“Fuck work, Bri. You and I are more important.” I’m about to respond when he says, “Look at the amount of times you’ve worked overtime in that place, and not once have you been paid or even appreciated.” I don’t respond to that as in a way he’s right. It still pisses me off, though. When my shoulders sag in defeat, he says, “This is about last night.”
My eyes widen at his angelic face. Funny how monsters present themselves as angels. “No shit, Sherlock.”
“Bri, don’t be flippant with me. I know I fucked up…”
“Fucked up? Chris, you were so inebriated that some skank was trying to suck you off and you were completely unaware!” Chris’s lips thin, annoyance making his forehead crinkle. He’s about to respond when I cut him off. “How would you feel if you walked in on me, jeans down at my ankles, as some arsehole goes down on me while I’m out cold on the sofa?”
Chris grabs his hair in frustration. “Don’t even fucking say that. I don’t want to picture that shit in my head. You know that if anyone even breathes on you, they’re fucking dead.” I look away, and when I do, Chris sighs, grabbing my arms to make me look back at him. When I give him my full attention, his face softens again. That same angelic look he always gives me when he’s after something. “Do you really believe that if I had known what was going on that I would have let it happen? I’m not the one in the wrong here.”
And just like that, I feel like shit. He’s right. He’s the victim here. If it had been the other way around, it would have been considered sexual assault. Here I am, practically blaming him for what that bitch did.
“I know you never would have let her do those things. That’s not why I’m mad. I’m mad because you got yourself in such a state that you didn’t even know what was happening to you. Why? Why do you fucking do that?”
“You know fucking why, Bri. Just for that one moment, I don’t have to think about all the shit in my head. It never fucking stops. And when you’re not there…”
I step back. “Whoa, don’t start that shit with me, Chris. I’m always there. It’s just part of the day when I’m at work. I’ve told you time and time again that this is one thing you need to let me have. Everything else is yours. Besides, you never let me around you when you’re doing business. Not that I’d want to anyway. I want no part of it.”
Chris bites his lip then closes the distance between us. He cups my face in his hands, searching my eyes with his. He doesn’t do it often, but when he does, it’s like I’m held captive, completely mesmerised. In that moment, it’s only him and me.
“Please forgive me. I’m trying to be a better man for you. I will be. Only a few more months and I’ll raise enough cash for us to leave this fucking hellhole behind and start afresh. It’ll be just you and me then. No one will be able to stand in our way.”
I raise a smile, but it’s forced. I think that Chris truly believes that if we run away from here, that he will leave all his monsters behind. But it doesn’t work like that. He needs help. Help that I’m incapable of giving him. He thinks I’m his medicine, that I can cure him. It’s only me who realises just how wrong he truly is.
“It’s not about you trying for me. It’s about you trying for you.”
Chris smiles, flicking my nose with his own, the smell of marijuana hitting my nostrils. “You should know by now that I only live for you.”
Unfortunately, I believe him. He’s so reliant upon me that he is incapable of living without me. He’s said countless times that if I ever went before him, he would soon follow.
“Kiss me,” he whispers, breathing his hot breath into my own.
I don’t need much coaxing. I never have. Just like that, I’m under his spell again, being pulled under by some unseen force. His lips touch mine, gently teasing them open before he slides his tongue in. He pulls me close, causing a small whimper to leave my lips.
“I want to be inside you.”
I’m so caught up that for that one small moment I forget where I am. I forget that I’m supposed to be at work and that I only came out to grab breakfast for my boss and I. For that brief second when he mentions being inside me, it’s all I want too.
But then last night floods back to me too. I pull away from him. “How do I know that slut hasn’t given you something?”
Chris smirks, like me telling him he could have an STD amuses him. “I went to the doctor first thing. Paid a fucking fortune to get the tests expedited so I’ll know within the next couple of days.”
I nudge him. “That means no sex for you tonight.”
Placing an arm around me, he turns us so that we can head back inside the café. “That’s okay. I can just snuggle with my baby.”
