by H Holmquist
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I awoke with a throbbing pain, I don’t know how long I was out and I went to lift my hand to the source but my hand wouldn’t move. I groggily opened my eyes as my neck was stiff from my head drooping. I looked down at my body and small red spots I could see on my shoulder were like little red paint flakes. I let out a soft groan as I looked again; it was blood... my blood. I looked around and I was in my house, in my dining room, the glass French doors were closed and looking through the glass I could see my main room and the front door. I looked down at my wrists and they were tied down to an unfamiliar chair. I closed my eyes and sighed hoping to ease the throbbing, to make sense of this.
“Well, it looks like you’re awake finally” said the familiar male voice. My skin got cold and my breath hitched in my lungs with not wanting this to be real. I looked over at the source of the voice and there was Gabe, lounge sitting in another chair leaned against the wall with a knife in his hand. His hair was dyed bleach blonde with his dark eyebrows on his tan face with his hazel eyes gleaming. He seemed more slender from the last time I saw him, and his arms seemed to have more muscle.
“I hope you don’t mind, I had to bring in some furniture to do this” he said as he stood up “I’ve been thinking about you for a long time” as he walked over to me and lifted his hand and held my chin with his fingers. They felt so dry, coarse and oddly fat from their bony complexion as he leaned down so were nose to nose. “I was going to start this last night, but...” his eyes got dark and hatred spat at me. “You never came home” my stomach turned, Steven. I had no inkling, no instinct that I was in danger. It’s been over two years, why now? My vision was getting blurry from tears filling my eyes.
“How did you find me,” my voice shook a little bit but I tried to sound brave. He let go of my chin and stood up smiling “Find you! I never lost you!” He said with a sadistic laugh. He walked over to a folding table and placed down his knife and looked back at me. “I’ve been deciding how to punish you, my little whore” his face has gone to a twisted look “I know you were with that guy last night, S-T-E-V-E-N” he said his name elongated and full of hate. He looked back at the table and picked up a hammer and looked at me. Tears fell from my cheeks and terror was clogging my veins. “Please” I said looking at him “don’t” but he held the hammer and stormed up to me. “Oh my dear, you’re going to be doing a lot of begging”
He raised the hammer and I screamed “DON’T, DON’T” his face looked twisted when he looked from my hand to my face. “This is the start of your redemption.” and he looked back at my hand and he slammed the hammer down. I screamed from the pain. Hearing the hammer crush my bone and my movement in my hand becoming numb. He stopped and smiled down at his handiwork as my hand was turning black and purple. He turned and walked back over to the table and placed it down. I bit down on my lower lip to stop from a sob escaping me, but I couldn’t stop the tears flowing down my cheeks and I tried to blink away the never ending supply while looking at the ceiling and trying to calm down.
“You know,” as he turned around on his heels and faced me. “It’s nice doing this during the day.” As he did a brief pause and looked out the window. Day? I didn’t even think about the time but seeing the sun shining through my windows. “You couldn’t have picked a better house to. It’s so… what’s the word... Secluded” He looked back at me and I swore he had fangs growing. “Beside” he did a brief paused and looked back out the window “If I were to do this at night someone might come over if your lights were on, am I right?” He looked over at me with a passive face. A slight vibration sound broke our silent stare and we both looked to the source. I saw my phone on the floor next to Gabe’s chair. I looked at my rectangular object and back at Gabe.
“I’ve been having fun talking with your friends” he said as he looked back at me. “They know not to expect you tonight” I closed my eyes and shook my head. I had forgotten about the barbeque. Steven, please help me. Anybody, please help! I looked over at Gabe and fear took over. Tonight, he is going to kill me tonight.
“So my dear, how do you want to proceed” as he came back in front of me and leaned down and he moved his hand to hold my chin. He leaned forward to kiss me and I tried to pull my head out of his hands but he moved his hand up from my chin and his thumb and fingers were digging into my cheeks. I closed my eyes from the pain and felt his cold lips on mine. He pulled back and I looked at him “I’m going to remind you what it’s like to have a real man inside of you.” I felt my eyes get wide and all the air left me as if I was punched in the stomach.
“But until than my dear,” he let go and slapped me so hard with the back of his hand “I’m going to have you beg for it” and he slapped me again. My cheeks felt bruised as he slapped me again and again, my face gone numb and my lip felt fat. My face was stinging and I don’t know when he started to change his slaps into punches, but I felt blood drip from my nose and everything was getting hazy. He suddenly stopped. I let my head droop and I heard his panting.
