by R. Linda
“Hello, Ray.” She greeted him quietly, pressing herself into my side slightly.
“You look at me when you’re speaking to me, sugar. You are a guest here, so you ought to show some respect,” he hissed at her. Ray couldn’t be pleasant to anyone if he tried.
I heard Lucy’s sharp intake of breath as she straightened her shoulders and looked him in the eyes, showing as much courage as she could manage. “Sorry, sir. Just getting used to being part of a family again,” she said with a shaky voice. I tried not to wince at the mention of family because that would surely lead him to mention her senator father.
“Again?” he asked stepping closer.
Lucy was still trembling beside me, but I was impressed at her determination to not show him fear. She straightened her shoulders a little more and faced him straight on though her head was still slightly bowed toward me.
“I’ve been living on my own for quite a while,” she replied quietly, tensing when he stepped toward her again before side stepping and taking his seat at the head of the table.
It was only when we were seated that I felt her relax slightly. Ray looked from Kat to his meal with an impatient expression. The girls had put a lot of effort into making dinner; it looked and smelled delicious. Kat took a small bite of everything on his plate to prove she hadn’t poisoned his dinner. He didn’t say anything about the meal, but grunted in satisfaction that he wasn’t going to die and began to eat. Once he took a second bite we knew he liked it, so we began to eat as well. It was an unspoken rule. No one ate until Ray had taken the first bite after Kat.
It was tense and beyond uncomfortable to sit around that table. Everyone’s eyes were darting around, sneaking glances at one another. We were all waiting for him to say or do something that would freak Lucy out even more, but he stayed silent, only watching her every move like a hawk stalking its prey.
Lucy was doing remarkably well under the circumstances, and compared to most who had sat at that table beside my father or me, she was doing exceptionally well. She was still trying to control her breathing and I couldn’t help but notice how badly she was shaking each time she picked up her fork. At one point, I thought she was going to spill her drink all over her lap, her hands were vibrating that much.
Kat was watching her with wide eyes as if afraid Lucy would lose the plot at any moment, but I wasn’t worried. I knew she had the strength to get through tonight, and if she did, she’d be okay. My father wouldn’t do anything rash considering she was the senator’s daughter. She just had to impress him first.
“So…” Ray’s voice broke the silence and we all turned to look at him. “Lucy, you’ve been told what is expected of you while you stay here?”
Lucy nodded her head in response, which was the wrong thing to do. Wincing, I immediately reached between us and grabbed her hand for support knowing what would come next. Ray slammed his glass down on the table and glared at her.
“You fucking answer me when I speak to you. That’s the first rule,” he growled at her, and before I saw it coming, his hand came up and slapped her across the face.
She reared back, and almost fell off her chair, but I steadied her with the hand I was still holding her with and sat on my other so I didn’t retaliate and hit him myself. She whimpered beside me and bit her lip, as though she was trying not to cry. Her cheek was flaming red. She was just lucky it wasn’t a back hand because the ring he wore hurt a lot worse than his palm.
Her whole body tensed and the grip she had on my hand tightened as she forced herself to swallow the mouthful of food she had. “Yes, sir. I’m sorry,” she apologised. Her voice trembled as she mumbled into her lap and bought her other hand up to ease the sting in her cheek. I felt awful for her. I knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of a slap like that.
“You’re staying here in my house; you will show me respect. If I ask you to do something, you do it, no questions, no hesitation. If I ask you a question, you look me in the eyes and open your pretty little mouth and speak. Got it?”
“Yes, sir,” Lucy said, straightening her back and looking Ray in the eyes. It was the most confidence I’d seen her show yet, even though she was in pain.
“Same goes for Hendrix. You show him respect and do whatever he wants you to. You break the rules, you suffer the consequences.”
He glanced at Kat, who kept a straight face and maintained eye contact with him.
“You’re here because you love Hendrix and want to make him happy, right?” He turned his gaze back to Lucy, who was frozen, mouth hanging open.
