“Can I get that snake?” Lorena asked.
The man behind the stand grabbed a long green snake and handed it over to Lorena, who then handed it down to Alex.
“Awesome, thank you,” Alex happily took the snake. His reaction to the gift threw me off, but then I remembered that he is a little boy. No matter how grown he tries to act.
Lorena turned to me with a bright smile and winked.
“Guess you get your gift a little later,” the man behind the stand said to me.
“Yeah,” Lorena said, looking up at me. She wasn’t that short, but because she had to tilt her head back just a little to look into my eyes, I felt like a giant. “Later.”
My cheeks felt like they were doing fireworks. Lorena’s blue eyes had lust written all over them, and even though I knew that we couldn’t do anything, the thought still made my heart race.
Alex loudly cleared his throat, “Get a room maybe?”
“Maybe…” Lorena said. My eyes widened and she snapped out of her trance. “Next game?”
We both looked down at Alex.
“Umm, as long as you guys don’t do whatever that was again,” Alex twisted his face up, “but, the shooting game maybe?”
“Oh yes,” I cracked my knuckles and nodded, “right up my alley. Time to redeem myself huh?”
Lorena’s nose flared and she was back into competitive mode. It was such a turn on.
The three of us walked over to the shooting game and listened to the rules of the game. We were shooting paint balls at flat metal paintings of robbers that would be knocked down once they were hit. A fun game, and like I said, it was right up my alley.
After the instructions were given I showed Alex how to hold the small gun, and the best way to aim. Lorena said that she would be alright, so we could finally get the game started.
“You ready?” I asked Alex.
Alex nodded his head, “Like this right?” He held up the gun and pointed it towards the minnie robbers.
“Exactly,” I winked at him and then looked over to Lorena on my left. She just grinned and turned back to the game.
“Alright, so who wants to go first? You get seven shots, and only seven robbers. The one to knock the most down wins,” The instructor said.
“I’ll go first,” Lorena said.
“Really? You don’t want to see how I do it first?” I asked.
“Nope,” Lorena shrugged and pointed her gun at the robbers. She held her shoulders up and leaned her head a little to her right, then she pulled the trigger. I was relieved to see that the first shot missed, but then her second and third shot hit two robbers.
I took a deep breath and watched as the corners of her lips tugged upwards. She knew that she had caught me off guard with her good aim and ability to shoot properly.
Lorena’s next shot missed, but then she landed the rest of them.
“How was that?” Lorena turned to me confidently.
I shrugged, “That was okay, but I can do better.”
“I’m sure you can,” Lorena smiled, showing her pearly whites.
The man behind the stand reset the game and then it was my turn.
Without taking any time, I raised my gun and fired away. All seven rounds hit all seven Robbers with little clinks.
“How was that?” I asked Lorena.
“Average,” Lorena shrugged.
Alex cleared his throat, “My turn.”
Me and Lorena turned to him and watched as he fired away. For a first timer Alex did pretty well. He hit four out of seven robbers, and I started making jokes about him being my partner in crime.
I won another stuffed animal, which I gave to Alex, and then we headed on our way out. The sun was starting to go down, and we needed to be inside before dark.
The trip to the fair was the most fun that I had had in weeks, and we all really needed it. There was just so much going on between the three of us that it was getting harder and harder to smile, or even laugh. Alex was a forced fighter, Lorena had her problems with Bruce, and I had to search for these kidnapped children with all of their information, most likely, stored in the computer in Roberto’s office that was always occupied.
Yeah, that trip to the fair was perfect for us, but now it was over, and I wished that it could’ve lasted a little longer. I had no idea that day would be the last time I really felt happiness...
Chapter 29
Alex. He was training for another fight on Roberto’s orders. Roberto had called in and talked to Bruce about getting Alex ready for a fight coming up. Said something about not getting lazy.