I laugh at that because every time we have tried to just “snuggle”, it ends up with us having sex. It’s like we’re addicts. We simply can’t help ourselves.
I’m about to open the door, but he tugs at me. I look up at him and frown at the crooked lines in his forehead. “So we’re good?”
I smile because I know this is Chris’s insecurity coming out. He always says that we should never walk away from the other angry. “You just never know when life decides that this day is your last.”
“We’re good.”
Chris nods, his cheeky grin infectious. “That’s all I need to know.”
We head back in where the rolls are ready. I grab them, pay, and once out of the café again, Chris pulls me to him, giving me another kiss that takes my breath away. When he pulls away, his face looks so young, reminding me of better times. My stomach twists—the memories all too consuming. I push them from my head as I don’t want to think about the past. That was another life—a life that wasn’t me.
I’m not that girl anymore.
“Call me when you’re on your way home. Okay?”
I nod my head and watch as he walks away, immediately pulling his phone out to call his troops, no doubt. When I turn my head to walk back, I’m momentarily startled to find my boss staring out at me from the shop’s window. No expression. Just his normal blank face. We stare, my heart in my mouth, my stomach twisting in knots, because not only did he catch me kissing a man when I should be at work, but also the fact that he knows without a shadow of a doubt that I belong to someone.
The stare continues, almost as if he’s trying to convey some sort of message to me. Either that, or he’s trying to read what it is I’m thinking. Little does he know that there are horrors that live inside my head, taunting me every day like a sick, twisted devil.
I’m trapped. My feet cemented to the ground, the rolls getting hotter in my hands, but I can’t seem to move.
And just like that, his posture straightens, he turns his head, and walks away.
For the first time ever, I felt awkward at work. When I got back, I had handed Charlie his roll, my eyes sheepishly glancing a peek at him. He simply nodded and disappeared in back for a while, which disappointed me. It made today slow. A lot slower than usual. It got to the point that when five came around, I was glad to get out of the shop.
Grabbing my coat and bag, I shout my normal goodbye and head round to the back of the shop to fetch my car. The atmosphere outside is stagnant. It’s the start of the afternoon rush hour, but the faces in the crowd look belligerent. They pose no threat to me, and yet like a Meerkat perched high on a hill, I look out for a threat. Something just feels… off.
Wanting to brush it aside, I take out my phone and like the diligent girlfriend I am, I call Chris. It only takes one ring before he answers.
“I don’t know if you can tell, but I’ve been waiting for your call.”
I chuckle into the phone. “I kind of guessed that, yeah. Have you missed me that much?”
A deep rumbling sigh resonates through the phone. “Baby, I miss you every second you’re not with me.”
Smiling, I answer, “Only another 600 seconds to endure, and I’ll be home.”
“Okay, hurry. My tongue is in need of a workout.”
Fire ignites deep in
side me at the thought of Chris’s tongue hitting my sweet spot. My breath hitches, and Chris chuckles down the phone at my reaction.
“Drive safe, sweetheart.”
“Jerk,” I respond, my hand outstretched. I’m ready to end the call and pull the handle, when my initial fear of a threat becomes reality.
A gloved hand quickly covers my mouth. Another around my waist, trapping me against a solid chest. I drop my phone, my body jerking in response, a scream ripping from my lips. As my arms are trapped, my head thrashes from side to side, and at one point, I manage to move it enough to let out the blood-curdling scream that previously had been trapped inside the gloved palm of this maniac’s hand.
The hand secures itself around my mouth again, and then I’m being dragged. My legs instinctively kick out.
“Take her fucking legs!”
Shit, he’s not alone!
Fight or flight kicks in, and as I can’t escape, I have no other choice but fight. I kick, scream, and even try to bite my assailant’s hand, but to no avail. Whoever this guy is, he’s strong.
A body comes into view, but whoever the arsehole is, he’s wearing a ski-mask. All I can see are his dark, widened eyes zeroing in on me. I lock him in with my own, nothing but venom and determination greeting him back.
I won’t go out without a fight. I will fight till my last breath.
