Exposed Affections

by Rene Folsom

  Slowly, he fed me and gave me water. Cold SpaghettiOs and crackers. The taste of the cheap red sauce was far from pleasurable. If I weren’t so hungry, I would have put up a fuss.

  He stopped after he fed me just enough to make my stomach calm itself.

  “I’m going to take the cuffs off so you can use the bathroom.”

  I just nodded. He quickly removed the cuffs and I rubbed my sore wrists, attempting to relieve the tingling feeling of the blood rushing back into my fingers.

  “Where’s the bathroom?” I asked as I looked around the small, dilapidated cabin. He just nodded toward a five-gallon plaster bucket over in the corner a few feet from the bed. “Are you serious?”

  “That is your only option.”

  “Is this the only option you’re giving me? Or is there really no bathroom in this hole?”

  He didn’t answer. Instead, he just stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to relieve myself in front of him like a dog during an evening walk.

  Taking a deep breath, I eased my way to the side of the bed and dangled my feet over the edge. Attempting to steady myself after sitting curled up for so long, I took my time standing.

  Using the bathroom only a few feet away from someone was humiliating enough, but going in a bucket was even worse. Luckily, he had some paper towels next to the bucket. They were the hard, brown kind you would find in public bathrooms, but at least it was better than nothing.

  As soon as I made my way back to the bed, Rob held the cuffs in his hand, but this time one of the cuffs was attached to a long chain, which was then attached to the slats at the foot of the bed.

  “No.” I shook my head and backed away as the word escaped my mouth without thinking. He was actually going to chain me to the bed like a dog. I looked at him and then to the only door leading outside. He was standing between the door and my trembling, naked form. Even if I did manage to get past him, there was no way I would make it far before he caught me.

  “Don’t make this difficult, Julia. It will only end badly for you. Come here,” he commanded as he pointed to the edge of the bed.

  I padded over and sat down. Immediately, he cuffed the chain to my ankle.

  “There. Now you can move around. The chain will have enough length for you to reach the water and the bucket,” he said, sounding proud of himself for giving me freedom on a chain.

  Feeling utterly helpless, I silently began to cry. Even if I fought him, I was seeing no way out of this situation.

  Suddenly, Rob picked me up and turned me so I landed facedown on the mattress, my legs still bent over the edge of the bed. He held me down by pushing between the center of my shoulder blades. His force was so strong that I couldn’t even turn my head or position my hands to push myself up.

  “When did you get this piece of trash?” he grumbled, while smacking the spot of my cherished tattoo. My face being pressed into the mattress made answering extremely difficult. Before I could mutter my sarcastic response, he bent over and whispered in my ear, “Leave it to you to fuck up your beautiful body with filth. I’d rather see my mark on you than the markings of a stranger.”

  I heard the zipper of his fly, and my heart dropped. I knew it was coming, but I sincerely hoped I would find some way out before he had a chance to rape me.

  Chapter 24

  “The pain he caused was pure poison—poison that spread through my body like wildfire, eating away at my insides, until my entire essence was consumed with its rot.”

  “Rob, please don’t!” I begged with my voice muffled against the bed as I struggled under his relentless hold. “Stop! I beg of you, please don’t do this!” I felt the head of his dick probe around, and I instinctively clenched in any attempt to close myself from his unwanted invasion.

  “Fight me, Julia. You know that’ll just make it better for me,” he gritted through his teeth as he slapped me hard on the ass.

  I began to sob and tried to think of something I could say to make him stop.

  “I haven’t taken my birth control!” I nearly yelled as he kicked my legs further apart. It wasn’t true, but it was all I could think of to make him stop.

  “I don’t give a fuck. I’ve dealt with it before, and I’ll do it again!” he yelled.

  “I nearly died when you did that!”

  “Quit being so dramatic and shut the fuck up,” he growled as he bent down and hissed in my ear.

  Within seconds, he shoved into me. Agony radiated through me. Not just discomfort from being dry and unprepared for his assault, but pain seared through my soul as all my nightmares came back to life.

