by Prince, DD
Earl said something to her and she took the cart from me. He followed me to the bathroom. I felt my face get hot. I didn’t make eye contact with him. Thankfully, he at least waited outside the door.
The washroom had two regular stalls and one wheelchair washroom. I saw Rose’s feet in the wheelchair washroom. I pulled the handle and stepped in and she grabbed me and clutched me tight against her.
I tried not to make a sound but wanted to fall apart.
“Let’s go. Quick!” she said.
I put my finger to my lips and pointed out the door, “bodyguard,” I whispered.
She gasped and covered her mouth, then said, “I’ve been so worried. Are you okay?” her voice was barely above a whisper, “You don’t look well.”
I nodded and dashed the tears off my face.
“I don’t know much but I know when something is fishy. A man came to see me to tell me you were in protective custody temporarily, that your father was in trouble but the police were keeping you safe. He gave some cockamamie story with too many holes in it so I called the police. I had written down the license plate and gave it to them.”
My hand came up to cover my mouth. Oh fuck. Oh no. Oh fuck.
“They transferred me to a cop and he took down the information and said he’d call me back. Someone else called and it didn’t feel right. They were giving us the total brush off, like you’d just run off with a boyfriend or something. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t you. I called Susie. She started poking around and then I got another visit, from a man who said you were now engaged to a powerful man and that you had moved on with your life. When I balked because, hey, I know you…he said we’d all be in danger if we continued to try to interfere. He said if we stayed out of it we might get invited to the wedding and get to have a relationship with you. If we didn’t, we might need to find a new house to live in because old houses like ours often had electrical fires. Can you imagine? Cal was close to the house as he left with your things so I had him follow. This morning I decided to wait at that house for them to leave and then follow. Susie thinks you’re in trouble with the mob because of your father. Is it true? She said he’s been associated with the mafia over the years according to her contacts in the police department.”
“Oh Rose, this is too dangerous!” I was trying to keep my voice low. I didn’t have much time, “Listen,” I said, “I can’t talk about this but these are dangerous people. I don’t want you and Cal getting mixed up in this. I’m okay. I’m fine. Please don’t do anything else, please just ---”
“You are not fine!” her voice was getting too loud.
“Shhhh,” I winced, clutching her biceps.
There was a loud knock on the door. I flushed the toilet and signaled for her to Shh.
“Miss O’Connor?” Earl was inside the ladies’ room right outside the stall door. Shit.
I started to open it and tried to squeeze out without revealing that Rose was in there with me. It was no use. He pulled the door open and came face to face with her.
“Is everything okay, Miss O’Connor?” Earl asked, looking at her instead of me.
“It’s fine,” I breathed, “Let’s go.” I looked back, giving Rose a desperate look, “I’m fine. It’s okay. I’ll be in touch, okay?”
She shook her head at me and then turned her attention to Earl, “What do you people think you’re doing? You can’t just---”
“Please!” I exclaimed, “I’ll be in touch. Don’t, okay? Don’t put your family at risk. Trust me. I’ll be fine.” Earl narrowed his eyes at me and then at her. He reached for my elbow and gently ushered me forward.
“You’re part of our family, Tia.” Rose choked out.
“I love you.” I said to her, “Thank you for everything. Everything. I will be in touch, okay?”
Tears welled up in her eyes and she covered her mouth with her hand.
As we stepped out Earl said, “Take my arm, Miss O’Connor.”
I did. He ushered me directly out of the store and to the Jeep he’d driven us there in. He opened the back door and I got in. He got into the driver’s seat, then dialed a number and held the phone. Then he hung up and dialed again and held the phone and looked pissed off. Then he dialed again, “Sir, there’s been an incident. It’s under control but the foster mother followed us to the supermarket and got Tia into the bathroom and I broke up a conversation.” He was quiet for a minute and then stepped out of the jeep and closed the door and stepped about six feet away to finish his conversation. By the look on his face he looked like he was getting raked over the coals. He made another call and talked with a cold look on his face and then seemed like he was getting in an argument with someone.
