Luna

ONE

My heart fell into my stomach when I realized who the voice belonged to.

No, this couldn't happen.

Tears prickled behind my eyes, silently asking me to escape.

"Look at me girl," Nick ordered, amusement lacing his voice. I did what I was told without hesitation. "You are in so much trouble. Now, listen carefully. You are going to your boss and say you resign. You have five minutes. Make sure you're on time."

I nodded before going to the back, so I could talk to Lina. She was doing the accountancy at the table in the corner of the room. When Linda noticed me walking in, she laid her pen down.

I swallowed painfully. "Linda, I need to talk to you." I was surprised that my voice wasn't shaking.

"Oh, I already know what this is about," she smiled sweetly. Her hand went to the table where a white envelope was laying. "Your wages for the week. I put in a little extra for your hard work."

I smiled back at her, but the smile didn't reach my eyes. In less than five minutes will the money be taken away from me. I reached for the envelope with trembling hands and quickly shoved it in my pocket.

"Thank you Lina. You're too kind." She hadn't known me for long, but that didn't hold her back from showing me kindness.

"Can you come over tomorrow morning? Caro called not too long ago, apparently she has the flu," she asked.

"Actually, that's why I wanted to speak to you. I want to resign. The job is not my thing," I told her, trying to sound convincing enough.

Her eyebrows scrunched together, disbelieve flashed before her eyes. "I thought you liked it?"

My throat bobbed up and down when I tried to swallow the lump away.

"Are you feeling okay Luna? You look a bit pale," she suddenly said.

My breath hitched at her remark. The last thing I needed was someone being suspicious, especially with Nick in the other room.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm really sorry Linda," I almost whispered with my eyes downcast. And instead of waiting for an answer, I left the room.

Nick grabbed my upper arm harshly, right where the burn is.

His lips brushed my left ear. "We are going to have so much fun tonight," he whispered.

A nauseous feeling washed over me when realization hit me fully. I wasn't sure if I would survive this evening or maybe I wasn't sure if I wanted to survive tonight.

"Now be a good girl and act like nothing is happening."

I did what he said. I held my eyes downcast, trying my best to keep up with his pace.

The house came into view. This used to be my safe place, something I could call home. Now it's the place where I constantly suffer without anyone knowing.

He threw me inside and quickly closed the door. I stood up, knowing he would get more angry if I stayed on the floor.

Bile rose when he turned around. His eyes held a twinkle because he now has a reason to seriously hurt me. He was truly sick in the head.

Nick slowly came toward me, taking his time. He slowly raised his hand to my face, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "You're just like a little bird. Always trying to escape her cage. When will you realize that there is no escaping me?"

Tears sprung in my eyes by his words. He always made sure to remind me of the promise he made to me almost two years ago. The day I had tried to go to the police station.

The memory flashed before my eyes.

"I promise you, Luna, I will always come back for you. You know why? Because you are mine. Mine to keep. Mine to hurt. Mine to use."

While he was saying that, he was carving an 'N' into my skin.

A stinging sensation on my left cheek pulled me out of the memory. A small part was glad he had slapped me, so I wouldn't have to relieve that horrible night.

I bent over when he punched me in the stomach, trying to catch my breath. Nick's left hand grabbed a handful of hair, so I couldn't run away from him. He kept punching me there until I fell on the floor.

I began sobbing when he started kicking me. He was smart enough to never cause serious damage to my face. As a result, my ribs were almost always the brunt of his rage.

He stopped for a moment. I let out a shuddering breath, maybe it was over. Before I could try to stand up, he placed his foot on my right lower ribs. I screamed when Nick began putting all his weight on it.

I couldn't breathe.

Suddenly a cracking sound sounded through the room. A satisfied look washed over Nick's face.

He finally removed his foot from my ribs. Oxygen could enter my lungs again. Even though breathing hurt, I enjoyed the feeling. My eyelids became heavy. I wanted to fall unconscious, escaping this mental and physical torture.

Nick thought otherwise, he took my arm and dragged me upstairs. In a blink of an eye I was on his bed, I started to panic. He was going to do it again. This can't be happening, no no no.

I weakly tried to fight him off, even if my body protested against the pain it caused.

He only chuckled at my attempts. He always did.

"You're mine, little bird," he breathed out in my ear before violating me once again.

More tears streamed down my face. The only thing I knew to protect myself was to zone out. I turned my head to the window, like always. Watching the ugly purple curtains.

If this is how the rest of my life is going to be, I don't think it's worth the fight.

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