Within twenty minutes we were pulling up to a swanky apartment building just outside of the city limits. He pulled me out of the car and wrapped an arm tightly around my waist, pulling me towards the door. After a short ride in the elevator we stepped out and headed down the hall. He unlocked the door for apartment 16, and pulled me inside.
The loft was beautiful, though I could hardly appreciate it in the circumstances. Light streamed in from large windows, making the hardwood floors shine-everything looked warm and inviting, in soft hints of mochas and reds.
"How do you like it?" He smiled, turning me towards him. I stared at him silently, crossing my arms over my chest.
"Ah, I see the obedience training will have to begin early."
He frowned and before I knew it he was reaching up and slapping me roughly, the ring on his finger causing a deep burn across my cheek. The force alone sent me back a few feet, my eyes wide. I reached up as I noticed the damp thick feeling sliding down my skin, only to find my fingers were met with blood.
"Now, I'll ask again. Do you like the apartment?"
Again, I stared at him defiantly, refusing to let him get his way. Instead, I looked away, my arms sliding back across my chest. He sighed and moved towards me in two quick steps, his hand slamming into my face again. I cried out this time, my cheek stinging painfully.
"Gabriella, don't make me keep hurting you. This is a simple question, with a very simple answer."
"It's nice."
"It's nice, what?"
"It's nice, you jackass," I spit out, the blood now seeping down to my neck and shirt.
He sighed and chuckled under his breath, tilting his head.
"I'll give you one. But don't push it, bambina. Go clean yourself up."
He motioned towards the back of the apartment. Had the idea of being away from him not been so appealing I wouldn't have listened. Instead, I found myself quickly running towards the back, turning into the bathroom and closing the door behind me once I located it.
I slid down against the back of my door, rough sobs now racking my body. I would never survive through this. I was going to be his punching bag, his whore, his public play thing. I stood up slowly and looked in the mirror, my eyes widening at the sight. My eyes were red and puffy, my cheek swollen from his assault. A long thin cut ran across my cheek, the blood still slowly dripping out. Blood had now dried onto my neck, and the top of my shirt. I looked disgusting. I leaned over and emptied the contents of my stomach into the small trash can next to the sink, my nerves no longer able to keep me wired together.
After a few minutes of trying to internally calm myself I turned the cold water on and began to rinse off as much as I could. Once I was half satisfied I reached into the small pantry and pulled out what looked to be a brand new towel. I quickly wiped myself off and tossed the towel on the floor before emerging out of the bathroom. He was waiting for me on the couch, his eyes following my movements.
"Come sit. We have lots to discuss." He grinned and patted the spot next to him, as though it was an option; but I now knew better. I quickly made my way over and sat next to him, pulling my legs up into my chest.
"Good girl, you learn quickly. Now there is a cellphone on the counter for you. You are only to call my phone; if you try to call anyone else—your parents, your friends, police—it will alert me and I will kill you without hesitation. You're to cook for me on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Those are the days we will spend together, as well as nights," he said, with a cocky smirk that made me want to vomit all over again.
"You have cable, and there will be a security guard stationed here with you as well. If you need anything he will call and have it brought here. You are not to leave these grounds unless with me or with him once he has my permission. I've also equipped you a small gym in the spare room so that you can stay in shape for me. You will work out at least two hours a day. I won't hesitate to punish you if you grow sloppy. Do you understand me?" He leaned over and grabbed my chin, turning my face towards his.
I nodded slowly and looked down, not wanting to make eye contact with the monster before me. Swallowing hard I pulled back, leaning against the couch.
"I'm tired, may I take a nap?" I asked quietly, hoping he would at least allow me to be alone for a little while.
"Yes, yes of course. I have business anyway. Our bedroom is across from the bathroom. Go get some sleep."
