Exposed Affections

by Rene Folsom

  Looking up, my eyes met a rigid, malicious stare that nearly brought me to my knees with dread.

  Chapter 22

  “How did I ever get mixed up with an asshole like you?”

  Rob grabbed me by my still-bruised arm and began dragging me over to an older, black SUV.

  All my feelings were completely barren. It was as if I knew the inevitable would happen. He would find me. He would take me. And there was absolutely nothing I could do to avoid his internment.

  Then something snapped within me. This man was not going to dictate my life. He had already taken so much from me. No. I wouldn’t let him take what was left of my fragile being.

  With newfound audacity, I tried to remember a few things from my self-defense classes. With all the strength I could muster, I brought my head back hard against his face, effectively hitting his mouth and chin with an audible blow. Needing to run, I jerked away from him and screamed loud enough so that hopefully someone would hear. Begging for anyone to hear. Needing to bring awareness to anyone around, I screeched his full name.

  “No! Robert Meads, let me go!”

  My vicious fighting caught him off guard for a moment and allowed me a split second to turn and begin running. I knew I wouldn’t get far, but I was hoping the spectacle I was making would at least catch someone’s attention.

  I was right about one thing—I didn’t make it far. He caught me before I could even take three strides. Grabbing me around the ankle and causing me to delve face first into the asphalt, voiding me completely of air, he growled in a low rumble, “Oh, no you don’t!”

  The contents of my purse spilled out across the parking lot, and I was thankful that would at least let someone know something happened to me. I was surprised Rob didn’t notice—or maybe he just didn’t care.

  He dragged me back to him by my feet and quickly wrapped his hold around my entire torso, picking me up swiftly like I weighed no more than a child. I screamed and kicked, unable to use my arms, which were now in a relentless vice grip of muscle.

  “I can’t believe you just fucked up my lip,” he hissed in my ear as he continued to hold me tight.

  “I’m not going with you! Put me down!” I yelled even louder as he quickly carried me, kicking and screaming, the last few feet to the awaiting vehicle.

  Rob began stuffing me into the front seat of the SUV and I struggled hard, grabbing onto the doorjamb and anything else I could to make a scene.

  A blazing shard of fire struck across my cheek, hard, unyielding, and very painful.

  “Get the fuck in the car, Julia!” he snarled.

  His hand splintering my face was all it took for me to back down. He knew striking me would get me to fold into the coward that I was. He didn’t hold back either. I knew the punch was definitely at full force since I could tell my face was already beginning to swell.

  Things around me began to dim, and I knew I wouldn’t stay conscious much longer. With blackness taking over, all I could hear was Rob’s cursing as he pulled out of the school parking lot.

  What I assumed to be only a few minutes later, I woke up to Rob screaming at me.

  “Where the hell is your phone? Throw it out the window!”

  “I don’t have it. I accidentally left it at home,” I said quietly, numbing myself from the situation as I held the increasing swell on the side of my face. Touching my cheek made me wince with agony.

  “That’s number one, Julia. You didn’t come from your apartment. Lie to me again and see what I do to you,” he snarled.

  “I’m not lying about my phone, Rob. I left it at home. I didn’t say whose home,” I rebutted with a snotty tone.

  “Yeah, we’ll just see about that,” he said as he pulled his cell out of his pocket. Putting it on speaker, a ringing sound chimed through and I realized he was calling my number.

  “How do you have my number?” I gasped.

  “Shut up,” he snipped.

  “Hello?” a man’s voice said through the speaker.

  “Aid—” I began to scream before Rob swung his arm and made me flinch.

  He immediately ended the call before I could tell whether it was Aiden or Coda who answered. I only assumed it was Aiden because Coda was no longer there when I left.

  Almost immediately, Rob’s phone rang.

  “Looks like your new boy toy is worried about you,” he said snidely as he ignored the phone call. “He deserves to be scared.”

  Rob quickly ripped the battery out of his phone and threw the pieces into the back seat.

