Page 5 of Burning Truths
My thumb passes over the raised ink at the dip of my hip again. Over and over. My eyes trace each line, bump, crack in the ceiling. I do everything I can to keep my mind busy without allowing myself to study the faces staring at me around the room. Hank has only been back twice over the last three days with two sandwiches and once he even brought chips. I guess he knows I have the sink for water, so at least I won’t die of thirst. Not that I’d allow that to happen. I’ve been conditioned to drink my piss if I have to and I fucking will to get back to my family. What’s left of it.
The rustling of keys pulls me from the trance I’ve been stuck in for fuck knows how long. I’ve repeated the last 10 years of my life over and over in my head to sort fact from fiction. He’s slowly breaking down who I am and trying to rewrite me into the Kenna he thinks I should be. I refuse to let him. Though I give him what he wants in the end all the same, because the pain is too much to bear. Dragging in a deep breath, I force myself to sit up in the large bed that’s far too familiar. Two seconds pass before the green door slowly opens to Hank Harlow carrying another small plate, yet a sandwich is missing and in its place is a small portion of macaroni and cheese. My stomach grumbles at the sight.
His smile pulls at the skin around his eyes showing the age he tries to hide. No amount of hair dye and grooming stops the age from creeping back through. I bite my tongue from telling him just that and instead give him a shallow grin of my own. Scooting to the edge of the bed, I mentally stop myself from clenching the sheets in an attempt to slow my movements, but the food urges me forward.
“Come eat, Princessa.” He purrs.
If I weren’t starving I’d gag from the sickening way he mewls at me. Breathing through my nose I keep my teeth clenched and that smile in place.Bide your time Kens. My ass meets the edge of the bed and that’s when Hank makes his move to step between my thighs. I should have known when he left the shorts and tank on the bed last night that I’d regret wearing them. Not that I had a choice, after all I’m wearing a collar that knocks a few brain cells loose every time I disobey. His clammy fingers grip my chin tilting my head up to force my gaze on his.
“You’ve been such a good little girl.” He says, voice low and hungry.
My lip twitches, but I control myself, “Thank you.” I say my tone flat.
He wants to be praised. To be thanked for giving me food, a bed, a place to relieve myself. That’s how he functions. After he sets the plate on the table beside me, he pulls a single rose from behind him and hands it to me. A thorn stabs my finger so I quickly plop it into my mouth to clean the crimson from my skin. Licking his lips, he moves even closer until our thighs are pressing against each other. Mine tremble with the friction, but he reads the reaction wrong.
“Mmmh. Maybe you are ready for me.” His eyes trail down my frame.
Recoiling back I sneer, “Touch me like that and Ryker-”
Red hot searing pain rips through me. A scream tears from my throat, my legs giving out, and my ass slipping from the bed to the floor. My entire body shakes with the force of the after shock floating through me. Tears that I can’t stop start to fall, but still I hold his stare. Dropping to his knees, he adjusts his legs to straddle me without fully giving me his weight, but that doesn’t stop me from feeling the stiffness in his jeans.
“I’m Ryker now, Princessa. Say his name to me again and I’ll fuck you until you’re nothing but a broken mess at his feet. And then I’ll kill him in front of you before I fuck you into the floor. A beautiful bleeding mess that we made together. Is that understood?”
He slaps my face hard. Once. Twice. A third. My lip splits back open. Blood invades my mouth, filling the back of my throat until I swallow down the copper liquid. Still my eyes clash with his. Pupils growing darker, his eyes wide, frantic.
“Ryker would- “
My limbs lock. Bile and blood mix together. I sling myself sideways and hurl everything I have inside me onto the floor. Hank's rage flows from him in waves. The button in his hand continuously being pressed. My brain and body war with each other until my eyes grow weak.
Breathe through the pain.
All I see are lilies and Caramel eyes. Oranges, reds. Yellows, pinks, and blacks. The smell of throw up and flowers swirl through my nose. My muscles seem to take forever to finally release, but once I’m able to open my eyes again Hank is standing at the door pacing. His hands rake through his hair, pulling at the ends, pacing back and forth. Wiping my mouth, I drag myself up against the bottom of the bed so I can fully sit up. My entire body screams in pain, but I inhale through my nose ignoring the taste in the back of my throat.
“You said you had a present for me.” I rasp.
My voice, shaken and damaged from screaming. Hank stops with his back to me, both hands on the top of his head, unmoving. The way his shirt hugs his back has my mind flashing back to Ryker, but I quickly shake away that image. It’s a silent few minutes before he belts out a loud laugh that has me jumping. Spinning to face me, he almost seems back at ease with my question.
“Hmmm. I did say that, didn’t I.” Looking back at the door before moving forward a few steps, he pulls out a napkin from his pocket.
Rubbing it between his fingers, his legs eat up the distance to me and suddenly he’s crouching down at my side. Lifting my face to his, I take in his expression watching for anything, something, that will give me more. I need to know more. Why? Instead he holds my face under my jaw and uses the napkin to clean up my face from the blood and puke that’s covering my lips and cheek. The whole time he does this he hums out a slow melody that pulls at something in the back of my head. It lulls me into a state that is almost impossible to escape. My limbs feel heavier.
“You’ll get better, I promise. Once you see how much I love you, you’ll know that this is where you belong.” He coos at me.
“R-” I start, but slam my lips closed at the look that crosses his face.
Bending closer his lips graze my ear, “I’m your Ryker now. The next time you say his name it’ll be when you’re begging me to go deeper.” He grunts the last word against the side of my face.
His wet lips press into my temple, the humming picking back up, his other hand rubbing the other side of my face. The tender flesh smarts when he touches it, but still he rubs it in small circles.
“You’ll get your surprise when you learn who truly deserves you.” He says.
Leaning back on the heels of his feet, he waits for any sign of fight, but I push it down. Being strong sometimes means keeping yourself safe until you’re stronger. This isn’t a battle I’m waiting to die for. I’ll always belong to Ryker, but for right now I’ll bite my tongue to stay breathing for him. Instead I ask for the one thing that will keep me sane in this moment.
“Can I just have one thing?” I ask, my words soft.
Batting my eyes I try to soften my expression, but not too hard. The sudden shift would be too obvious for a man like Hank. He’s aware that his hold on me is weak, so switching up too soon would be far too easy. Looking away to break the hold he has on me, I let the tears fall, but I remind myself that it doesn’t take away from the fight I have burning inside of me. Instead its fuel to the flames that stoke the fire that threatens to consume the room we reside in.
“And what do you want my beautiful Princessa?” He hums.