  The pain he caused was pure poison—poison that spread through my body like wildfire, eating away at my insides, until my entire essence was consumed with its rot. The pain—the agony that seemed to suddenly devour my soul by this horrible man—the pain was unbearable.

  I sobbed the entire time he abraded my body. His ruthless hold on my back caused me to gasp unsuccessfully for air. His fist pressed so hard between my shoulders, right in the center of my back, I could feel the sting through to my chest. I tried, unsuccessfully, to use my arms and push myself up from the dirty bed. A tunnel of blackness surrounded me, like I would soon pass out due to lack of oxygen.

  “I knew you needed this. Your body always responds to my force, regardless of whether you want to admit it or not,” Rob roared between thrusts.

  I couldn’t breathe. His hold on me became heavier and heavier with each harsh shove. Darkness closed in around my vision, and my body became numb.

  I awoke on the cold, dirty floor, curled into a ball on my side, facing the wall with the bucket. Before lifting my head, I tried to assess where he was. I didn’t want to make it obvious I was conscious if he was still around. Just as I made the decision to lift my head and look around, a searing pain lashed across my hip, causing me to cry out in agony.

  “Get up!” he snarled. Hitting me twice more with what felt like leather, I finally realized he was standing almost behind me.

  “Ahh! Okay!” I screamed, hoping he would stop long enough for me to actually heed his command.

  “How dare you pass out while I’m making love to you. Get up on the bed now!”

  On shaky legs, I tried to stand without looking at him. He hit me twice more, once on the back, and once across my arm. I cried out with an uncontrollable sob with each shock of his belt against my skin.

  A fierce anger surged through me. I quickly sprang to my feet and caught the next lash with my hand. I ignored the stinging sensation that traveled up my arm from the impact of his belt.

  “It’s not love! Making love requires two consenting adults, Rob. You may end up getting your way with me, but make no mistake, it is not making love,” I screamed with tears staining my cheeks.

  “When the hell did you get so defiant, Julia? Do those two bastards actually enjoy your insolent mouth? Or maybe they just relish punishing you, just like you enjoy being punished. Well, you’re going to regret talking back to me, woman. I can guarantee that!” he roared. With that, he pushed me down onto the bed and threw the belt across the room, making it clatter loudly to the floor.

  Within moments, he was on top of me. I pushed at him and began clawing his face, his chest, whatever I could get my hands on.

  “Damn it, Julia!” he screamed as he stealthily grabbed both my wrists and held them down.

  His lips forcefully landed on mine, causing me to turn my head away in disgust. In response to my rejection, I felt his razor sharp teeth sink into the soft tissue just above my jaw. He bit me. He bit me hard, causing me to scream loudly in protest.

  “That should teach you to resist me. Now my mark will be on you for life,” he threatened. Surely it wasn’t bad enough to scar… was it?

  He shoved back into me, never letting go of my wrists in the process. He didn’t try to kiss me again and it didn’t take long for him to finish.

  The feeling of his sperm inside me made me gag—literally. I thought for sure I would end up vo
miting SpaghettiOs all over the bed.

  Rob quickly pulled out and made his way across the room, zipping his pants up in the process. He grabbed his belt and wrapped it tight around his fist.

  “I can’t believe I’ve fought for you all this time. You’re so not worth it. I’ve had much better lays and none were nearly the amount of trouble you are,” he said in a taunting manner.

  I just curled up in a ball and kept my face buried in my hands as I heard him leave out the front door.

  Several minutes of silence later, I brought my head up to find the room empty, except for the light glow coming from the oil lamp near the bed.

  I felt something drip down my jaw and neck, but I knew I wasn’t crying. I didn’t have any more tears to shed. Even if I did, I was too dehydrated to cry. After lightly touching my sore jaw, my fingers came back stained red with fresh blood. He bit me so hard that he drew blood.

