Assariyah

by La'Toya Makanjuola

  “You look filthy, let me bless you with a good clean,” he mocked and pissed all over me. “I’ll be back tomorrow, don’t go anywhere now.” He laughed before switching off the lights and leaving me alone in the pitch black basement.

  I was drenched in piss and my whole body ached. If I ever did make it out alive I was sure that some of my limbs would need amputating. I struggled to free myself from the ropes but it was no use, they were far too tight and only cut deeper into my skin.

  I was dehydrated and hungry. For the whole night I was left restrained without a single drop of water. I suffered from pins and needles, my hands and legs had a pricking, burning sensation. Some parts of my body felt numb and I struggled to breathe. I knew that if I didn’t find a way to get out of this trap soon, I would die.

  I couldn’t let them win. I had to survive. D held me down when I had nobody. I owed it to him to fight. He had saved me from John Mews all those years ago. The hideous scar in the middle of John’s forehead was a permanent reminder of what D had done for me. He always had my back and his love for me had cut his life short. A single tear dropped down my cheek.

  “I’m sorry D,” I said out loud.

  It was probably in my imagination but I could hear his voice. ‘You’ve got to fight Ma’. Dino would not have wanted me to give up. I had to find a way to block out the pain I was going through. I had survived the horrors of Holloway for seven years, I’d be damned if I died as John Mews’ prisoner. I had to get out of here, there had to be a means of escape. Cameron needed to know that I didn’t stand him up intentionally. I had to win his love back. I needed to survive for Lacey, I was all she had.

  Assariyah you cannot die. Alone with my agony and thoughts I prayed to God to save me. I begged for one more chance to change my ways and live right.

  CHAPTER 17

  By the next morning I was soaked in my own urine. The basement reeked of piss. The smell was totally disgusting. John came down with a tray full of English breakfast and a glass of fresh orange juice. The sight of food and drink teased my senses. It’s probably laced with poison, I told myself to try to take my mind off the food.

  “Uh you filthy bitch, you pissed yourself,” he said, pointing at the puddle that formed around my feet. “I was going to give you breakfast but on second thoughts, since you can’t control yourself, perhaps I won’t give it to you after all.”

  “Look, why don’t you just let me go… or kill me already?” I choked out. My mouth was too dry to shout.

  John walked up to me arrogantly with the plate of food in his hand and smeared it in my face. I jerked my head back and forth to try to stop the heat from burning my skin, but it was no use.

  “Fuck!” I squealed through gritted teeth.

  “Save your cries, we are just getting warmed up,” he smirked and disappeared upstairs.

  Several minutes later John returned with a bucket of water and a studded leather belt in his hands. Without any warning he threw the water all over me. I gasped from the shock of the freezing water hitting my skin. I couldn’t stop shivering.

  “You ungrateful bitch. I’ve just cleaned you up and you can’t even say thank you.” He laughed, “Don’t worry. I’ll teach you to be grateful. He wrapped the studded belt around his fist. My heart jumped, I closed my eyes for fear of what was coming.

  “Arggghhhh!” I cried out as the first lash ripped through me.

  John savagely whipped my wet skin over and over again. The pain was so excruciating, I could feel my last breath escaping from my body. He beat me so severely that I passed out from the brutality.

  I came round a few hours later. I looked around for John but he was nowhere in sight. I was petrified of what he would do to me next. My face, breasts, arms, belly, thighs and legs were covered in gashes and bruises. Every part of me that you can imagine was swollen and ached in the worst way possible. It would have been easier to die but I promised myself that I would do all I could to get out alive. I owed it to myself but most of all I owed it to D’s memory to try.

  I looked around to see if there was anything that I could use to help me, but I couldn’t see anything. I was restricted by the ropes that bounded me. At that moment I was a caged animal wishing on a falling star.

  I waited anxiously for John Mews to resurface, but as the hours ticked away there was no sign of him. Wounded, without food or water, my strength was waning and my hope was shedding away like autumn leaves. If I did not get out soon, I would surely die.

