Play Me

by Ivy Knight

  "Is this some kind of sick joke? Alessio doesn't have a kid," Dean states.

  "That's what he wanted you to believe, isn't that right, Alessio?"

  "It's his," I'm the one to speak. I know Alessio won't say something stupid, but he might lash out and do something stupid so to keep him from doing so, I have to take charge.

  "Summer, why didn't you tell anyone?" Vincent questions.

  "Because it's mine and Alessio's business, he was gonna be our son, so why does anyone else's opinion matter?"

  "How about this family drama carries on some other time, because I have some business that I came here to deal with," Nick cuts in. "So if you don't want any harm to come to this sweet little boy, then I suggest you all put your weapons down. Now."

  No one moves. Nick waits another minute scanning the crowd, but no one puts their weapons down. His patience coming to an end, a scream releases from Elenora lips. We all watch as Luciano is dropped from her arms when one of Nick's men cuts her arm.

  But before Luciano lands on the ground, August catches him.

  "Put your weapons down, NOW!" I yell not willing to test Nick's limits anymore.

  "Su-"

  "NOW! Put them down!" I yell again this time looking at Kai. He's standing still, but only because of Dakota's grip on his arm. I see the fire in his eyes, the urge in his body to fight for his son and the helplessness within holding him back.

  All of which I'm responsible for.

  My attention averts back as I hear metal meeting the marble floor. When everyone's weapons are down, Nick's men enter picking them up and searching each one of the guests for any more weapons. Once all his men give Nick the clear, a devilish smirk grows on his face.

  His men lined at the end of each row, keeping the guests out of Nick's way, there's a clear path between him and I.

  "You really think not giving me an invitation would stop me from coming?" Nick questions.

  "No, I just thought spending thousands of dollars on security would, but I guess not."

  "When it comes to you, nothing can stop me."

  "What do you want, Nick?" I question.

  His head drops as he lets out a small chuckle making his way down towards me. He stops two feet away and looks up.

  "You. Marry me," he says.

  "Don't play games, if it's money you want, we can give you the exact amount you name," Alessio steps in between.

  "He's not playing, Alessio."

  Alessio turns around bewildered.

  "It's between Nick and I. Alessio, please step back."

  "Summer," Alessio sighs.

  "You need to take care of your family Alessio, and I need to take care of mine, please," I beg him. Noticing the look of desperation in my eyes, Alessio bobs his head taking his place on the side.

  I look at Nick. His suit unbuttoned, he's wearing all black with a slight stubble growing on his face. His eyes lighter than I usual, I find it hard to speak.

  "Marry me, Summer White," Nick talks again.

  "If it were a question, I'd say no," I respond coldly.

  "Then what are we waiting for," Nick says getting up next to me. I turn around to face him as he instructs the pastor to start the ceremony.

  "We have come together at the invitation of Summer and ..."

  "Nicholas," Nick says for the pastor.

  "Yes, uh - Nicholas to celebrate the uniting in Christian love, their hearts and lives. This is possible because of the love God has created in them, through Jesus Christ..." As the pastor continues on, my mind blurs with thoughts of everything I've done to escape the man in front of me and how it's all been for nothing.

  I feel the dryness in my eyes sting, my body tense with fear trying not to tremble and the sound of my heart beating, screaming for help, but no one else notices it. Not even Nick, because that's how much I've perfected faking it.

  My eyes avert to the guests, still standing on their feet, not being able to do anything. I see in their eyes, they want to do something, but they can't. Dean's hands still fisted, Amelia holds Alec and Cole down and Kai's eyes shine bright red.

  Nick regains my attention when it's time to exchange the rings. I inhale and exhale as I slide the ring on his finger.

  "I, Summer White, take you, Nicholas Black, as my wedded husband, and I promise to love, honor, and respect; to be faithful to you; and not to forsake you until death – do us part."

  A mischievous grin grows on Nick's face as I say my vows. From ignorant to confident in seconds, he knows he's winning and all I can do is play along.

  Extending my hand out, Nick slides a ring onto my finger.

  "I, Nicholas Black, take you, Summer White, to be my wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death... do us part."

  "Throughout this ceremony, Summer and Nicholas have vowed, in our presence, to be loyal and loving towards each other. They have formalized the existence of the bond between them with words spoken and with the giving and receiving of rings. Therefore, it is my pleasure to now pronounce them husband and wife. You may now kiss your bride."

  His arm curls around my waist pulling me in and he leans in kissing me. I don't kiss him back, I just can't. I don't like his touch. I don't like his taste. His presence on its own, makes my blood boil and now the idea of knowing that he can use this useless title of being my husband, is frightening.

  "Smile, Summer. The game has just started," Nick whispers. Standing next to me, he takes my hand in his and we make our way down through the aisle.

  Everyone in the room is silent. An aura of complete despair and helpless fills the room and not a single person can meet my eyes, not even Kai.

  At least, not anymore.

  ...♛...

  My head heavy, my eyes flutter open to only find more darkness.

  Slowly helping myself up, I lean against a cold metal wall. The room smelling like rusted metal mixed with sea water, the light sound of waves crashing, tells me I'm on a boat.

