by Paul Preston
They walked arm and arm back to Bella Lisa’s bedroom. She helped him undress and they cuddled up in bed together. He fell asleep almost immediately. She could feel his breath tickle the hairs on the back of her neck. He wrapped his left arm around her body, holding her left breast in his firm grasp, while his right hand was buried in the thick curling ringlets of her abundant golden brown hair. She drifted off to sleep, listening to his breath.
In the middle of the night Bella Lisa got up to use the bathroom and went back to bed, but noticed Williamson was not there. Through tired eyes she squinted at the digital clock across the room. It was 3:30AM. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. She turned a few times, realizing she missed his hand embracing her breast and the warmth of his body against her back. She sat up in bed, put on her red silk robe and left her bedroom.
The hallways and corridors of the condo were very dark and quiet. She couldn’t hear a sound. She walked around, wondering where he was, poking her head into the fitness room, which was dark. She walked silently to the very center of the condo, looking down toward the North, South and East Wings, but saw only darkness. She caught her breath and turned to look over her shoulder in the direction of the West Wing. She put her hand over her breast when she saw a sliver of light at the end of the corridor escaping beneath the bottom of the black door. She walked slowly down the corridor and began to hear muffled voices coming from inside the room.
Was there someone in there with him? Another woman?
Feelings of jealousy and anger flared up in her heart. She turned the knob slowly and adjusted her eyes to the dim light. She held her breath when she saw him, just as in the dream, sitting across the room with his back to her, his head bowed, muttering to himself. He held a long sharp knife in his left hand, dangling it at the tip of his fingers.
She took a step into the room and he immediately snapped his head toward her and stood up with a wild look in his eyes. He appeared to be in a deeply agitated altered state.
“Why did you come here? I told you the West Wing is strictly forbidden. You don’t belong here. Get out!”
Bella Lisa took a step backwards toward the door.
“Get out I said!”
“Mr. Williamson, what are you doing here? What are you doing with that knife?”
“Did you not hear what I said?”
He whirled around and violently stabbed the knife point down into the wooden surface of the restraint table next to him. Bella Lisa noticed a fresh cut on the back of his left calf. Blood dripped down to his ankle.
“Why don’t you come with me back to our bed to rest, Mr. Williamson?”
Williamson pulled the knife back out of the wood.
“You really don’t listen very well, do you? I explicitly told you not to enter the West Wing.”
“Why are you cutting yourself in the leg, Mr. Williamson?”
“The beast demands a blood sacrifice.”
“What beast? There is no beast.”
“The beast lives within me. It’s always there, just under the surface of my skin. He’s watching you right now, through my eyes, waiting for his chance to cut you, to mark you and make you his. To whip you and mount you for its pleasure. Please get out, for your own protection, Ms. Mauricio. I won’t ask you again.”
“There’s no beast within you. It’s all in your mind and I’ll prove it to you Mr. Williamson.”
Bella Lisa slipped out of her silk robe and let it drop to the floor. She shivered when she felt the cold air on her body. Standing naked in front of him, she reached out her arms.
“I will offer myself to the beast, to do with me what he will, even kill me if it likes. Let’s see how real this beast is, Mr. Williamson.”
“He told me you wanted it, Ms. Mauricio. I didn’t believe him. I suppose he was right.”
Bella Lisa trembled slightly, putting her arms at her sides. She tried to control her shaking voice and shallow breaths by thinking of the innocent boy inside the man, whose mind was shattered during those three days strapped to the table in the cellar.
“I know that you don’t want to cut me, Mr. Williamson.”
“Then don’t tempt the beast. He has just fed off me. He still has the taste of blood in his mouth.”
“There is no beast. You’re just cutting your own skin. There is no beast feeding off you.”
“I am the beast, Ms. Mauricio…”
“Then come and have me, if you’re real. I offer myself to you, Beast.”
“This is your final warning.”
“I know you don’t really want to hurt me. You can’t. You made a vow to keep me safe, to not cause me pain.”