I have always known that one day, Chris’s dealings will come to haunt me. I just never envisioned it would be this soon. In truth, I have no idea if this is just some random attack, but since they came prepared with ski masks and gloves, I’m guessing that this was all premeditated.
This can mean either one of two things. They want to simply hurt me and send a message to Chris, or… and this is the option I fear the most.
They want me dead.
The dumpsters round the back of the antique store come into view after I’m forced onto the grotty floor. I close my eyes, fear gripping my insides. I don’t want to die, but the day I eventually do, should not be by a dumpster. Nobody deserves that.
The man behind me still has a hold of my mouth as he pins me down by the neck. Another man comes into view, this one bulkier than the other. The two men in front of me bend down towards me.
“Take her jeans down. Teach the fucking bitch a lesson.”
Hysteria is the only word I can use to describe the crippling panic crawling up my spine. Not wanting to acknowledge the fact that they’ve come to gang rape me, my senses kick in, trying to gather as much information as I can about my assailants. I don’t recognise the voices I’ve heard. The bulkier of the two men in front of me evilly smiles. I can’t see his face, but the lines around his eyes and the gleaning shine in them portray his excitement. He’s getting enjoyment out of seeing me held down. Seeing me completely helpless.
He bends over, placing his knee at my crotch, the pain of bone crushing against my pelvis makes me whimper with pain. The fucker laughs but doesn’t utter a word. He simply pulls my jacket up and unbuttons my jeans, but when he tries to yank them down, I spread my legs, halting his effort. My mouth is dry, my body exhausted from fighting, but I continue to writhe and continue to scream, no matter how muffled they may be. The asshole stands, his knee releasing from my crotch, but the momentary relief is quickly followed by a violent kick between my legs. My head dizzies, colours dance behind my eyes, and my body clenches in response to the agonising pain rippling through me. I’m temporarily paralysed, which gives this guy enough time pull my jeans down until they’re just below my knees.
“These guys are gonna rip your pussy apart, and you’re gonna fucking love it,” the guy behind me whispers in my ear. The other two laugh, and that’s when all the fight that’s left inside me quickly gets destroyed, leaving me with numbness. Pure numbness.
Then their laughter stops. Everything stops. It’s only when the two guys in front of me turn around that I realise someone else is here. Someone who could either be my saviour or just another member of this fucked up gang.
“I said step away from the girl.”
The less bulky guy steps forward, poking a finger at who I can finally see is my boss, standing his ground, chest out, heaving with anger. His eyes land on mine and then to my jeans pulled down to my knees, exposing my nakedness. His nostrils flare, his anger visibly heightening as his murderous gaze flits back to my attacker.
“This shit has nothing to do with you, arsehole. I suggest you move along before you get hurt.”
Time seems to stand still. Apart from everyone’s heavy breathing, no other sound can be heard. I still lie on the ground trapped, but I couldn’t move even if I wanted to. Charlie doesn’t speak for a second or two. He just stares at my attacker. Then he cocks his head, smirking at the guy.
“You fucking piece of shit!” the smaller guy steps forward, lifting his arm to throw a punch, but he doesn’t get the chance to finish what he started. Charlie, like an unseen force, sucker-punches him in the nose. I hear the crack, then red liquid oozes out of his nostrils like a faucet. I stare, eyes wide, mouth agape as he lands another blow at the side of the guy’s head. He goes down, but then immediately scrambles, his feet skidding against the concrete in an effort to get himself back up. He’s moaning, gripping his side as he rushes to his feet and surprisingly takes off.
“Terry, you fucking pussy, come back!” the guy behind me shouts in anger, but the little shit is gone. “Fuck this shit.” The guy holding me down suddenly lets go like I’m a piece of garbage, almost kicking me as he gets up.
Now, both he and the bulky guy—who for some reason hasn’t said a thing yet—square up against my boss. I’m frightened for him, but waste no time using the fact that I’m free to finally pull my jeans up. I try to get up, gripping onto something soft and soggy, not looking down to see what it is—my focus too intent on the two men sizing Charlie up, not one yet making the first move. I somehow manage to get to my feet, stumbling a little as I do, but a grip onto the side of the dumpster stops my fall, the pain in my pelvic area making me double over.