I stood slowly, and as I did he slapped my ass hard, a burning sensation rippling through my body. I winced and moved off quickly, not wanting to give him time to do it again. I quickly made my way to the bedroom and shut the door behind me. The room was lavishly decorated with deep burgundy accents. The carpet was white and thick, tickling at my feet. There were two dressers, both with a beautiful finish on expensive looking wood. The bed was large, filled with pillows and hidden by a dark burgundy canopy. I rolled my eyes at the extravagance, wondering why he assumed I would want this from him. Sighing I climbed into bed and pulled the comforter up to my chin, my mind moving at 100 miles a minute.
How could I help Michael find me? How was I going to get out of here?
My nap was short lived. I was woken the second he returned and every second that I was with him was slowly destroying me.
It had been a day from hell. He had hit me over and over; he had touched me, tormented me, and teased me.
"Gabriella, come here." He had just gotten back from whatever "business" he had to take care of. He had placed himself on the couch and loosened his tie, smirking at me.
I stared at him from the hallway, not sure which would result in a worse consequence. After deliberating, I moved towards him, standing a few feet away.
"No no, closer than that. Come." He patted his lap, his smirk widening. I sighed and sat down slowly, turning my head away from him.
"Ah, playing hard to get, huh? That's alright, Bambina. I can work with that." He had begun to kiss my shoulder, his hands groping at my waist, my hips, my breast—anything. I clenched my eyes shut, my fist balling tightly as I tried to focus on anything else, anything to keep me from going crazy.
"Such a nice little body. Yes, you were a good choice." He groaned as he kissed my neck. I shuddered as I could feel his erection pressing up against my leg. I whimpered and tried to pull away from him, only to have his arms wrap around my tightly, pulling me back against his chest.
"You'll be happy here, Gabriella. You just have to give it time," he purred against my ear, grinding himself against me. I tried to pull away from him, only exciting him more.
"Yes, keep doing that. Your body feels excellent." He grunted, causing me to sit up straight, my body going as stiff as possible. His hands roamed up my body again, grabbing my breasts roughly. Tears slid down my face, my mind wandering to Michael as it had throughout the day. Anything to distract me from this.
I snapped out of my vivid memories as I focused in on the scene that was suddenly in front of me. Genovese was standing with his foot pressed on Michael's neck; I could see he was having a hard time breathing. I didn’t know if I had blacked out, or been knocked out—but nothing was familiar anymore. You came for me, I realized, before looking around quickly, knowing I had to get Michael free from him. My eyes widened when they fell on a knife nearby. I scrambled towards it and wrapped my hands around the handle, getting up on my knees and blindly stabbing at my newest captor.
"AH FUCK!" Genovese screamed as the blade found his thigh. He growled and spun around, backhanding me hard enough to throw my body to the ground.
"You insolent little bitch, I'm going to knock some respect into you later." He glared at me, the blood dripping down his pant leg.
I spit in his direction, my eyes blazing as I noticed Michael stirring behind him.
"You'll never make me respect you, you're just a sick old man who can't get a girl on his own, so you have to kidnap them and pay them off," I snapped, sliding away from him slowly.
"Oh is that it? You little slut." He marched towards me, r
eaching over to grab me until the sound of a gunshot filled the air. His body collapsed next to mine and he wheezed, reaching behind to clutch at his back.
I watched Michael stand up slowly, walking towards his body with purpose. The shot had pierced through Genovese's lower back, possibly paralyzing him from how close to his spine it was. Michael eyed me for a moment, causing me to move back more as he flipped Genovese onto his back, smirking as he groaned in pain.
"Now, old man. As I promised; I'd like to make you pay for what you've done. Especially to Brie," he growled.
"Brie, go to the bedroom and close the door. Put the TV on," he ordered. For once, I didn't question it. I quickly got to my feet, and ran to the bedroom, slamming the door behind me.
I idly watched the news, trying to ignore the muffled screaming I heard from the next room. An hour passed before the door opened slowly, Michael walking in.
"Brie." He said, his voice twisting into a painful expression. "I'm so sorry."