  Looking out the window to avoid eye contact with him, I noticed he ran a red light. He was being stupid and careless—two combinations that would surely get him caught, but may also get me killed in the process. Honestly, I was hoping he would stop just long enough for me to make a run for it. No such luck. With shaky hands, I grabbed my seatbelt and buckled up.

  “Think that is gonna save you?”

  I didn’t respond.

  “No comeback. That’s the classic Julia I know,” he chortled. “What I don’t get about you is why the fuck you would get involved with an asshole who is already married. That is NOT like the Julia I know.”

  “You know nothing about me, Rob. Nothing,” I said as I stared out the window. Truth was, I was completely aghast with how he knew Aiden was married. But, I didn’t want to show him my reactions. I needed to stay emotionless. If he knew he was getting to me, he would compound it until I was sure to break in pieces.

  Rob took the interstate south, which made me curious where we were going.

  Deciding to feed from his human side, I began to talk. “My midterms were today.”

  He stayed silent for a while before finally saying, “I couldn’t stand for you to spend one more minute with that bastard. You don’t need school anyway.”

  “I enjoy school, Rob. I love it,” I said plainly as I finally turned to look at him.

  “Funny. You used to love me. What ever happened to that?”

  Studying his face as he drove, I realized he was being utterly serious. How could he not know the answer to that question?

  My face was beginning to throb. I touched the side of my cheek and noticed a slimy wetness. Blood. Not much, but enough to make me want to look at what damage had been done. Leaning forward and pulling the visor down, I took a look at my face in the mirror.

  “Shit,” I whispered as I assessed the damage to my cheek and eye. The reddened, swollen puffiness under my eye was already starting to turn black and blue. A minor little cut just below the corner of my eye showed a little dried-up blood smeared along my cheek.

  “You deserved it,” Rob said without any feeling.

  “How did I ever get mixed up with an asshole like you?” I asked. Only, it wasn’t a question and I didn’t even state it as one. Instead, I spoke with pure hatred in my tone. I knew it would make him furious, but I didn’t care at that point.

  His grip on the steering wheel tightened until I thought he was going to rip the wheel off completely. He muttered something under his breath, but it was so inaudible, I couldn’t understand what he said.

  We weren’t on the interstate for long before he finally pulled off. Our abrupt decrease in speed jolted me awake. I must have dozed slightly and quickly looked around at the signs to see where we were.

  Rob continued to drive, heading deep into the National Forest. Even if he did have his cell phone on, there would be no way anyone could track it here. After another half hour of driving on the highway through the forest, he finally turned off onto a dirt road.

  “I have a cabin just up this way. It’s private and near a natural spring. You’ll like it.”

  “Exactly what is your plan, Rob? I can’t stay with you. I don’t want to stay with you,” I said as I paid close attention to each turn he made along the maze of dirt roads. Dread began to consume me as I noticed none of the roads were labeled.

  “You don’t have a choice, Julia. You’re mine, and I keep what is mine.”

&nb
sp; His comment didn’t even deserve a response.

  After making yet another turn onto an unmarked dirt road, we approached a chained gate with a Private Property sign dangling by one side. The gate looked overgrown and the sign was weather-beaten and old.

  “You are getting out with me. I don’t trust you, and I really don’t want to chase after you,” he said as he grabbed my wrist and began yanking me over the center console.

  “Shit, Rob! Let me unbuckle myself first.”

  I unbuckled and followed him out his door. He never took his hand off me as he dragged me past the gate. I was confused. I thought we were just going to unlock the gate, but when we walked past it up the overgrown path, I had a grim feeling he wasn’t staying here legally.

  “Is this really your place?” I asked. He was still dragging me by my bruised arm, causing me to hiss an intake of breath as he yanked me toward a dilapidated cabin. “Rob, you’re hurting me. I’ll walk with you, I promise.”

  “I’m not letting you go,” he snarled.