  I stood and made my way over to the bucket where the roll of paper towels were. Barely managing to reach the water, I wet the paper towel and blotted my face. Taking several more paper towels, I attempted to remove every drop of him from inside my body.

  I was tired and thirsty. But even more, I was determined to find a way to get out of here. I looked around the bare cabin, trying to find anything I could use to pick at the lock on the cuffs. There was nothing.

  If he would have used rope instead of chain, I could’ve burned it. But, sadly, he was smart. He was smart and I was stuck.

  Thursday

  Friday

  Saturday

  Days passed with no sign of Rob and no sign of help.

  I polished off the crackers two days ago and didn’t even remember the last time I had a drop of water. My mouth felt like it was shoved with cotton and every breath felt like agony—like scraping sandpaper down my throat with each inhale. The temperature had dropped, and I had no way of warming myself other than bundling up in the dirty, thin quilt.

  I tried several times to somehow break the metal spokes on the bed to free the chain that held me, but I was too weak and had no tools to work with.

  My dreams were vivid and cruel. Last night I could’ve sworn I managed to get free from my shackles using the knob you turn on the side of the oil lamp, breaking it free, and using it to jimmy the lock on the cuff. As soon as I was free, I ran. I didn’t care that I was naked. I just kept running, distancing myself from that prison as much as I could. I remembered the path we took when we arrived, so I followed the same path back out, past the weathered, overgrown gate, and finally to the main, paved road. No one would stop for me. No one wanted to stop for a battered, frightened, and naked girl. Someone finally decided to heed my frantic waving and pull over, but just as I opened the passenger door to clamber inside, I saw Rob’s face grinning back at me. My screams woke me up from my nightmare and, again, I realized I was still rotting away in this hell he had created for me.

  On what I assumed to be Saturday morning, I awoke to the sound of dogs barking. Several dogs. I thought maybe I was delirious, or it was another one of my sadistic dreams, but as the minutes passed, the barking became louder.

  My heart leapt in my chest and began a synchronized beat with each bark.

  “Help!” I screamed as loudly as my weak body would allow. “In here! Help me!”

  I looked around the room for anything I could bang against the metal bed to make noise. The water pitcher, which was now bone dry, was made of ceramic and had a ceramic plate just beneath it.

  I quickly grabbed the ceramic plate and began banging it as hard as I could against the metal posts of the bed. After several dozen bangs against the bed, the ceramic finally broke into a bunch of large pieces.

  I could still hear the dogs barking. So, I continued to scream. My voice getting weaker and my mouth getting drier with every bit of air that left my lungs.

  I just sat on my knees on the bed in utter exhaustion, facing the door, hoping someone would come for me.

  The barking started to die down, and my heart sank. I looked at the shards of ceramic in my hands and seriously considered the worst. Would I be able to end my life with a sliver of ceramic? If not, I would just end up suffering here, alone, with no food or water.

  I dropped the ceramic shards to the floor, bent over, and buried my face in my hands. Still on my knees, huddled over and shivering, I felt lost.

  I missed Aiden and Coda so much and wondered if they were even looking for me. Did they care?

  Even if they didn’t care, I wanted them to know how much I cared. I got up off the bed and grabbed a shard of the broken plate. I pricked my finger and began to write on the dingy, white sheets with my blood.

  Aiden Coda

  love u

  Dropping the broken ceramic piece back to the floor, I stretched out on the bed next to my words. I figured someone would eventually find me, and I needed them to know.

  Another cold night passed and my thirst only increased with every passing moment.

  Chapter 25

  “I felt like my nightmares were now haunting me while I was awake.”

  The sun was bright the next morning and began to warm me as the day continued. I would say the sun was nearing noontime when I heard the barking again. My mind couldn’t seem to focus, and my body definitely didn’t have enough energy to call out for help. Not that it would do any good anyway.

  I just continued to lie in the bed, curled in a fetal position, as I faintly heard my name being called in the distance. The resonating sound resembled my dreams. My nightmares. I squeezed my dry eyes shut and wished the sound would go away. I felt like my nightmares were now haunting me while I was awake.