  The end of day two was drawing to a close. Isabella had given John three days to kill me, which meant that he planned to finish me off tomorrow. Trust the bastard to drag this fucking shit out till the eleventh hour. I wished D was here, he would know exactly what to do, but I was all alone and I had to figure out a way to survive.

  CHAPTER 18

  Today would be the day I died if I didn’t think and act fast. I had to come up with a plan to get out of here. I was in dire need of water and medical attention. I had struggled all through the night to try to free myself but the ropes were just too tight. I was in tremendous pain from all the torture inflicted on me over the last couple of days. Fortunately I had managed to loosen the grip of the rope around my chest by taking several deep breaths. I was not free, but at least oxygen could flow through my lungs much easier.

  John came into the basement waving a knife in the air like a crazed fool. Physically I was no match for him, if I wanted to get out alive I would have to try to outsmart him, but the question was how?

  He came close enough to whisper, “I was just beginning to have fun with you. It’s a shame that it all has to end so soon.”

  “John, please don’t kill me, you’ve made me suffer enough.”

  He laughed like a mad man and pressed the blade firmly against my neck. “Tell me how you want to die whore.”

  “I don’t want to die.”

  “She wants to live,” he retorted. “Live… die, live… die, live… die,” he chanted as he ran the blade back and forth in between my breasts.

  John was unpredictable. Any chance of surviving was perilously low. Any moment now I could be taking my last breath.

  God please I know I’m not worthy but if there is a way out of here, show me. Father, please help me to live. I don’t want to die. I prayed silently in my head and awaited my fate.

  “Before I kill you, I want to feel your mouth on my cock one last time.” He pulled his trousers down and held his cock in one hand, jerking himself off slightly.

  The sight of him repulsed me, I turned my head away. And then it suddenly hit me. This was the opportunity I had been waiting for.

  With the way he had me tied up I would have great difficulty sucking his dick. I had to convince him to untie my upper body.

  John grabbed my hair and forcefully tried to push my head down on his cock but my movement was restricted.

  “Suck this fucking dick,” he shouted at me.

  “I can’t move,” I protested. “You have to untie me.”

  He paused and looked at me sceptically. He paced back and forth and deliberated what to do.

  “Don’t go getting any funny ideas now,” he said, while using the knife to cut the rope from my hands and chest.

  When John cut the rope I felt like I had been given a passe-partout to unlock my freedom. I let out a huge sigh of relief. I rubbed my swollen wrists, they ached so badly.

  John shoved himself in my face and grabbed a fist full of my hair.

  “You better suck this dick like the whore you are.”

  I hated each thrust, I hated every pump, but my life was in my hands or, rather, my head. I sucked John’s shaft and glided my tongue over the head of his dick, bringing him to ecstasy. When I saw that he was about close to losing control I clamped my teeth down on his dick and bit his meat as hard as I could.

  “What the fuck?” John growled.

  But I refused to let go. I kept biting and ripping through his dick like a savage beast in the wild.

 
“Bitch!” he groaned, staggering back and forth.

  I was determined not to release him. I tightened my grip and bit down harder.

  John frantically tried to fight me off but it was no use. I don’t know what got into me or where the strength came from, it was almost as if I had been possessed by a rabid dog. I kept biting and tearing away at his organ.

  Blood was gushing everywhere.

  “Fuck … help me,” John screamed.

  I ignored his pleas. If I didn’t kill him, he would kill me. I pressed my teeth down with all my might.

  “Stop … please.”

  I ripped my teeth into him and kept going until his dick fell to the ground.

  “Arrgghhhhhhh… what the …?” He was so horrified and traumatised by the sight of his detached penis that he was unable to finish his sentence. Paralysed with pain John fell to the ground.