“Are you okay?” Charlie asks me, not looking my way. His eyes are set square on the two men.
No, I’m not okay. Everything hurts, especially my groin which pounds like a motherfucker.
“I’m fine,” I answer, wiping off all the dust that’s gathered on my jacket and jeans. I’m going to need a long shower and then get rid of these clothes—preferably burning them.
“Which one of you arseholes want to go first?”
What the fuck is Charlie doing goading these two? Little guy was one thing, but now he has two beefy guys ready to take him down. One part is telling me to run, while the other part can’t seem to find my legs. For some reason, Charlie hasn’t told me to use this time to escape. Why?
Then all too soon, I find out exactly why. I’m in no danger now that Charlie’s here.
Knowing they have an advantage, both guys step forward to throw punches. Charlie ducks under the punch from the guy who was holding me down and gives him a quick jab in his ribs. He bowls over, gripping onto his side, momentarily incapacitated from the blow, but then Charlie knees him in the nose, another crunch permeating my ears. I still can’t move as I watch this beast of a man, mouth still wide open at what I’m witnessing. With lightening reflexes unlike anything I have ever seen on a man, Charlie grabs the bulky guy’s arm, throws it over his head, and with his other hand, pushes his elbow in. The inevitable snap comes soon after followed by a cry of pain from the guy who hasn’t spoken a word yet. Another knee to the face, and both guys have broken noses. Charlie steps forward, ready to go again, but the two hard men are not so hard now. They take off, running as fast as their feet are able. My eyes follow them until they disappear out of sight, then they land back on Charlie, a scowl marring his face as he looks towards where they fled.
With a quick flick of his coat, his face changes, his eyes focusing in on me standing there, my mouth still agape. It’s only when I see concern in his eyes that I falter. Without
thinking, I run to him, throwing my arms around his waist.
“Thank you,” I muffle into his coat, snuggling my face into his chest. I’m safe now.
Charlie remains stoic, clearing his throat. “Did you know any of them?”
Lifting my head up, I notice the discomfort on his face. He doesn’t want me cuddling him. I step away, giving him the space he’s after, his sigh of relief like a punch in the gut.
“No. I don’t know who they are.” My fuzzy head starts to clear a little, my mind jolting to Charlie and the way he handled those three men like he’s Jack fucking Ryan. “Where did you learn to fight like that?” He certainly didn’t learn those skills from the gym. He’s been places, learnt that shit from somewhere.
“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you’re okay.” There’s defiance in his voice. He doesn’t like me prying into his private life.
I’m about to answer that I’m fine again when the revving of a familiar bike comes into view, spewing dust up in its wake.
Chris, immediately coming to a stop, throws his helmet off, scowling in the direction of my boss. “I heard you screaming on the phone. What the fuck happened?”
Running towards Chris, I lay a hand on his chest. “It’s okay. Three men jumped me, but Charlie scared them off.”
Chris’s head snaps to mine, both concern and anger burning in his deep blue eyes. “Some men fucking jumped you?” I nod my head. Chris frantically searches my body. “Did they hurt you? I swear, I’m going to kill those mother…”
“Chris, stop. It’s fine. I’m fine. If it wasn’t for my boss, I wouldn’t be.”
Chris wraps his arm around me, pulling me into his chest, his eyes square on Charlie now. “Thanks for your help. I can take it from here.” Chris’s jaw is ticcing, his lips forming a hard line. He’s pissed that he wasn’t here to save me himself and even more pissed that he’s had to thank someone else for doing his job. I can read him like a book.
My eyes dart to Charlie, who simply nods his head and walks back into his shop like he hasn’t a care in the world. I should be reeling from my attack, but all I can focus on is what I saw. All I can think about is the way he took those guys out so effortlessly you would think he was simply taking out the trash.
Tainted Love Page 4