Page 87 of Save Me
“Sort yourself out and be down in five minutes. Do not defy me a second time tonight, Beth!”
The door is then slammed shut, finally giving me permission to let everything out onto his priceless bedsheets. I feel completely paralyzed in both my body and mind as to what else to do. I am shocked, horrified, and desperate to get away from here.
When I eventually try to move, the burning pain that rips across my cheeks is almost unbearable. With erratic breaths, I move my hand around to feel the skin that hurts so badly, I feel sick with it. It’s hot to touch and the skin is raised where the metal made contact. I take in three deep breaths before forcing myself to stand. The pain of such a movement causes me to gasp for air and to release a torrent of fresh tears down my face. Heeding Oliver’s warning, I reach for my underwear and try to put them on as quickly as possible, though the burning welts have me slowed down to a snail’s pace. By the time I have shuffled out the door, I must have already taken well over double the time limit Oliver had allowed me. However, I have little choice but to continue functioning at the speed I’m going.
Leo is waiting for me at the bottom of the staircase, but he’s looking at the floor in a sort of shameful way. When I reach him, I’m surprised to see he has tears in his eyes. I look up at him and take hold of his arm. I rub away his tears, which are threatening to betray him in front of his employer. He mouths the words, ‘I’m sorry’, but I just smile and nod. His open emotion, support, and comfort are enough to get me through this, and although I cannot tell him now, I will always be grateful to him.
“Do you have anything you wish to say to me, dear?” Carl asks smugly as I enter the living area, still clinging onto Leo’s now tense arm.
I stand silently, willing myself to just apologize to escape any more hurt, but I cannot bring myself to do it. At my defiance, Oliver marches to my side and places his hand roughly over one of my welts, causing me to gasp and for Leo’s arm to flinch in silent rage.
“Beth!” he orders.
Leo takes me over to the sofa when my legs begin to wobble under the intense burning sensation spreading over my hot backside. He helps to lower me down, but when my behind reaches the sofa cushions, I gasp and clench my fists over the friction against my fresh wounds.
“I’m sorry for raising my voice to you, Mr Steele,” I say as quietly as I can.
“Please, call me grandfather,” he says and smiles softly again, proving he’s just as demented as the man who just attacked me with a ruler.
I don’t say anything, just look at him, completely lost for words. However, he chooses to ignore my expression and instead, makes to leave.
“Thank you for a wonderful dinner, Oliver. Beth, please don’t get up,” the vindictive old bastard says with a twisted ignorance over my current plight. He then bends down to kiss me on the cheek while I fight the urge to shove him away. “I look forward to the rehearsal dinner!”
Oliver and he shake hands, looking at one another like this meeting was a complete success and that nothing untoward had happened. Leo then accompanies Carl out the door, leaving me to sit in silence with my husband-to-be. He is staring at me from his chair like he is the king of everything, and I am nothing more than his slave. My only rebellion is that I now refuse to look at him. I don’t want to look at him, talk to him, or have him touch me ever again, but right now, I’m at his mercy.
“Would you like some cream for your skin?” he asks with mock concern. When I stubbornly shake my head, he sighs as though I am behaving like a petulant child and merely cutting my nose off to spite my face. “Please understand, my darling-”
“Don’t call me that, Oliver!” I whisper curtly. Right now, I’m in a shed load of pain and feeling like I have nothing else to lose. “I would like to go home, please.”
“As you wish,” he replies. His tone of voice indicates how irritated he is over my non-compliance to continue as though everything is alright. Things weren’t alright before he struck me, so Lord knows why he thinks I’d behave any differently.
“If you or my bastard grandfather go near Riley, the arrangement is off and I will run, Oliver!” My words fuel my bravery, so I throw caution to the wind to look him in the eye for the first time since he humiliated me upstairs. “I will run, and you will never ever find me, and if you do, I will kill myself. Right now, that is becoming more and more appealing over marrying you!”
“You’re being very brave making threats against me, all things considered,” he says with an eerie calmness.
“I have nothing else to lose,” I reply defiantly.
“Oh, no?” he says smugly, raising his brow as if to challenge me. “How about Mr Fenton? Would you be happy to lose him? Or Mommy? Or perhaps young Kaiden? Everyone can be found, Beth, remember that.”
“Take me home,” I say with determination, ignoring his blackmail and the wicked chuckle that escapes his lips when I begin marching toward the door.
“Samuel, I think Miss Taylor is ready to leave now,” he says into the receiver of his top-of-the-line phone and hangs up without another word. “Beth, one day you will see this is all for your own good. When I’m your husband you will learn that I know what’s best for you. Trust me,” he whispers with a smirk, knowing that his words will only be angering me more. He appears to take a perverse pleasure in the fact. He then leans over and presses his lips forcefully onto mine, lingering for much too long when I try to move away. My resistance only has him holding my chin all the more tightly between his finger and thumb. “Goodnight, my darling.”
Chapter 29
Beth
It’s cloudy when we arrive back at my house, which suits me just fine. I wait for Samuel to come and help me out of the car, purely because I know I won’t be able to do it on my own without screaming and drawing attention from the neighbors. Christ knows what they think about all the cars coming and going, not to mention my gentle hulk of a bodyguard standing outside of our door day and night. Speaking of which, he’s already at our door, opening it to let us pass through into the living room where Mum stands with a smile. It drops the instant she sees me hobbling back toward the house.
When I’m placed onto the sofa cushions, with audible gasps and obvious wincing, Samuel leans in to hug me like a caring grandfather would. It’s sudden and unexpected, so it takes a moment or two before I can reciprocate the gesture. He sniffs over my shoulder, and I pat him on the back, trying to reassure him that I’ll be ok, even if I know I won’t be…not really.
The old man, who smells of coffee and a slight hint of tobacco, finally releases me and waves before walking out the front door with a subtle shaking of his head. Leo follows suit, giving my mother a tight smile when she begins to tear up over the state of her daughter. She doesn’t even register his presence, so he leaves to resume his position on the front porch, safely closing the door behind him.
“What do you need, Beth?” Mum asks between whimpers she’s desperately trying to control.
“Ice…lots of ice!” I gasp, then get up again for the sofa is feeling too painful against my welts.
She nods with determination before offering herself as a crutch to lean on as I make my way up the stairs and toward my bedroom. She doesn’t say anything to me, just lets me focus on trying to get to where I need to, which I am beyond grateful for. Right now, all I want to do is get to my bed and lie down with copious amounts of ice on my backside.