  I picked up his knife from the floor and hurriedly cut loose the rope around my ankles. I needed to stand up but my legs felt heavy and numb. I couldn’t move as fast as I wanted to. John was still doubled over groaning, but for how long? I had to get out of there.

  Slowly I managed to pick myself up.

  “Help… don’t leave me here,” John pleaded.

  The sight of the blood was sickening and his whining was driving me crazy but after all the shit he put me through, he had to pay. I picked John’s penis off the floor and shoved it in his mouth.

  “Suck that punk. Bleed to fucking death.”

  I rummaged through John’s pockets for his phone. I scrolled through till I found Isabella’s number and sent a text stating, ‘It’s done’.

  John’s howling was torturous. I wished he would hurry up and die already. I wanted nothing more than to run for my life, but I knew that if I didn’t end things once and for all with Isabella it would only be a matter of time before she caught up with me.

  I figured that in the next two hours, if not sooner, John would bleed to death. I was covered in his blood and wanted to get clean but I decided to wait for Isabella. I positioned myself behind the basement door. I waited anxiously, holding the knife in my hand. I needed to be ready. My best chance of surviving was catching her by surprise.

  I couldn’t recall the exact moment John’s groaning stopped but he was dead. The bastard was finally dead. Isabella was yet to make her appearance. I wondered if I was doing the right thing by waiting. I had just over ten grand in my secret stash that I kept in my room. I thought about grabbing my money and never looking back but deep down I knew unless Isabella was lying next to John I would spend my life looking over my shoulders.

  I wanted nothing more than to run for my life but I knew that if I didn’t end things once and for all today, it would only be a matter of time before she caught up with me.

  I sat in the basement, anxiously waiting for Isabella to show up. I held the knife in my hand. I needed to be ready. It seemed like an eternity had gone pass and there was still no sign of her but I had to be patient.

  Click. Click. Click …

  I finally heard the familiar sound of Isabella’s heels. My heart was beating so fast that I feared I would give myself away.

  “John, show me this dead bitch …”

  As soon as she walked through the basement door I plunged the knife deeply into the side of her neck. By the time she realised what was happening it was already too late. I pulled the knife out of her neck. Blood spurted out rapidly. As she struggled clutching her neck, I stabbed her in the chest.

  “That’s for Dino, bitch,” I said.

  Isabella fell to the ground with the knife buried in her chest. I bent down to check her pulse to make sure she was dead. There was nothing. I had killed her. Including Jasmina, I now had three bodies under me. I would have to live with the nightmares that came with taking another’s life, but I was alive and that was a price I was willing to pay for my sins.

  I ran out of the basement and locked the door behind me, leaving Isabella and John to rot in there. Once I got my money I would be out of this place for good. I headed straight to where I kept my stash. I was shocked to find it empty. What the fuck? In a state of frenzy I turned the place upside down, but it was a futile task. My money was gone. That motherfucker Aaron must have robbed me, it had to be him. All of my hard work had been for nothing. The little money I had in my purse wouldn’t get me far.

  I contemplated going back to take Isabella’s diamonds and money, but I couldn’t stomach the sight of the horror that lurked down below. Right now, I had to clean myself up and get the fuck out. I couldn’t waste anymore time thinking about the money I had lost.

  I cleaned myself up the best I could and put on some clothes. My whole body still ached and was covered in cuts and bruises. Every breath I took was painful. Somehow I had managed to block out the pain but my adrenaline rush had worn out and the pain was now dominating me. I needed help fast.

  I grabbed a scarf, wrapped it around my head and covered my face as much as possible to disguise the swelling and bruising. I threw on my sunglasses, picked up my handbag and walked away from the house calmly to avoid suspicion. I carried on walking till I felt I was a safe distance away from the house. I hailed down a taxi. There was only one place I could go to.

  CHAPTER 19

  I got the taxi driver to drop me a few streets away from Cameron’s home in Kensington. After paying the fare I jumped out of the taxi and walked the rest of the way.