I saw Kat give her a slight nod, telling her to agree with him. I squeezed her hand reassuringly and gave her a small smile when she looked at me briefly.
“Yes, sir, very happy,” she replied, looking straight at Ray, the disgust in her voice barely masked by her nerves.
“Then you show him you respect him, you keep this house in order, do your chores and whatever he asks you to do. Understand?”
“Y-yes, sir. I will.”
“Then we shouldn’t have a problem.” He laughed and raised his glass in a toast. We all raised our glasses with him and continued eating in silence. I couldn’t believe the speech he gave Lucy about respecting me. It was fucked up. I didn’t deserve her respect. If anything, she deserved mine for even attempting to live like this.
When Ray sat back in his chair and relaxed, Kat knew that dinner was over, and it was time clean up. “Come on, Lucy. Let’s clear the table,” she said quietly, pushing her chair out and standing. She straightened her dress and apron and I watched as Lucy mimicked every move Kat made, all but the ones where she touched Ray in some small way. Ray watched Lucy intently, taking notice of everything she did, and I knew he was deciding whether she was worth it or not.
“Well, what do you think, boy?” he asked me when the girls left the room with our empty plates.
“About what, sir?”
“Is she the one who will make you happy?” He raised his bushy blond eyebrow at me.
It never failed to amaze me how different we looked. While he was fair skinned with blue eyes and blond hair, I had slightly tanned skin, brown eyes and black hair. I clearly looked like my mother, but I didn’t remember enough about her to know how much. There were no photos of her in the house; he didn’t like the reminder of what he had lost and spent so long trying to replace.
“Yes, she’s the one,” I told him. She had to be the one. I couldn’t go through any of this again. I couldn’t handle any more death or hurt. She absolutely had to be the one. He cleared his throat and looked over my shoulder as Kat and Lucy returned to clear the rest of the table. Kat smiled at me before caressing Ray on the shoulder and announcing that dessert would be ready soon if we wanted it while Lucy bit her lip nervously as she picked up the glasses. They retreated into the kitchen to finish cleaning up.
“Hmm,” Ray mused quietly. “I’m not convinced.” Those three words sent a chill down my spine. I knew what happened next and it scared the hell out of me—more now than ever before. He wasn’t convinced that Lucy was the one. He wasn’t convinced that she could make me happy. Lucy hadn’t done enough to make him believe, and neither had I. It was my fault; I didn’t want to overwhelm her or put too much pressure on her, so I’d kept things simple, but it wasn’t enough for him. He needed to see that she could make me happy, and he needed to see that she could respect me.
“She’s just nervous. Shy.” I tried to placate him before things took a turn for the worst.
“Get up,” he spat at me.
I silently pushed myself up and followed him into the kitchen, dreading what came next. All I knew was that I had to make it as painless for Lucy as possible. Kat and Lucy both stopped what they were doing and spun around to face us with wide eyes. My father never stepped foot in the kitchen during meal times or when Kat was cleaning up, so the shocked look on her face was hard to miss. That look soon turned to one of fear when she noticed the expression on Ray’s face.
�
�Well, go on, boy,” he said, grabbing me by the arm and yanking me forward. He shoved me toward Lucy, who gasped and put her hands out to grab me before I fell or knocked her down.
“Prove it.”
“Hendrix, what’s going on?” Lucy looked up at me with a small frown on her face. She glanced over my shoulder at Ray and took a deep, shaky breath. I closed my eyes and grabbed both her hands in mine hoping she could see how sorry I was.
“My father doesn’t believe y-y-you… you’re t-th…” I couldn't get the words out. I didn’t want to do this.
I knew as soon as I’d told her he didn’t believe it, she would freak out. She would convince herself it was over and that she was going to die. I couldn’t let her think that for even a second.
“Hurry the fuck up,” Ray growled from behind me before I felt his elbow slam into the back of my head.
Lucy cried out in shock before quickly putting her hand over her mouth to muffle her cries while I winced in pain and attempted to rub away a headache that was starting.