  I think I finally let go of my earthly life. Two strong arms picked me up and held me. They felt so warm against my cold, feeble skin—like an angel enveloping me and taking me away from this cruel world.

  I still heard my name, this time softer, sweeter. It wasn’t the same yelling from my nightmares, but a sublime caress humming through my heart.

  A gentle brush of warmth touched my cheek, and I opened my eyes to the most beautiful vision I could ever dream of. Four loving, gray eyes stared back at me.

  Suddenly, cool, crisp water flooded my mouth. At first, I choked with the sudden invasion of the unfamiliar liquid. But then, my brain began to work and I laved at it greedily.

  “Not too much, Angel. Just take little sips. We’ll have plenty more for you,” a sweet voice assured me as I clutched onto the muscular arms still wrapped around me.

  “We have to get this off somehow,” I heard another voice say as I sagged back against the warmth holding me like a weightless child.

  “Here. I can pick that. Let me take care of it. You just find something to wrap her in,” a more unfamiliar, deeper voice boomed, causing me to startle and clutch onto my warmth even tighter.

  “Shh, Angel. I’ve got you. I won’t ever let you go,” my warmth said in a soothing voice as someone stroked my knotted hair.

  “Here, Aiden. Lets put this around her until we can get something cleaner.”

  “Aiden!” I croaked, nearly screeching as I reached out.

  “I’m here, Angel. I’m holding you. I’m right here.”

  “Oh, God. I thought…” I couldn’t say anymore. I was delirious and thirsty. “Water,” I muttered.

  “Here you go, love. I have some right here,” I thought I heard Aiden say. But the voice came from the other side of me.

  I turned my head to see Coda and nearly leapt out of Aiden’s arms.

  “Coda.”

  “Yes, I’m here. Just drink. I’m not going anywhere. You’re okay now.”

  The next several minutes went by in a frenzy of people coming in and out. I think a detective was working at getting my leg loose from the cuffs and other detectives were standing around trying to ask me questions. My eyes tried to follow all the sounds, but everything seemed to blur together. I just kept muttering a bunch of ‘I don’t knows’ and cuddling further into Aiden’s hold, desperate for
everyone to go away.

  “Just leave me alone. Please!” I rasped.

  “I think she needs some space, guys. Just give her some time to rehydrate and get clothed,” Aiden said in a rather forceful tone.

  “Finally!” someone yelled, causing me to jump.

  “Don’t worry, love. Detective Gowan just got the cuff off your ankle. Let’s get out of here,” Coda said as he kissed my forehead.

  “Oh, God! Please, take me home,” I begged.

  “We’ll take you home soon, Angel. Right now, you need to go to the hospital,” Aiden said as he held me tight and carried me toward the door.

  I winced and covered my face as we stepped out into the bright sun. Within moments, I heard a vehicle pull up, and Aiden quickly carried me toward the diesel sound.

  As soon as we climbed in, I could tell it was an ambulance.

  “Aiden?” I whispered and reached out as he set me down on the stretcher inside the ambulance. I looked at him warily, my eyes pleading for him to stay by my side.

  “I’m right here. Coda and I will ride with you,” Aiden assured me.

  “We can only have one ride-along, sir,” some prick said behind me.

  “Then I’m not going!” I shouted as I started to sit up. I immediately felt light-headed and teetered into Aiden’s arms.

  “Don’t worry, Julia. We’re both going with you. They’ll just have to deal with the both of us. Don’t you worry. Just lay down,” Coda said as Aiden eased me back against the stretcher.

  “I’m sorry, but it is against regulations…”

  “Look, we’re both going, and that is final. She won’t allow it any other way, and I think she’s been through enough. Now, do I really need to get your supervisor on the phone because you’re arguing with us instead of treating your patient?” Coda said sternly.

  “No, sir. It’ll be a tight fit, but just try to stay toward the doors and get out quickly as soon as we get there,” the EMT said.