  “Fine. Can we just hold hands then?” I asked, attempting to sound sweet. Although I’m sure I made a face of disgust as the words spilled out of my mouth like vomit after binge drinking.

  “Is that what you want?” he asked with a smirk on his face. “You want to walk hand in hand like we used to? You used to love being seen with me. You used to be proud of being seen with me.”

  “Yes, I did,” I said as I held out my hand. It wasn’t a lie because I used to take pride in having a strong, protective, loving boyfriend. What teenage girl wouldn’t? It wasn’t until his true colors began to show that I realized what a monster he really was.

  Still clutching my bruised arm, he stopped walking and looked at my hand. Slowly, he loosened his hold on my bicep and laced his fingers through mine. His hold felt smarmy and made my skin crawl. But it was better than the death grip he had on my upper arm.

  I was wearing my favorite hoodie. So, I knew he hadn’t seen the bruises left behind by Vic. I hoped and prayed he would never get the chance to see them. But, knowing his vagaries, I was sure my prayers would not be answered. He always had me strip bare when we were behind closed doors together, and I’m sure today would be no different.

  Moments later, we stepped up onto the porch of a small cabin. There was a stone walkway that stepped down to a beautiful, turquoise spring. But the cabin itself was nearly falling to pieces. Rob opened the door without using a key, which confirmed to me he was not legally staying here, but squatting in an abandoned building.

  Inside was a little cleaner than I expected, but still completely worn down. It looked like there was no power because unlit candles and oil lamps riddled the place.

  Chapter 23

  “Turns out you’re not the only unstable dickhole on this planet.”

  “Go over to the bed, Julia. Sit down,” Rob commanded.

  With those words, my heart began to pound. I didn’t want this. I definitely didn’t want him touching me, let alone having sex with me. Yet, I knew it would happen. I could fight him, and I planned to fight him with all my might. But, I would probably just end up black and blue in the end. The only thing that gave me hope was he didn’t tell me to get undressed first.

  “Do you have anything to drink? I’m thirsty,” I asked in an attempt to stall.

  “Go. Now.”

  I let go of his hand, wiped it against my jeans in an attempt to rid my skin of his scum, and gradually walked over to the tattered bed. The headboard had metal slats, similar to my own bed. The sheets looked dingy and tattered. The quilt was pushed mostly to the end of the bed and jumbled in a pile.

  My eyes darted in every direction, trying to find something I could use as a weapon or some way out of this situation. Realizing an escape plan was useless, I decided to comply with his simple request and slowly sank down on the edge of the bed before looking over in his direction.

  Without walking closer to me, he gave his commands from across the small room. “Take off the jacket.”

  “It’s a little chilly in here…”

  “Do it without an argument, Julia,” he said with impatience in his voice.

  I took it off, figuring it could be worse. As the sleeves descended down my arm, Rob made quick with his approach and hovered over me, staring at my biceps.

  “Who the fuck marked you?”

  “Turns out you’re not the only unstable dickhole on this planet,” I mumbled as I kept my eyes on the floor.

  Rob bent down and grabbed my face and jaw with a steeled grip, tilting my head up to look at him.

  With evil in his eyes, he spat in my face as he barked, “Don’t get fucking smart with me, Julia. I don’t know where you got this filthy mouth, but you don’t want to push me.”

  “I don’t care anymore, Rob. I’ve given up on anticipating your moods and reactions. You’ve always done whatever you damn well please with me, no matter what I say or do,” I said calmly, without even a tremble in my voice. I was surprised at how composed I was—considering. Maybe this was what shock was like?

  “You will show me some respect!” he yelled as he pushed my face away with a harsh jolt, causing me to lose my balance slightly and brace my hands against the bed to keep from falling back.

  Suddenly, he grabbed both my wrists and dragged my body toward the center of the bed, quickly cuffing my arms to the bars above my head before I even had a chance to fight back.

  And Sid wondered why this was an issue with me. If she only knew. But then again, I didn’t want to corrupt her mind with my nightmares. I was holding onto one thin speck of hope though… I was still clothed. If he handcuffed me while still clothed, maybe his plans for me weren’t as sinister as I had imagined.