  A loud creak and sudden movement makes me fall to the side and I hit my head hard on the metal floor. Screaming, I feel my whole body sting with pain. Agonizing images of the last forty-eight hours play in my mind.

  After the ceremony ended, Nick stayed back at the church and August took me to one of their houses locking me in the master bedroom. Hours went by before Nick arrived and those hours of anticipation never felt so good after what happened next.

  He was angry.

  The last three years of anger built up in him and he took it out in a form people would call love.

  I can still hear him unzipping the dress like he was the only one who could.

  His hands touching my skin in a way that made my body pulse in fear each time.

  His lips so full of lust, that you could even mistake it for love, but it wasn't.

  It was all anger.

  And his words were full of every truth I avoid.

  The worst part is, it's only the start.

  White is sometimes used to symbolize the start of something new, but today, I brought myself back to where I was three years ago.

  Chapter 61

  "Get up," one of Nick's men instructs as he pushes my shoulders against the wall to make me sit up.

  The room dark, I can only see half of his face that's visible through the light coming in from the door.

  "What are you doing?" I question as I see a tray of instruments on the floor.

  "You haven't slept for more than three hours in the last four days," he acknowledges.

  "Four days? It's been four days already?" I ask shocked. "Where's Nick? Why hasn't he come again?"

  He doesn't answer. Instead, he grabs my arm with a tight grip.

  "No! Where's Nick?" I try to fight him, but the back of his hand immediately meets my cheek. "Fuck."

  "Don't raise your voice here. We're in control, not you," he warns before sticking the needle into my arm.

&nbs
p; The dose activates quickly blurring my vision. I try to keep my eyes open but the lids only get heavier, and as the man leaves taking the only source of light with him, I stop fighting and allow the drug to pull me into a deep much-needed sleep.

  ...♛...

  "Morning, Kiddo," I hear Nick's voice as I wake up. My head heavy, I lift it slowly. I try to use my hands to massage my head so that it can ease my headache, but I find them tied underneath me. My ankles also chained to the ground, I'm locked onto my hands and knees with my back fully exposed except for the ripped and dirty t-shirt covering it.

  "Would you like some coffee?" Nick extends his cup far enough for the smell to reach me and make me crave a taste, but I don't show it.

  I just avert my eyes from the cup to him and he pulls the cup back putting it down next to his chair.

  The boat creaking, I let the smell of salty ocean take over my sense.

  "How are you feeling, sore? Oh wait, you should be used to it by now. I mean you're not the fifteen-year-old virgin I brought in three years ago anymore."

  "Ho-" I try to speak, but I can't. My throat is too dry and I don't have it in me to fight against it.

  "Here," Nick holds the end of an open water bottle close to my lips. I nod my head declining his offer. "You sure?"

  "Yeah," my reply is barely louder than a whisper. I close my eyes and try to swallow my own spit to moisturize my throat. "Where have you been? Mh-mh."

  "Did you miss me?"

  "You – you could say that," I stutter. I couldn't string the words together and needed to close my eyes to process my own thoughts. The weakness invading my body is too much for me to handle. I don't even know how I'm conscious.

  I don't remember waiting anything, but knowing Nick, he probably had vitamins injected into me to keep my artificially healthy.

  "I had some things that needed to be taken care of personally. Once you control all of America's black market, you can't just let it fall."

  "Let's not forget it has to be done from a ship."

  "When you need to keep low and out of everyone's eyes, you learn that there's no better way to hide than to get lost at sea."

  "You're quite poetic today."

  "Just when I see you," Nick shares.

  "You still smoke?" he questions pulling out a cigarette from his pack and lighting it. His eyes curiously watch me eye the cigarette anticipating my answer.

  "Occasionally."

  "Mmm. I think you should stop completely. Your lips look better around other things anyway."

  "Yeah, like on the end of a bottle."

  "Well, I had other things in mind."

  "I'm sure you did."

  "Your family's searching for you," Nick says after taking a hit of his cigarette.

  "And they're not gonna stop."

  "No one's asking them to."

  "Then what's the problem?"

  "My brother's taking the lead."

  "Does that surprise you?"

  "No, because if it came down to it, I'd kill him in cold blood for you, right in front of you."

  "I don't doubt it."

  "But what I am surprised about, is that he loves you despite knowing that you are like me in every way."

  "That's because he doesn't see me for who I am. He sees me as who I was, the innocent fifteen-year-old who was tortured underneath his feet every single day."

  "So he avoids the truth."

  "Yeah."

  "And you let him."

  "He's stubborn."

  Nick lets out a chuckle, "Who isn't these days?"

  After a few moments of silence, Nick loses interest in the cigarette and rubs it out throwing it to the side. His elbows resting on the top of his knees, he leans in with a stern look plastered across his face.

  "Tell me the truth Summer, how many men have you slept with in the last three years?"

  "Two," I lie. I know his games. The higher the number, more severe the punishment will be.

  I've actually slept with Kai, Alessio and Donte. Maybe even more people, but I don't remember and I'm not keen on letting Nick know. He's doing enough damage as is.

  "And did you mean any of them?"

  "No," I easily word knowing that it was the truth.

