no other way out.
In order for Dallas to be free, I must die.
Opening my eyes, there’s a heaviness in the pit of my stomach. Last night my parents were killed by the madman who’s keeping me here.
He came into my room, and proudly announced how surprise took them, and how his henchman shot bullets into their heads. He also told me it was because of me he killed them.
I cried myself to sleep.
I wanted to die.
I still want to die.
Turning over in bed, more tears leak from my eyes. I killed them. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it turns out I did everything wrong.
All I can wish for is that Dallas made it to the sunglass store, and got in contact with Jude. He’ll protect her. I hope.
The door opens, and one of the guards comes into the room. He looks at me lying in bed, crying, and he smiles smugly at me. He throws a brown paper bag and a bottle of water on the bed, then leaves, slamming the door shut behind him.
I have no will to eat, or to even drink.
Curling up into myself, I hug the corner of the blanket. I wish I could’ve seen my parents one more time, held them and told them how much I love them. More tears fall as I wrap my head around what I have to do.
The crying eases as I fall back to sleep. I have no energy to go on. Maybe my heart will stop beating because it’s broken. Maybe I’ll never open my eyes again. Maybe, just maybe, this will be the end for me.
If not, I’m prepared to sacrifice myself to make sure no one else is hurt.
“Get up. Boss wants you.”
My face is showered with something wet. Startling awake, I wipe at my forehead and eyes. “What did you do?” I angrily yell at the guy standing beside the bed.
“Boss said not to touch you.” His mouth draws up in a wicked smile. “Told us he don’t want you seeing what he’s got planned. Considering I’m gonna be there to watch, didn’t want you seeing nothing.”
What an idiot. He can’t even string a sentence together. “Whatever,” I reply and lay back down on my wet pillow.
“Get up,” he says again.
“Go away.”
I try to cover myself, but he rips the blanket off my body. Grabbing me by the hair, he pulls me off the bed. I land with a sickening thud, before he kicks me in the back. The pain is instant and deepens when I try to breathe in.
And the worst part of all this is, I don’t even care what they do to me anymore.
In a flat and lifeless voice, I say to him, “Go away.”
He grabs the neck of my t-shirt, and brings his hand up to give me a backhand. I stare at him with no emotion. There’s nothing they can do to me that will hurt as much as the ache tearing through my broken heart.
Not a God damn thing.
“Boss wants you,” Enzo’s henchman says as he enters the room.
“I already told this stupid bitch, but sh
e ain’t getting up.” He lifts his hand higher.
I don’t even brace for the impact of his hand. I have no reason to live. I don’t care.
“He wants you.” The henchman grabs his hand before he has a chance to bring it down across my cheek.
He releases the grip around the t-shirt and steps back. An evil smile tugs on his lips, though I can see the frustration behind his eyes. He wanted to rough me up; he was hungry to hit me. And he was going to take great pleasure in delivering me to Enzo with a bloody lip and a swollen eye.
“Next time,” he spits toward me as he backs out of the room.
And again, I don’t care.
The henchman stands at the foot of the bed. He’s wearing one of those holster things, and has two guns flopping against his chest. He waits for the other guy to leave before he approaches me and offers his hand to help me up.
I don’t want to see his future.
Standing without his aid, I sit on the edge of the bed. “How long do I have to get ready?”
He drops his hand, and backs a step away from me. “A few minutes. Boss wants to see you now.”
I feel like screaming at him to get out of the room, but I doubt it’ll work. Standing, I head into the bathroom, clean myself up and make my way back out to the bedroom. “I’m ready,” I announce with an emotionless tone.
He juts his chin toward the door. Dragging my feet, I head out of the room and down the hall. When we get to the foyer, I notice there’s an entire cleaning crew here. A few of them swing around to check me out, others are too focused on what they’re doing.
“That way,” the henchman indicates.
I head toward where he’s pointing, and I come to double doors. He knocks on them once, then steps back and waits.
“Come in,” I hear Enzo’s voice from the other side.
The henchman turns the handle and opens one side of the double doors. As I step in behind him, I can’t help but feel the sickness swiftly rise to the back of my throat.
This is Enzo’s bedroom. The enormous, round bed in the middle of the room, the ceiling of mirrors, the gaudy, over-the-top murals on the walls, all scream bad taste. Enzo comes out of his bathroom, drying his hands. He’s wearing briefs, and nothing else.
The sickness in my stomach churns and causes goosebumps to form on my skin. I know why he’s called me here; he’s going to rape me.
“Alexa,” he says as he approaches me.
His body is all old man saggy skin. There’s no elasticity in the skin around his stomach, so it just droops. God, he looks so old.
Turning my head to the side, I attempt not to throw up. “What do you want?” My tone is curt. I have no time for his shit. Just get it over and done with.
“I’m throwing a party tonight.”
Ugh, great. “So?” I still refuse to make eye contact. Not because I’m scared of him, more because I’m revolted by him.
“I need you there.”
“Whatever,” I reply.
“Look at me,” he demands.
Slowly, I turn my head to look at his one eye. Gritting my teeth together, I stop myself from attempting to scratch his other eye out. I want him to die, but I know he’s too well protected for me to get to him.
Thoughts travel in my mind while his eye inspects me. “This won’t do.” He points to my choice of clothes. My t-shirt and sweat pants. “You need to be appropriately dressed for this party.”
The henchman laughs, and I force myself not to turn my head and flip him the bird.
They want to break me. They won’t. They’ll have to kill me before they break me.
“Whatever,” I say again.
Enzo steps forward, and I stand my ground. He has nothing to hold over me anymore. He grabs my hair, and yanks my head down so my body is distorted and bending from the waist. “You’ll do what I want you to, Alexa, because if you don’t, you’ll wish you were dead.”