I was going to start training Alex again, but Roberto insisted that Bruce be the one to train the boy now. He didn’t want me getting involved in matters related to the dogfights and told me to just continue on looking after his family.
So now, every day Alex came upstairs sweating, bleeding, and tired. He barely would have enough energy to speak and would just go straight to the shower. Every now and then I had to make sure that he was eating, but eventually Bruce made me stop, because I was feeding him the wrong things. Apparently, he had a diet set up for Alex, and he was only allowed to eat what consisted of that diet
Alex hasn’t said anything about Bruce punishing him yet, and I ask after every practice. Even if Bruce was beating him, I don’t think that Alex would tell me. He didn’t want me or Lorena to worry about him. Truth is, I was worried sick about him. I could hear Bruce yelling all the way on the second floor, and every now and then I heard a thud, a loud slap, and even a yelp from Alex. I hated it, and it made me hate Bruce more and more. My mind would be so set on running to Alex’s rescue that I’d push of going to the office, just so that I could hear what was going on in the basement.
Lately, Bruce had become more consistent with speaking to Lorena, or giving her orders. One time he sent her to bed, and seeing her hurriedly leave Alex’s room pissed me off. He treated her as if she was a child, but looked at her with lustful eyes, and smiled when he saw how scared she looked. Every time I kept my mouth shut, but it was getting harder and harder. I wanted to ask Lorena so badly what happened between the two of them, but the sadness in her eyes told me not to.
It was finally after Bruce had really scared her that she told me everything.
It was getting late out, and Alex had just gone to bed. His day of training was hard and he was too tired to speak, so I just tucked him in and he faced away from me, towards the window. I was starting to feel as if he were angry with me because of the way that he would glare and never speak, but I just assumed that he was upset about Bruce and his trainings.
“Good night Alex,” I whispered before leaving his room. I was headed over to mine when I heard a faint whimper come from Lorena’s room. The first person I thought of was Roberto, but he was the type of guy to announce his arrival, plus he wasn’t due back for another few weeks.
I creeped towards Lorena’s bedroom door and heard whispering on the other side. The voice that I heard was soft, almost sweet, but I knew that it wasn’t anyone kind in the room with her. Bruce’s voice only sounded that way, but his actions were always completely different.
I opened the door and stepped in. The bedroom light was off, but the bathroom light was enough for me to see them standing against the wall on the right side of the room. Lorena was up against the wall panting, and Bruce was so close to her that their noses almost touched.
“What-What’s going on?” I asked. My hands started to shake, but I couldn’t flip out the way that I wanted to. I always have to keep from doing what I really want to do now-a-days.
Bruce sighed and stared into Lorena’s fearful eyes a little longer, and then he slowly turned his attention to me. Even in the dark I could see the anger plastered on his face, “Lorena and I were just talking. We have a few matters to take care of that don’t involve you.”
“Well, it’s kind of late. How about you take care of these matters another day?” I asked in a monotone. I wasn’t going to let Bruce finish wha
tever matters he felt that they needed to take care of, no matter what he said.
Bruce sighed and stepped back from Lorena, but not before lifting her chin with his knuckle and smiling down at her. “I do believe it’s late,” he said, rubbing the back of his head, “and I’ve had a little too much to drink.” he gave me a sweet smile and walked passed me and out of the room. “Good night you two.”
I watched as he made his way down the hall and then downstairs, then I slowly shut the door and locked it. Lorena was still standing against the wall while taking deep breaths. When I walked up to her, she let out a relieved breath and rested her head on my shoulder.
I took her hands in mine and felt them shaking so badly that she caused mine to shake with hers.
“What the fuck is going on between the two of you?” I asked.
I could feel Lorena shake her head on my shoulder telling me that she still didn’t want to talk about it, and I wasn’t going to push her. I lifted her up, and went to put her down in the bed, then I pulled the covers over her. When I was about to leave the room Lorena grabbed my wrist. “Stay...please,” her voice shook, and there was no way that I could leave her now.