  "But you enjoyed them?"

  "Yes."

  His eyes focused on mine, they darken hiding his pupil completely. A few seconds pass before Nick stands up unbuttoning his coat, taking it off and hanging it on the chair, he leaves himself in a black buttoned shirt and grey pants.

  Then he walks to the side, around me, and stops behind, somewhere out of my vision.

  Eventually, I hear his clothes ruffle as he bends over and I feel his hand hover over my back until it reaches my head pulling it back with a grip on my hair.

  "You're going to regret ever letting them touch you," he speaks into my ear coldly making the hair on the back of neck stand on their ends.

  The instant his hand lets go of my hair, they find a grip on the collar of the shirt, ripping it in half exposing my bare back. The cold air dancing across my back, causes goosebumps and my breath hitches in my throat as I close my eyes preparing myself for the worse.

  "The new tattoo suits you," he says as his fingers traces its pattern and I flinch at his touch. He releases a small laugh as he witness my reaction. "But it's so perfect, it's unrealistic. A dragon without scars, isn't a dragon, but I can fix that for you."

  And my head turns trying to catch a glimpse of Nick as I hear him unbuckle his belt.

  "Three years, two guys, makes six lashes," Nick speaks.

  "Nick-"

  "Shh," Nick cuts me off and I close my eyes taking in a deep breath as my hands fist. "The more you fight it, the more it'll hurt."

  And then there's only a split second between the sound of the belt in the air to the agonizing scream that's empowered by every ounce of oxygen in my lungs. Lowering my front, I whimper as the burn from the lash travels throughout my body and I find it hard to breathe.

  My hearing becomes distant.

  My eyes fill with tears as my body trembles not being able to comprehend the pain that was inflicted.

  "Believe it or not, there was a time where I would've stopped after hearing that, but not after what you did."

  Once those words escape his lips, they catch my attention.

  "After what I did? I ran away from a monster,"

  I defend feeling sick from his accusation.

  What did I ever do to him?

  Nothing.

  I did nothing to him.

  "No, Summer," Nick pulls me up with a grip on my hair and I bite down on my tongue holding myself from screaming.

  "You took away what was mine," his other hand grabs at my stomach leaving me bewildered. His nails claw at the skin leaving faint scratches on the skin.

  "No," I whisper to myself.

  Nick backs away and before I have the chance to think, another lash rips the skin on my back leaving me with tears in my eyes.

  "Fuck," I breathe. My elbows resting on the floor, I lie my forehead on my fist refusing to believe his accusation, "You killed it."

  "No. That's what I made you think," Nick says. "Why do you think you only remember bits and pieces of what happened? Don't you think you would remember if I dragged you out of here for an abortion?"

  "I didn't!"

  "You did!" he yells as he uses his full strength this time.

  "NICK UGH-AH!" I cry. "I- I-"

  "You ripped your stomach into shreds that day just to make sure that my baby would never be born, Summer. I took you to the hospital despite knowing that there was no chance it would be alive, because you weren't going to take everything away from me. I wasn't gonna let you go so easily after what you took from me."

  "I- I don't remember," I sigh heavily as the tears rush down my face. My spine swivels trying to find an angle that doesn't hurt as much, but it's useless.

  Everything hurts.

  My mind.

  My body.

  My s
oul.

  Everything.

  "Because I took it all on me! Because I knew you would never be able to live knowing that you killed your own child!" Nick yells.

  "No," I shake my head. "You did that knowing that you could use it against me later. You- you don't care about me, Nick. you just think you do- AH! Fuck!"

  I feel the blood rushing to my head making me dizzy. Sweat starts to drip from my forehead as I try to keep myself awake.

  "That was for fucking other guys," Nick extends.

  "Ugh-Ah!"

  "That one's for our kid and this one's for me."

  "AHH- FUCK! ... fuck," I breathe as my forehead meets the floor for support. The blood tricking through the ripped skin I feel it drip down from my shoulders onto the floor next to my head.

  I hear the belt hit the ground and a breath of relief escapes my lips as I remain with my forehead on the ground and my eyes closed.

  Nick's hands near my ankles, I flinch immediately turning my head and looking at him. His eyes meet mine without a single remorse before they drop down to his hands. I follow his gaze and watch as he unlocks he cuffs around my ankles.

  Once they're undone, I bring my knee closer to my hands and sit on my legs as my whole body shakes uncontrollably. The blood from my back drips on my feet wetting them and I try not to focus on the pain.

  Nick gets up and I watch as he makes his way towards the door.

  "You should've killed me when father gave you what you needed," I state challengingly.

  "I should've," Nick says before exiting. When the door locks, the lights turn off and I break down.

  Crying hysterically, my body is mixed with emotions and pain that's indescribable.

  My mind is too full to even comprehend what Nick accused me of, so I close my eyes trying to remember that night.

  I try and try and try, but the same pictures repeat themselves not hinting me towards anything plausible. My body eventually caves in, before my mind does, pulling me into a long-awaited numbness.

  Chapter 62

  It's been three months and nothing has changed.

  Somedays, Nick comes and shows me his worse, and somedays, I'm left alone with an endless train of thoughts in my mind.