“OK, Ms. Mauricio, you want to play in the West Wing, we’ll play.”
Williamson grabbed Bella Lisa by the wrist of one hand, holding his knife in the other and dragged her across the room to the St. Andrew’s Cross that towered over the room. He stabbed his knife into the wood and splayed her body in an X-shape, restraining her wrists to the top of the cross and her ankles to the bottom. He grabbed her breasts and gave Bella Lisa a violent kiss. Her body remained cold and unresponsive to his touch.
“You look so vulnerable right now, at my mercy and it makes me so hard. Would you like me to fuck you before or after I slice you, and lick the blood off your skin. Where would you like me to cut you first?”
Williamson ran the cold blood stained knife over each of her body parts as he named them. Though she was truly terrified, Bella Lisa tried to remain calm by looking him directly in the eyes.
“Your pretty face, your slender neck, your soft white shoulders and arms, your lovely round tits, your belly and thighs, or even better, perhaps I should slice you on your pussy, I think I’d like that best.”
“As my Dom you know what my pain tolerance is and you promised me, you gave me your vow to not go beyond what I can endure. You promised to give me pleasure and no pain.”
“The beast makes no such promises.”
“Let’s put the knife down and go back to bed, honey. We can talk about this tomorrow.”
“You think this is just a game I’m playing, Ms. Mauricio?”
Williamson put the blade to her throat.
“I know you can’t do this to me.”
“How can you be so sure?
“Because I know that you don’t want to hurt me, Mr. Williamson.”
“You don’t really know who I am, Ms. Mauricio. I’ve fantasized about hurting you from the first moment I met you. I’ve looked forward with great anticipation to marking you, to making you mine.”
“You don’t have to cut me to make me yours. I’m yours already, don’t you see?”
“Once, while you were sleeping, I stood over your bed with the knife in my hand, wanting to cut you…”
A chill spread through Bella Lisa’s spine and she shivered.
“But you didn’t do it. Did you? You didn’t cut me. You knew that it was wrong, that it would hurt me. You knew I put my trust in you to keep me safe from pain.”
“You… trust me?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Even though I’m holding a knife to your throat, you still trust me?”
“Even though you’re holding a knife to my throat, Mr. Williamson…”
Williamson shut his eyes, took a long breath and rested his forehead on the cross.
He slowly lowered his arm and dropped the knife. He released her from the restraints, and silently turned away, walking into the shadows of the dark gloomy room. Bella Lisa picked her robe off the floor and put it back on.
“You see, I knew I could trust you…”
“Just… go, Ms. Mauricio.”
“Not without you. Come back to bed with me.”
“No, I’d prefer to stay here.”
“Mr. Williamson—”
“I release you from the contract. Your father’s debt is now repaid in full.”
“That’s not necessary. I agreed to stay for the entire week. I want to.”
“You
are no longer required to stay.”
“It’s late. Why don’t we talk about it in the morning?”
Bella Lisa walked over to Williamson and reached out her hand, touching him gently on the arm. Williamson stepped away from her.
“Please come back with me, Mr. Williamson. The bed’s empty without you.”
“Thank you, but I’d prefer to stay here, Ms. Mauricio.”
Williamson sat back down on a bench and turned away from her. Bella Lisa left the room.
Chapter Five
Day Four - Tuesday
The next morning Bella Lisa awoke, once again alone. She read a note Williamson left on the bed next to her, with a red rose on top of it. She put the rose back in its vase before it lost any more petals and read the note.
“I will never forgive myself for my violent behavior toward you last night, even though I know in the goodness of your heart you most likely already have forgiven me. You may trust me, Beauty, but I do not trust myself. It is no longer safe for you to be here. I release you from your contract. Your father’s debt is repaid. I will remember you for the rest of my life. The elevator is no longer blocked. You are free to go. W”
After checking her phone for a message from her father, she quickly texted Williamson back.