I flung myself off the bed and ran to him, wrapping my arms around his waist. He hugged me to him tightly, his sleeves caked in dry blood.
"C-can we go back to your place, please?" I asked quietly, tears slipping down my face as the weight of today finally caught up with me. He nodded and reached down, scooping me into his arms. As we exited the room I looked around, expecting to see the body.
"It's in the kitchen. After I take you home I have to come back here. I have to make this look like a business arrangement gone wrong." His voice was stern, and grim. I nodded slowly, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Once we got downstairs he tucked me into the passenger seat and closed the door, sleep finding me almost instantly.
eight
I awoke to him carrying me into the bathroom, sitting me down on the sink. He leaned over and turned on the bath, checking the temperature. After he was satisfied, he turned back to me and began to peel off what was left of my clothes. His face twisted into an unreadable expression as my skin became exposed, small scratches and forming bruises becoming apparent.
"Oh, Brie," he choked out, his fingers sliding over my skin slowly. "What did he do to you?" he said quietly, tossing the last article of clothing to the ground. The bruises began at my thighs, small ones from his fingertips digging into me. They curved up to my stomach, my breast, then my shoulders and arms.
"He didn't rape me; if that's what you're asking," I said quietly, my voice hard. Thankfully, it hadn't gotten that far. But what had happened I wouldn't forget easily. I didn't know how to get past these last few weeks, or why I had so willingly put myself in the line of fire. I should have never agreed to help him. But he couldn't have known it would result in this; neither of us could have.
"Brie, I'm so so sorry," he mumbled again, pulling me into his arms gently.
"It's okay. You couldn't have known he would do this," I whispered, trying to keep the tears at bay. At those words, Michael pulled back staring into my eyes.
"Brie… I…"
"You didn't know this would happen, right? Michael?" My voice raised, realization slowly setting in. Everything had been planned so meticulously; he had found me without me having to do anything. How had he found me…
"Gabriella, I told you I'd do whatever it takes…"
"YOU LET THIS HAPPEN TO ME? YOU KNEW HE WOULD TAKE ME AND YOU STOOD BY?"
"You said you wanted to help…" he mumbled, his voice becoming hoarse.
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS WHAT I MEANT, YOU SICK FUCK. HOW COULD YOU LET THIS HAPPEN? I TRUSTED YOU. YOU TOLD ME TO FUCKING TRUST YOU," I screamed, my arms flailing as I attempted to hit any inch of him that I could. He grabbed my wrists and held them tightly, trying to hug me again.
"No. Don't fucking touch me. I'm going to clean up and you are going to take me home. I want you out of my life, for good," I spit out, my mind swirling as the reality came crashing into me over and over. He had let me get kidnapped, not knowing what Genovese would do to me. He had left me with him for a full day, just so that he could finish his stupid plan. He didn't care about me; he didn't care what happened to me.
"I bet your parents are turning in their graves at how disgusting a son they have," I growled, delighting momentarily in the pain that crossed his face. He let me go and turned on his heel, leaving the bathroom.
Once he was gone I slid into the bathtub and pulled my knees back into my chest, the tears rolling down my face instantly. As soon as I heard the main door close I let the sobbing commence. My body shook with the feelings that boiled over. I was scared, damaged, betrayed. I had finally started to believe in him; to believe in the possibility of us.
But how could I ever trust someone that would throw me to the wolves that way? I swallowed thickly as I remembered Genovese's touch. But he killed him, he came for you, the little voice in my mind argued. No, he was the one that put me there in the first place. Genovese wanted you already anyway, you would've ended up in that situation whether you met Michael or not. No, I could've gone home to my parents. And what if he found you there? What if your parents ended up like Michael's? My breath caught at the thought. I whimpered and buried my face in my knees.
I had nothing, now. I had no job, no money, and probably no apartment. I had no idea if I was completely safe from Genovese’s men as Michael had insisted I would be or if I had to consider that they might plan retaliation against me. And Michael… what could I possibly do about that? How could I ever trust him after this? I had somehow looked past the kidnapping, the stalking—all of the bullshit and now I find out that he KNEW Genovese would take me?