I walked around to the other side of the bed, Roberto’s side, and slid over the silk sheets, then I pulled the cover up and laid on my left side to face her.
“Thanks,” Lorena forced her lips into a smile that faded fast.
“He was going to hurt you if I didn’t come in,” It wasn’t a question, but a fact. Bruce wanted Lorena, and if he took her I’m sure Roberto wouldn’t have much of a problem with that. Whatever happened between her and Bruce, it seemed like Roberto knew all about it.
Lorena closed her eyes and tears rolled down the side of her face. I hated seeing her this way. I brought my hand to her cheek, then I caressed it with my thumb, “As Long as I’m here, you’re safe.”
“I know,” Lorena whispered. “I wish you were around back then too. I wish I would have come back, I was so stupid,” she bit her lower lip while trying to keep from crying any harder, but it wasn’t working. Lorena sniffled and I pulled her in closer to me with my chin rested on the top of her head. Her warm breath on my neck sent chills down my spine.
“When I met Roberto in France, things were nice. I had just got out of college and was already popular for my art work. We met on a nice day, while I was painting outside. He had come up behind me and told me how beautiful my artwork was, and how he had noticed me for a while. When he asked me out on a date, I wasn’t very fond of the idea, but there was something about him that had me agreeing to go on one with him anyway.” Lorena sniffled, “When we went out-I don’t know- I just really enjoyed my time. He could make me laugh, and I felt things that...I really didn’t think I’d ever feel again. After that we went on a few more dates, and were officially dating. Not long after that he bought me a gallery and asked me to marry him, and I said yes...I thought he was the one.”
I was doing my best to listen without getting angry. Lorena was finally talking about she and Roberto, and I’m sure that there was more to this story, but still...It was hard not to get upset with her. She was supposed to come back home to me.
Lorena pulled away and looked up at me. She had finally stopped crying, but I think that she would start at any sign of disapproval from me.
“Should I stop?” Lorena asked.
“No,” I looked down into her eyes. They weren’t the eyes that I remembered from seven years ago. Sure, they looked the same, but they weren’t filled with that same glow that I fell in love with. These eyes were sad and broken, and I wanted more than anything to bring that light back.
Lorena sighed, “After a while of being married to Roberto, he started to become possessive. He didn’t like when I went to see my grandparents, he wouldn’t let me hang out with my friends, and he constantly would call me when I left the house. Eventually he used to tell me that I couldn’t leave unless he was with me, or if I was only going to the gallery. Said it was for my protection. I started to hate him. He was just another Josh, only less abusive,” Lorena stopped talking for a moment as if she were thinking back to everything he had put her through. “Roberto never really hit me, but he grabbed me a lot until I bruised, or he would push me against something when he got frustrated. The worst he’s gotten was cuffing me to the bed because he was afraid that I would leave him when he wasn’t home, but he stopped that after a while. There was one time... he twisted my arm so badly that he broke it, and he never did that again. It was as if hearing me cry out from being in so much pain snapped him out of hurting me, and he just stopped doing it all together. He was normal again.”
Lorena swallowed, “I should have left, but I was too afraid, I guess. I found out that he was involved with the dogfights when I overheard him on a phone call, and when I asked him about it, he told me. I asked him to let me leave after that...” I could hear in her voice that she was going to cry again, “but he said I could never leave him, and that he’d have me killed if I ever did. He was so serious when he said it that I believed him, and I never left. I didn’t try to run away until we came to the states. He brought one of his children here...a girl. Her name was Jasmine, and she was harmless. He let me get attached to her,” Lorena sniffled and rubbed her eyes, “and he made her fight, and she-she died,” she sobbed, and when I tried to calm her down she pushed my hand away. “I tried to run after that. I couldn’t take being with him anymore. I didn’t know where I was, it was dark out, and Roberto had sent his men out for me. I had barely been gone an hour before Bruce showed up. He just snatched me off the street and when I fought him back...”