When he got back into the car he dialed another number, “Mrs. Martinez we’re in the car due to a problem, security breach; you’re almost done there? Wrap it up immediately. No, per Mr. Ferrano. It’s urgent. Or, I take Miss O’Connor home and you either wait until I have relief to come back for you or you take a cab. No I will not ask her that. Fine...” he leaned back and asked me, “What kind of ice cream?”
I let out a half laugh, half cry. He shrugged kind of apologetically. I shook my head.
“She says surprise her,” he said and ended the call.
He pulled out and left Sarah at the supermarket and drove me back to Tommy’s house. That phone started ringing from my pocket. I took it out.
“T” calling. Great. I stared at it. After the third ring, Earl cleared his throat, “I’d answer that, Miss.”
I didn’t. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the screen. It stopped at 5 rings. Then Earl’s phone started ringing and he said a mix of yes Sirs and no Sirs all the way back. When we pulled inside the gate, which Earl appeared to have engaged somehow from within the vehicle. He stopped in front of the gate and sat there for what seemed like the longest time. He dialed the phone and said, “What’s your ETA? Shit. Can’t do it. Won’t work. No, that’s not the plan. Can’t. We will have to reschedule.” he growled into the phone and then hung it up and finally drove in through the area between the gates.
“You can go ahead, Miss. O’Connor. I’m instructed to come with you, keep you company until Mr. Ferrano returns.”
I nodded and opened the car door and followed him into the house.
I sat at a stool at the kitchen island and folded my hands in front of me. I was dizzy. Please don’t hurt them, please don’t hurt them. It was a chant inside my head and I said it over and over and over.
“Do you want something to drink? Some tea?” Earl asked me. He seemed really uncomfortable.
I nodded. He put his suit jacket on the back of the chair, loosened his tie, and then rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and filled the kettle.
“I didn’t have anything to do with that.” I whispered, “They’re good people. Please tell me they won’t be hurt.”
“Tommy will find a way to get them to back off. Don’t fret.” he said softly, then put the kettle on its base and turned it on. He stepped into the dining room when his phone vibrated. I couldn’t hear his conversation. A moment later, he returned and then filled a tea pot and put it on the table with two cups, the sugar, and the milk.
A few minutes later we were drinking tea and saying nothing but it was a kind of comfortable silence. Finally, he fetched a newspaper from another room and handed me the entertainment section and opened the sports section.
After a while, I heard noise and it wasn’t what I’d hoped for, which would’ve been Sarah coming in with the groceries. Instead, it was him. Tommy leaned in the doorway of the kitchen, his face stoic, his eyes narrow and very angry and on me, “That’s all for now,” he said. Earl left the room.
“Upstairs,” Tommy said to me very calmly and then turned on his heel.
I was frozen in place. He looked back over his shoulder at me, “Now.”
I rose slowly and then followed along, taking slow deep breaths and wishing I could just vanish into thin air.
Inside
the master bedroom he sat on the bed and started to untie his black leather shoes. Then he took them off, took his tie off, his blazer off, and took cufflinks out. He looked even more dressed up than usual. Great, this incident got him pulled from an important meeting; that should put him in a fine mood.
He took his silver crucifix necklace off and put it on the nightstand. He took his shirt off and threw it on the bed. Then he folded his arms and stood up. He undid his belt. He was looking at me with intensity; biting down on his bottom lip. My heart rate started picking up and my throat felt dry. He had the halved belt in his hands and he jerked his hands to make it snap loudly. I jolted and then shuddered.
“So,” he said to me, “Care to explain what happened in the store today?”
I blanched. He had to already know what had happened from Earl.
“I saw Rose in the bathroom. She followed us. She was just worried. I told her to back off. She will.” My voice was small, weak, I was quaking.
“Yeah, Rosalie Crenshaw and Susan DeLong are making inquiries. It needs to stop.”
“I-I told her I was fine, to back off.” I was not at all comfortable with the names he was dropping, the fact that he obviously had information on them. I kept my eye on the belt, feeling bile rise in my throat.