But you agreed to help; you knew there were consequences, the little voice tried to reason. But why didn't he warn me? You would've given it away, you can't act. I sighed and leaned back against the tub, unsure of what I was supposed to do with myself at this point.
By the time I heard the door open again I was dressed and waiting as patiently as possible on the couch. I didn't turn; I waited for him to come to me. I heard him shuffling about, as if hesitant to come near me, as if he could sense the emotions rolling off of me. Finally, he emerged from his office area and stood before me, his eyes lowered.
He was covered from the neck down in dried blood, dirt, and tattered material. After giving him a once over I stood up, eyeing him harshly, completely unfazed by our height difference.
"Brie, I…"he started, but was cut off by my fist flying at his face. He didn't move; he let my fist connect with his chin. It knocked him off his balance, causing him to step back a few feet, a hurt expression in his eyes.
"You son of a bitch. I trusted you, just like you told me to. I didn't put up a fight when you took those degrading pictures; I let you keep me down here. I shared myself with you," my voice broke for a moment, but I pushed forward. "I wanted to help you. I wanted to help you out of this situation, I wanted to see you turn back into what I think was your former self. But no. You-" I said, jabbing my finger into his chest roughly. "You let him take me. You let him beat me, and touch me..."
My words became quiet as a tear slipped down my face. I shook my head and willed the feeling away, letting anger consume me.
"You are no better than him. Do you understand that? You're just as vile, and terrible. You're a monster."
He stared at me a moment before dropping to his knees, pulling me against his body. Once his sobbing begun I sighed, staring down at him.
"Let go of me," I snapped, pushing at his body.
"Please. Let me explain, please don't just leave."
He sobbed harder, his arms clinging to my waist. I clenched my fist and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down but the more he cried the angrier I became. I pulled my leg up and shoved my knee into his throat, forcing him off of me.
"You've lost your right to touch me," I growled, moving away from him.
"Since we're in the middle of fucking nowhere, obviously I can't call a cab. And since you've kept me here for so damn long I'm sure I have no apartment to go back to. So you're going to give me your car keys,
and I'm going to go to my parents."
He leaned back on his heels so that he could sit on the floor, his head angling up towards me.
"I already filled the tank for you—in case you wouldn't want to stay. There's a bag in there with a cell phone, a bank card, and fresh clothes—Genovese tossed your apartment a while ago, it's been locked up since then. I deposited $50,000 into the bank account—for your trouble, and help," he said quietly, though his eyes begged me to stay.
"Of course he tossed my apartment. So I have absolutely nothing at all. And excuse me, stay? Stay with you!? Are you crazy?" I rolled my eyes and looked around the room, spotting the keys on the desk.
"Thanks for the payment. I'll go get a car, and then you can figure out how you're going to pick your SUV up—without involving me. I'm sure you have some sort of tracking on it anyway. Good luck with everything," I said harshly before heading towards the keys. I stopped for a moment, remembering what he said about the passcode locks on the way out.
"How am I supposed to get out of here?"
"I disabled them, just up the elevator and the door at the top is open. But Brie, please just give me a chance to talk to you," he whimpered, his face contorted with words he didn't know how to say.
I shook my head before making my way out of the apartment for the last time. I followed his limited directions and made it outside. Once I was comfortable in the SUV, I let the tears fall. I realized that I had reached the point that I didn't know what I was crying for anymore. What had happened to me? Losing Michael? Losing myself? Maybe it didn’t matter.
And with that, I put the SUV into drive and pulled off—leaving Michael and the memories behind.
From The Author
Thank you for reading my story.
I welcome any comments, feedback or suggestions at
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Please visit my website at http://www.mariadelaurentis.com to learn what I am currently working on and what is coming up in the future. On my site you can join my mailing list, which I use to notify you of new releases or when you can get any of my books for free.
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