“I’m sorry, Lucy.” I bent my knees so I could look into her eyes. “He doesn’t believe you can make me happy. You have to prove him wrong,” I said, choosing my words carefully, not wanting her to worry yet.
It didn’t work though. The plate she had been drying slipped from her hand and shattered at our feet. Fuck. It couldn’t get any worse. I didn’t need to look at Ray to know that pissed him off even more. If there was one thing he hated more than someone disrespecting him, it was someone disrespecting his belongings, including a crappy old plate.
“I’m s-s-s-sorry. I didn’t…” she apologised.
“It’s okay, love; we can clean it up later.”
“Time’s running out, sugar,” Ray said from behind me. “Prove it.”
“What? H-how am I-I supposed to do t-that?” she stuttered nervously.
I really had no idea what he was expecting. She looked over my shoulder at Ray and said, “I can make him happy. I will. I know I will. Please, just give me a chance.”
The pleading in her voice was unbearable. It sounded like she was begging for her life, which, essentially, she was. Kat choked back a sob as she watched our whole exchange.
“Then fucking prove it. Show me you can make my son happy. Show me you care about him, that you love him like you say you do,” he growled, his voice low and dangerous.
He was beginning to lose his patience, and that wouldn’t be good. I knew in that moment exactly what he wanted, and I needed Lucy to go along with it. It was something I had wanted to avoid as much as possible. I didn’t want to put Lucy in any more of an uncomfortable position than she was already in, but this was the only way to save her life, and she was going to hate it.
I knew I had to be the one to do it because Lucy just looked so lost and scared. Tears were slowly falling down her cheeks like she had already given up and accepted her fate, but I wasn’t going to let that happen. I would keep her safe no matter the cost to me.
“Trust me,” I whispered, bringing her hands in front of her before releasing them and cupping her face. She nodded slightly, and a weight lifted off my shoulders. She trusted me, probably not a lot, but enough to let me do what I had to now. It was a start.
I tilted her chin to make her look at me and wiped the tears from her cheeks. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I tried to ignore the fear in her eyes as I pressed my lips to hers. I didn’t make any sudden movements because I had to tread carefully. This was either going to work or backfire completely, so I knew I had to let her get comfortable. She had to lead. I wouldn’t force her to do anything. She stayed unmoving, her lips frozen against mine, a small whimper of protest escaping as her fists pushed against my chest, trying to move me away. I didn’t back away. I didn’t make any attempt to get her to kiss me. I just waited for her to relax.
I wasn’t sure what was going through her head, whether she realised I wasn’t going to force her to do anything she didn’t want to do, or that this was what was going to convince Ray for sure, but I felt it the moment she began to relax.
First, it was her fists. They unclenched and her hands opened across my chest, spreading warmth where they touched. Her body relaxed as she leaned into me slightly before her lips finally softened and parted slightly as she began to move them against mine. She was either comfortable enough or scared enough for her life to kiss me, so I let her lead. It was her that needed to convince him the most, not me.
I’d kiss the hell out of her if she’d let me.
As I wrapped one arm around her back and held her just a little closer to me, so it looked more intimate, her body stiffened, and she went to pull back, but I rubbed my hand in soothing circles on her back, relaxing her again. A two-second kiss wasn’t going to convince Ray of anything. Her hands came up and slid around my neck until her fingers were in my hair and her body was completely pressed against mine. Her lips were soft and warm, and slightly salty, no doubt because she was crying, but that was okay. She was alive and she was doing great. So well, in fact, I was sure she had convinced him. Hell, she almost had me convinced.
Just as I tried to pull back and break the kiss, the softest moan escaped her lips.
A moan.
She freaking moaned.
“Hmph, well,” Ray said at last, effectively ending our kiss. “That’s more like it. Maybe you do care after all. Just don’t forget it.”
I breathed a huge sigh of relief as Lucy stepped back from me and wiped the tears from her eyes before looking at Ray. Her lips were red and slightly swollen, and there was a definite flush to her cheeks. It wasn’t the way I had hoped our first kiss would go, but at least she didn’t slap me.