“Yeah, you said.”
He was silent, watching me.
“What are you gonna do?” My chin was trembling.
“You want to know what I’m going to do?” His eyes were challenging me.
“I want to know you’re not going to do anything to --- to them. I’ve talked to her; it’ll be fine. She…” I didn’t know how to finish that, to find the words to make him leave them alone.
He sighed, then pinched the bridge over his nose, “I do not need this hassle.”
I stood there, not knowing what he wanted me up here for. It was still the afternoon and he was undressing in front of me so of course I didn’t feel like, based on his track record so far, that this was going to go well.
“Come here,” he told me, dropping the belt on the bed beside him.
I blew out a slow breath. “Listen,” I said and took a step back.
He raised his eyebrows, “Here.”
I stepped up in front of him. He grabbed the back of my knees and pulled me closer.
“I had to come all the way home in the middle of a busy work day to deal with you so you’re going to make it worth my while,” he said and the tone of voice and expression on his face were scary. Beyond scary. He caressed the back of my leg softly. I tried to step back but he grabbed my hips.
“Did you disobey me?” his fingers dug in.
“No.” I whispered, my voice hoarse, gaze fixed on the ceiling.
“You snuck off to talk to her; what did you say?”
“I just kept telling her I’m fine and not to worry.”
One of his hands slid up and down my thigh. Suddenly both of his hands were pushing the pants I was wearing down, taking the underwear with them. I tried to back up.
“You refused to answer my call. Stop,” he said.
I froze.
“Take your shirt off,” he said.
I chewed the inside of my cheek. No way.
“Now,” he added.
I shook my head.
“Are you telling me No?”
I looked up at the ceiling and tried hard to not cry but my chin was trembling.
He yanked the pants the rest of the way down, then stood up, towering over me and hauled the t-shirt I was wearing over my head, leaving me in my bra. Then he undid it, too, and pulled it off. He did all of this methodically and then he stopped and tipped my chin up so I’d have to look at him. He was so intimidating. Bigger, stronger, such an intense look on his face. I was a quaking mess. I covered my chest with my arms.
He dropped his pants. I held back the tears that were threatening. “I’ve done nothing wrong.” I said to the ceiling.
His eyes were on me, glaring at me, making me want to cower, “I told you to come to me and you hesitated. I told you to take off your shirt and you hesitated. I think you need to learn a little bit about following directions.” His eyes burned into me with anger. He was scaring the fuck out of me.
“You don’t hesitate when I tell you to do something. You do it. And when I call, you answer the fucking phone; understand?”
I stepped back, stepping out of the pants that were pooled at my feet. He stepped forward. I stepped back again and again and then my back hit wall. He came up directly against me and grabbed my wrists and held them against the wall above my head.
“Disobey me again; I dare ya.”
He stared for a moment and then let go, grabbed my breasts and raked his fingers over my nipples roughly.
My now free hands pushed at him and for a split second he let me go and then my hands came up to cover myself. He smirked, then leaned forward and hauled me over a shoulder and then dropped me on the bed.
“On all fours, now,” he said. He pointed at the mattress. I shook my head and a whimper came out.
“Oh, another refusal? Did you forget rules one and two today, Tia? Not obeying me and discussing me with someone else?”
“I didn’t discuss you.”
“But you agree that you disobeyed me?”
“Please don’t.” My heart hammered against my chest wall.
He leaned over toward me, “On all fours. Now. If you’re going to be a disobedient bitch, I’ll fuck you like one.” He picked up the belt from beside me. I started to whimper and cower. He smirked. He looked so evil, so like he was loving every minute of this. Part of me was ready to just do what he said to make things easier but something rose in me.
No. No, I wasn’t going to just be a victim here, let him beat me. This sick and twisted man could not just take me over and over like this. I may not have been a strong person but I certainly wasn’t this weak, was I? I backed up against the headboard and then he leaned closer, a sickening glint in his eye.