“Too late,” I laugh bitterly. “Too fucking late.” I glare at him. I let him know wanting to die is high on my agenda.
He moves his face closer to me, his bad breath coating my nostrils, his wild eye warning me. His jaw jumps, and he tightens his grip in my hair. “If you want me to show you pain, I’ll happily accommodate.” He jerks his hand down, ripping a good chunk of my hair out.
I cry out in pain, an involuntary reaction. I don’t want to show him any weakness or emotion, but my head is pulsating with a blistering sting. I grab onto the spot that’s hurting most, trying to cradle it in my hand.
Enzo throws the clump of hair at my feet and steps back. “I’ll fuck you over. Watch yourself.” He points to me before he turns to leave. “Get her out of here.”
His henchman taps me on the shoulder, and flicks his head to the side. I leave Enzo’s bedroom, and make my way back to my room. Before he closes the door, he steps toward me. “Trust me, make this easier on yourself and do whatever he wants.”
“Why? Don’t you want to kill me?” I sarcastically add with a roll of my eyes.
“If he gives me the order, I’ll kill you. Without hesitation. I don’t want to, but mark my words, I will.”
“Great, a heavy with a conscience.” I flop on the bed, still nursing the pain on my scalp.
He chuckles and backs away. “And that’s the biggest mistake you’ll ever make, if you really think I have a conscience. I’ll be back soon with the clothes Enzo wants you to wear.” He slams the door and leaves me alone.
Exactly how I like it.
My pillow is still wet from the water incident, so I turn it over, lay down, and close my eyes.
I have no will to live at all.
I want to be with my parents.
“I love you so much,” I say to my parents. “I’m sorry you died because of me.”
The tears spill again as I remember the last time I saw my parents.
The door opens, and Enzo’s main guy enters. My eyes are stinging from crying so much, but I know I need to go to work.
“Get up, the guests will be arriving soon.”
Throwing back the cover, I stand and walk over to him. He’s holding a bag in his hands, and I know it’s what I’m supposed to wear for this stupid party. The bag is tiny, which means, whatever is inside is tiny.
I extend my hand and take the bag. Looking inside there’s a very see-through bra and panties so small, everyone will be able to see everything. And a pair of gloves, of course.
“No shoes?” I ask sarcastically. Enzo is dressing me like a whore you’d find in a cheap brothel.
“No shoes. But, there’s make-up in the bag the boss wants you to wear.”
In the bottom of the bag are blue eye shadow and red lipstick. That’s it. “Seriously?” I mutter too loudly.
“Seriously,” he responds with mirth in his voice. Yep, he’s probably going to give me to someone as a reward. Or he’ll sell me to someone for the night. There’s no way Enzo will get rid of me, I’m far too valuable to him. “This is what you’re to wear.”
“Fine.” I start stripping right in front of him, showing no modesty at all. This ‘outfit’ leaves nothing to anyone’s imagination. I’ll basically be paraded around the house naked. There’s nothing more they can do to me to make me feel any worse than I already do.
But I’d take being shown off in these degrading clothes over having my parents killed. That choice is long gone now.
He backs up and leans against the wall as I stand, chest exposed, sliding on the stupid, useless bra. “Nice,” he says, greedily ogling my breasts.
I glide the sweatpants over my hips, hooking my thumbs into the underwear I’m wearing and drag them down with the sweatpants.
He clears his throat, gawking at me.
Kicking them off, I grab the disgusting itsy-bitsy panties, and pull them up over my legs and hips. They really hide nothing. And by nothing, I mean nothing.
“You’ve got a hot little body,” he says as he pushes off the wall and stalks toward me.
Pulling myself
together, I stand tall and face him. He has a predatory gleam in his eyes. They sparkle with need; a desire so strong I know me saying ‘no’ will make no difference in the equation. I doubt he’s a man who’d respect a woman if she refused, so I hold no hopes he’d control himself around me. Especially considering the way he’s looking at me while he walks toward me.
He reaches me, lifts his hand to run it through my hair but stops himself short just as he’s about to make contact. I stand, perfectly still, watching him . . . waiting. I shoot him a look of disgust.
“Damn it,” he grumbles and steps back. He lowers his head, and stands as far away from me as he can. “Get ready.” He lifts his chin and stares up at the ceiling while he leans against the wall and crosses his arms in front of his chest. “Get ready now.” The strain in his voice is obvious. The struggle for him is real. For me, there’s no struggle at all, because I know at some point tonight, someone will ruin the last living part of me.
I’ve lost my family, and soon I’ll lose everything else.
Grabbing the ridiculous make-up, I head into the bathroom. I don’t bother looking at myself, because it’ll tear my heart out even more than it already is. I focus on getting the blue eyeshadow on my eyes, and red lipstick on my lips.
Enzo wants me to look like a clown.
I pack the eyeshadow right up to my eyebrows, and smudge the red lipstick with the back of my hand across my face. Flipping my head over, I shake out my hair, roughing it up so it’s wavy and messy at the same time.
Staring at myself in the mirror I can’t help but look forward to death. I’ll welcome it, and embrace it when the time comes. And hopefully, death will make an appearance tonight.
Pulling my shoulders back, I strut my stuff out to the bedroom.
The henchman looks at me, his eyes roaming the length of my body slowly. He takes in every single part of me; his eyes stare down my body, and slowly return up to my face.
I feel nothing at all.
I’m not irritated by his animalistic stare. Not even remotely aroused by the bulge growing in his pants. I’m dead on the inside, and soon I’ll be dead on the outside.
“I like the make-up. You look even sluttier. Just the way I like my girls.”
The Curse: The Butterfly Effect, Book 2. Page 6