“Mr. Williamson, don’t be so dramatic. You can’t get rid of me that easily. Besides, we all have our annoying little quirks. You talk to beasts that aren’t there, I constantly forget to put the top back on the toothpaste. Let’s talk about what happened later this evening, in person…Mr. Williamson, there is something important I need your help with. I know you’re probably extremely busy at work, but I’m very worried about my father. I haven’t heard from him in 3 days. He hasn’t responded to my messages and texts. You’ve got to help me find him, Mr. Williamson. I think he might be hurt or in some kind of trouble. Do you happen to know how I might be able to get a hold of him? Please help me locate him if you can!”
She pressed send and got a response almost immediately.
“Ms. Mauricio, I do not deserve the generosity you’ve shown me. Thank you… As for your father, I’m on it. I’ll get back to you the minute I know something. Stay close to your phone. And again, thank you for the kindness and your forgiveness. W”
Less than an hour later as Bella Lisa was pacing back and forth in the kitchen drinking her coffee, Williamson arrived, holding some workout clothes and a satchel.
“Mr. Williamson!”
“We’ve found him, Ms. Mauricio.”
“Oh, thank goodness.”
“Through my connections at the Seaside City Playhouse, I tracked down his agent who told me your father didn’t show up for an important audition on Monday. I had my security team stake out the PO Box I’ve been sending his rent checks too, and we got lucky. He showed up this morning to check his box and the men followed him back to a rundown hotel he’s living in. Luman is watching his movements and he’s still inside the hotel room. Cogworthy is waiting in the limo downstairs to take you directly to him. In this satchel is 25,000 dollars in cash and my Gold Amex Card. I put your name on the account, so feel free to use it, as needed.”
Williamson put the satchel of money and the credit card in her purse.
“You are too kind, Mr. Williamson. I will pay you back. Every penny. I promise.”
“That won’t be necessary. Here’s a pair of Maria’s sweat pants and a sweat shirt, and her jogging shoes, I think they might be a little big, but they’ll have to do. That was the best I could do at such short notice. Luman reported to me that he seemed inebriated or maybe high on drugs—”
“Oh God, I knew it.”
“So we have no time to waste.”
Bella Lisa threw on the clothes and shoes, put her cell phone in her pocket and they took the elevator down to the waiting limo. Williamson opened the door for her and got in, but Williamson stood on the corner.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“No. Go to him, Ms. Mauricio. I release you.”
“I’ll come right back after I help him. I promise.”
“Yes.”
“How can I ever thank you for the kindness you’ve shown my family?”
“Goodbye, Ms. Mauricio.”
Williamson shut the door, tapped on the roof of the limo and watched it speed away. A sharp pain struck him in the pelvis and he doubled over. He rubbed his groin, painfully stood back up and walked back into his condo.
The limo pulled up at the café across from the hotel and parked. Bella Lisa, Cogworthy and Luman walked across the street and up the two flights of steps to the hotel room. Bella Lisa knocked on the door. Luman held a plastic bag.
“Dad? Are you in there? It’s me, Bella Lisa. Come on, let me in Dad. Open the door.”
“Please go away, Bella.”
“Why didn’t you return my calls or texts? What’s going on Dad?”
“I just need some space, Bella. Please go away.”
“Come on, Dad. Open the door.”
“Go away.”
Bella Lisa breathed out, nodded at Cogworthy and the two men threw their shoulders into the door, easily ripping it out of its frame. Bella Lisa stepped in, followed by the two men.
“What the fuck?” Mauricio shouted.
Bella Lisa looked at the dingy apartment. The floor was littered with empty beer and liquor bottles. Lines of cocaine were arranged on an old coffee table in front of an old couch. Mauricio stood with a rolled up dollar bill in his hand, the residue of white powder in his nostrils. Bella just shut her eyes and shook her head, sadly.
“Dad, what are you doing?”
“You have no right to barge in on me like this.”
“Your agent said you missed your auditions on Monday.”
“My ex-agent. I’m a legitimate actor and he keeps sending me out on commercial calls.”