Right then, right there, I was so done. Totally done dealing with this prick. I leaned over to the nightstand and grabbed for the lamp and bashed it on his head. “Fuck you!” I screamed. He looked dazed for about a second. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough.
Tommy
I can’t believe she fucking whacked me on the head. I was practically seeing stars. I saw three of her in front of me. As I shook it off, she took off toward the patio door. I caught her by the leg and we both crashed down onto the carpet by the doors.
I knew I had gone too far with the way I was handling this but today had been a bad fucking day so far and I’d just seen red imagining her being taken from me and now I was letting her know how fucking pissed I was.
She raked her fingernails down my cheek and it instantly burned. I gave her an incredulous look and then I quickly pinned her to the rug and held her wrists tight, “Athena!” I hollered at her. It obviously scared her as she stilled long enough for me to lay right on top of her. Pinned, I parted her legs with my knee. I needed to be inside of her right now, I needed her to submit. I dipped a finger into her pussy and it let me in a little. She wasn’t soaked but there was something. She bucked, trying to get me off her, her fists flying, then she head butted me right in the eye.
She was so fucking sexy with rage in her green eyes and her little fists flying at me. I was seeing waves of blinding light combined with the flurry of her fists and her long hair whipping around, with flashes of hatred on her face. I growled and then reached for her, “It’s time to submit to your master,” I laughed while I told her this. My vision returned to normal just in time to see her pale under me.
I laughed again and then licked her from the base of her throat up her cheek and up to her temple, “You’re mine, Athena. All mine. You’re either gonna be my dirty little whore or you’re gonna be nothing to me. The way you behave in the next little while will determine which one. It’s time to let me in.” I growled, tasting blood from the cut on my lip, “Open your legs.”
&n
bsp; Tia
Until that point I’d been struggling, not because I thought I could win but because I had to. I couldn’t just do whatever he wanted. Couldn’t. I started to feel like it was stupid to fight. But I couldn’t stop. And it was like it fueled him. Every time I disobeyed or fought back he got this look in his eyes, this fire. And the fire today seemed like it was burning hotter than it had so far because I’d really fought with him with all my might. I’ve scratched his face, I’ve bashed him on the head with a lamp, I’ve bucked and kicked at him, I’ve pulled his hair, I’ve punched him in the mouth and wherever my fists would land but he was not stopping. I guessed I should count myself lucky he hadn’t hit me back; he’s got way more strength than me. Lucky? Hah! I felt pride, though, in that I’d fought back, in that I’d ignored the urge to just turtle and let him have his way.
But now, after those words and because finally, he got his cock against me and started to prod and damn it but he got no resistance from my body, I gave up. The bravery in me just shriveled up and wilted.
“So perfect,” he moaned, and then he had my arms pinned above my head again. I feebly tried to buck him off one last time but it just helped him drive deeper into me and then I gave up, I was spent, all the fight in me depleted. He had me pinned, I couldn’t move. So I didn’t have to fight any more.
I started whimpering in my defeat and at my screwed up thoughts then I whimpered harder because the sensations he was creating started to feel good. Was I whimpering out of desire or defeat? It didn’t matter because I had no choice.
“Good girl; you know when it’s time to submit,” he started to passionately kiss my throat, and then he got his mouth right by my ear and whispered, “No one is ever gonna be inside of you again but me, you know that?” and then he rolled his hips and kept pumping into me, “No one.”
I couldn’t move under him. I was completely pinned and he held my wrists tight, too tight. He was hitting my clit and up inside that front wall of me where it felt so good. The fight had left me because I was powerless to do anything but go limp and succumb to it, so I guess I did. At feeling me go lax he let go and then he took my ass cheeks in his hands and then he pulled out and flipped me and then pulled me up so that I was on all fours. Then he drilled me from behind and it was so deep, so fucking deep, that I thought I’d just tip over and just go limp. He was fucking me like a bitch, just like a dirty little whore like he said he’d do, and I hated that it felt good. Was I just as sick and twisted as he was? He kept going and then he started to rub circles around my clit, then at an “Ah” from me, he leaned in to my ear and said, “I win.”