  When I got there I pushed the intercom to speak to security. “Hi, it’s Assariyah, I’m here to see Cameron Simmons.”

  “I’m sorry Mr Simmons is not at home, was he expecting you?”

  I left without replying. I didn’t get very far though. With nowhere else to go I decided to wait a few metres away from his gate.

  The minutes felt like hours but in reality I waited less than one hour. About forty minutes later, Derrick, his long time driver, pulled up in the latest Range Rover with Cameron and Tola in the back. Shit! What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have come here. Just when I was starting to regret my decision, Cameron jumped out of the car.

  “Assariyah, what are you doing here?” he asked, sounding less than pleased to see me. “You can’t just show up unexpectedly whenever you feel like it.”

  Tola was peering through the window at us, trying to figure out what was going on.

  “Cam I really need …”

  “Save it Assariyah, I’m tired of your excuses. I waited for you at the Grand Café and you didn’t show up. Now I’m busy.”

  “What’s going on darling?” Tola interrupted.

  “Nothing love we’re done here,” he replied.

  “Cam, please I really need your help,” I said desperately and pulled off my sunglasses to reveal the full extent of my injuries.

  “My God!” he gasped. “Wait here.”

  Cameron walked back to the car, he got in and said a few words to Tola. She didn’t look impressed at all. From the looks of things they were arguing. Some minutes later Cameron came out of the car.

  “I hope she’s fucking worth it,” Tola yelled out of the window as Derrick pulled off.

  “I’m sorry Cam, I didn’t mean to cause any problems.”

  “Well that’s a bit late now, but Tola will be fine. I’ve asked Derrick to drop her home.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Stop saying sorry.”

  “Sorry.”

  He looked at me and in the midst of all the madness we managed to share a little smile.

  Cameron pushed the intercom and security let us through.

  “Can I get you a cup of tea?” Cameron asked once we were inside.

  I realised that I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in almost thirty-six hours. I was certain that it was only by the grace of God that I was still standing.

  “I’ll just have water please,” I finally replied.

  “Coming right up,” Cameron said, as he made his way to the kitchen.

  I stood in the living room alone. It had been so long
since I last stepped foot inside this house. So many memories were created here, so much joy shared, and now as I stared at a picture of Tola and Cameron on the wall I was filled with regret over how I had screwed up and lost it all.

  Cameron returned holding a glass of water and a cup of tea. He handed me the glass of water, “Let’s take a seat.”

  “Thank you,” I said, taking a seat on the sofa next to him. I gulped down the water within seconds.

  “Tell me what happened to you Assariyah.”

  I shook my head slowly, “Everything is so messed up Cam.”

  “I can’t help you unless you tell me what’s wrong and it’s obvious you need my help or you wouldn’t be here.”

  He was right; I needed his help more than anything. I took off my scarf so that he could see how badly bruised and cut I was.

  “What the hell? Who did this?”

  “On the day that I was supposed to meet you at the Royal Exchange an ex-client from my past called John Mews broke into the house I was staying in and kidnapped me. He tied me up and tortured me in the basement for three days without any food or water, based on orders from Isabella Von Tini who owned the escort agency I used to work for. She gave him three days to kill me. It was beyond hell Cam, I was so scared that I was going to die. They killed my friend Dino and it’s all my fault.” I started to sob and shake uncontrollably. The thought of D being dead broke me down. To think that I would never hear his voice or see him again cut deep.

  Cameron gave me his handkerchief and put his arms around me to comfort me.

  “Where are these people now? How did you get away?”

  “I killed them Cam, it was the only way I managed to escape alive. I don’t wanna go back to prison Cam. I can’t go back there ever.”

  “Try to stay calm Assariyah. I’ll get it sorted.”

  “How the hell I’m I supposed to stay calm Cam? I’ve just killed two people.”

  “Listen, do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” I nodded, “but how…”

  “No buts. Did anyone see you leaving the house?”