“It’s going to be a nice evening” he said as I raised my head and I cracked open the only eye that would work. He straightened up and took a deep breath and smiled. He went over to the table again as I followed my gaze at him. Blood was dripping off my face and it began pooling on my shirt. He went and picked up the long hunters knife he first had and he turned and looked at me. He placed the knife horizontally with a pointer finger on each end of the knife, on finger on the hilt, the other on the blade.
I looked at the knife and then to his face. “I want you to scream” he said as he came up to me “I want you to beg for my forgiveness” as he leaned and bent down and lifted his hand to the top of my hand and fisted my hair and yanked it back so we were eye to eye. “Why did you think you could have just walked away my little bitch?” Tears from my good eye fell down my cheeks. He began verbally trying to sooth me “Shh” as he moved the blade to the side of my face and stroked it down the side of my throat and moved it down in between my breast and stopped in the middle. I let out a small whimper from the pain and terror. He looked down at my chest as he lightly pressed the blade through my shirt and lightly pierced my skin and he moved the blade down to my stomach, leaving a thin trail of blood as he cut open my blouse.
He kneeled down and never looked away from his new cut as he placed the knife on the ground next to him. He seemed fascinated by my blood lightly streaming down my chest and he grabbed and tore open the remains of my shirt. He let out a grunted moan as he looked at me and he moved his hands to my breasts and began squeezing them through my bra as he tilted his head back as if he was going to have an orgasm right there. He looked back at me, his eyes seemed distant and I knew he was playing a memory in his head, the memory that last time we were together. His eyes suddenly focused again and punched my face again.
“You ruined it last time!” he barked and hit me again. My eyes were closed and I couldn’t seem to open them, I heard something scrap on the floor and I can imagine he just picked up the knife. I felt the blade graze down my arms and a strong pain in my wrists as I felt him cut my ties free while digging into my skin.
I felt his hands on both sides of my face as he forced my head up and shook my head “open your eyes” and I contemplated if I should even bother, but he shook me again and I cracked open my good eye and looked at him and he smiled. “It’s time for the bedroom my dear.” I began sobbing as a pit dropped in my stomach “Please… don’t” as I had to force the words out, my mouth didn’t seem to move with my voice anymore, my face was numb and swollen. His eyes grew dark and a demon smiled appeared “you don’t tell me shit, remember!” and his smiled disappeared as he grabbed the top of my head again and yanked me forward and I fell to the ground face first. My body felt limp but I began to try to get up when the air whooshed out of my lungs as he began kicking me. I gasped for air as he hit my stomach and ribs. I felt copper in my mouth and everything was threatening to go dark again.
He bent over me and lac
ed his fingers in my hair and lifted my limp head to look at him and forced my head back down. He then turned me over so I was on my back and he grabbed the string that was in between the cups of my bra and I felt his tongue lick me from the middle of my chest up to the underpart of my chin. His tongue felt slimy and cold and my head felt so heavy and my body throbbed. He let out a gasp of air “I should have done this to you years ago” he said almost possessed as everything was becoming a haze. He let go of my limp body as I fell to the floor. He bent over me and I felt his breath on my skin as he licked me again while fondling my breasts and everything went black.
I awoke when cold water was dumped on me as I gasp for air and spat out the little water that entered my mouth. “I can’t have you passing out on me already” Gabe gleefully cried. The nightmare continues as my body felt broken and like weights were on them. Everything was throbbing. I opened my good eye that protested as I saw him get up from beside me and he walked back over to the table. I looked around and saw the front door through the glass of the French doors of my dining room. I looked back at Gabe and he was still focused on the table with his hand on his chin as if making an important decision. I did a quick close-my-eyes-before-getting-strength-moment. I had little strength and I didn’t know if my legs would buckle but this was my last chance to get out of here alive as I used my body weight and rolled over and began to get up and run when I felt his fingers slide up on the back of my head in my hair.
I let out a scream from fear and the pain as he fisted and pulled my hair back. He forced my body back against his torso and he stepped forward and slammed me face first through the glass door. I felt my skin get cut as I fell on the other side with a startled cry. I landed with new pain radiating from my leg. I turned and looked down and saw the glass shards inserted into my leg. I let out a cry and grabbed my leg and moved it closer to me. Gabe walked through the broken panel door, the glass crunching underneath feet. The knife in one hand as he kneeled beside me and pushed my chest so I was flat on my back, I let out a scream as he held the knife over me and I kept screaming.