“Dad, I want you to come with me. There’s a detox clinic I found on my cell phone just outside of LA. I’m going to take you there and help you—”
“Come on. It’s just a little blow, a few beers—”
“You lost our condo, Dad. Mr. Williamson has been kind enough to—”
“Oh, Williamson is a great guy. I’ve seen the way he looks at you—”
“It’s not like that. He’s—”
“You think I don’t know what’s going on—”
“I’m working for him this week.”
“Oh yeah? Doing what?”
“I’m working as his personal assistant. I’ve been—”
“Are you having sex with him?”
Bella Lisa slapped her father sharply in the face.
“How dare you say that? I told you, it’s not like that. If you bothered to read my texts or listen to my messages, you would know that he has not taken advantage of me. Anyway, if it wasn’t for your stupidity, gambling away your money in the stock market, I wouldn’t have been put in this position in the first place.”
Mauricio rubbed his cheek and stared at the floor.
“You’re right. I deserved that slap. I’m sorry. Too much blow. I’m a little fucked up…”
“It’s OK, Dad…”
“Who are those two guys?”
“They’re part of Mr. Williamson’s security team. They helped me find you.”
“Good morning, Mr. Mauricio,” Luman said.
“You going to pay for the door you broke?”
“We’ve got it covered, Mr. Mauricio,” Cogworthy said.
“So pack a suitcase, Dad. We’re going to drive you out to the clinic.”
“Who’s paying for the clinic? I can’t afford—”
“Mr. Williamson’s given me a loan which I intend to pay back once I have a job.”
“Listen, Bella Lisa, I don’t need anyone else’s help. I can get my own shit together. I’m not going anywhere.”
Mauricio made a move to take another snort of the coke and Cogworthy grabbed him. Luman got a cord of rope and duct tape out of a bag he carried.
“Get yo
ur hands off me! Do you even know who I am? Get the hell out of my house before I call the cops and have you arrested.”
“Sorry. Mr. Mauricio,” Luman said, taping his mouth shut.
As the men securely tied up Mauricio, Bella Lisa got rid of the drugs and bottles of liquor, then threw some clothes in a suitcase for her father.
“You’ll feel a whole lot better when you dry out, Mr. Mauricio,” Cogworthy said.
“That’s right, and look at all those famous actors that spent a little time in clinics, Robert Downey, Jr., Charlie Sheen. Your career will be bigger than ever after you get better,” Luman said.
“Sorry we have to do this to you, Dad. But I’m taking you to this clinic whether you like it or not. I hope they have a bed available.”
Cogworthy threw Mauricio over his shoulder and carried him out to the limo after Luman gave him the all clear signal. They got him into the limo without anyone noticing.
Cogworthy put him in the back seat and they drove out to the detox clinic. On the drive, Bella Lisa gave Luman two thousand dollars to repair the damage to the hotel door and settle whatever amount her father owed in rent. Cogworthy offered to move Mauricio’s things to the spare guest bedroom at the condo, but Bella Lisa did not wish to impose on Mr. Williamson further, so she gave Luman another thousand dollars to rent a storage unit for his few belongings. When they arrived at the clinic, Mauricio had calmed down. Bella Lisa got him checked in and paid the fees with the credit card Williamson had given to her. After two hours, Mauricio was safely resting in his room. Bella Lisa went out to the parking area where the men were waiting.
“My dad’s checked in. Thanks for everything, guys.”
“Is he going to be OK, Ms. Mauricio?” Cogworthy asked.
“The doctor I met with said he was pretty strung out. He must’ve been on a drug binge since he dropped me off on Saturday. They said it will be tough, but they will clean out his system and give him some addiction counseling. He’ll probably be there for a few weeks, at least.”
“He’s in the right place then,” Luman said.
“You guys might as well take off. I’ll be here at least a couple of days helping my Dad get through this. Could you do me a favor?”
“Sure, Ms. Mauricio,” Luman said.