“I won’t,” she said.
“We still have one problem, though.” Ray sneered. I turned to look at him, already feeling my shoulders tense again.
“I do not tolerate stupidity or clumsiness in this house. If you do something stupid or damage something, you get punished,” he said, looking down at the broken plate on the floor between Lucy and me.
Fuck, no!
“You know what to do, boy,” he said to me as he turned and walked out of the room.
“Kat, clean up the mess, while Hendrix takes care of her. I’ll be listening, boy.”
Fuck…
Hendrix
I COULDN’T MOVE. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe. The collar of my shirt felt impossibly tight. I was sure it was strangling me, slowly cutting off my air supply. He wanted me to punish her. For breaking a goddamn fucking plate of all things. I couldn’t do it. I wouldn’t do it. I’d promised myself, I’d promised Kat, and I’d promised Lucy I’d keep her safe and never hurt her. But I’d have to convince Ray I had, somehow.
I turned around slowly to face Lucy and Kat. They were both staring at me in shock. Kat was nervously chewing on her lip while Lucy was gnawing away at her nails. I took a deep breath and rubbed a hand over my face. “Lucy,” I said, trying to make my voice sound stern in case Ray was listening from the other room. “Come with me.” I reached out to grab her hand but Kat beat me to it.
“Hendrix, no. You can’t do this.” Kat pulled Lucy away from me, wrapping an arm around her protectively.
She believed I was actually going to punish her. “I’m not, Kat. Please, it’s okay.” I stared at her, begging her with my eyes to let Lucy go and to trust me. She knew I would never do anything like this, so I didn’t know why she was stopping me now. She sighed and released Lucy. Lucy gasped and stepped back from me in fear. “Just please go with it. I won’t hurt you,” I pleaded with her.
If I didn’t do something, Ray would punish her instead, and probably me too for failing to control her. “But if we don’t do this, he will.” It was enough to convince Lucy to go with me.
“Okay,” she whispered, taking a step toward me.
“Thank you, Lucy. Just cry, plead, beg, apologise. Anything to make it seem real while I drag you to the room,” I told her. She needed to act now more than ever. Her eye
s widened and she whimpered, quickly shaking her head. “I’ll drag you, but I won’t hurt you; I promise. I’ll just try to make it look rough. If he’s watching, he needs to believe it, Lucy. You can do this, okay?”
She didn’t say anything, just swallowed hard and stepped in front of me. I stood behind her and gripped her upper arms in my hands, squeezing gently. Clenching my jaw, I began to push her out of the kitchen. I prayed to God that Ray believed it, that he actually thought I was sick enough to hurt her.
“Beg,” I hissed in her ear as we stepped over the threshold and into the dining room.
“Hendrix, please, stop. Don’t hurt me. It was an accident. I didn’t mean it. I’ll do anything. I’ll fix it. Please don’t punish me,” she cried and struggled in my grasp as I shoved her as gently as possible into the hall and toward the basement door.
I looked up and saw Ray leaning against the doorframe of the living room watching us with a proud smile on his face. “Stop begging. You fuck up, you get punished. You need to learn,” I growled at her, my stomach knotted as she flinched at my tone. I hated myself for even pretending to do this. This was wrong, so wrong, and he was standing there enjoying every moment of it.
“Please, Hendrix. One chance, give me one chance to make it right. I don’t want you to be mad at me. I’m sorry, so sorry. I l-l-lo—” I pushed her through the open door, led her down the stairs and into her bedroom. I slammed it shut behind us, immediately locking it so he couldn’t disturb us, because I knew he had followed us.
“You were great, Lucy,” I told her as she whipped around to face me as soon as I released her, wrapping her arms around herself protectively. “I think he believed that whole charade.”
“Y-you were v-very convincing.” She stumbled over her words. “What now?”
“Now I have to punish you.” I walked toward where she was perched on the edge of her bed and stopped when she shoved herself back into the wall away from me. I really needed to choose my words more carefully around her.