Gabe’s eyes were almost black like a shark when he paused turned towards the front door and placed his hand over my mouth. “Shh,” as he stroked the knife against my cheek. I closed my eyes and cried into his palms that muffled my sounds. There was a knock on the door. I opened my eye and did a quick blink. Steven! STEVEN! I closed my eye again and I tried scream but I than felt something pierce my side. I looked over at the pain and saw Gabe’s hand around the hilt of the knife, the rest of the blade was hidden within my skin. Gabe had stabbed me in between my ribs.
He looked me in the eye and moved his hand that covered my mouth and placed his pointer finger over his mouth to give me the ‘be quiet’ sign, but all I saw was my blood on his inside of his fingers. I was about to scream again but I began choking as my throat and mouth began to be clogged with my blood.
Another knock and I heard muffled voices. Gabe looked at the door and back at me, I felt the knife slide out of me as he covered my mouth again and I coughed into his hand and I saw my blood oozing between his fingers. He looked back at the door and raised the knife again to stab me in my chest, to finish me. I closed my eyes, preparing to die.
“HEY!” my eye flashed open as Gabe and I looked over at Steven. Steven stood in the broken panel of the French door, he walked around and came through the back door. I let out a cry against Gabe’s hand and closed my eye as I felt tears slide down. I opened my eye again when Gabe moved his hand from my mouth and hunched forward, ready for a fight as he held the knife that was dripping with my blood in front of him to ward of Steven. Steven looked at the knife and then at me with worry in his eyes.
“You stay right there” Gabe warned. Steven stepped through the broken panel of the French door and his feet crunched on the glass. Gabe stepped over me and moved his way to the front door and looked back at me “until next time” and he looked back at Steven as he opened the door. The door squeaked open and I saw Gabe focused on Steven that he didn’t see Chuck waiting on the other side of the door. “I don't think so” I heard Chucks voice. Everything was becoming a blur as I saw blobs entangling and grunting as a fight was happening.
I heard Tiffany came in. She screamed and her footsteps vibrated on the floor boards towards me. She dropped her knees beside me and grabbed my hand. I tried to speak to her but nothing came out, I only gagged. My eye was open a slit but everything was becoming distant. All the noises of the three men fighting, the glass crunching, Tiffany’s sob and her words as she was talking to someone, everything just went quiet.
Chapter 5
There was a soft beeping as I slowly awoke. I tried to open my eyes but it felt like they were glued shut. I turned my head and I tried again to open my eyes and I was able to squint out of one. I looked around and I was in a hospital room. I saw Steven in the chair next to my bed fast asleep. I rested my eye again as the memories of what transpired came back to me. I opened my eye again and tried to move but pain radiated from my middle torso and I began coughing.
“You’re awake” and I looked toward Tiffany’s voice in the doorway, she just arrived. I tried to focus on her but I got dizzy and closed my eye again to take a deep breath and rested my head against the clumpy pillow. I heard her move to my side as she grabbed my hand and I opened my eye and turned to face her.
“What happened?” I breathed out in a coarse airy voice.
Tiffany held tighter and told me the events that took place after I passed out. “The police came and had to pull Chuck and Steven off of… “ She paused. “I was so scared” I closed my eyes again and I heard her sob as I heard movement to the other side of me. I turned and opened my eye, Steven stepped next to me and grabbed my other hand as Tiffany spoke through sobs. “The ambulance had to shock your heart since you flat lined on your way here.” She paused but wasn’t able to continue.
I looked over at her “I’m sorry.” But her sobbing became almost uncontrollable. Chuck came into the room with a cut on his face and wrapped his arm around Tiffany and I saw his scabbed up knuckles. He gave me I’m-glad-your-ok smile and took Tiff out of the room. I focused back on Steven. “He is being held with no bale awaiting trial” he finished for Tiffany. He placed his hand on my cheek and he felt so warm and comforting I closed my eye and let out a long sigh. After my battle and the two fights for my life I knew what I wanted. I opened my eye and I looked up at Steven, into his deep emerald eyes. “How fast can you move in?” I asked him. The biggest smile on his face and he gave a relief laugh.
He looked back at me and smiled. “Consider it done” he said and pressed his lips to mine and while he was kissing me he whispered “what do you think about marriage?”