Page 12 of Bones
“Who are you?” I grunt. Not even bothering with manners. The thing about bein’ in the club means everyone knows everyone. And this girl sticks out like’a sore thumb.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She sniffles as she repeats those words over and over again like a broken record. I don’t know what the fuck she’s on about, but with the rising panic in my chest, I just want to shake the shit outta her.
“About what?” I growl through clenched teeth, knowing in my gut she knows something about why Beth isn’t here.
“H-he found her… He found out she’s still alive.” She whimpers, not making any fuckin’ sense. “He’ going to ‘tie-up’ loose ends.” Her breath wheezes out of her, her hands covering her face as she breaks down.
“What the fuck are you talking about? Who’s he?” I roar, needing answers now and she’s clearly too fucked up to give me them.
“M-my name is Angie. My dad’s name is Dane and he’s the man who groomed and first sold Beth. He told everyone she ran off and died.” Her words come out jumbled from her tears, but clear enough for me to make out. My heart drops into my stomach and I think all that beer I just drank is about to make an embarrassing reappearance.
“Where is he?” I grab her shoulders, squeezing tight and giving her a gentle shake. Fear and sadness overwhelming her, but I need her to focus.
“I don’t know. I saw the cut when she was at the nightclub last week and saw all the bikes driving passed and thought I’d check on her. She was pretty messed up at the club. My father must have found out about it all and decided to take advantage.” She whimpers, her eyes wide with fear but I don’t know if it’s directed at me or for what her dad will do to Beth.
I release her before I take off like a bat outta hell. I gotta find my fuckin’ girl.
Chapter Eight
Beth (18)
I slowly start to come too, my blurry eyes struggling to stay open. It’s pitch black, so dark I’m not entirely sure my eyes are even open. I wiggle back and forth trying to assess what’s going on. My brain is fuzzy and it feels like I’m slipping in and out of consciousness. It’s then I notice my arms are bound behind my back and there is tape over my mouth. I let out a soft grunt, memories threatening to take over… No…no… not again. I can’t. Not again, god no.
My body tremors as everything I thought I’d managed to escape sucks me back in, dragging me under the weight of my past. My breathes go shallow as I struggle to hold back the fear threatening to suffocate me.
Breathe…come on Beth, breathe. Tears run down my cheeks, dripping into my ears as I relive the worst moment of my life. Suddenly I’m back there. A little girl, thrown in the trunk, Danes soft voice chanting in the front seat as he played classical music. “Birdy, birdy, give me a chirp.” He’d singsong, using the nickname he’d given me during our special time. I’d been bound and trapped that day too. I didn’t understand, I’d always done everything he asked, always wanting to make him proud of me.
Steady Beth. If you survived this once you can do it again. You’re older now… wiser.
I take deep breaths trying to settle my nerves so I can fucking think. It takes a bit and my body still shakes slightly under the fear but it’s enough to notice the vibrations under me and the rough carpeting of a trunk.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
The car comes to an abrupt stop. Causing me to slam into the trunk door. A moment later the driver’s side door slams and the trunk lifts, his face coming into view. A malicious grin on his face, promising nothing good is to come.
“Oh, how I’ve missed you, birdy.” He purrs, calling me by the name he used too. Sending shivers down my spine and vomit to rise in my throat. No. I won’t allow myself to drift back there, I need to keep my shit together or there’s no way I’ll make it out of this.
I may be nowhere near healed, but I had somehow managed to put most of my pieces back together. I won’t let him take me apart again. I’m not the little girl that was easily manipulated by a man she was meant to trust. I know better now. “Come on, birdy. Let’s play.” He smiles, showing all his teeth as he lifts me out of the trunk and places me on my feet, his grip tight on my arm, allowing me no room to take off. Those words! The same ones he would always use before he took me to his playroom and used me.
He pulls me toward a cabin I’ve never seen before. I have no clue now long we’ve been driving since I’d been knocked out first. My body instinctively tightens, and I can feel the panic begging to take over, the desire to slip back into my safe space the darkness of my own despair. To go somewhere else, so I don’t have to go through this all over again. It would be so easy to give in, to let go and just let him finally kill me. End my miserable life. I’ve lost my family and even Bones. He’ll never love me like I love him.
My eyes close as something deep inside me begs me to fight, not to give up. I need to avoid the abuse by slipping back into that role, a role I’ve played for so long I know all the rules.
“Don’t really feel like playing today.” I grumble under the tape, and I doubt he understand me, which is probably for the best because I know that would earn me a few lashings with his belt.
He yanks me to a stop and rips the tape suddenly off my face, causing me to hiss at the sting. “Couldn’t hear you, birdy. What’d you say?” His tone implies innocence, but I hear the anger bleeding into it. He may not have understood my words, but he knew it wasn’t the “yes sir” he was expecting.
“I said, I won’t play with you.” I growl out, my teeth grinding together as I work to control my anger and fear as well as brace for the impending hit. I won’t be his birdy anymore.
A slimy smile slips onto his face, and he yanks me into his chest. “You will pay for that, little girl. I will forgive you this one time for old times’ sake. It seems you are out of practice.” He grunts before he shoves me forward toward the front door of the cabin, causing me to trip over my own feet at the sudden speed. My legs almost giving out. I want to make a run for it, but I can feel his heavy presence right on my heels. By the time I reach the door his front is pressed flush to my back, my hands trapped between us over his already rigid cock. “I’ve missed our play times, little bird.” He whispers in my ear, his voice husky not even bothering to hide his arousal.
“I figured I’m too old for you now. Isn’t that why you got rid of me. No longer fun when they bleed.” I spit, hating my body for reacting to his despite all he’s done to me. The years of conditioning causing a response that I can’t control. I close my eyes trying to cover the hurt, the pain. Why does he do this to me. He is the catalyst to everything bad that’s ever happened to me. He’s the devil himself in an Armani suit. I know better now, know how fucked up the whole thing was. I can feel the tear slip down my face, but I can’t even wipe it away, and that pisses me off even more. He doesn’t deserve my goddamn tears. I brace myself. You’re not the same girl anymore Beth, you’re stronger, smarter.
His hand slides around my waist, the subtle movement causing my skin to prickle as he slips the key into the lock clicking it over.
I won’t allow myself to feel this way, I can’t. I know what real love is and this ain’t it. It’s what I feel for Bones. It’s how the guys take care of each other, like family, like brothers. It’s King and Elana. He’s never felt anything for me, and I refused to feel anything back for him other than rage. I won’t allow myself to get sucked back into this, I’m finally getting better. I won’t allow myself to be so easily manipulated again. My thoughts drift back to Bones, how he made me feel the night we slept together, the night I told him I loved him. I know I fucked up and I could tell he was panicking but before that I saw the look in his eyes, the way he studied me, learning my body. He may not love me like I love him, but he at least cares about me, and that’s more than this man has ever done even when he claimed to love me.
Dane uses his other arm to force me past the threshold and into the cabin. The small open space boosts a cozy living room, a kitchenette and bedroom combo. The only thing that seems to be in a separate room is the bathroom. It’s your stereotypical cabin, leather couch and a fireplace. It would actually be pretty nice if it weren’t for the monster currently following in behind me.
