The worst is yet to come, I can feel it.
I’ll be eighteen in a little over six months and then I can finally get out of here. I need to get out of here. I need to be free, but Blake…how could I leave him?
Blake loves his life here. He’s sixteen and the star of our basketball team despite only just starting his junior year. He’s going places in life and Lucien knows it. He treats him like a king, he showers him with gifts, girls, cars…anything he wants, he gets. Don’t get me wrong, Blake is a smart kid, he knows something isn’t right, he knows the Valentines aren’t good people, but he has no idea just how bad it can be.
I see the light in the hallway under my door turn off and I throw my blanket off, running to my door to double-check it’s locked. I’ve been locking it a lot, every night because I know he’s coming…I just don’t know when. I feel it in my bones.
Have you ever had to be terrified in your own home? It’s not a great feeling. Always looking around corners, always hiding out and staying out to the latest hours of the morning before coming home and leaving as early as possible. It’s not something I’d wish upon anyone.
Fear has never gripped me like this before. Maybe it did when my parents were killed, but I can’t remember as all I seem to think about is making it through the night without being touched. I used to think about my parents all the time, the good and the bad, but he’s stolen those memories and replaced them with nothing but fear.
It’s sickening. I’ve never felt so alone.
I hear the door handle jiggle and I suck in a breath as I sit up straight in bed, wide-eyed and panicking.
No. This can’t be happening.
Please be Blake. Please be Blake.
With the door locked, whoever stands on the other side doesn’t get far and I’m just about to let out a breath of relief until I hear what sounds like a key slipping into the lock. There’s a soft click that I hardly hear over the sound of my blood pumping in my ears and I panic.
My hands begin to sweat and I stare into the dark, watching the door like a hawk. There’s nowhere to go. I don’t have a walk-in closet to hide in. There’s no under-bed space. Nothing. Not even a window low enough to jump out of. I’m trapped.
The door pushes open and I see the outline of Lucien Valentine stepping over the threshold and slipping a silver key into his pocket. What the hell was I thinking? How could I be so stupid? Of course he has a key to my room.
He reaches over, not once taking his eyes from mine and hits the switch for the light. A blinding brightness fills my room and I squint against the light.
I gather the blankets around me as though they could somehow protect me. “What are you doing?” I ask, my voice cracking with the crippling fear rocking through me.
“Taking what’s mine.”
“No,” I shake my head almost violently. “You…you can’t.”
“I can and I will,” he confirms, stalking forward like a predator. “Don’t you get it? I bought you, all those years ago. You’re mine for the taking. I gave you a home, I gave you clothes, food, somewhere to lay your head. Just think where Anton would have put you if I wasn’t there. This is your debt and now it’s time to pay up.”
I scurry back on my bed, still gripping the blankets as tight as I possibly can. “No, don’t touch me.”
“I’m sorry, Skylah but you didn’t think you were going to reside in my home rent-free? You didn’t think I was keeping you here for nothing? Your time has come to fulfill your end of the deal. You’re lucky I’ve waited this long, but with your wedding in six months, I need to take you before it’s too late.”
Bile rises in my throat. “You were supposed to be like a father to me.”
A sickening grin crosses his features. “Oh, no. Don’t complicate this with your father/daughter bullshit. That’s never been the case but you can still call me daddy if you want.”
I scramble for something to say, something to prolong the inevitable as he reaches the foot of my bed. “You can’t touch me. Marcus Mahony said I had to be a virgin,” I rush out, despite my virginity being long gone.
He barks out a sharp laugh. “And how’s Marcus going to know. That old fool will be too busy trying to get his dick wet to even notice. Besides, girls’ hymens break over the smallest things. Tampons, horse riding. You’ve been riding since you were a little girl. Trust me, that’s not something we need to worry about.”