Lorena’s body shook as she sobbed and I couldn’t take not holding her anymore, so I pulled her head back into my neck where she continued to cry, “He hit me so hard, Rose. I didn’t think he would ever stop. It was like he enjoyed it, and when he got me back to Roberto...”
I tensed up. I wasn’t prepared for what she was going to say next. I don’t think anyone would have been prepared for what she said next. For a husband to let another man hurt their wife in such a way was just...
Lorena’s voice was calmer now. After a few deep breaths, she spoke into my neck again, “Roberto had promised that whoever found me that night, would get to do with me whatever they pleased...as long as there were no scars. He told me that the only reason I was running away from him was because I wanted to be with another man, so he was going to give me what I wanted.
“Bruce pulled me down into the basement and told me that the more I fought, the more pain I would feel. Roberto stopped Bruce before it actually happened...” Lorena lifted her head to look at me. “He just sat there and watched him try to...” Lorena sighed. Thinking about it clearly made her feel sick. It made me feel sick. “After that I was too afraid to leave, and he sent Bruce to work somewhere else. It was rare for Bruce to be in the house after that. I guess Roberto realized what he had done and didn’t want Bruce anywhere near me.”
I was so angry that I started shaking, and what drove me even more mad was that there was nothing that I could do about what she had just told me.
“Rose?” Lorena wiped her eyes and lifted herself up on her elbow. She frowned at the sight of my tear filled eyes and gently placed her lips over mine. “I know,” She whispered, “You have to save us Rose. No one else can help us now, but you.”
I grunted, still filled with rage, and shook as I tried to keep myself in the bed. It was so hard not to go after Bruce that it actually hurt, and eventually my muscles grew tired from tightening and untightening.
Lorena had never seen me like this before. Shaking, crying, and not moving...I’m betting it made her too uncomfortable to try and calm me down, because she didn’t. She knew that at this point, I was a ticking time bomb, and just about anything could set me off now.
Chapter 30
I woke up the next morning with a splitting headache. It literally felt as if someone was pounding on my right temple, and it hurt to open my eyes. I imagined th
at they were still puffy since I was up half the night silently crying until I passed out. Lorena fell right to sleep on the other side of the bed after she realized that it wasn’t the best idea to be near me. I wanted to hurt someone, and I had two candidates on my list to put a bullet through.
The sunlight shined down on Lorena through the window above the headboard, and for a moment she looked peaceful. She didn’t look like a depressed woman living with her controlling and abusive husband. She looked happy. It could have been because she finally had someone to talk to about what had happened to her, or that she knew that this would all be over soon. Either way, it made me feel slightly better.
Lorena slowly opened her eyes to look at me, and the slight smile she gave made my headache disappear. How could I focus on my headache with such a gorgeous woman lying next to me?
“Good morning,” Lorena whispered.
“Good morning,” I smiled back, but that faded quick when there was an urgent knock on the door.
I jolted up and stared towards the door. If it was Bruce, I might’ve just lunged out of the bed at him, but his knock would sound like pounding. This was a woman on the other side of the door.
“Mrs. Bellerose! Sarah!” It was Marie on the other side. The door cracked open and she slid inside.
Lorena quickly sat up, “What is it?”
Marie was panting. “The boy, Alex,” her voice was shaking, “he was just getting some cereal and Mr. Bruce-“
I jumped out of the bed, “Where is Alex?” My headache slammed back, and my heart started racing. First, it was Lorena, and now it was Alex. I’ve had enough with these men hurting my family.
Marie looked up at me with worry and a mixture of fear written all over her face. She must have thought that coming to get us was a bad idea after seeing my reaction, but there was obviously no one else to run to, and she couldn’t just let Bruce do whatever he wanted to Alex. Just like us, Marie despised Bruce.
Caged 2 (Caged Series) Page 20