  Once Rob had me secured, he got up and walked toward what looked like it was once a kitchen counter. He had a pitcher and a few glasses sitting on the counter. I watched him carefully as he poured a glass of water. Bringing it over to me, he held it to my mouth and coaxed me to drink.

  It tasted fresh enough, and I suspected he probably got it from the spring I saw on the way to the cabin.

  By the looks of the sun, I guessed it was nearing lunchtime. Someone had to have noticed I was gone by now, right? Everyone knew I wasn’t the type to miss school, let alone midterms. But what were the chances they would find me? Probably slim to none.

  He made his way over to a dirty fireplace across the room. It was already prepared with wood and paper to light up easily. With one simple flick of a match, a glow blazed beyond the grimy hearth.

  Rob walked over to where a few duffle bags were. I guessed those were his things because there were a few shirts sticking out of one of the zippers. After rummaging for a moment, he pulled out a pair of scissors and began making his way back to the bed.

  That wasn’t good. I didn’t know what he was going to do, but I knew it wasn’t going to be good.

  Rob brought the scissors to my shirt, and I knew this was the moment to start begging. “Rob, please! I’ll take everything off willingly. You don’t have to cut anything.”

  “Shut up. I’ll do whatever I want, whenever I want, remember? Those were your words, Julia,” he threatened.

  The scissors sliced through my shirt. Each clip of the blades caused my heart to pound harder. I looked away, closing my eyes, and tried to think of a better place. A single tear dripped down my battered cheek as I felt my shirt fall away from my skin.

  All it took were two more snips for him to shed my bra. I wasn’t surprised when he turned the blade down to my jeans. He could have just taken those off… it wasn’t like my legs were tied to anything. But he was intent on torturing me with every deliberate shear.

  Surprisingly, I didn’t feel embarrassed. Instead, I just felt helpless. Defeated. One moment I felt the need to fight and defend myself, the next moment I felt utterly powerless, as if I knew deep down the end was near and there was nothing I could do about it.

  After ripping my panties off with his bare hands, he spoke with a
sinister tone and said, “Now, even if you want to leave, you will have nothing to wear.” With that bit of info, he bundled my clothes into his hands and walked them over to the fire.

  My clothes quickly burned. I watched the flames lick the fabric with dull, uncaring eyes. They were just clothes and there was nothing I could do about it anyway. No sense in caring.

  Without looking at me or saying anything, Rob left the cabin and walked down toward the water. The stone steps acted almost like an uneven staircase. After only a few steps, I watched the top of his head disappear from my view through the window.

  Once an immeasurable amount of time had passed, my arms began to ache. It took me a while, but I managed to adjust myself so I was sitting up with my side braced against the headboard slats. I curled my legs up toward my chest to try and warm my skin as I propped my head against the wall.

  The fire had died down to glowing embers and was not giving off much heat. Even though it was nearing mid-March, the air was still pretty chilly out in the sticks.

  I had no idea how long I stayed there. I could only tell it was approaching late afternoon because the sun no longer shone through the front windows of the cabin, which seemed to face mostly east from what I could tell.

  I closed my eyes and thought of Aiden and Coda. I wondered if they would notice I was gone—I wondered if anyone would notice.

  I must have dozed off because the sound of footsteps creaking on the dilapidated wood floors woke me and everything was dark. Completely dark—and cold. I blinked a few times in an attempt to make my eyes adjust to the darkness.

  Suddenly, several scrapes and a sizzle sound introduced a dull flame. A match illuminated the room with a muted glow. Rob stood beside the bed, bent over, lighting an oil lamp that sat on a TV tray next to where I lay.

  My mouth felt like cotton and my stomach protested its empty state by making several grumbling noises, filling the room with the sounds of my hunger.

  “I brought you some food,” he said quietly as the bed bowed next to me with his weight.