I push the bathroom door open and set the beers on the counter. I stretch either side of my neck and rub my shoulder with the other. I am too panicky lately. I need to trust that the guys know what they are doing. I need to trust the cops. I can’t keep living on the edge.
“Baby? You coming in? I need help washing something I think you’d like,” Sebastian says under the spray of water which jumbles his voice.
My eyes are closed as I rub the tension out and think maybe Sebastian has a point. Orgasm are a great stress relief. “Is that, so?” I ask, and when I open my eyes, my smile falls off my face, when I see a message written in the steam clinging to the mirror.
I own you, pet.
My hand knocks over the beer, and they roll off the counter and crash to the floor. Beer and glass flood my feet, but I don’t care. I scream. I think I do, anyway. I can’t focus. He is here. He is here in the house. He found a way in. How? No, I am supposed to be safe. This is my home now.
I step away from the glass, but I crunch against more of it. The sharp pieces dig into my foot, causing me to whimper. Blood drips into the swirling yellow of the beer, and Sebastian kicks the shower stall open and immediately surveys the room for the threat.
“What is it? Talk to me, baby. What is it? What happened? Fuck, your feet, you’re bleeding.” He notices. He lifts me up in his arms and steps over the broken glass and then lays me on the end of the bed where my feet are dangling off. “Jesus, baby, your feet are all tore up. What did you do? I’ll have to get Owen to look at them.” He grabs a pair of gym shorts and slides them on up his legs.
“No, Sebastian. Don’t leave me. Please, don’t leave me. He is here.”
“Who? Who is here? It’s just us. No one can get in.”
“There was a message on the mirror in the bathroom, and when I went to get the beers, I felt someone watching me again. When I looked out the door, I saw wet footprints by the door. I swear there was a message. Someone is here, Sebastian.”
Sebastian takes ahold of my shoulders and slightly shakes me. “You’re sure?”
“Yes!” I cry.
“What did the message say?”
I stare from Sebastian to the ceiling and recall the words I’ve heard thousands of times over the last few years. “I own you, pet,” I say, numb to the core.
“Fuck! Fuck, okay. It’s okay. He won’t hurt you here. He is too stupid for that. He just wants to scare you.”
“It’s working,” I admit. Every day from here on out until Kendrick is caught will be like this. I’ll constantly be looking over my shoulder, waiting for him to make his next move, wondering if he is going to grab me.
This is my taste of freedom. If Kendrick ever gets his hands on me again, he’ll make sure I live and die in darkness.
“Owen!” Sebastian roars from the bedroom door. “Bring you medical kit! Grayson, call the cop! Tell him to get here as soon as possible.”
Grayson is the only one in the group who is from Trinidad. It is why the cop is so nearby.
Sebastian dashes into the bathroom to check for the message. “It’s not here! Fuck, it isn’t here.”
I fall to the floor and roll to my side as fear grips me. The scars on my back start to burn from the whipping.
You’ll learn, my sweet.
You’ll see what you’re worth, my sweet.
You’re going to bring me such fortune and power, my sweet.
Next time do not disobey me! You will behave! You must be ready. I didn’t spend all this time grooming you for nothing!
Every statement ended with the snap of the whip. I could almost feel it. The pain. The first sting of broken skin, the blood dripping down my back. I could feel every memory.
I own you, pet. Don’t you forget it.
You’re going to service us soon.
All this waiting, it’s going to be a beautiful night, my sweet. You’ll see. You’ll ascend.
I don’t care if you meant well! Fucking learn, you stupid bitch!